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constantly worried about. And then there was the biopsy on her breast that may or may not have revealed a malignancy. But chances were she palpated her breasts daily, looking for another lump to appear. The woman had bad karma and was waiting for the next terrible event to occur.
    “Hi, Dad!” Kit’s voice brought him out of his reverie. She ran over to give him a tight hug.
    “Hi, kiddo!” David hugged her back, loving her more than anybody or anything on the face of the earth. “How are you doing?”
    “I’m fine,” Kit told him, “but Juanita is still not feeling good.”
    “Is she still seasick?”
    “I guess,” Kit said with uncertainty. “She just says she feels bad.”
    “Well, I’d better stop down to see her.” David kissed his daughter’s cheek and tried to think why the nanny would continue to be seasick. The sea was now calm and the few swells that did occur shouldn’t noticeably affect the stability of the Grand Atlantic . But David knew that even a few swells could cause the ship to gently bob, and that might be enough to exacerbate the symptoms in those suffering from severe seasickness. Like the second doctor and nurse aboard the luxury liner, who were still dizzy and nauseated. David kissed his daughter’s cheek again and said, “We have to take good care of her, don’t we?”
    “I love Juanita,” Kit cooed.
    “I know.”
    Juanita Cruz was a naturalized American citizen who had left her native Costa Rica to get away from an abusive husband. She began working for the Ballineaus when Marianne was six months pregnant with Kit. After Marianne’s death, Juanita moved into their guest house and helped David raise Kit, like a surrogate mother. Juanita became an integral part of the family and loved Kit almost as much as her own daughter, who was currently a registered nurse at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.
    “You’ll make her well, huh, Dad?” Kit said.
    “I’ll get her fixed up,” David promised.
    As Kit reached up to hug David again, a small notepad slipped out of the back pocket of her jeans and fell to the deck. She quickly retrieved it and smiled up at David. “I love you, Dad.”
    “I love you too.”
    Securing the notepad in her back pocket, Kit blew him another kiss and ran back to a small restaurant that was just beyond the pool. She picked up her half-eaten hot dog, added more mustard, and bit into it, all the while talking with her new best friend, Will, who seemed to have most of his chili dog on his face.
    “She’s adorable,” Marilyn commented.
    “And bright as can be,” David noted with pride.
    “Will thinks so too,” Marilyn said. “But tell me, why does she carry around that notepad?”
    “She wants to be a writer,” David said. “So when she sees or hears something interesting, she immediately writes it down, then rewrites it in her diary for possible use in the future.”
    Marilyn shook her head in wonderment. “Has she written anything thus far?”
    “A play for her class in school based on a Harry Potter novel,” David replied. “It was surprisingly good.”
    “It’s amazing how soon some children realize exactly what they want to do with their lives.”
    “Yes, amazing,” David agreed, stealing another glance at Kit and thinking about how fast she was growing up right before his eyes. “What about Will? Has he decided what he wants to do later in life?”
    Marilyn nodded. “He’d like to be a veterinarian. The boy just loves animals and taking care of them.” She laughed briefly to herself. “He wouldn’t come on the cruise unless I allowed him to take along his pet goldfish and turtle. And of course he also had to bring his book on what to do if pets get sick.”
    “He sounds great,” David said and meant it.
    “He is,” Marilyn beamed. “My only problem is coming up with ways to feed his interest in animal care. I’ve already bought him a dozen books on the subject.”
    “What about more pets?” David proposed.
    Marilyn rolled her