Chapter 11: The Big Fib

~~ April - Week 17 ~~

Philip and Ulani had swapped places with Jim and Magda.

Magda, by the way, loved her present from Lee. She had given a piece of the orchid to Dr Lazlo Broncho, the medical chemist who was very excited because the plant contained a strong natural anaesthetic. It could also be used as an effective pain killer in small doses.

As far as he could determine it left no undesirable substances in the blood once processed by the body, so wasn’t addictive like many strong pain killers. Sparky had told him that her people used it for pain, and it didn’t make you sick unless you took too much in one go. If you did, you vomited.

It was often effective if you break off a leaf and just dab the sap on the cut or burn as it reduced the pain quickly, and it helped the person heal faster too. She then showed Lazlo another plant and told him that if you mixed the two, it sped up healing, sealed the wound, reduced infection and the swelling of injuries.

Dave had told Lee and Sean that, except for the interesting bone and muscle structure on her spine used to support her wings, for all intent and purpose, Sparky was a mini-human. He bones were lighter like a bird, but her basic organ structure was the same and in the same places.

She did have more scent glands under her skin and a slightly unusual one near the top of her spine in her chest, but he had no idea what it was for. Sparky also has a very high metabolism. This explained why she ate everything in sight, and she had exceptional eyesight for one so small.

Sparky ate just about everything they grew and an amazing amount of it. She was very partial to macadamia nuts and bananas. If she told a scientist that it was probably safe for us, they took her word for it.

Sparky had consented to Sean’s and Lee’s amusement in doing some tests with Dave. Since Dave helped them look after her sister, Miss Piggy, she trusted him. Dave even told Lee the animals were more content after she had visited them, which she regularly did.

Sparky had even stopped a case of food poisoning on the ship. Even Lee didn’t read the danger, probably because she didn’t try to eat the salad that had the bad sprouts in it. When Sparky had sniffed the salad, she made Sean go get Andre’. She had then told him the sprouts had a bad mould on them.

Amazingly Andre’ didn’t argue with her and had the salad taken to be tested. Andre’ confided that she often came into the kitchen and it wasn’t the first time she had told him something was bad or not right. She was the best food taster he had ever had, and she didn’t even have to taste it. Lee and Sean had to laugh.

Tammy joined dinner for the first time since her illness. She was sitting with Tahoora, Yuko Maki and Jameela. She had moved in with Jameela. She was surprised the young woman had gone to the trouble of looking after her possessions for her.

When Lee saw Tammy, she came over and made a point of welcoming her back to the land of the living. When she touched Tammy, she felt that she still wasn’t in good health and felt sorry for the woman. She had not fared well since the accident.

“I’m so sorry we couldn’t get you out of the room sooner, Tammy,” Lee told her.

Tammy looked at Lee, amazed. She remembered very well how she had behaved when trapped in the room. Yet, here, Lee was saying sorry to her. She might be a bitch, but she did know that if it weren’t for Lee, she would have died because of what Essco had done.

She didn’t dob him in, but she didn’t have to associate with the shithead anymore. He hadn’t even once come to see how she was. He had left her possessions in a mess in the room. If it weren’t for Jameela and Tahoora rescuing them, she wouldn’t have them.

Yet she knew that Lee had come and checked with Doc Von every couple of days to ask how she was. She had told Von she didn’t want to see anyone. Hue, Tahoora and Jameela had also come and checked on her. She was grateful that they had, not that she told them.

Tammy shook her head, “No, I’m sorry for blaming you for my predicament. It wasn’t your fault. Thank you for checking on me. I wasn’t up for the company when you visited.”

“Least I could do Tammy. You get better now,” Lee said and squeezed her shoulder, then walked away.

Tammy sat there and watched her walk away. She had felt funny after Lee touched her. It was if a warmth had suffused her chest, then spread out through her body. She took a breath, and her chest didn’t feel so tight.

She looked at the small plate of rabbit food she had in front of her and suddenly decided she was actually very hungry. So, she got up, and went and got a nice serving of the chicken and cashew with rice. She ate it all and her salad, to the surprise of the girls at her table.

At Lee’s table, they had made a high stool for Sparky, and she sat on the end next to Sean. DT had moved to Leigh’s table since he now lived with her. Essco had bitched about his room stinking and had told the Captain he refused to move back into it until it didn’t.

So, the captain gave it to DT and Leigh. Tammy hadn’t wanted to move into it either, she had requested a room in the middle of the ship if possible. The Captain had understood. He told an irate Essco that since he wasn’t happy with the state of the room that he had refused to clean, he gave it some people who did want it. He wouldn’t move Essco from level four either.

This night when Philip and Ulani joined the table, Ulani asked Lee how her mental exercises were going. Lee indicated they were working out well. The ever-inquisitive Sandra asked, “What exercises?”

To which Ulani explained, Lee was trying to learn how to control her impatience with Kyle. Debora added she had better sign up too, which had everyone else laughing.

Philip asked how their ‘reading exercises’ were going, and Kyle and Lee smiled at each other. Everyone just assumed that they were helping with the translations. “The progress is slow,” Kyle explained. “If it weren’t for Lee’s coffee, I’d have given up by now.”

Lee looked at him. “What? You are just mooching around my place, for the coffee?”

Kyle came back with, “Hey! I can’t help it if you make the best coffee on the ship. I’m always happy to find an excuse to get you to make it for me.” He shrugged and then ducked as she threw a mock punch at him.

Hawk-eye Sandra noted the bands on their middle fingers on their hands. Pointing to the rings, she asked, “What are those?”

Kyle and Lee looked at the rings. They had both forgotten about the fact that for some reason the bands showed. Sean looked at them and knew something was special about them, so he covered for the cousins.

“I gave them to them,” he said. “They are like friendship rings. That’s why they are on those fingers. Since they only recently found out they were related, I thought it would be nice if they had a small token to show their special relationship and their relationship to me as they are now my family.”

“They are my grandparent’s old wedding rings. I have a special ring for Lee for when we get married,” he finished. He wasn’t sure how many believed him, but he was sure that by saying they were from him Debora wouldn’t have a blowout.

Debora looked at the rings. They did look like wedding bands, and they did look old. She looked at Sean, who smiled at her. She got up came over and gave Sean a kiss on his cheek; “Family is important, thank you, Sean, I’m sure they will treasure them.”

She went back sat beside Kyle and put her left hand on his arm. She smiled a loving smile at him and went back to eating. Lee noted with interest, the stone in Deb’s engagement ring was now glowing brighter. It looked a lot like the ones in their rings.

‘Fuck me! Man, that was the most awesome save. You are one of the best damn liars I have ever met. I almost believed you,’ Kyle thought at Sean, who just beamed and kissed Lee’s hand.