Chapter 13

"Hello," Iris smiled politely at the young woman who answered the door. The young woman who managed to look stressed and relieved all at the same time.

She was quite tall, certainly in relation to Iris, and very slender and almost sickly looking.

"James, oh James I am so glad that you could come over!" She cast a quick curious glance at Iris, before stepping back to let them both in.

"Leila, this is my new personal assistant – Iris ... I thought that maybe she could be helpful to you ... or at the very least I thought that I should introduce you to each other."

Leila, looked down at Iris solemnly for a moment, and then she smiled, and her whole face lit up. "Hello, please do forgive my being so rude, it's just that I have barely had any sleep and little Toby is just being so fretful..." her smile wavered again.

"Speaking of little Toby," James cut in. "Where is the little tyke?"

"He's sitting in the living room, and feeling very sorry for himself," she smiled but her eyes were clearly worried.

The moment that Iris laid eyes on Toby she knew exactly what his problem was.

"Chicken pox!" she declared without even thinking.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

Iris knelt down beside the little boy, and smiled at him, as she gently touched his hand.

"Hello sweetheart, would you mind if I just looked at your arm?"

He sniffled and looked at her through watery blue eyes. "Hello," he whispered through a dry throat.

He held his hand up as though to say yes, and she slowly and gently rolled up his sleeve, till it was just past his elbow.

"See these little spots," she said keeping her tone light.

The other two adults both knelt down to get a better look.

"They look like little blisters!" Leila exclaimed tearfully. "But he never had them when I bathed him last night.

"No, well they do tend to pop up quite quickly, and I 'm afraid that they will keep on popping up over the next few days."

"Oh dear, what should I do?"

Leila obviously doted on her young son, but it was also quite clear that she was not very good at coping with things.

"Have you got some squash – for him to drink?" Iris asked as she smiled again at the flushed young boy. "You really need to keep his fluids up, he probably will be off his food for a few days, so soups and easy little things for him to eat..." she stood up and the other two stood up with her."Is there a chemist – or a supermarket close by?"

Leila nodded, and flicked her hand towards the left. "Yes there is a small group of shops just at the end of this road – five minutes away, and one of them is a chemist."

"Great!" Iris put her bag more securely on her shoulder and smiled confidently at the two worried adults. "Why don't you make little Toby more comfortable on the sofa, and get him a drink, whilst I pop out ... is he allergic to anything?" she asked as the thought came to her.

Leila shook her head. "No, he's always been such a healthy little boy – that was why I was so worried this morning." Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip to stop it from wobbling.

Iris smiled as she touched the other woman's arm in comfort. "He will be okay ... it's just one of those childhood ailments that he will have to ride through – but he will get better again."

James walked her to the door. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked as he opened the door.

"No," Iris shook her head. "You should stay with your sister – make her a cup of tea or something."

As Iris strode purposefully down the street she could not help smiling to herself a little. The two adults were surprisingly useless back there. Leila was still a relatively young mum, and she was obviously heavily reliant upon her own mother – who was unfortunately away right now.

But James, he always seemed to be so much in control – of himself and any potential situation. It was almost a novelty to see him at such a loss. Well it would have been, had it not been for the poor sick little boy.

Iris remembered when Laurie had contracted chicken pox. She had been a self–conscious teenager at the time, and had felt very sorry for herself. It was Iris who had been the one to take care of her, since she had endured the ailment when she had been very young. It was an ailment that was worse for the shifters as well, since they were a fairly robust species and so illness - of any kind, was difficult for them to endure.

She remembered it as if it had been yesterday, as she had played nurse to her younger sister.

She found the chemist easily enough, and the pharmacist was very sympathetic and helpful, with lotions and painkillers and a small list of suggestions of foods and drinks for the little boy.

Iris thanked her nicely and then walked across to the small general shop, where she purchased the items on the list.

"I spoke to the pharmacist," Iris told Leila calmly, as she held out the piece of paper. "And she very kindly made some notes for us, how to make little Toby feel more comfortable through these early stages of the illness. She made some suggestions on food and drinks, as well and so I thought that while I was out I might as well purchase them from the shop next door..."

"Thank you, thank you so very much!" Leila whispered tearfully. "I have to confess that it never occurred to me to ask the pharmacy for some advice."

"And of course your local doctor may be helpful as well, if you have any concerns."

She looked across at James, and whilst Leila knelt down to her little boy to offer him a drink, Iris nodded to James to indicate he should join her outside.

"Look," she said as soon as he stepped into his sister's kitchen. "Your sister needs you right now, she needs your support ... but we can't both be absent from the office, not for too long."

His eyes widened almost in panic. "You're leaving us?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "There is nothing more that I can do here, other than to get underfoot or worse undermine your sister."

He ran his fingers through his hair, and then sighed. "I suppose that you are right, but I really don't know what more I can do for her either."

Iris smiled sympathetically. "Just be here for her, for company ... or to keep an eye on little Toby while she takes a nap maybe ... make her cup of tea or coffee – a sandwich perhaps, or cook some dinner for the two of you?"

She was reeling ideas off as they came to her, and James suddenly held out his hands.

"Okay, okay I get the message," he said and his tone was one of resigned irritation.

"Good," Iris smiled again and nodded. "I will try and postpone anything until later in the week, and I will text or ring you from time to time to keep you updated with everything ... if your phone is working?" she added as she remembered her phone call with Leila earlier that morning.

"Yes, do that; and of course its..." he took his phone out of his pocket and then swore softly. "I forgot to charge it!"

Iris could not stop the little chuckle as she dug into her bag.

"Here this is my spare charger, it should be compatible with your phone."

He gave a frustrated little sigh as he turned to the plug socket behind the kettle, and Iris moved back to the living room, and stood in the doorway.

"I have to get back to the office now, Leila ... but James – Mr Atherton; will be able to stay with you and little Toby."

Leila had been kneeling by the sofa and stroking her little boy's hair as he drifted into a light sleep.

She stood up and walked across to Iris with a slightly forced smile. "Thank you again for your help."

"Don't worry about it; honestly, I am just so glad that I could help at all."

She stood talking with her for a moment longer, but then little Toby started to whimper, and Leila's attention was diverted again.

"Goodbye, Leila ... I hope to meet you again some time."

James was still standing in the kitchen, and he walked with her to the front door, and then out to the garden.

"You have my thanks too," he said as he stood outside with her.

Iris smiled up at him. "I remember when Laurie contracted chicken pox ... she was fourteen and she had a really miserable time of it."

"And of course you were the one to nurse her through it," James guessed.

Iris nodded. "Yes, of course I wanted to take care of my little sister ... just like you want to take care of your little sister."

James sighed, and his expression turned more serious. "Believe me when I say that this is a first ... her mum and my dad, have always been the ones to rush to her side."

He made it sound like it was a regular occurrence, and as Iris thought of the young woman inside, she guessed that it probably was a regular thing.

"Well everything should be okay now, Leila knows what's wrong with little Toby and she knows what she needs to do for him, now she just needs a little company I think."

She reached up suddenly and kissed him on the cheek. "But don't forget that if either of you have any concerns or doubts, then ring Leila's local doctor."

"Or you," he asked hopefully.

Iris shook her head. "I have done everything that I can; I don't think I can be of any more help to Leila or little Toby."

"No, but you can help me just by listening and talking to me on occasion. You ground me so well, Iris."