“Good morning.” Bridget sat on one of the chairs. “I have good news for you.”
Sari sat up. “That’s something I’m eager to hear.”
“Steven and I removed the ventilator. David is breathing on his own.”
Letting out a breath, Sari closed her eyes. “Thank the merciful Fates.”
“That’s not all. David’s blood pressure has stabilized, and his temperature is down.” Bridget smiled. “I wish we could bottle Annani’s blessing. It seems to be incredibly effective.”
“Her blessing was reinforced by over two hundred well-wishing voices.”
“Then we need to bottle that as well.”
Sari pushed to her feet. “I need to use the bathroom, and then I’m going to see David.”
“I’ll get you some coffee.”
“Thanks.”
It had been on the tip of her tongue to ask Bridget if she thought that David would wake up soon, but Sari had chickened out. After hearing the good news, there was no harm in indulging in a bit of wishful thinking and hoping that he would. She didn’t want to get a negative answer that would squash her hope.
Once she was done in the bathroom and had donned a fresh outfit, Sari returned to the waiting room.
Bridget handed her a steaming mug of coffee. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” She took a sip. “Is it safe to take it into David’s room?”
“Just don’t drink it over the bed. Do you want me to get you breakfast?”
“Thanks for the kind offer, but I’ll have Ojidu get it for me. Would you like some as well?”
“I already ate, and Steven is in the dining room now.”
As Sari pulled out her phone to call Ojidu, the door opened, and Jacki walked in. “Good morning.” She cast a tight smile at her. “How is David doing?”
It was a little early for visitors, and Jacki hadn’t visited David before. Perhaps she wanted to get it out of the way and have the rest of her day free.
“Much better. He is off the ventilator and breathing on his own.”
“That’s wonderful news.” Jackie slanted a look at Bridget. “Can I talk to you in private?”
“Of course.” Bridget motioned toward Steven’s office. “We can talk in there.”
Apparently, Jacki hadn’t come to see David. And since the only thing an uninjured immortal female would need a doctor for was pregnancy, Sari felt a little jealous.
A few moments later, Jacki stepped out of the office, holding a small plastic container in her hand. “I hope that you don’t mind if I use the bathroom in the other patient room. Bridget told me that you’d commandeered it.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Sari looked at the container. “Are congratulations in order?”
“That’s what I want to find out. Kalugal doesn’t know why I’m here. I told him that I wanted to visit David, so I don’t want to use the bathroom outside the clinic in case someone sees me with this.” She lifted the container.
“I understand. You don’t want him to get his hopes up.”
“Precisely.” Jacki sucked in a breath and then let it out in a whoosh. “Bridget says that I’m probably not pregnant because I’m still transitioning, but I have a feeling that I am. I’ve been tired the entire time we’ve been here, and things that normally don’t bother me make me nauseous now.”
“Go in there and find out. I wish you good luck.”
“Thank you.”
As Jacki ducked into the other patient room, Sari went into David’s, but she left the door open.
“Hi.” She leaned and kissed his cheek. “I’m so happy to see you without the ventilator. The doctors say that you are much better. Your blood pressure is back to normal, and so is your temperature.” She sat on the chair and took his hand. “I hope that means you will wake up soon.” She glanced at the open door. “Jacki just went into the bathroom to pee in a cup. She thinks that she’s pregnant, and I can’t help but feel a little jealous. If you don’t mind, I would like us to start working on making a baby as soon as you are up to it.” She chuckled. “How’s that for an incentive?”
Naturally, there was no answer, but something in David’s peaceful expression had changed. Was that a ghost of a smile?
She had surely imagined it.
Turner had received the same blessing as David, and people had prayed for him as well. Still, it had taken him over two weeks to wake up from his coma. He’d been older than David at the time, and not in the best of health, so maybe David would wake up sooner, but it wasn’t going to happen today.
Except, Jacki’s pregnancy was a good omen, and Sari had a strong gut feeling that he was going to wake up sooner rather than later. It might be just wishful thinking, but she had learned a long time ago to trust her gut.
As her mother liked to say, sometimes the gut was smarter than the brain.
51
Kalugal
“This place is a hidden gem.” Kalugal leaned back in his chair. “I love the view from here.”
Kian nodded. “I wonder why it’s not getting more use from the castle’s occupants.”
Amanda snorted. “Because it’s too damn cold out here most of the year. The Highlands have two pleasant months at best. The rest of the time, it’s miserable out here.”
Other than Annani, Alena, and Wonder, who’d gone with Miranda to choose tapestries to take back home with them, and Jacki who had suddenly decided that she had to visit David, the rest of their group was having after breakfast coffee on the library terrace that Callie had discovered the day before.
“They should put up outdoor heaters.” Kalugal put his empty cup on the table. “That way, they could use this lovely covered terrace for a little longer than that.”
One of the Odus rushed over with the carafe in hand. “Would you like more coffee, master?”
“Yes, please.” He lifted the cup for the Odu to refill.
The cyborgs were a useful bunch, and it was regrettable that Annani had refused to let William take one of them apart to discover how they worked.
If the materials they were made of were available, they could produce many more to serve the village.
Leaning back in his chair, Kalugal imagined every home with an Odu serving its occupants. But that would only be the beginning. They could be used as gardeners, garbage collectors, even construction workers. Kian would no longer have to bring in Chinese crews for building projects in the village.
Naturally, the technology should be closely guarded and not allowed to fall into the hands of humans, but as long as the cyborgs were confined to the village, that should be safe.
It was a nice dream, but it wasn’t going to happen. The goddess was either too fond of her servants to risk losing even one, or she feared what else might be done with them.
Perhaps he should engage Annani in a conversation regarding her Odus and try to convince her to reconsider by pointing out all the possible advantages.
“We should take a road trip to the nearby towns,” Amanda suggested.
Syssi shook her head. “I’d rather stay nearby in case Sari needs us. We can go to the lake again. That’s always fun.”