wrath of the Sea Queen (124 page)

"There's no mistake, C
a
eli.
  Salma doesn't make th
at
type of mistake.  I'm sure she double-checked
; a
nd you are
getting
better.
"

"But, it's
simply
not possible. 
It
can't be right.
"  C
a
eli's
gentle
protest
continu
ed.

She had returned from the kitchen to let everyone know that dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.  Ben and Salma went to their room to freshen up.  Max r
ushed
into the kitchen to see if he could
finagle
another tasty tidbit from his father.  Vin and C
a
eli had a few minutes alone
, and
Vin
decided to
fill
her
in on Salma's discovery.

"
W
hy not?  I thought you would be relieved.  I definitely welcomed the
news because not knowing scar
ed
me to death. 
I have to admit that I was disturbed at the thought of you being poisoned
;
but then, when I considered
your symptoms
,
i
t makes sense
.  H
oney, it's treatable
.  Look how much better you are already
.
"

"
True.  I am better, and that is good; but n
o,
i
t doesn't
make sense
.  If the energy bars were contaminated, then Lara would have been sick."

"Maybe her bars were from a different batch."

"Maybe she was sick, and I didn't notice.  What kind of friend am I?  Vin, I have to call her.  I have to warn her.  If it is the bars, she might already be in
serious
trouble," C
a
eli began to fear for her friend.  Lara did not have C
a
eli's unique healing ability or gift with water.  She rushed out of the lounge
and into their room
, s
crambl
ing
to locate her purse
and cell phone
.

"Where is she off to in such a hurry?"  Ben asked as he and Salma returned.

"Calling her friend Lara who introduced her to the energy bars."

"Ah,
that's
understandable.  Are you
prepared
for the outcome of that call?"  Ben asked.

"I doubt Lara is sick.  C
a
eli would have noticed it in New York. 
Lara
was eating the bars long before C
a
eli.  She probably did
n
'
t receive any from the contaminated batch."

"You
a
re probably right. 
Yet, I seem to recall
C
a
eli
mentioning something about getting her bars from her friend until she could order her own.  We don't really know which batch was contaminated, do we?"

"No, I suppose not.  Still, as
C
a
eli
said, Lara would have been sick in New York if her bars were the bad ones. 
C
a
eli
would have noticed."

"Would she?  Did
C
a
eli
spend a lot of time with her friend or did she stay cooped up in her hotel room because she wasn't feeling well?"

"Good point; and it was the latter."

"So
,
given all that, it is possible that her friend
could have been
sick
, too
, and
C
a
eli
didn't notice."

"Yes, it's possible," Vin conceded.

"And
if her friend
received
poison in a dosage s
imilar to
C
a
eli,
and it started before
C
a
eli
's trouble
began
, then
there is a very good chance that she is already dead.  I don't imagine C
a
eli will take such news very well."

"Excuse me, Ben."  Vin rushed out of the lounge.

C
a
eli dumped the contents of her purse onto the top of the dresser as she searched franticly for her cell phone.  As she did, a small brown bag fell into the center of the
pile.  C
a
eli picked it up and carried it into the bathroom as she dialed Lara's phone number.  She intended to throw the bag and its contents away, but stopped in front of the waste basket.

Lara's phone rang four times and then
transferred her
into voicemail.  C
a
eli left a brief message to return her call as soon as possible.  She would try to reach
Lara
again later
, preferring not
to divulge
this type of news
in a recording.  After hanging up the phone and s
e
tting it aside, C
a
eli removed the contents of the brown bag.

"I was so sure, but then nature tagged along and prove
d
me wrong."  C
a
eli placed her hand over her stomach and let it rest there for a moment.  She closed her eyes and concentrated.  For a moment,
there was
nothing.  Then, ever so briefly, she felt it again.  It was the same sensation that made her consider the notion in the first place.  C
a
eli's eyes flew open.

"How can that be?  I must be trying to convince myself that it's true.  It can't
possibly
be
true
.  But, if it is, then something else is causing
my bleeding
…oh, what the heck?  I've got the test.  I might as well use it.
  If nothing else, Salma will get a kick out of my
naivety
.
"

Three minutes later, C
a
eli had her answer.  She was positively happy about it
and relieved
. 
C
a
eli
had initially been
concerned that the harsh chemicals running through her body might have misled her, making her believe th
e
condition to be true
when it
wasn't
.
Recalling what she had just
learned
about the poison,
her
w
orr
y reshaped into a concern
that
the baby
might be endangered by th
e toxin
s
or by
Salma's
medicine
.  Both possibilities were
frightening
and weigh
ed
heavily on her mind
; but a
t least now she
was
certain
.  T
he stress of
not knowing
plagued her no more. 

C
a
eli
also noticed that her earlier bleeding problem
seemed to have
stopped
.  It wasn't her normal cycle
after all
; probably just stress related.  That
was not uncommon for her
. 
She was
happy
, but
would have to
remember to
ask Salma
to check
on
it after she shared the
good
news with Vin.  How was she going to do that?  With so many other worr
ies
, C
a
eli did not want this to get lost as a side note.  She
already knew the answer and
would make it special for him. 
Vin
deserved that.  For the first time since they arrived, C
a
eli was feeling excited and happy again.

"C
a
eli?"  Vin called from the outer room.

"Be right out."  She quickly hid the evidence, washed up, and went out to
gr
eet Vin
with a kiss
.

"
Does that kiss mean e
verything
is
ok with Lara?"

"
I got her v
oicemail.  I
'll
try again later."  C
a
eli felt a little guilty for the smile on her face
as
she truly was concerned about her friend. 

"Everything ok with you?"
Vin
couldn't miss
the change in her mood.

"
I love you, Vin."  C
a
eli kissed him
again
and led him out of the room.