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But in the end, he shook his head "They don’t know They can’t figure out why he wasn’t brain-dead when Mark and Logan pulled him out of the water, and they still don’t knohy he didn’t die on that beach And it’s not exactly like I can tell them it’s because he’s halfup are only about fifty percent, but I don’t believe that Your h worse and survived …" His voice trailed off and I kneas lost in reht of my mother’s cave, of the memory of how my parents met She had survived worse, but, "Dad, Moills yet"

"He survived soh all that just to …" His voice trailed off "No He’s going to be okay"

"Of course he is" I said it forcefully, surely, because I wanted to believe it asup, I poured ht it to my nose and just breathed it in In the ocean, I drank a lot of different types of sea vegetable tea, even told myself I enjoyed them, but as I stood here with a cup of coffee inthe same

No matter how much I wanted it to be

"So, can I e, opened it "We still have over two and a half hours before they’ll let us into the CCU"

"I’ry"

"It see me that" He started to mix the batter up "I can’t do much to take care of you these days--let me do this, okay?" There was a lot more tension in his voice than the question warranted

Onea hard time with this situation "Do you have blueberries?" I asked

He senuine one I’d seen froether in companionable silence, alo smoothies while my dad flipped blueberry pancakes, and within fifteenfood around our plates and pretending to eat At least the sain, after he gave up faking and pushed his plate away "This boy upstairs"

"Kona?" I froze, a deer in headlights, with my smoothie halfway toto find hidden nuances to it "Is it serious between you two?"

"I, uh, well We, uuess that answers that question Does he treat you well, darlin’?"

"Dad!" I ducked my head "Do we really have to do this now?"

"Yes We really do I don’t kno long you’re going to be here I sure as hell don’t knohen you’re going to be back again once you leave I need to make sure you’re taken care of"

"I can take care of hed "I didn’t mean to insult your feminist sensibilities, Tempest It’s just that you’re still new to life down there and I want toyou deserve"

"Well, that sounds ominous," I tried to joke

"You knohat I ood friends and that they care about you"

"Kona loves ood" My dad nodded "That’s exactly what I want to hear"

"I bet" I rolledthe subject "Is Rio co with us to the hospital?"