wrath of the Sea Queen (66 page)

"
Why don't you come over here and keep me company?  I haven't had a chance to thank you for that little miracle you performed,
"
Ben s
uggested
.

C
a
eli walked
slowly
over and sat in the chair that Vin
previously
occupied.  She continued to press her arm across her abdomen, but didn't appear to be
shivering
any more.

"
How
i
s your back feeling,
Uncle
Ben?
"
  Her voice
sounded
a bit steadier.  Her tired, brown eyes tried to offer Ben a bit of comfort
, but fell short of their usual vitality
.

"
Not bad at all, thanks to you.  I don't suppose you want to tell me how you did that?  Vin says you have a new talent.  I
woul
d love to hear about it,
"
Ben replied.

"
I don't really understand it
yet
.  Perhaps we can talk about it when
I feel better and
we have more time.
"

"
O
k
, h
ow about something simpler then?
"

C
a
eli l
ooked
up at him questioningly.

"
How far along are you?
"
  Ben asked
.

She stared at him without responding until a single tear slid down her cheek and a slight smile finally came to her face.

"
You
really
don't miss much, do you?
"
  C
a
eli finally answered and wipe
d
the tear off her cheek.  However, she could not stop the light sobbing that suddenly overcame her.

"
There now
, i
t's no
reason t
o be sad.  This is wonderful news. 
Why
haven't
you
told Vin
?
 
Oh, d
on't
look so
worr
ied.  Y
ou did an admirable job of disguising it, but
you
know
how I love a good puzzle. 
I
t was only a matter of time before I
figure
d
it out
.  So
then, how far along
are you
?
"
  Ben smiled at her.

"
I'm not entirely certain. 
I asked
Salma to run the test to confirm it later this week.  I was hoping to have
a nice surprise
for Vin
when he flew down
on Friday. 
But
,
the crash changed that plan, and
I
ha
ve never been so sick
or felt so run down.  I think there could be something else wrong
and
it scares me
a little
,
"
C
a
eli admitted, knowing Ben would have seen right through any attempt she might make to
deny the fact or
avoid the topic.

"
You haven't
mentioned
your concern
to
Vin, have you?
"
  Ben knew the answer.

"
Not yet, though
I thin
k he suspects
my condition
. 
Vin
can be
fairly observant
, too
,
particularly
when
it involves me
. 
I
have tried to tell
him
a couple of times
today
, because of everything else
happening
, but
he ha
s
been preoccupied
and other things keep
g
et
ting
in the way.  I am sort of
hoping
that
Salma
will be
able to
help me get over
this flu
without the need to tell him
.  I would
still
like to
surprise
him
if
I truly am
expecting
. 
I ha
ve
a great plan for revealing it in a
very
special way
.  I d
o
n
o
t
want him to find out like this
if I can avoid it.
"
  C
a
eli finally got her tears under control as they spoke.

"And if you can't avoid it?"

"I will tell him if my condition doesn't improve soon.  I am going to talk to
him
later, once we get settled."

"
Well,
Lass
, it sounds like you know what you need to do
, whether it
i
s
your ideal
setting or not
. 
Sometimes, plans have to be changed. 
In fact, you can probably get a test in one of the shops
downstairs
.  There must
ha
ve been ten or fifteen stores in that long hall
off the lobby
. 
There is no need to wait for Salma to run a test."

"I already did that. 
The results were not entirely as clear as the box promised.  That's why
I wanted Salma to confirm it."

"Well, t
hen
wh
y
are you waiting
?
 
S
it
Vin
down,
flash
your
brilliant
smile, and tell him
the results
.  You should not be
trying to carry this
alone, especially if there
could be
something
wrong
. 
Any half blind fool can see that t
he man is going out of his mind with worry
over you
.  Once
you clear
that
mystery
up
for him
, you
wi
ll both feel much better.  Then you can figure out the rest of it together; and you
make sure that you
let him help you.  Now, don't give me that look.  I know how you are
;
just like your aunt.  You independent types are all the same.  You don't always like to admit
that
you need help, but you can't do everything by yourself.  That's why God puts us in pairs.
"
  Ben patted her hand and smiled at her as Salma returned to the room.

"
Wise words, Uncle Ben, and exactly what I needed to hear.  Sometimes we independe
nt types need a gentle reminder.  I
will
ta
lk to Vin
as soon as we
can be
alone
.
 
This time I will make a better effort to say what I need to say. 
Thank you.
"
  For the first time in several hours, C
a
eli's smile was genuine. 

"
My, my
!
  Are you two conspiring?
  Feeling better,
C
a
eli
?
"
  Salma asked.

"
Not conspiring; just p
lanning for the future,
"
Ben laughed.

"
Yes, I am feeling a bit better now. 
Whatever you gave me
finally
seems to have taken the edge off.
"

"Good.  That's encouraging," Salma replied with relief.

"
Where
i
s Vin?
"

"
He
is running another
errand
.  He
should be back…
"

"
Right now,
"
Vin said as he came through the door finishing
Salma's
response.  He was glad to see C
a
eli
up and
she
appear
ed
to be
feeling better
, even if
only
a
s
a
temporary result of the medicine
. 
Vin
moved over
and kissed her warm cheek, and then stood
behind
C
a
eli's
chair
with
his hand
supportively
on her shoulder.  She reached up and covered
it
with her own, smiling briefly across at Ben.