wrath of the Sea Queen (17 page)

"
Shame on you!  You ask the most inappropriate questions.
"
  A strong blush came over Salma's cheeks. 

"
I can't help it, Salma.  You two are perfect together, and it
i
s nice to see how happy you are as a newlywed.  Besides, the thought
of Ben
s
eems to have s
uccessfully t
aken
your mind off other worries.  You don't seem
nearly
as tense,
"
C
a
eli laughed openly, and Salma joined her.

"
Ok
, you win.  But you
a
re
a fine
one to talk.  You
are absolutely bubbling with excitement.  This vacation is already
taking your mind off your job.  You keep this up and Vin might insist that you not
return
to work
at all
.  Why have you been working so much
recently
?
"
Salma
fired back
. 

Even though C
a
eli was a happy person, she was also a diligent worker
, much the same as Salma
. 
And C
a
eli, too, enjoyed her work. 
Taking time away from her clients for herself was not something she did very often, at least, not until recently. 
After the life-changing ordeal months earlier,
Vin encourag
ed
C
a
eli
to cut back on her workload, as he
had done
, and spend more time with him.  Financially,
they could afford
to earn a little less
.  T
hough they were not
abundantly
wealthy
, they were
financially
secure thanks to Kent's irrevocable life insurance check.  However, C
a
eli was still having trouble making the adjustment.  It was hard for her to say no to her loyal clients.

"
One of my long-time clients had a big project, but it
'
s
finished
now. 
However, you have
remind
ed
me of the favor I need.  You see, there may come a time
very
soon when I am not able to work as much, and…"

"Not able to work?  Why not?  Are you sick?  Has something happened that I don't know about?"  Salma was suddenly concerned.

"No, I'm not sick
; I don't think
.  Yes, something has happened.  That's the favor I need."

"I'm confused.  What favor?"

"Salma, I need you to run a blood test for me.  Can you do that once we get settled?"

"I am sure I can.  What am I testing for?"

C
a
eli's smile could have lit an entire room.

"You aren't?  You are!  How long have you known?"  Salma asked enthusiastically, picking up on C
a
eli's implication.

"I am not certain.  That is why I need confirmation.  I took one of those drugstore tests this morning,
and
the readout
was not entirely clear. 
I don't trust the results,
though
I'm
still
pretty sure.
I would prefer to have
a
real
test
before I tell Vin
on Friday
," C
a
eli
beamed
.

"Oh, this is wonderful!  Of course I will run the test for you."

"And not a word to Vin.  Promise me
!
  I want this to be a surprise," C
a
eli insisted with an uncontainable
enthusiasm
.

"Yes, yes, of course.  So, tell me more.  How far
along
do you think you are?"

"
Sorry
.  I don't want to say anything else about it until I can tell Vin.  It
i
s only fair that he get to hear the details first.  Besides, I would
rather
hear more
about
your work. 
Your article was fascinating. 
Do you really think the
treatment
s
you're testing
will help stop the spread of
the
blood diseases
you mentioned
?
"

"
Oh, Dear, I understand and, yes, Vin should be the first one to share all the details.  I am so excited for you.  I will gladly do the test and, I promise I will say no more until you and Vin have talked.  But, be prepared afterward because Aunt Salma can hardly wait to tell Uncle Ben!  As for my work and the treatments,
I
sure
hope so, and it was so
incredibly
simple.  I can't believe nobody stumbled across it before.  Think of all the good it could do
for a
ll those children who never had a chance at life
; a
nd the extensive, painful procedures that will no longer be necessary.  Patients
will be able to
have simple blood work
performed
and
, with no more than a shot in the arm or perhaps an infusion,
a permanent cure might be possible.  It
i
s so overwhelming that I hardly believe it myself.  Of course, there are still lots of tests and trials to be performed, but this could have such an enormous impact on people everywhere,
"
Salma replied enthusiastically.

C
a
eli could see the
passion
that Salma had when she talked about her work.  This was important to her.
 
C
a
eli hugged
her aunt
impulsively. 

"
I'm so proud of you.  I always knew that you
would offer
something
to the world
,
even more
special
than
the great care you give your patients every day back home.
"

They chatted for a while longer, and then Salma ate the
breakfast
provided by the airline
. 
C
a
eli
chose to
sip on a glass of orange juice, not having much of an appetite
and being informed that there was no bottled water because the supply had not been restocked
.  Afterward, both
ladies
settled in to watch the television screen
s
on the backs of the seats ahead of them. 
C
a
eli
soon tired of the movie and put on headphones tuned to the national news radio in time to catch the end of a story
about
protestor
s outside the hotel where the
medical
conference was going to be held.  There was always somebody protesting something
, but she would have to wait for a repeat broadcast to get more details
.  Salma
was
asleep forty minutes later
while
C
a
eli watched the other p
assengers
through partially closed eyelids.  She
was still too keyed up to sleep and
did
n
o
t want anyone to think she was staring at them
.  S
he was intrigued to see such a variety of people. 

C
a
eli noticed one
y
oung man in particular, who
she estimated to be around
twenty five, sitting three rows ahead of them on the opposite side of the aisle.  Upon closer inspection, she discovered that it was the same rude
guy
who nearly knocked Salma over when they were boarding.  H
is
seat
was
reclined and
he
appeared to be asleep like several of the other passengers.  His dull, red hair fell away from his face,
yet
she could not see his features because his head was turned.  Still, C
a
eli
got
the impression that she might have
met
this
man
before.  Something about him seemed distantly familiar, but she could
n
o
t place
the connection
. 

Finally, C
a
eli gave up and was
just
shut
ting
her eyes to
catch up on her
sleep. 
She wanted to be well rested when they landed
,
and
sleep
was
definitely
overdue. 
S
leep
had been elusive
to C
a
eli
the last few nights
.  As she turned her head
to the side
,
C
a
eli
noticed a thin, little boy in the aisle seat across from her.  He could
n
o
t have been more than four or five years old, with shortly cropped,
sandy
blonde
hair, slightly tanned skin, and a tight lipped grin on his face.  He was staring at her with large green eyes. 
She
could tell that he was trying not to fidget too much so that he would not disturb the man sleeping in the seat next to him. 
C
a
eli
assumed the boy was traveling with the man, who appeared to be in his late twenties or perhaps thirty, around the same age as she and Vin
. 
The man
possessed the typical
features you would expect to see of someone native to the island
s
, including his dark brown hair and deep tan. 
T
he boy
, however,
did not share such a prominent heritage.  Perhaps he
inherited
his mother's looks.