After they changed out of their wet clothes and put forth an effort to make themselves somewhat more presentable, Vin could more easily discern the dark circles under Caeli's eyes. He remembered Salma's concern that Caeli was not feeling well during the flight. This was in addition to her illness earlier that morning and her sickness during the two weeks she spent in New York. Caeli was definitely sick and doing her best to stave it off; but she was failing miserably.
Caeli believed she did Vin a favor by downplaying the symptoms of such little things as a cold or the flu; things she considered unimportant. Vin had gotten used to it over the years because he could always tell the rare times when she wasn't up to par. If something was seriously wrong, Caeli would certainly tell him, either directly or at least make sure that it came to his attention. He was still mildly concerned that she had openly asked for Salma's help this time. Nonetheless, Vin would wait to question Caeli until Salma checked on her and they were settled at the hotel. Hopefully, it was nothing worse than the flu.
"You look like you could use some sleep," Vin observed.
"That would be nice. I'm exhausted, but I don't think now is the best time to drift off. I imagine we will be arriving before long."
"Would you consider a short nap then? Long enough to catch your breath after what you've been through. Come over and sit with me; rest for a bit. I will wake you in twenty minutes," Vin offered.
Caeli didn't hesitate. She had been looking forward to that offer ever since she first saw Vin at the ship's rail. With her head lying on Vin's chest, Caeli rested; but a nagging worry in the back of her mind still kept her from sleeping.
After their short rest, Vin and Caeli emerged from the room feeling much better. Out of the corner of her eye, Caeli caught a glimpse of the redhead and another man across the cabin. Caeli rushed Vin out onto the deck before they were spotted. Something about the young redhead made Caeli uneasy.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Vin asked.
"I'm hungry." Caeli cast a furtive glance over her shoulder, but the two men were gone.
"Apparently," Vin joked.
"I hear they have an excellent chef on board. Care to join us?" Caeli asked as they walked up beside Ben and Salma.
"Ah, women; cross land and sea to rescue them, and all they can think about is food." Vin, still laughing, was in a good mood now that everyone was safe and the danger was over.
"No thanks. We ate before we came up and have been cooped up far too long. If you don't mind, Ben and I will stay up here. I would like to see what we can of the island as we pull into port," Salma said. Even though the storm still threatened and the evening sky grew darker, the weather gave them a brief respite.
"We will see you in a little while." Vin grabbed Caeli's hand and led her to the mess hall below.
Vin maneuvered Caeli so that she walked a few steps in front of him as they threaded their way through the narrow confines of the cafeteria. There were several long rows of metal tables with attached metal benches. Most were empty. Many of the lights had been turned out, and only the few rows closest to the serving line were lit to guide their way. Perhaps a dozen people sat scattered around three long tables within the light. One table was empty except for a man asleep at the far end. They walked over to this one.
Caeli caught sight of movement off to her right seconds before a small object leapt off the metal bench and flew straight toward her. In the next instant, her neck was encircled by two thin arms, and two small feet attached themselves to her sides just above her hips.
"Pretty Caeli! I knew you would be here," a young voice squealed excitedly.
The force of the unexpected impact caused Caeli to stumble backward into Vin, who adeptly caught hold of her and helped her regain her balance. Caeli tried to loosen the shoe digging uncomfortably into her left side, but it would not budge. Vin noticed the grimace on her face and moved forward to see if he could help. He reached up and pulled the young child away from Caeli, untangling the boy's feet and arms as he did so. Vin sat him gently on the nearest tabletop, knowing Caeli would want him to be patient and kind to any child, even one causing his wife such pain.
"Whoa there, little fella! Where did you come from?"
Vin bent down to look closer at the boy who could not have been more than five years old. He recognized the boy as the one who was discussing Caeli with his father after they came aboard. Vin glanced over his shoulder to ask about her young friend, but stopped suddenly when he saw Caeli’s hand pressed tightly against her left side. He turned to help her, but Caeli waved him back, letting him know that she was ok. Vin was not dissuaded. Instead of dismissing her pain, Vin reached out and took her other hand, guiding her to sit down on the bench to his right. He then sat down as well, keeping the boy between them.
Caeli placed her back against a metal pole at the end of the bench and drew her knees up close to her ribs. She slid one hand across the top of her knees and kept the other pressed to her side. Vin straddled the bench with his left elbow resting on the top of the table and reached out his other hand supportively to Caeli.
"Are you ok?"
"I will be. I'm not feeling very well, and I'm a bit worried about…"
Their discussion was interrupted as the young boy slid closer to Caeli and tapped her on the shoulder with one finger.
"Hi, Max. It's good to see you safe and dry. Is that your Papa sleeping down there?" Caeli said in a low voice.
"Worried about what?" When Caeli worried, Vin worried. She was not one of those women who worried over petty matters, such as what to wear or being late to a party. Those things never really bothered her. Caeli only truly worried if there was a chance that someone could be hurt. In this instance, he didn't like the implication of the person at which her worry was directed.
"Later, Vin."
"Yep! Papa sleeps a lot when we travel. He snored so loud that everybody else went away." Max giggled as he looked toward his father whose head was buried in his hands at the end of the table.
"Papa said you were staying behind cause you could swim good. But I knew you were talking to the water so it would stay out of the plane."
At that, Vin furrowed his brow slightly, but Caeli shook her head, dismissing Max's words. Vin let it go. He made a mental note to be sure to ask Caeli about this, too, when they had an opportunity to sit down and talk about the day's events. Max continued, not having noticed the private exchange between the adults.
"I'm sooo happy you finally got here, but it took you long enough, pretty Caeli. We have been here forevvvver. I talked to the pretty, doctor lady. I told her you said she would be nice to me, and she was nice. She said I can call her pretty Dr. Salma if I want. She said I had to use her name too, just like you said, pretty Caeli. And there was a funny man with her. Mr. Ben made a cookie disappear behind my ear, and then he made magic so it would come back. Do you like magic, pretty Caeli? I like magic. Now that we are going home, will you come visit me like you promised? I will tell you that story. Who is this guy? Is he your friend? Is he going to come visit me, too?" Max rattled off the questions in rapid succession, barely stopping to take a breath.
Caeli smiled and looked over at Vin, who shook his head and laughed quietly, familiar with the phenomena.
"Well, pretty Caeli, should I be worried that a four year old is trying to steal my lady?" Vin teased her with extra emphasis on Max's designation of Caeli.
"I am not four. I'm five. And I'm not stealing her. Papa says stealing is bad. Pretty Caeli is my friend. Besides, she is a Sea Goddess and she already belongs to a huzban. Can't you see the ring on her finger? Papa said that means she is married, like Mama and Papa." The serious look on Max's face, daring Vin to contradict him, caused Vin to laugh out loud until his sides began to ache.
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. My mistake," Vin said when his laughter finally subsided.
The boy definitely wasn't shy, and he seemed to have developed a protective attitude toward Caeli.
"See there, Vin. Max thinks I'
m a goddess," Caeli quipped in a soft voice and then winked at Max.
"Great! I will never be able to top that. Thanks a lot, Max." Vin ruffled the boy's hair.
"Max, this is Vin. He gave me my ring. Vin is my husband," Caeli explained.
"So he is the Papa and you are the Mama?"
"Yes, I suppose you could say that. I was going to bring Vin to visit you and your Papa, but I have not told him about it yet." Caeli patiently answered Max's questions.
"Hello, Mr. Vin. I'm Max." Max stuck out his hand, waiting for Vin to shake it, like he did when he first introduced himself to Caeli. As Vin shook his hand, Max picked up the conversation once again.
"Vin sure is a funny name. Is it your nickname? Max is short for Maxwell. Papa says it's because Mama drank too much coffee and all the caffening came out in me. He says the ocean is the only thing that calms me down."
"If your Papa said so, it must be true. It certainly sounds appropriate. Yes, Vin is my nickname. It is short for Eyvindr."
"Oh. Can I call you Vin? Do you have anything to eat, Mr. Vin? My belly is grumbling. Papa says I can eat my own weight, but he doesn't know where I put it. Of course, I put it in my mouth, and it makes my belly full. Papa can be silly sometimes."
Vin and Caeli both laughed this time.
"I will make a deal with you, Max. If you promise to keep a close eye on Caeli for me, I will go and see what I can find for us to eat. How does that sound?"
"Deal," Max agreed with a big grin.
Vin stood up to leave and noted that Caeli was still holding her left side. He raised an eyebrow and nodded down at her in question before leaving.
"I may have pulled something earlier that is catching up with me now, thanks to a little extra prodding from my newest friend. I will make sure Salma checks it," she answered his unspoken query.
As Vin walked away on his quest for food, Caeli slid across the bench and turned around, taking Vin's former spot, so that she could prop her left arm against a section where the table braces were prominent. She hoped the stretch would relieve some of the strain she felt. The relief was not enough, and she was beginning to feel queasy again. Caeli figured it must be her body beginning to react to everything that she had been through that day. Hopefully, all of this would pass and she would be fine after a good night's rest. After all, it could have been a lot worse given the severity of her situation over the last several hours. She just hoped that Salma's checkup would not only reveal that she was going to be fine, but also that her condition was both positive and not endangered in any way.
"I like Mr. Vin," Max's voice interrupted Caeli's thoughts.
"Me, too," she replied softly, smiling up at Max and then glancing across the room. Caeli looked passed the ladder she and Vin had climbed down. In the hall beyond, she located the restroom sign.
"You don't look so good, pretty Caeli." There was no laughter in Max's voice this time as he whispered to her. His concern was genuine.
"I'm all right, Max."
"My Mama used to look like that sometimes. Then she got real sick." Max hung his head sadly as he talked about his mother.
Caeli remembered that Apela said his wife passed away a year ago.
"Max, I'm sorry about your Mama, but I will be ok. I have had a very rough day and my body is not happy about it. I will feel much better tomorrow, after I get some sleep. There is no need for you to worry about me."
"If sleep will make you better, then you should sleep right now and let Mr. Vin rub your belly. Papa used to rub Mama's belly when she was sick. It always made her feel better."
"That's a nice idea, but I can't sleep until we get to our hotel. Maybe I will let Vin rub my belly then," Caeli grinned at the thought. Vin might very well want to do so if she went ahead and told him about her condition, which she was seriously considering.
Vin came around the corner with a metal food tray in his hands, which he placed on the table beside Max. From it, he removed half a peanut butter sandwich and two small cartons of milk. Vin first handed the sandwich to Max. Then, after a quick juggling act with a dramatic flourish at the end, he also gave the boy one of the milk cartons. Vin could not let Ben outdo him with a disappearing cookie trick. Max laughed with amusement. Vin proceeded to pick up a small paper plate which he offered to Caeli, raising the top piece of bread on a hamburger bun as he did.
"A custom order for my pretty lady, cheeseburger with pickles," Vin said in a waiter-like voice as he winked at Max.
Unfortunately, it did not make the intended impression. Caeli jumped up and rushed off toward the restroom with her hand over her mouth. Vin noted where she was headed and did not follow.
"Ut-oh. I knew it. She's gonna be sick," Max said.
"I guess my Sea Goddess is a little sea sick," Vin said flatly, concern edging his voice.
Caeli had made many similar trips the last couple of days. Vin had a suspicion about the cause of her sickness that morning, but with recent developments and her admitted illness, he was no longer convinced that he was right.
"I think it was the pickles. My sister didn't like pickles either. Mama finally stopped eating them so that my sister wouldn't get so fussy," Max commented in a less chipper voice than before.
Vin sat down in Caeli's original seat with his back against the metal pole, one foot propped up on the bench and the other on the floor. He looked over at Max nibbling on his sandwich. Vin retrieved a green apple from the tray and spun it in his left hand, taking a bite every few turns.
"How old is your sister?" Vin asked out of idle curiosity while he waited for Caeli to return.
"She's, um…I don't know." Max’s face reflected his puzzlement.
"Is she older than you?"
"No. She's my baby sister."
"Is she waiting for you at home?" Vin glanced impatiently toward the restroom again.
"No. She's in heaven with my Mama," Max replied sadly.
CHAPTER 14
Up on deck, Ben and Salma were enjoying the sight of the island's nighttime glow drawing near. They would be docked and disembarking very soon, probably within the next fifteen minutes. They could see a crowd on the pier, but had no idea why they were there. Ben figured it must have something to do with media coverage of the plane crash.
"I wish there was a way that we could avoid all that and go straight to the hotel," Salma said. She was still a little unnerved after the recent trauma, and the cut on her leg was aching. She was eager to get settled and relax for the night.
"Well, perhaps you can." The captain came out of the steering room and walked up behind them, overhearing Salma's last comment.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked.
"I need to talk to you two. We have a minor situation at the dock. As you can see, there is a large group of protestors near the end of the pier. Apparently, they are all fired up about the work you've been doing, Dr. Erickson. The harbor master sent precautionary warnings to all arriving ships."
"My work? Why would they be protesting vaccines and disease treatments?" Salma was shocked.
"I couldn't say. Although, I have yet to see a new development, good or bad, that didn't have someone trying to stand in its way. But that's not the point. This group has also been picketing outside your hotel. When they found out that you were one of the survivors returning with this ship, they moved from the hotel to the dock. It has been a media circus down there ever since, and you are the main attraction."
"Oh dear. Should we stay on board then? Wait for everyone to leave?" Salma asked.
"No, that would never work. They would outlast you, and I have to get this ship on to the next port. I've made other arrangements for you and the folks traveling with you," the captain explained.
"The island's guard unit and the police have secured the harbor. They have a secure departure route cordoned off for you. They've got a helicopter patrolling to keep the news teams from getting a clear view of your immediate exit. When we dock, the four of you will go down the ramp and get into a black
van waiting there. The driver, a member of the guard unit, will know you by placards you will wear around your necks. He will see you securely to your hotel."
"All that trouble just for us? Don't get me wrong, Captain. I appreciate it. But, do you really think there will be trouble?" Ben thought it sounded like a lot of effort merely to avoid a crowded arrival. It made him wonder if there was more going on than they were being told. The cop side of him wondered if the protestors had made specific threats against Salma.
"Probably not, but you never can tell. It only takes one lunatic to spoil the party, and your hosts feel like Dr. Erickson has endured enough chaos for one day." The ship pulled up alongside the pier even as they spoke, and Ben heard helicopters flying overhead.
"I need to get back inside. Come in and get those tags, then you can go below and inform your friends. I wish you the best of luck in all this." The captain turned and walked toward the steering room. Salma moved to follow the captain, but waited at the door. Ben stopped to look up at the aircraft overhead.
"Don't wait on me. Grab the tags and come back. I would like to see these if you don't mind," Ben said when he noticed Salma waiting patiently. He was curious about the sounds of more than one aircraft. The captain distinctly said there was one helicopter on patrol. Ben hoped to be able to determine if the other aircraft was really a news chopper or not.
"Ok. I'll be back in a minute." Salma went inside and collected four bright orange ID tags that were laminated and attached to long lanyards. She placed all four of them around her neck for convenience and turned to leave the steering room.
Over the intercom, the captain's voice announced their safe arrival in port and the order to begin disembarking procedures. He gave instructions for all the passengers and the guardsmen who would be working in this region to come out on deck and wait. Everyone not injured would be taken by bus to the arena. The captain also let those who were still below deck know that they could see activity on the upper deck and on the pier by viewing any of the monitors positioned in the mess hall, the infirmary, and a few other locations around the ship.
Wrath of the Sea Queen Page 16
