Symbiosis - Are we alone?

Chapter 4- The Incubation Period

By the time the cruiser was at its mooring, there was a small, but concerned, welcoming party waiting on the pontoon.  Michelle could see Kirsty, with real worry etched on her otherwise perfect features.

Grant sighed with relief.  She’d picked up his message.  He knew he could rely on Kirsty.

There was an elderly gentleman with her.  Tanned, but not too much, large stomach, brown trousers and open neck checked shirt. He was wiping sweat from his balding head with a handkerchief.  His black case gave his profession away.

I hope he knows what he’s doing, Grant thought.

Michelle was at this point indifferent.  The numbness had subsided; twitch gone, she felt fantastic.  I need to get rid of the Doc at the first opportunity, she decided. 

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“How do you take it?”

“Oh, White with, Thanks”

“I’ll grab that table over there” said Mike, indicating to a quieter area.

At the table he felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed it to the back of his mind.  It’s only a coffee, he told himself.

As Kate approached the table with the tray, with those bright eyes and broad smile, he wondered if he was just kidding himself.

“So... what brings you to Alterre?” asked Mike.

“Oh, I’m taking my summer break here. Mum's got an old place in Calbina village.  She was actually born here, and you?”

“Oh, I’m on holiday, too.  There’s four of us. We have been holidaying together for a few years now."

“With your girlfriend?”

“Well, yes, actually”

“That’s great.  If you want I can show you where to go out. Not that there’s much life here.”

Mike thought if she was disappointed about him having a girlfriend, she didn’t show it for a second.

“People tend to make their own entertainment here. You know, barbeques, drinks parties. There are a couple of bars, but the two clubs are so dead, Mike, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Mike noticed that Kate was talking as though she had known him for years, which he found strangely disconcerting and attractive at the same time!  He thought he was pretty outgoing, but she was something else.

“Oh, and we must all go diving, I can show you some fantastic places, if you want, that is.  Do you all dive, Mike?

“Oh, err, yes, actually we do.” Mike had been drifting, looking into her eyes; they were so large and brown that the pupils were hardly discernable.

“Great,” she said again, sipping the hot coffee with one hand and fumbling in her jeans pocket with the other.

 “Here’s my mobile number,” she said, slipping a home printed card across the small table.  “Call me anytime, if you want. I’m not doing much anyway. Just chilling,”  she smiled again.  Mike noticed it was a different smile.

"So, how come your English is so fantastic", asked Mike (truthfully).

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Grant threw the stern-line to Kirsty, while getting ready to step off the boat with the other rope.

“What happened,” said Kirsty, winding the rope in a figure-of-eight around a cleat.