The morning after their encounter in the hallway, Pearl was coughing. She had managed to make it through the night without incident, Jesse hadn't told her anything about his attraction to her, and they had had a mellow night chatting in front of the TV. She had gone to bed earlier than him and had found him already in the kitchen when she had woken up this morning.
Jesse had just put a cup of tea in front of her and she was buttering her toast.
"Thanks."
"Sure."
As he watched her eat breakfast, his feeling of uneasiness grew as it had been doing steadily since he'd woken up. Finally Jesse couldn't bear it any longer.
"Pearl, talk to me."
She finished chewing but kept her eyes on her plate. "I thought the coughing was a dead give-away."
"I know something's wrong but I want you to say it."
With a sigh, she nodded and looked up. "I woke up wheezing."
Jesse pursed his lips into a thin line.
Pearl said, "I took a warm bath and that seemed to help but now I'm coughing."
"How do you feel?"
She shrugged. "Not better or worse than when I called you yesterday."
It was his turn to sigh. "I'll ask the cleaning lady to come through and do a thorough job."
"But I wasn't here when the feeling started yesterday."
"I know," he said easily, "it's just a precaution to make me feel better."
That made her smile and shake her head. He said that like he saw no other way forward.
"Are you all set for your video conference?"
"Yeah. When I come back from my session with Sahara, I'll have thirty minutes to rest and then I'll be in that meeting for at least an hour." She took a sip of tea. "All the stuff is already set up in your office."
"So, you'll be done by four."
"Yes."
"Alright."
"Don't worry. I'll take it easy and I'll come straight home if I have to."
"Oh, I won't worry. I'm going to pick you up from handball camp and I'll bring you back here."
"Jesse, you don't have to."
"I do if I'm to have peace of mind today," he said grimly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I feel uneasy for you. And if I don't make sure you're okay, you're going to make my day stressful and anxious!"
Pearl looked surprised. "You don't have to be anxious."
"I almost can't help it."
"We can pray about it," she offered.
Jesse looked at her and stifled a sigh. He didn't mind praying but she didn't seem to understand. Without saying another word, he placed his hand in the one she offered.
Pearl asked God to fill him with peace and to take her discomfort. Then she asked God to help them both get through the day without undue difficulty. When she said 'Amen', Jesse did too.
Then she gave his hand a squeeze and let go.
Jesse wasn't sure if he actually felt better or the calm look on Pearl's face settled him a little. Either way he was grateful for the easing of anxiety.
He arrived just as Sahara was shouting insults at Pearl. Pearl wasn't very animated, she seemed to be responding calmly from where Jesse stood but he could hear the handball player's retorts clearly.
"Agreement or no, you should've told me that I was crossing the line."
Pearl shook her head once and lifted one hand as she gave a simple answer.
Sahara looked ready to spit in Pearl's face but whatever she said next was in a low voice.
Jesse walked over swiftly and called out to the both of them. "Hello, ladies."
Pearl turned to look at him and almost smiled. Sahara's face changed entirely. All the animosity melted away and an easy smile spread across her full lips. "It's Jesse, yes?"
He nodded, barely glancing at Sahara.
Pearl's mouth was closed and she was breathing through her nose. Jesse quickly put his arms around her and spoke softly into her ear.
"You're okay, just relax and breathe. Loosen your muscles, Pearl. Slowly. And breathe."
Sahara watched them with a puzzled frown. "I've seen her breathe like this before. Why does she do this?"
Jesse didn't respond until he felt Pearl's breathing slow down and her body relax.
As soon as he knew it was safe to, he let her go, keeping one hand on her arm. Then he turned to Sahara and said, "The session is over Sahara. You can go home, now. I think if you address everything in the next session, Pearl will be ready."
Pearl nodded and started walking away.
"But we weren't finished," she said defiantly, more to Pearl than to Jesse.
Jesse is the one who stopped and said quietly. "You've said quite enough for today."
The way his green eyes flashed was warning enough. Sahara realised she wasn't going to win this one. So she spun on her heel. "Okay. I'm going."
They let her go and headed to the car. Once Pearl was settled in the passenger seat and Jesse was driving back to the house, she thanked him for intervening.
"You're welcome. Do you two argue a lot during sessions?"
"No," Pearl admitted. "Rarely. She just doesn't like discipline."
Jesse let out a humourless laugh. "I don't think working with her is doing you much good right now."
"I'm inclined to agree with you."
"But you're going to do it anyway, aren't you?"
Pearl smiled. "I am."
"Just don't unnecessarily jeopardize your health," Jesse advised her quietly.
"I'm trying."
Jesse woke her up when they reached the house.
"I fell asleep?"
"Yes. You have twenty-five minutes until your video call."
She wrinkled her nose. "So let me take a nap on the couch."
"Okay, I'll be in the study if you need me."
They parted ways in the corridor. Sitting down at the desk, he saw all of Pearl's files and notes, neatly set to one side, reminding him that he had limited time. Jesse turned on the flat-screen monitor of the home PC and made a Skype call of his own.
It didn't take long to get a connection.
"Buenos dias," he said. "Can I please see him now?"
The familiar face on the screen smiled and nodded. She disappeared and Jesse took a deep breath.
A minute later, another familiar face appeared in the other room on the screen.
"Papa!"
Jesse's face broke into a full smile as he laughed.
"Hello, Pablo," he said in Spanish.
"Where are you?" the little boy asked curiously, moving his head this way and that, looking around Jesse.
"I'm in the office where I'm working for now. Remember I told you I'm going to be travelling?"
Pablo nodded.
Jesse asked him what he'd been doing before the call. Pablo's face lit up as he launched into a story about the battle he'd been losing against rebels in the mountains. His little hands flitted across Jesse's screen as he demonstrated what his words could not, as he shared every detail. Jesse was content to listen to him go on. At the end of Pablo's account, towards the end of their time together, Jesse gave Pablo some tactical advice which made him very excited.
Before either of them knew it, time came for Jesse to go. Mrs Henry stuck her head in and flashed five fingers behind Pablo. Jesse nodded and said softly to Pablo, "A little while longer."
Pablo's face fell but he simply said, "Alright."
"We'll talk soon," Jesse promised gently, reaching his hand toward his screen. Pablo did the same and solemnly said his goodbyes.
"Adios, Pablo. Run along and play."
The little boy nodded, made Jesse promise that they would talk again and then took off a few seconds later.
Mrs Henry came back into the picture with a sympathetic smile. They set a date for the next meeting and then signed off.
A moment later, Pearl was knocking on the door.