They did so.
And then it was time to climb back down, join the others in the lagoon pool or at the nearby bar, all arranged for their vacation pleasure.
In the bar, they all ran back into Celia and Jeff—who had joined Daniel McClintock who was now back with his brother, telling him everything he had missed.
Chloe interrupted him as they joined the group, her attention on Celia Henderson.
“Celia! Are you all right? Really?” she asked with concern.
Celia showed Chloe her upper arm; she had just a scratch on it.
“I’m fine. Really fine. Thanks to your husband—if not my own!” Celia said.
Jeff Henderson groaned. “Celia, I was trying to take your hand—”
“And I just happened to be behind you,” Wes said.
“But you had fun anyway, right? Did they want to get you back to the infirmary or to a doctor on the island or—” Darlene began.
“No, no, no! You can see! It’s just a scratch,” Celia said.
“But maybe you should have had some kind of cleaning, something antibacterial,” Darlene suggested.
Celia laughed. “I hate to say it. I am not the most coordinated person in the world. If I needed medical help for every scratch, I’d be in trouble. Thank you all for caring. I’m fine. Really fine! And besides—” she said. But she broke off, shrugging. “We stayed in the cool water, in the sun... It’s all good,” she finished at last.
“Well, I guess the water is all good,” Wes said, looking at Jeff.
Jeff shrugged. “She says she’s fine. Besides, we’ll get back on the ship. And once we’re on the ship, well, they don’t majorly advertise their ship’s hospital, but it’s supposed to be one of the biggest and best in the business. The doc has a pedigree a mile long.”
Celia was looking at him oddly, Chloe thought.
But the woman just shrugged, shaking her head.
“And not only that!” Darlene said brightly. “That man, George Garcia, the man looking after Edward Thompson! He’ll know before we even get back on the ship if you should be worried about anything!”
Celia smiled at the girl.
Chloe thought that it was a forced smile.
“Right,” Celia said. “There’s always Nurse PractitionerGeorge Garcia! Anyway!” She stood up from where they were seated at barstools around a little oval table. “We’ve time! One last bourbon. Can I buy anyone a drink?” she asked.
“Me!” her husband said.
She groaned dramatically and headed toward the bar.
Their bus tour guide arrived to announce that they all needed to reboard in ten minutes; it was time to head back to the ship.
“We missed lunch!” Darlene murmured.
“I guess so. Well, it’s time to start worrying. There’s never any food on that ship!” her dad said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
They had missed lunch, spending too much time on the rocks.
And now...
Now it was time to head back.
And once again, Chloe realized, they had more questions than answers.
