wrath of the Sea Queen (257 page)

"
It's ok, Ben
. 
Salma dropped her
coffee cup
."

Salma
was
standing there with a piece of paper in her hand and a surprised look on her face.
 
C
a
eli was already cleaning up the spill.  When the
floor
was clean, the ladies shut down all the equipment
and cleaned up the rest of the lab
.  Salma deftly folded and hid the paper in her pocket before stepping out into the hall with C
a
eli to rejoin the guys.

Vin
was
,
at last
,
able to
convince
C
a
eli to head back to their room for a while.  There were still several hours before Max's party.  Despite her best efforts to pretend otherwise, C
a
eli was
very tired
.  She
did
want to get cleaned up and rest
for a bit
.  She and Vin walked off together.

Salma and Ben were le
ft in the privacy of the
deserted
hall
.

"
So, what's the verdict?
"
  Ben asked as he gently placed his hand on Salma's arm where the gauze had been
recently
removed.  Whatever the results
were
, Salma was definitely s
tartled
when she read them.  Ben gleaned that much from the broken coffee cup.

"
It
turns out that
the
theory was
valid
.  I
really
wasn't expecting it to be
,
"
Salma answered with a small smile.

"
And what theory is that?
"

"
Pretty
D
octor Salma!
"
  Max'
s voice rang through the hall
.

"
Ah, saved by the bell
, so to speak
.  We'll talk about it later
.  It's incredible
,
"
Salma said with a smile.

Ben stared at her for a minute, trying to read something more in her
expression and
demeanor, trying to decide if he liked that
answer
or not.  Finally, he let the matter drop.  Whatever this was, it didn't seem urgent.  Salma did
n
o
t seem worried
or upset
; she actually seemed somewhat excited
.  Ben
decided he
could wait.

Max came running up and hugged Salma's leg.  Salma was
still
amazed at the change in his appearance.  Ben noted how much more he looked like his father now.

"
Hi,
Max.
"
Salma greeted him.

"
I'm glad you are finally out of bed.  Are you
rested?  Will you
com
e
to my party?  Mr. Ben said you probably would, if you were feeling better.  Are you feeling better?
"
  Salma was glad to hear that some things never changed.

"
Yes, Max.  I wouldn't miss your party.
"
  Salma looked over at Ben, indicating the change in Max.  Ben shrugged.

"
Max, you have impeccable timing, as always.  What are you doing down this way?
"
  Ben asked, reaching down to
grab Max and
sling
him
across his shoulders so that the boy could ride on his back as they walked.

"
I was looking for you, Mr. Ben.  Papa wants to know if you will help him with something.  He wants you to whitliss a paper for him
so
nobody will try to take me away again
,
"
Max answered.

"
Whitliss?  Oh,
you mean
witness.  Sure.  Lead the way.  Come along,
m
y
D
ear.  Maybe we can grab an afternoon snack while we're out and about.  I
a
m a little hungry
.  Seems the rice we
ate
for lunch didn't quite stick with me
.
"
  Ben
returned
Max
to
the floor so that he could dash ahead to let Apela know
that he and Salma
were on their way.

"
Actually, a snack sounds like a good idea
.  I could definitely munch on something
,
"
Salma
agreed
.  They followed Max's route toward the lounge
,
where Apela wait
ed
for them.

CHAPTER
60

C
a
eli work
ed
in the kitchen with Salma and Apela
, feeling considerably refreshed after her
shower and
nap
with Vin
.  They spent
about an hour getting
the meal prepared
for Max's birthday
party
. 
She
ma
de
the requested
pancakes.  Salma
fix
ed
the
side
dishes.  Apela chopp
ed
up some fruit and
placed
two
chocolate cake
layers
in the oven.  Max was peeking around the corner
periodically
watching
as they worked
.  Salma came out once to set the table, wink at Ben, and then return to the kitchen
and her
whispered
discussion with
C
a
eli
.

The guys were sitting at the
bar
on opposite sides of a chessboard. 
As Ben watched the
ladies
in the kitchen
, he noticed how often the two seemed to have their heads together in quiet conversation.

"
I don't think I like the look of that,
"
Ben said with a bit of amusement, completing his move on the chessboard.

"
You shouldn't.  If you
ha
ve learned anything at all about C
a
eli, you should be able to see the mischief on her face. 
Whatever they are up to,
C
a
eli
seemed confident that
neither of us would figure it out.  One
possibility
did occur to me, Ben. 
You do have something in common with Max. 
Isn't today your birthday?
"
  Vin asked casually, still looking at the chessboard, carefully selecting his
next move.  He was twirling a
captured
pawn in one hand while he considered his options.

"
Why yes
,
it is.  I honestly hadn't even thought about it.  I
have
seldom celebrate
d
my birthday
by
anything more than a drink with the guys
from the station
.  Do you think that's what
this is all about
, a
birthday surprise for me?  What would that have to do with the blood tests?
"

"
I don't know. 
It may be nothing and perhaps everything. 
It was just a thought
, and one that you should get used to
, my friend
. 
I know that neither of them would have forgotten your birthday.
"

"I'm sure it was the last thing on their minds this week," Ben doubted.

"Don't be too sure about that.
 
They love to celebrate
any
occasion
, and birthdays are one of their favorites. 
Y
ou
ha
ve not yet experienced one of their special events.  But, if they are planning your birthday celebration, then you
a
re in for a real treat.  They always manage to come up with at least one over-the-top, memorable, un
expected
item," Vin explained
with a touch of excitement
.
  He always loved C
a
eli's surprises.

"
That s
ounds intriguing."

"In general, I'm not
too
much of a party person myself
;
but I
a
m always
eager
to find out what the
next
wow factor will be
at one of
C
a
eli
's events
. 
It l
ooks like it
i
s for you this time. 
I suspect
she and Salma
made plans before they left
home
.  They
were likely going to do this when we arrived on Friday and
are probably
adjusting the
agenda
to
accommodate
the change in the timeline
.  C
a
eli loves to do stuff like that. 
It would certainly take her mind off…other things. 
Salma
is
always her
eager
accomplice.  Remember Wednesday morning and…
"
  Vin stopped.