seven.
"Really?"
"Yeah, boss says he's going to investigate things a bit more on his own."
"Do you think that's a good idea, for him?"
"No, I don't. But you know how Greison is, he's not going to budge no matter what I say."
"That's true." Jane paused. "So how much longer until you're back here?"
"Not too much longer, just a couple more days. How are my babies doing?"
Smiling her soft, girlish smile, Jane murmured, "We're fine. 's not giving me too much trouble, which is good."
"How are your symptoms?"
"You know, surprisingly I haven't really felt any different." She laughed. " Aside from the little heavy sac in my belly, just your typical fatigue and swelling."
Marvin laughed breathily. "I never thought I'd be having this conversation, not like this at least."
"What do you mean?"
"I imagine myself there with you, tending to your needs and all."
"Baby, trust me this belly isn't getting any bigger and you're not going any farther."
"I sure hope not," he whispered pensively after a moment. "Marco's not working your nerves too much, is he?"
Jane frowned. "Hardly. I haven't really seen Marco. Not since the other day." She was silent, recalling the last time she'd seen her cousin; when they talked for hours while sitting in front the windows of her apartment and peering into Lake Michigan. "Normally he'd call me. Do you think he might've run off again?"
Marvin drew in a strained breath. "I highly doubt that."
He laid a stiff hand upon his thigh and rubbed gently, staring tensely out the window.
"Should I call him?" Jane insisted, disrupting her husband's brief stupor.
Marvin quickly but delicately deterred her from doing so, proposing her cousin could still be familiarizing himself as an immigrant in his now estranged home, whilst having the intention to contact him later himself.
Feeling his suspicions pique, exasperated Marvin switched to different matters. "When is your appointment with Dr. Cole?"
"Tomorrow morning. Rose's coming with me."
"What's his plan?"
"Basic examination, I'm assuming."
"You will call me when you've finished?"
"As promised, Mr. Sparks."
"Lovely, Mrs. Sparks. What are your plans for today?"
Jane shuffled a bit under the sheets, fumbling with silken flower petals. Her features contorted wryly, breaking into an array of frown lines and blush around her nose.
"Just, um.. work and uh.. meeting," she murmured conservatively, glancing at the elegant business card lying adjacent with a giant teddy bear and a ripe arrangement of Pink Lokelanis. They smelled of salt, sun and water.
Momentarily, Jane's thoughts took her on a trip back twenty years to her home in West Oahu, a sweet smile on her lips as the weight of the world seemed to ripple away from her shoulders. She imagined a younger likeness of herself with the same bright smile to her lips, eyes twinkling, and her skin bathed beautifully in a dozen thin strips of sun shedding through the blinds of their cozy home.
