Bab 28: A Little Flicker of Interest
She only saw Jesse's eyes for a moment because this time he looked away. There was silence as they stood in front of each other, Pearl's hand still on Jesse's wrist. They remained like that long enough for Pearl to think she could feel his pulse.
It wasn't awkward, even though neither of them said a word. Jesse couldn't find his voice and Pearl needed him to be the one to break the silence.
Eventually he did.
With a shake of the head, Jesse cleared his throat. "Well, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You were tired or sleepy and you fell asleep." He turned back to look her in the eye and he smiled a little. "It's not like anything happened."
Silence. "You're right."
Jesse reached up and touched her forehead. "There, you're back to normal. I must be one hell of a doctor."
Letting go of him, Pearl laughed out loud as he dropped his other hand to his side. He smiled again and said more seriously, "Would you like to have breakfast now? I figured we could eat outside today."
"Outside?"
"Yeah, just here on the balcony and then we'll head out a little later. I'm willing to go out, but let's take baby steps."
"Oh. Okay," was her happy response. Pearl wasn't about to complain.
So Jesse gestured to the open door and then followed her outside to where a table was already set.
Throughout the meal, Jesse watched Pearl carefully. There was a slight breeze in the air and so the wind carried the smells of the garden up to her room, but she didn't seem bothered.
As the meal progressed Jesse decided two things. The first was that she was well enough to go out today. The second was that Dana was probably right. Pearl could handle flowers without going into an attack. Whatever had happened in the cab the day of her last incident was a mystery. He wouldn't rule out the flowers but he wasn't quick to blame them either.
Maybe they'd go to the garden later, he mused, gazing out over the hotel grounds. The grass was green and the colourful flowers waved in the light breeze. Having spent time with her at camp, Jesse reminded himself that this wasn't really the greatest danger that Pearl could face at this moment.
Turning back to his breakfast companion, he found her watching him. He smiled apologetically.
"What's up, doc?" Pearl asked him, curiously.
"Nothing you need to worry about," he assured her. "We're still going outside. I will keep my promise."
She gave him a grateful smile. "I'm looking forward to it."
"But," he held a hand up and she waited. "I need you to bear with me if I seem to check on you too much today. I will have your inhaler with me but if I feel you aren't safe, I need you to trust me."
She thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, I can do that."
After breakfast, they headed for the door. Pearl got more animated the moment they left the hotel.
"I feel like I've just been released from prison!"
Jesse laughed. "Have you ever been in a prison?"
"Well, not as an inmate," she admitted. "Just for ministry activities."
"Wow. Is there anything you haven't done for ministry?"
Pearl chuckled again. "Yes. Believe me, there's a lot I don't do!"
"Give me one example."
Almost immediately she replied, "I refuse to have a cell group in my home."
He knew what cell group was. "Why?"
He probably sounded a little surprised, thinking that Christians in general were very welcoming and homely characters.
Pearl shrugged. "It's my safe haven. I open myself up a lot at work and church. I just feel like I need that one place to myself."
"Ah, I see." He looked down at her. "That makes sense."
Another thing that made sense was why Pearl would come back to Bolivia just to visit a café and orphanage.
The former was a simple place but from the moment Jesse sat down, he felt at home and peaceful. The road was quiet and the smells from inside the café wafted out onto the street. There didn't seem to be any distractions and Jesse knew given half the chance he too could lose himself right there in that little restaurant.
Luckily, he had no time to sit and ponder alone because Pearl recounted childhood tales about the orphanage throughout lunch. Once they were done eating, she dragged him across the street to meet the old man who kept and sold flowers.
As they were leaving, the Bolivian man slipped Jesse a single blood red rose with a sly wink.
Jesse grinned and took it, handing the man a small note for his efforts.
Once they were in the car, Jesse laid the flower in Pearl's lap.
"I believe Hermano wanted me to give this to you."
"Oh! Well, that's lovely. Thank you, Jesse."
Jesse didn't say anything at first. He was watching her face, listening to her breathing. She looked at him just as he decided that she was responding to his actions and not unwell, so he smiled and said, "You're welcome."
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