wrath of the Sea Queen (52 page)

"
H
ello
,
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 C
a
eli.  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 t
oo much coffee and all the caffe
ning 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 C
a
eli both laughed this time.

"
I
wi
ll make a deal with you, Max.  If you promise to keep a close eye on C
a
eli 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 C
a
eli 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, C
a
eli 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
hop
ed
the stretch would relieve some of the strain she fel
t
. 
The relief was not enough
, and she was beginning to feel queasy
again
.  C
a
eli figured it must be her body beginning to react to everything that she
ha
d
been through that day.  Hopefully,
all of this
would pass and
she
wou
ld 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 C
a
eli's thoughts.

"
Me
,
too,
"
she replied softly, smiling up at Max and then glancing across the room.  C
a
eli 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 C
a
eli.
"
  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 h
ung his head sadly as he talked about his mother.

C
a
eli remembered that Apela said his wife passed away a year ago. 

"
Max, I'm sorry about your Mama, but I
will be ok
.  I
ha
ve 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
i
s 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," C
a
eli grinned at the thought.  Vin
might
very well
want to do s
o 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 h
e placed on the table beside Max.  From it, he removed hal
f a peanut butter sandwich and two
small carton
s
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
n
o
t 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 C
a
eli, 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-l
ike voice as he winked at Max.

Unfortunately, it did not make the intended impression.  C
a
eli 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
S
ea
G
oddess
is a little sea sick,
"
Vin said flatly, concern
edging
his voice.

C
a
eli
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. 
M
ama 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 C
a
eli'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
nibbl
ing 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 C
a
eli to return.

"
She's, um…I don't know.
"
  Max’s face reflected his
puzzle
ment
.

"
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 g
o 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 settle
d
and relax for the night.