Their Miracle Baby

Thoughts of Lewis were still fresh in her mind when she sank down onto the pillow next to Ronnie. “You look much better, but I sense a sadness in you,” Ronnie said, looking directly at Venetia. “A man would be my guess.”

Venetia was impressed with Ronnie’s insight, but she didn’t want to talk about her love life, so she only said, “Yes, same old story I suppose. I’d rather not talk about it if you don’t mind. Where’s that scientist I keep hearing about?” Venetia asked, trying to change the subject.

Ronnie knew that now was not the time to push Venetia, but she also knew that she’d been sent here to learn something about herself. It had come to Ronnie in her sleep the night before that she was supposed to help this woman in some way. She had no idea how, but the guides had told her to be prepared, and she always listened to the guides when they spoke to her.

“Come, I will take you to meet him. He says he can bring solar power to the village. I haven’t decided if that is good or bad, but I’m willing to let him try,” Ronnie said, as they made their way through the village, which was much larger than Venetia had first thought.

There she saw the solar panel and the man who must have been the creator of her torment on the trip here. His back was to her as he gently unwrapped it from the packing it had been strapped in to protect it from the rough terrain they’d had to cross. By the time it was unwrapped, the thing turned out to be much smaller than she’d imagined. She couldn’t see how that little panel would be able to supply much power to the village, but she also didn’t know much about solar power.

Once unwrapped, the man gently picked it up and took it into what she assumed was the largest hut in the village. It had no windows and was shaped like a barn; she imagined how dark it would be inside and shuttered. She’d found over the last few weeks that she really hated bugs, from the flying stinging ones to the huge ones that seemed to be able to scale just about any surface. Who knew what might be in the dark corners of that hut.

“That’s the medical hut. The doctor usually sleeps there, but in your case I’ve made room for you in my hut,” Ronnie said, pointing to the large hut.

Venetia couldn’t imagine sleeping in there and wasn’t all that happy about setting up the clinic in there. “It doesn’t have any windows.” Venetia couldn’t help herself.

“No, the last doctor didn’t want any. But we can make some, it’s easy enough to do.”

“Yes, please. Lots of windows to let in the light and fresh air.”

Ronnie looked around, then called to one of the men who had been helping unwrap the solar panel and gave him what were clearly orders in a strange mix of Portuguese and an Indian dialect she’d never heard. “Done, now let’s go meet our scientist. We’re very popular in this village in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“I guess you are.” Venetia laughed.

When they stepped into the hut, Venetia was pleased to see that the place was lit up with as many lamps as there were flat surfaces. No way would there be any bugs hiding in the corners with all this light. When the man who was bent over the solar panel turned around, Venetia was stunned to discover how good looking he was.

In almost direct contrast to Lewis, he was dark with dark hair and brown eyes, a perfect match for his olive skin. He was a very attractive man. “You must be Dr. Bradford. Thank you so much for providing an escort for my solar panel. I know it must have made your trip more difficult, but I just couldn’t get away to meet you.”

Venetia had no choice but to be gracious faced with such a thank you. She could say nothing else but, “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m glad it made it in one piece.”

“I’ve been waiting forever to get this up, I can’t wait to see how it works. It’s a new design, and if it works as well as I think it will, it’s going to change the life of millions of people around the world.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes, then said, “Well, we’re going to let you get back to work. Will we see you at dinner tonight?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.,” he said, waving them away with one hand.

As they walked away, Venetia suddenly realized that he knew her name, but she didn’t know his. “I just realized I don’t know what his name is. He never said.”

“Max Thornhope,” Ronnie said, making a face.

Over the next few weeks, Max and Venetia became good friends. It was nice to have someone from the outside world help her learn about living in the rainforest. He’d been here for almost two years, which made him something of an expert, so she gladly looked to him for advice. There was never any question about their relationship being anything other than professional friends.

Venetia was still heart sore about Lewis and nowhere near ready to start something with someone else. How Max felt about it she wasn’t sure, but she had no plans to discuss it with him. Things were perfect just as they were; she had patients to treat and he had his solar panel. Ronnie had been teaching her about the plants in the area and their medicinal properties.

But the end of her first month in the village, she’d met everyone and treated everything from an ingrown toenail to a heart attack. She’d even been invited to join Ronnie in a birth in another village, a great honor she understood. Ronnie had proven to be a great companion as well, and she was beginning to feel guilty that she hadn’t confided in her.