wrath of the Sea Queen (258 page)

"
And what?
"
  Ben asked, pulling h
is eyes away from the kitchen.

Vin star
ed
at the
pawn
in his hand. 
Because Ben
had been
looking elsewhere, Vin's
furtive glance at the table
went
unnoticed.  Vin returned the game piece to the
board and conceded defeat
.

"
Excuse me, Ben.  I
need to
have a word with C
a
eli.
"
  Vin smirked and walked
toward the kitchen.

Ben
realized that he missed
a clue
in the
ir
last exchange
.  Apparently, Vin s
tumbled upon an issue
that was
more important than their game. 
Vin
bumped
into Max at the
kitchen
door and
whispered
to
him briefly.  Max ran up to Ben
excitedly
wanting to know if it was really his birthday, too.  Ben was occupied with Max's questions for a good ten minutes.

"
C
a
eli,
can I borrow you for a
minute?
"
  Vin asked
from the
kitchen
doorway
.  She joined him, and they walked down the hall a little ways.
  Vin stopped when they were out of sight of everyone else.

"
What
do you need
, Vin?
"
 

Vin smiled impishly and kissed her in response.

"
Aside from need
ing
to do that,
I couldn't help notic
ing
the way the table has been set.  One napkin in particular caught my attention.  I thought I
detected
the tiniest edge of paper poking out from the middle of it. 
I remember
ed
w
hat
Max enjoyed more than your pancakes Wednesday morning.  He was thrilled to be able to make an announcement for you
…
"

"
Whoa
,
Vin!  I
a
m not pregnant.  You know I'm not
.  I
a
m sorry, but
this
i
s just pancakes.  There is no present hidden in your napkin, if that's what you're thinking,
"
C
a
eli insisted with a low whisper.

"
No, no.  That's not what I
was suggesting
. 
I
know that
Salma set the table. 
I was trying to confirm my suspicion that the present is in Ben's napkin.  I'm pretty sure the birthday boys
are seated
at the ends of the table,
"
Vin smiled down at her.

"
Oh, Vin.  I r
eally thought we
fooled
you," C
a
eli confessed.

"
Wow!  So it's true?
"
  Vin laughed loudly.

"
Shh!  Not
s
o loud. 
You'll ruin Salma's surprise,
"
C
a
eli
cautioned
him.

"
Surprise is a good word for it.  This is one Ben certainly won't be expecting,
"
Vin laughed a bit
too
loudly again.  This would be the last thing Ben was considering. 

"
Shh!  Salma
was
n't expecting it either
, but that's exactly what she is.  She's
so
excited
, but
she
i
s
trying to keep it contained
until Ben finds out
,
"
C
a
eli
informed
him.

"
So, you two did all that nonsense earlier
in order
to run a pregnancy test on Salma?
"
  Vin laughed quieter this time.

"
Most of it was legit.  Salma insisted that we check my blood while we were in there.  She was having difficulty accepting my
situation
, since we didn't give her any of the
specific
details of how it happened.  I think she wanted Max to be mistaken
about her
condition, too
, just so that I wouldn't be sad.  I finally convinced her that her news should be happy, regardless.  And I am
truly
happy for her
and Ben
.
"

"So Salma verified that your blood work was good?"  Vin
liked the idea of confirming C
a
eli's health
, though he k
new Raphael's work w
ould be impeccable
.

"Ye
s.
 
A
fter every test
Salma
could think of, she gave me a
fairly
clean bill of health.  We did try our best to make it look
much
more complicated.  It's
quite a challenge
to
hide
anything
from
you or
Ben.  Until now, I thought we did a pretty good job of muddying the water,
"
C
a
eli explained.

"
Well, Salma didn't quite have your
finesse
with th
e
napkin trick.  If not for that, I don't think I would have figured it out.  Don't worry.  Her secret's safe.  I think this is fantastic for them, but between you and me, aren't they a little old to be having a kid?
"

"
Older than
average
, sure, but not too old at all.  Plus, they are both
healthy, perfectly capable
..
.
"

"
Obviously
!"
Vin l
et that one speak for itself.

"
Stop
it
! 
You're terrible. 
Besides, she
and Ben are
only
forty eight."  C
a
eli couldn't restrain a small, shared laugh
.

"
Ben's forty nine now,
"
Vin corrected.

"
Anyway, if people older and less suited than they are can still have kids, then I don’t' see any reason at all why they shouldn't.  They are going to be fabulous parents.  Better a little later than never,
"
C
a
eli smiled.

"
I completely agree.  I can't wait to see Ben's reaction. 
It's going to be priceless. 
I'm sure he
wi
ll be thrilled after the initial shock wears off,
"
Vin chuckled.

"
Let's
hope he doesn't have a coffee cup in his hand,
"
C
a
eli laughed with
Vin
and then returned to the kitchen where she left
him
with a
parting
kiss and
went back
to work.

"
I like the idea
.  It sounds like fun
, provided the weather holds.  That storm is still sitting offshore.  The weather reports don't know what to make of its odd behavior this week.  But, if it stays put, it
will be good to end the week on a positive note,
"
Ben was saying to Maku as Vin returned.  They were looking at a piece of paper Maku
had
placed on the counter.

"
I figured that you hadn't
been following
it, given what's been going on here.  I hop
ed
you would agree,
"
Maku answered.

"
I
think it will be good for them
, but I'm not sure you
wi
ll be able to convince Vin,
"
Ben replied.

"
Convince me about what?
"
  Vin asked as he walked up.

The three men talked for a while, making plans of their own while they waited for dinner.  It wasn't long before Colonel Franks and Jere
my returned and joined the guys
in the lounge.  They were carrying several packages wrapped in
emerald green
paper; Max's favorite color.