Away--Chapter 7

     "Agatha, are you sure you're fine?"

     "Yes, yes, of course..."

     Her grandmother coughed yet again, her whole body shuddering. They were back at the house, Danara watching Aggie closely. She still hadn't figured out how she would get in touch with Mrs. Donner, and life had presented another problem for her to overcome. Agatha had gotten sick, which according to her was an extremely rare occasion.

     First, it had been the flu, which Agatha had waved off as a temporary illness. Then she had taken to coughing at every moment and everywhere. Danara hoped that she would remain well enough to take her to see Mrs. Donner. But from the signs she had seen so far, that wouldn't be the case anytime soon. 

    Everywhere they went, she was hacking and hacking out spittle, usually onto Danara's clothing. It was enough to make anyone scream, except for the fact that Danara knew her mother would be worried.

     "Do you need another tissue?"

     "No, I am perfectly--" Agatha barked a sharp cough, making Danara jump. "Fine," she croaked, grabbing a tissue from the box Danara held anyway. She wiped her mouth; when she threw away the tissue, Danara saw traces of mucus on the white. 

     Oh, no. If it was something serious, Aggie might have to be hospitalized, and Danara knew that her grandmother was her only source of transportation right now. And besides, Danara knew Agatha was a patient person, to put up with Danara's short temper and never-ending questions about her father. Her grandmother couldn't afford to get sick, and Danara couldn't let her.

........................

     "Maybe we need to visit the doctor, Agatha. I'm sure they'll diagnose this--"

     "Nonsense! I haven't ever gotten sick, and I'm not about to start now. I'm sure this is temporary."

     Danara sighed. Maybe her stubbornness ran in the family.

     Later that day, she searched up nearby doctors on her grandmother's ancient computer and scanned the internet, looking for the closest one. She had to convince Agatha to go there, and then she could find out whether the illness was serious or not.

     "Aggie," she said the next day, trying to smile sweetly. "I don't think you're going to get better on your own this time. Maybe we should go see a--"

     "Doctor? No!" her grandmother sniffed, struggling to hold back a cough. "This is nothing more than the common flu."

     Danara chose her words carefully. "But, Agatha, what if this is serious? It could be something harmful to your body! All I'm saying is you should be careful, that's all." She let her desperation show through in her voice. Although Aggie had come off as insensitive and impatient at first, she knew her grandmother had tried to help Danara get comfortable in a new environment by taking her to the lake and telling Danara about her father. Also, her mother would be frantic if she knew Agatha was sick.

     Aggie turned away and sighed, her exhale a wheezing breath with a hint of a cough following close behind. "We'll see."

............................

     While her grandmother got increasingly sick, Danara tried to find out all she could about Mrs. Donner. She typed in Mrs. Donner, teacher on Google, then frowned. The search wasn't specific enough. She mustered up the courage (and the patience) to ask Agatha what her father's school was.

     "Aggie? What school did my father go to?" Danara fidgeted with her shirt, rubbing the hem and running her fingers along the seam. She didn't want another indirect answer or more information about her mother. She hoped her grandmother would understand.

     Luckily, in her sick state, Agatha seemed in no mood to debate. "Rivers Elementary School," she answered. "Although I'm sure it's closed now, so don't even think about visiting."

     By the time she was done with her sentence, Danara had already raced back to the computer. Mrs. Donner, Rivers Elementary School. Hitting Enter, she waited with an excited face as the computer took a lifetime to scrounge up results.

     There! In a list of the members of the senior home located downtown, she saw a Mrs. Donner, "a former teacher at Rivers Elementary School." This had to be her. But her getting to the senior home depended heavily on her grandmother's sickness. If Agatha didn't get better soon...

........................

     "And where is this hospital?"

     "Close to this neighborhood. It'll only take about ten minutes to drive there."

     "I'm telling you, Danara, it's not serious at all. Just because I'm coughing--" Her grandmother broke off, removing her glasses and drawing away from the computer screen. She took a shaky breath. "It doesn't mean anything bad," she added weakly.

     This woman was a far cry from the gruff grandmother Danara had seen on her first day here. "We're going anyway," she said firmly, checking the address one more time, then closing out the window. "If it turns out to be nothing, we won't go again." All the better for me, she thought.

     Agatha slowly walked to get her car keys, heading for the front door. "Well?" she asked, jingling the keys. "Let's go. But I swear it's just the flu."