Shortly afterward, Miranda escorted Dr. Kastner and Kaho to the door. Just before opening the door, Dr. Kastner turned to Miranda. "Mrs. Donetti, you are an evil woman." He sighed heavily. "I wish I'd met you 20 years ago. I'm sure that having you around would have cut years off the time it took me to learn how to properly manipulate people.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. My daughter and my new grand-daughters are expecting me for dinner."
Kaho followed him out the door, which, as it was closing, was intercepted by a hand, coming from the outside. It was followed by Mimi who closed the door carefully, turned to Miranda and reported, "Everything is arranged with the school. I've informed them of Miss Danica's needs, and Mrs. Krait sees no significant problems with meeting them. They will be ready for her to return to class on Monday."
Bowing slightly she said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll see about finishing up dinner preparations. We should be ready by the time you, Mrs. Karongo, and Danica have finished your sunset prayers. Danica's father and brothers will be eating at a restaurant after they leave the mosque. Before Miranda could respond, Mimi disappeared down the hall.
Mimi smiled to herself. Miranda loved her games so much that Mimi didn't have the heart to tell her that, upon hearing Ailin (appearing as his true gender) explain the results of Dr. Kastner's examination, and Miranda's proposal, Danica's father and brothers had fallen to their knees and had offered up their thanks to Allah for arranging for the care of the daughter and sister that they loved so much.
Before he had left, Ailin had explained what Miranda was planning to do, and the men had all agreed to play along. There had been many a time that Miriam had pretended to be surprised when they proposed something that she'd clearly already thought of. It was only fair that they returned the favor now and then.
Everything seemed to be going exactly as the adults had planned. Unfortunately, they'd completely forgotten to consider the most important person involved.
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A few hours later, after evening prayers, Danica raised a hand and stopped Paolo from picking her up. "If you please 'cousin', would you ask Stavros if he would be so kind as to assist me back to my room?"
Paolo glanced at her with a question in his eyes. After looking at her more closely, and noticing her struggling to control her face, he locked down his impulse to recoil in horror. OH MY GOD! How could they have missed it? It literally took everything he'd learned, both while he was growing up, and in the seminary, about schooling his expression and body language, but he did manage to control himself.
He pasted on a slightly puzzled expression and also a bit of question in his voice as he answered, "Oh, sure. I'll go find him."
Once he found Stavros, he explained Danica's request. When Stavros asked why she wanted him, Paolo replied truthfully, "She didn't say." There was no way he could tell his brother what was really going on.
Stavros shrugged his shoulders, put down the book he'd been reading, and headed downstairs. Whatever the reason, it was a small task, and it wouldn't take all that long.
When he arrived, Danica smiled at him and raised her arms. "Please."
Stavros nodded, picked her up, and headed upstairs.
When they arrived, he headed toward the bed, but she stopped him by asking, "Will you please sit in the armchair?" Seeing his confusion, she smiled slightly and added, "Yes, with me on your lap. I'll explain after you sit."
He'd already become somewhat accustomed to her unusual way of thinking, so he did as directed then looked at her with a "now what" expression.
She nodded and began softly, "We lived at the edge of our town. Beyond it was savanna. There were lions of course, but what we were most afraid of was hyenas. The grass there could grow well over a meter high, and they could hide in it without being seen, even by a careful observer. By the time each of us was three years old, we had learned that listening for approaching danger was at least as important as watching for it."
She paused and Stavros asked, "And this is important because..."
"It's important because I heard the conversation between Dr. Kastner, my mother, and your mother as Dr. Fukui was bringing me to the parlor. I'm sure that they have no idea of how good my hearing is."
She looked up at him, and her facade crumbled. A veritable river of tears began to flow from her eyes as she stammered, "That Dr. Kastner said that...that...I probably won't be able to walk...by myself...for at least several years. Even then I may have to use canes."
All the pain she'd hidden from everyone the past few months was now plain to see on her face, and she could only speak in a whisper, "I'm only 15 years old. There was so much I wanted to do, but my dreams have just died along with my legs. How could God do something like this to a child? I'm not finished with my life; it's only just started. What am I going to do, Stavros? What can I do with this crippled body?"
With that, she grabbed his shirt with both hands, buried her face in his chest, and sobbed. Even though she was shaking enough that the chair moved with her, she didn't make a sound.
Stavros couldn't understand how someone could cry so hard and yet not make any noise. Suddenly he realized. Today surely wasn't the first time she'd cried silently. She's spent three years enduring who knew what hardships without saying anything to anyone.
He said tenderly, "No matter what, you'll never have to suffer like this by yourself...ever again. Whatever happens, I'll be with you."
Gently, he wrapped his arms around her and held her until her exhaustion caught up with her and she fell asleep. He continued to hold her, his mind full of emotions he'd never before experienced, until he too dozed off.
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After watching Stavros carry Danica into her room, Paolo hurriedly gathered the adults in the family by the simple expedient of grabbing each of their arms once he found them and dragging them to Miranda's office. Finally he spotted Mimi, who was standing in the hallway with a puzzled look on her face. She was oblivious to Paolo's presence as she was concentrating on something that she'd just heard/felt. Or at least she thought she had. It was like someone had been gloating about something and radiating the emotion throughout the house, but, right when she started to concentrate on it, it disappeared as if it had suddenly been cut off somehow.
Just as Paolo raised his hand, she turned toward him. Seeing her frowning, his desire to take her by the arm vanished and, instead, he said, "Please come with me. Something important needs to be discussed."
Once they entered the office, he asked his mother to put up a wall of silence around them.
She was irritated at how her son had treated her, but she'd managed to keep from biting his head off while he pulled her down the hall because she'd seen the pain he was trying to control. Obviously something truly serious was happening.
Rather than beating around the bush, Paolo said, "We've all forgotten something extremely important."
Turning to Miranda he asked, "Mother, you're a very busy, active woman. You run errands all over The City. How would you feel if, suddenly, you were unable to walk and didn't know when, or if, you'd be able to again?"
"Why are you ask.... Oh no!" Miranda buried her face in her hands. From behind them a muffled, "How?" snuck out.
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"As to how she found out, I have no idea. I only realized it myself when she asked me to have Stavros carry her to her room after prayers tonight. I came to fetch all of you after I saw Stavros push the door shut with his foot after he carried her inside. What's going on in there right now, I have no idea."
After he said that, all the others present turned and looked at Mimi, who asked, "What? Am I supposed to somehow, magically know what they're doing?"
Seeing four exasperated faces focused on her, she relented sooner than she'd planned, threw up her hands and said, "All right. All right. I give. I'll tell you.
"Last I checked, they were in that big armchair by the bed. Danica was crying enough tears to fill a small stream, and Stavros was holding her. It won't be safe for her to be alone tonight, not if her mind is to remain whole. Therefore I shall make sure that they're properly chaperoned, just in case it somehow leaks out that he spent the night in her room.
"Should anyone ask, I shall let them know that I spent the night in her room in order to provide comfort after her ordeal and that Stavros assisted me. What I shall not do is explain that it is you four for whom I will have provided comfort."
Glaring at them ferociously she added, "You all really should have more faith in Stavros."
Seeing multiple embarrassed and guilty expressions, she nodded, then flowed out the door.
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The first thought that flitted across her half-awake mind was that she was surprisingly warm. During their travels, she had rarely been warm at night, and, even in her bed at the Donetti home, she usually felt a bit of a chill by the time she needed to get up. That being the case, why did she feel so good this morning?
With her eyes still closed, she stretched and...huh? Why was she sitting instead of lying down? Her eyes popped open, and she saw someone's chest filling her entire field of vision. She began to struggle to get up, but she was held down by the hands of the person she was lying on. One was on her right buttock and the other was high up on the inside of her left thigh.
As she was struggling with deciding whether to scream, throw herself off of whomever she was on top of, or, strangely, closing her eyes and cuddling up to the warmth, she suddenly felt herself being lifted in the air. Turning her head to the right, she saw Mimi, who was looking at her with a smile that was both fond and sensual.
"While I can understand your feelings Miss Danica, acting on them is still a few years premature. After all, in August Stavros will still only be 13. Anything more than holding hands is going to have to wait."
Danica was still feeling rather muzzy, and her eyes were bouncing back and forth from Stavros to Mimi. Oh. She's been sleeping on Stavros. OK.... No. What? How?
Mimi sighed. It was apparent that Danica wasn't a morning person. She'd best move along or she'd be standing here far too long. She had other duties after all.
"Miss Danica. I shall assist you to the bathroom. After that, I shall help you with your morning exercises and massage. Consuela and Heidi will be in attendance, and I shall instruct them in how to do them. After that, they will help you get dressed.
"As for Stavros..."
Mimi blinked him onto his bed then strode out of the room with an astonished Danica in her arms. He'd likely wake up within the next few minutes. The door, seemingly by itself, closed behind them as they proceeded out of the room and then down the hall.
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At breakfast Danica spent the entire meal with her head bowed, staring at her plate. The others, who were watching her out of the corner of their eyes, were fascinated, and highly amused, by the faint blush that repeatedly appeared, and then disappeared from her cheeks. Likewise, they watched Stavros, who was also mostly staring at his plate. However, in his case, his expression was one of puzzlement as he struggled to piece together what had happened last night and also to figure out why he'd awakened that morning on top of his still made-up bed.
Heidi and Consuela noticed that the adults were carefully not noticing what Danica and Stavros were doing, so they contrived to not notice either. They weren't nearly as successful, but they were still young and lacking in practice. Considering their age, and that they had been thrown into the situation without warning, Miranda nodded to herself and gave them a passing grade.
Once they'd all finished eating, Miranda cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Danica will be returning to school on Monday. As all of you have plans for today, I shan't interrupt them. However, after dinner we will all gather in the family parlor and draw up a plan that will enable us to deal with the situation in the most efficient way. You are all invited to make suggestions at that time.
"We will finalize our plan tomorrow afternoon, and then implement it upon awakening Monday morning. At the end of the week we shall tweak it as needed. I shall entertain questions only during the meetings." After that, she stood and strode out of the room. Even though it was a Saturday, she still had a number of things that wouldn't wait, and she wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible.
The others smiled, shrugged, and then, without speaking, somehow arranged to leave Danica and Stavros alone. The staff didn't seem to be moving any faster than normal, but they cleared the table in record time and disappeared into the kitchen.
Danica and Stavros glanced at each other, several times, after which they resumed staring at the table. Finally Stav cleared his throat. "Uh...I...I suppose we should leave too. Where do you need to go?"
"Oh, yes. I suppose you're right. If you would, please take me to your mother's office. I promised to help her sort out some of her books that are written in Arabic."
"Right. OK. Let's, go."
Stavros walked around to her side of the table, picked her up, then kneed the chair back under the table. To his surprise, rather than sitting stiffly upright as she usually did when someone was carrying her, she leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his chest.
Looking up at him, she said, "The way I sat before made everyone have to lean backwards some to keep their balance. It should be easier to carry me this way, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. I guess so."
Neither of them spoke while on the way upstairs. She was enjoying the sensation of cuddling someone who wasn't her mother. He, on the other hand, was confused as much as anything. The other times he'd held her has been in times of emotional crisis, and he'd been anything but calm. This time though, there was nothing distracting him -- no sound, no sensation...other than that of her body against his, and he had no idea of what to do.
First, he took several slow, deep breaths as he tried to turn his brain on so he could analyze the situation. As he did so, he happened to glance down and saw Danica's face. Her eyes were closed and she had a gentle smile on her face. That was the end of his coherent thought. By the time they reached Miranda's office, he'd come to the realization that you didn't always need to understand things. Sometimes letting your emotions take over wasn't such a bad thing.
After he'd settled Danica on a chair at the desk where she would be working, and had left the room, his only thoughts were of how good it had felt to have her in his arms and how much he already missed her. As he was wandering aimlessly down the hall, he saw Mimi approaching at her usual brisk pace. Rather than stepping aside as everyone usually did so as not to be run over, he stepped out in front of her.
She stopped in surprise, with a reprimand ready on her lips for him interfering with her duties. It died before it was spoken as Stavros wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her chest. "What am I going to do Mimi? What CAN I do? I'm only 12 years old. I don't know anything about what to do with a girl who's not part of the family. Up until I met her, I never thought of girls as anything other than classmates or nuisances. I feel like someone just tossed me into the river during a flood!"
Rasing his tear-streaked face, he asked, "What should I do Mimi? Please, tell me what to do!"
She pulled his head back against her chest and stroked his hair. "The most important thing is for you to realize is that there's more than enough time for things to sort themselves out. You don't have to do anything in particular. She's going to be living with us for at least six months. All you need to do is take things a day at a time.
"Look at Paolo. He and Sara never went on a single date before they got engaged, and they were married within a few weeks. Don't you think that things are working out pretty well for them?"
Lifting his head, Stavros looked up at her. "Well, yeah, but they'd known each other for years beforehand. Danica and I have just met."
Tapping his nose gently with the tip of her index finger, Mimi chuckled. "It's like you said. You're only 12. By the time you two need to decide if you're really serious about having a relationship, you'll have known each other for years too. It's time to stop the 'woe is me' act and get back to your daily life. Right now, making sure you've finished your homework is more important than even thinking about sorting out your relationship. So...."
She turned him around and whacked him on the butt. "Get yourself back to your room and study."
As he slowly walked away her words followed him down the hall, "I'll be by later to check on how well you've done."
Hearing that, he ran down the hall at full speed. The last thing in the world he wanted right now was Mimi pointing out mistakes in his homework. Just thinking about what she'd say if she found any had him shaking.
She nodded. Good. Distraction accomplished. She thought for a moment and decided to talk to Sara about what just happened. Someone else in the family needed to know how things were progressing. She wasn't a priest, but, like them, she would never betray a confidence, and Danica would need an adult woman to talk to, not only the other girls. If she told Miranda rather than Sara, her deranged sense of humor would likely end up with her causing problems that might take months to sort out.
As she walked briskly down the hall, she pretended that she hadn't felt, once again, an ominous, gloating presence when Stavros was crying. For an instant, she'd thought that it might, perhaps, be Blue, but she immediately dismissed the thought. That one never, ever, took pleasure in someone's suffering. But then, who, or what....