“You okay?” I asked, concerned.
“What?” she asked, turning my way again, her lips pursed.
“You okay?” I said, laughing. “You look ready to jump ship and we haven’t boarded yet. You afraid to sail?”
“Uh, something like that,” she said, fretting at her hands.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s a bit of a rocky ride but it’s completely safe.” A small squeak sounded from her side of the car. “January?” I asked.
But she couldn’t answer me because we were asked to follow the line ahead of us to board. I obeyed the guy’s gesture up the ramp and parked behind the long line of cars. January and I both got out and after I locked the car doors, we headed up the steel grate stairs into an elaborate lobby, similar to something you’d see on a cruise ship but much smaller in size.
I pointed to a lounge area where a few people were already mingling about and we sat. January plopped her purse on her lap and started sifting through its contents, lazily at first but grew more frantic as time passed.
“January?” I asked but she didn’t answer. “January,” I said a bit louder but still no response. “January!” I practically yelled.
She looked up at me and her eyes were wide and distraught. “My medicine,” she said as if I’d understand.
“Your medicine,” I repeated.
“Yes, my medicine. I - I need it and it’s not here. I must have packed it in the duffel.” She stood up, right as the captain was making his announcement we were leaving port.
“You can’t go down there, January. All the doors to the cars will be locked. It’s too dangerous.”
She seemed to become overwrought at that news and I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. Oh my God, what if these pills are a matter of life and death.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing her hand in mine. Instead of the usual warmth I’d felt before, they were ice cold. As we walked, I couldn’t stop myself from warming them between my own. “What,” I said, before taking a deep breath, bracing myself for news she had some crazy heart condition or something. “What are the pills for?” I tried to ask breezily.
“Motion sickness,” she said, shocking me. The adrenaline I’d felt preparing myself for bad news turned to anger.
“What!” I asked too loudly.
“I didn’t want to tell you,” she said, fidgeting near the door. “Excuse me,” she asked a ship employee, “but I’ve left something in our car. Is it possible to retrieve it?”
The employee, a young man, probably my age, frowned at her, looking like it broke his heart that he couldn’t help this damsel in distress. Zap. I wanted to punch him. “I’m sorry, miss, but once the ship leaves dock, these doors go on automatic locks.”
“Oh, okay,” January said, deflated. The man walked away but not without glancing back once more.
“January.”
“Hmm?” she asked, distracted.
“You have motion sickness. Like, when you sail?”
“Uh, not exactly.”
“Tell me then.”
“Um, I get motion sickness on everything. Car, train, boat, plane. You name it, I get sick...and not just a little sick either.”
“January MacLochlainn,” I said, scrubbing the back of my neck in frustration. “How the hell did you think you were going to do this job, huh? It’s nothing but traveling.”
“Listen, this isn’t a handicap, okay? I can travel, I just need meds to do it.” Her eyes went wide and she placed her hand over her mouth. “It’s happening,” she said as the boat tipped and weaved in the water, ready to sail.
“Oh no, it’s not,” I said, grabbing her hand and heading to the shops on the ship. “God, I should have known when you offered that ridiculous ginger candy that only my grandmother would eat.”
“Please don’t mention food,” she whined.
I could only sigh my frustration.
Truthfully? I was more upset that she was in any kind of pain. For some reason, the idea of this girl in agony made my stomach twist. In the nearest shop, I ducked inside and got a lemon-lime carbonated drink that looked like Sprite and a few boxes of seasick meds. I slid Seven’s credit card because I’d forgotten my own back in the car. I didn’t want to think about how I was going to explain these weird charges to Jason. He could just suck it, January was ill.
“Come on,” I said to a very green looking January. She leaned on me, which let me know just how ill she was. I knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t have done it unless things were dire. She’d wanted me to think she hated me. I dragged her to a window seat and sat her down. I tore off the cap to the soft drink as quickly as possible and handed it to her.
“Start sipping,” I said. She took it and brought her trembling hands to her mouth.
I ripped open the box of what I thought looked the most promising, relief-wise, in the shop and handed her the two pills. She downed them quickly and I sat beside her, reading the label to the other box to make sure I could mix the medicines if the other didn’t work. I picked up her bag and dug out her ridiculously ginormous bag of ginger remedy/old lady candy and unwrapped a piece.
“Take it,” I said, handing it to her.
She shifted her body around so she wouldn’t be facing the ocean. I dragged her closer to me and made her lean her head on my shoulder. I rubbed up and down her arm until she seemed to feel better, her breathing becoming steady again.