Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 12.2: The Sneeze

"Finally! I was about to call the police to report you missing," exclaimed the petite Middle Eastern woman as she  jumped at Reine, giving her a hug as soon as she stepped inside the door.

Gabe extended his hand when the girls separated."Hi, I'm Gabe Moran," he introduced himself.

Noor ignored the gesture. Narrowing her gaze, she suspiciously eyed the blonde, young man standing in the doorway. "I figured. I'm Noor," he turned her attention back to Reine. Grabbing her girlfriend by the hand, she led her to the couch while Gabe closed the door behind them.

"Are you okay, sweetie? You should have called. Your car's here, but you haven't been around." The tears were welling up in her eyes from worry.

Reine pretended to recognize the girl, even though everything she knew about Noor had come from Morgan.

"You know, my phone . . .," she started, but it was time to end the lies. "I'm so sorry. Things have been just so crazy lately. I promise I'll tell you all about it. Just later, okay?"

Noor's unexpected presence had caught her off guard. She needed to think about how to explain her absence without bringing up more questions.

"Fine. I'm just glad you're back," Noor said, patting her hand. "Professor Iverson said you flew back with him on Tuesday, but then you took off sick for the rest of the week. I hoped that you'd at least call me, but when I didn't hear from you I decided to come by. The kitchen door was unlocked, and your car keys were on the counter, which made me even more worried. It's not like you to leave things like that, but I guess you must have been in a hurry to get to Venice."

"Yeah, I must have overlooked it." It was the more comforting answer considering the alternatives.

"How are you feeling now? I was really surprised since in all of the time I've known you, I don't think you've ever been sick. But you do look pretty bad." Noor looked her up and down.

 "Still a bit weak," she admitted, and as if for extra emphasis, she also sneezed three times in quick succession.

This drew Gabe's attention. "Maybe you should go lie down. We'll make you some tea. That's supposed to be good when you're ill, right?" he asked.

"Good idea. I can get it." Noor bolted off the couch, giving Gabe the hoped-for chance have a few words with Reine in private.

"Tell me you were faking those sneezes for her benefit," he whispered just in case Noor wasn't quite out of hearing distance.

She lay down on the couch and wiped her nose with a tissue. "No, they were real. How is that possible?"

"You shouldn't be able to get sick, right?" He sat next to her and placed a palm on her forehead, before continuing. "And now you're sneezing, and it feels like you've got a fever. Can you explain that?"

Reine hastily raised herself onto one elbow. "Wait! Anna — you know, Max's assistant — she wasn't feeling well last night. I think she sneezed next to me a couple of times."

Gabe shook his head. "Still, whatever happened in Venice wouldn't lead to this," he said.

"What did happen in Venice, Gabe?" she asked, grabbing his arm. This was her chance to find out what he knew. "Max wouldn't even tell me you were there until after I remembered you."

"What?" He tilted his head, looking genuinely surprised. "You didn't know I was there?"

She shook her head. "No. Not at first. And I was hoping you'd be able to tell me why."

Furrowing his brows, he still looked perplexed. "Wait. You had amnesia and now you don't? How is that possible?"

"Why do you think I called you in the first place? And will you just stop repeating my questions and tell me what happened?" Her words came out louder than she had meant, but a cabinet door slammed shut at the exact same moment, muffling the yelling.

"Sssh". Gabe gestured with his head toward the kitchen where Noor was still preparing tea just a few yards away. "All I know is you were fine when I left you in the hotel room with Mal and Sylvana."

"They were there, too?" Reine's eyes widened. "I guess Max left them out so I wouldn't try to get any information out of them, either."

He leaned back on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. "I so wish I would have stayed with you. Mal said someone meant you harm, but they were going to keep you safe."

She frowned. "Well, they failed at that, didn't they? Unless of course they had something to do with it."

"No way. Mal's not like that," he said.

Reine pressed further. "What about Sylvana? Is she like that?"

"Possibly. She did rat me out for being there. But she'd never go against Max and he wouldn't hurt you, right?" he asked, unblinking.

"Of course not." She was disappointed at not being much closer to having an answer for why she was now able to catch a common cold.

With a sigh, she lowered herself back into a reclining position and closed her eyes. She didn't want to unnecessarily worry Gabe — in case she was wrong — but for the first time, she actually began to speculate whether she was losing her immortality.

They were both lost deep in thought, and they remained seated in silence until Noor returned with a steaming mug. "Here you go. It's almost cool enough to drink. And you should eat this, my mom used to make me when I was sick." She handed Reine two cloves of garlic.

There's no way I'm eating garlic while he's around, Reine looked at the man still sitting next to her. Being ever so polite, she placed the odiferous bulbs on the coffee table instead. "Thanks. Maybe later."

Luckily, her resistance didn't bother Noor. The girl had more important things on her mind. "By the way, who was that man who dropped you off?"

Reine dismissed the question with the wave of her hand. "No one you should be concerned with."

"Don't worry, Rennie. I'm a good Muslim girl." Noor glanced at Gabe to make her point. "I know just to look, but not touch."

It was enough to make him rise from his place on the couch. "I'm going to get you something for that fever. I don't suppose you have anything in the house."

The last part was surely for Noor's benefit because Reine hadn't needed medicine in centuries. Grateful for the gesture, she gently squeezed his hand. "No, I don't. Thank you."

"I have some acetaminophen. You don't have to go." The prior exchange didn't escape Noor's notice, and she now addressed Gabe in a much more friendly tone than before.

Reine appreciated Noor's kindness. She reached for the tea, but upon tasting its overwhelming sweetness, she returned it and took a nap instead.