Read Over the Waters for Free Online Page B

laced his fingers through hers. Lifting his eyes, he searched her face. "Na we demin si-dye-vle." He squeezed her hand weakly and closed his eyes.
    She stood by him for a long time, watching his chest rise and fall, thinking about the Creole words he'd whispered. "See you tomorrow, if God wills, " he'd said. It was a common Haitian expression, one used by Christians and non-Christians alike. Since most Haitians believed their lives were controlled by fate, they felt they had no power over whether or not they would "see you tomorrow." But no one ever thought the phrase through when they spoke it. It was like an American "how are you?"--not meant to be responded to, nor taken literally.
    But Samantha had the distinct impression that Joshua had spoken it quite deliberately.

    For two days, Kala Loutrel improved dramatically hour by hour. Her face lost its ashen, pinched appearance, she sat up and sang happily in the crib and gradually began to keep down the soft food Samantha spooned into her eager mouth. In fact, the nurses teased that the little girl would gobble up the food the other patients' families brought if they didn't watch out.
    Samantha would have been ecstatic had Joshua not been deteriorating at an equally dramatic rate. She tried to downplay Josh's condition when she spoke with Madame Duval on the telephone, but she knew her own thready voice gave away her trepidation. Her biggest fear was that they would decide to send Kala home before Josh was well enough to be dismissed, too. Samantha would be expected to take the Land Rover and drive Kala back to the orphanage, leaving Josh behind.
    He didn't need her. He was a big boy, not to mention a doctor, and in this small, private hospital he was being surprisingly well cared for. But she hated the thought of leaving him alone here.
    She had earned her way into the nursing staff's good graces by helping out on the floor. The head nurse, Elaina LaCroix, had become a friend in the span of a few short days. Elaina had received her nursing degree in the States and her English was flawless. Samantha appreciated having someone with whom she could speak her native language.
    On the third afternoon Samantha was at the hospital, Elaina stopped in the midst of gathering her things to leave for the day. She put her hands on her hips and studied Samantha. "Aren't you tired of this place by now, Miss Samantha?"
    "A little," she admitted with a sigh.
    "Come home with me. You can take a shower and wash out your clothes. I'll bring them back dry tomorrow."
    Samantha had brought a couple extra changes of clothing with her and had been washing up in the hospital lavatory each day. But the thought of a real shower was alluring--even knowing there was never any guarantee of hot water. "Oh, I'd love that," she told Elaina. "Just let me tell Joshua where I'm going."
    Elaina rolled her eyes and flashed a broad smile, her milky-white teeth in lovely contrast to her smooth, coffee-colored skin. "Methinks you like that boy."
    "He's not a boy. He's...a doctor." She stumbled over the words, feeling the heat creep to her cheeks.
    "Ah, you mean he's a man, " Nurse LaCroix said with a comical vibrato in her voice and a knowing glimmer in her dark eyes.
    Samantha didn't even try to defend herself. She did like "that boy." She liked him more than she could express. Be with him, Father. Touch him with your healing power.
    "Okay. You go check on your man. I'll meet you in the parking lot."
    Samantha stepped into Josh's room. He was making a sound that was half-wheezing, half-snoring, but she thought his breathing seemed a little less labored. She cupped a hand lightly over his cheek and whispered another prayer for him.
    His eyes flew open. "Hey, you," he whispered.
    "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
    "It's okay. I wasn't really asleep."
    "Oh, you snore wide-awake now."
    She saw the muscles in his face working, trying to form a smile, but it seemed to be too great a feat. "Go back to sleep. One of