Chapter 39 - The Confrontation (1/2)
”Is she okay?”
”Yeah she's absolutely fine,” Jake says to the waiter, who suddenly materialized by their table.
Jake's voice quakes with panic, but he has the presence of mind to take a swig of his red wine to calm his nerves. ”She's fine. She has narcolepsy. She'll wake up in a minute.”
”Are you sure?” The waiter looks like he's still in high school. ”Because she's…there's foam in the corner of her mouth.”
”What?” Jake grabs a wad of tissue and examines Claire's face closely. He carefully—perhaps reverentially—wipes the corner of her lips—the same lips he'll be ravishing later.
He faces the waiter, smiling. ”Told you, she's fine. This is a normal part of our lives, you know.”
”Is she your wife?”
”Yes, she's my wife,” Jake says with conviction. ”It's our anniversary dinner. Maybe the excitement prompted the narcoleptic attack. This often happens, sadly.”
”Oh, I see.” The waiter looks at Jake from head to toe, seemingly incredulous. ”Do you have an identification card, sir, so I can verify if—”
”Listen, young man,” Jake barks. ”I'm already under so much stress. I don't need you questioning me, especially now that my wife is in the middle of a narcoleptic episode. If you want to be useful, can you help me do something?”
The waiter hesitates for second. ”What kind of help?”
”Help me bring her to our car. She needs to rest for a while. She can't stay here looking like this, slumped over the table like some dead doll.”
”Oh, uhh, sure.”
Claire is completely unconscious. Her brėȧsts almost spill out of her dress, and it takes Jake and the waiter some careful maneuvering to bring her to the car in the parking lot. They carefully place her in the backseat of his sedan, tucking her legs in.
”She's alright,” Jake says to the waiter, who's standing there staring at Claire. Jake closes the car door. ”Thank you for your help. I'll bring my wife home now.”
”You should bring her to the hospital. I can call—”
”There's no need for that. She only needs some rest. This is not an emergency. This always happens to us, especially during times of great excitement.”