Jess. “I'm sure I just have, uh, one of those faces…” What does that mean, anyway? I take another handful of corn nuts to give myself something to do. “What time is it, Jess?” I ask. “Do we need to be getting back to the train already?”
Jess makes a show of checking his watch. “Oh, pretty soon, I'm afraid.” He stands up and stretches. “Mandy, it was very nice to meet you, and congratulations. Jacob is going to be a great little kid.”
“Thanks for letting us barge in on you like this,” I say, scrambling to my feet. “And yeah, he's really, really beautiful.” I'm sorry to be leaving so soon—we have a few more minutes, really. And weird as it is, I feel like I'm going to miss Martha and Herbert and Mandy, even though I don't know them at all. I don't think I'll miss Sally so much, though.
“I've got it!” Sally snaps her fingers, and my stomach tightens. “It's that girl on those stupid morning shows you watch, Mandy. The one whose father is looking for her, and he keeps going on the shows and asking if anybody has seen her. You remember, they keep running the picture?”
Mandy looks up at me. “Huh. You do look kind of like her, Bee.” She tilts her head. “A lot like her. What was her name, Mom?”
“I can't remember.” Sally furrows her brow. I look at Jess, panicked, and he turns to shake hands with Herbert.
“We'll be seeing you, then.” He waves goodbye at Martha, who gives a quick wave before turning back to Jacob.
“He was offering a reward though. Wouldn't it be funny if we could get a college fund started for Jacob when he was only a week old?” I swear to God, if Sally doesn't stop talking, I'm going to knock her over the head.
“Don't bother getting up, Mandy,” Jess says, taking my hand and pulling me to the door. “We'll just let ourselves out.” He closes the door behind us and lets out a breath.
“Well, that was close,” he says. “I didn't know your dad was doing all the morning shows. Smart move.”
“Come on!” I tug at his hand and drag him down the steps. “We have to get far, far away. Right now.” I shudder. “That woman could come racing after us at any second.”
“Bee, I don't think—”
But I don't let him finish. I run down the street for the next four blocks, dragging Jess with me. I've got this crazy adrenaline, and I'm half terrified, but I'm laughing anyway. But when I finally stop, I notice that Jess isn't laughing. In fact, he looks kind of gray.
He sways a little bit, and I reach forward to catch him under his arms. “What's going on?” I ask, worried.
He mumbles something, but I can't understand him. I pull him over onto the grass and sit him down. He slumps over with his head between his knees, breathing shallowly. His hands are shaking.
“Jess? Jess!” I shake him gently. “Are you all right? What's happening?”
He lifts his head and blinks at me vaguely a few times. “I need…” Jess stops, and squints, as if concentrating really hard on getting the words out. His pupils are dilated even though the sun is bright and glaring.
I resist the urge to shake him again. “Jess?” I say calmly. “Take your time. Tell me what you need, and I'll get it. You'll be okay.” And I hope I'm right. Because if he starts getting any worse, I'm calling 911. This is nuts.
He looks at me and his eyes focus slightly. “Crackers,” he mumbles.
Crackers? He needs crackers? What the hell?
Then I remember. Jess is hypoglycemic. I had no idea that hypoglycemia could get this bad, but then I guess I'm used to people throwing the term around whenever they feel a little bit hungry.
But how the hell am I going to get crackers? I left my bag on the train, and a quick glance at Jess's butt tells me he left his wallet behind too. I look around at the nearby houses, but without much hope. It's the middle of the day in the middle of the week, and I doubt many people are home. I will go back to Mandy's if I have to, but I really don't want to. I grab Jess's hand and check his pulse. I have no idea what I'm doing, but it feels pretty fast compared with mine. I'd rather not leave him here if I don't