`Yeah, go on; Ray Hapgood urged, drawing up a chair across from her.
What Nest Freemark wanted to do mast right then was to get out of there. The room felt impossibly dose and airless, the fluorescent light hot and revealing, and the presence of these people she didn't know a weight she could barely shoulder. What was happening inside her was indescribable. The uneasiness had taken on a life of its own, and it was careening about in her chest and throat like a pinball, shrieking unintelligibly and battering her senses. It was taking all her energy to keep it from getting completely out of control, to prevent it from breaking free in a form she could only begin to imagine. She had never experienced anything like it before. She was frightened and confused. She was wishing she had never come looking for John Ross.
`Come on, Nest, tell us something," Stefanie Window urged cheerfully.
`He was in love with my mother,' she blurted out, saying the first thing that came to mind, not toeing if it was true or not, just wanting to shift their focus to something else. What in heaven's name was wrong with her?
There was a flicker of uncertainty in Stefanie Window's eyes. Then Ray Hapgood said, `Her mother died some years ago, Stef This was a college romance, Id guess'
`It was' Nest agreed quickly, realizing what Stefanie Winslow must be thinking. `It happened a long time ago'
`Let's get you some coffee, Nest' Hapgoad announced. `I don't want Della on my case for not keeping my promises'
He stood up and walked over to the coffee machine and drew down a cup and filled it. `Cream or sugar?'
Nest shook her head. She no longer wanted the coffee. She thought if she drank it, she would throw it right back up. She was physically sick to her stomach, her head was throbbing, and there was a buzzing in her ears. But it was tile uneasiness that rolled through her like a riptide that commanded her focus.
`Nest, you don't look well,` Carole Price said suddenly, concern shadowing her blunt features.
`I am a little queasy; she admitted. `I think maybe it was something I ate at breakfast'
`Do you want to lie down for a little while? We've got some beds that aren't in use, up on two'
Nest shook her head. `No, I just need to … you know, maybe what I need is to go back up and get some fresh air for a moment'
Carole Price was on her feet instantly. `Here, I'll take you right up. Ray, forget about that coffee. I don't think it's what she needs just now. C'mon, Nest, come with me'
She took Nests arm and led her toward the elevator. `Nice meeting you. Nest,' Stefanie Winslow called after her. `Maybe I'll see you later'
`Bye, Nest,' Ray Hapgood said.'You take care:
Carole Price had her almost to the elevator when the doors opened and Simon Lawrence stepped out. .She knew him right away from his pictures in the magazine articles and books. He was dressed in jeans with the sleeves of his plain blue workshirt rolled up, but there was something polished and elegant about the way he held himself as he stepped out of the lift and smiled at her.
He held out his hands. `Here, here, what's this: Carole, where are you taking her:' She just got here. I haven't even met her yet. Is everything all right?'
`She's feeling a little queasy, that's all,' Carole replied, slowing. 'I was taking her up for some air.'
Simon Lawrence soak Nest's hands in his own and held them. 'Well, we cant Stave you getting sick„ he said. `you go on upstairs, Nest, and we'll talk later. I want you to know that I'm very pleased you've come to see us. I didn't realize you were a friend of John's, but I certainly know who you are:
Everyone stared at them, confused. Simon Lawrence laughed. `You don't recognize her, do you?' He shook his .head. `1 have got to get you out of the office more, all of you. Or at least reading the papers about something besides the homeless once in a while. Ray, I'm especially disappointed in your: He squeezed Nest's hands. 'This young lady is the best college distance runner in the nation–maybe in the world. She's been written up in any number of articles as the next Mary Decker Slaney - except that Nest isn't going to fall when she runs in the next Olympics, are you, Nest? You're going to win'
Nest knew she was expected to say something, but she couldn't think of what it should be. Finally she said, `It's a long way off yet'
Simon Lawrence laughed and released her hand. `Good point, young lady. We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. But you'll do fine, I know. Its very nice to meet you. Now you go on up with Carole, and I'll see you later:
He walked past Nest with a smile, already back to kidding Ray Hapgood about his failure to recognize Nest Freemark when he was such an avid sports fan. Stefanie Winslow was on her feet, grinning and joking, as well. Nest stepped into the elevator with Carole Price and let the doors close behind them.
She rode back up to the ground floor with something approaching panic, but she made it down the hall past a wondering Dells Jenkins and out the front door, where she stood with Carole holding on to her while she took huge gulps of fresh air in an effort to steady herself. The deep breathing seemed to work. The nausea and headache went away. Her uneasiness lingered, but gradually it began to lessen. Her insides quit churning, and the whispers and buzzing receded into the sounds of the city shout her.
Are you feeling better?' Carole asked her after a few minutes.
Nest nodded. `I am, thanks. Much better: She straightened, gently freeing herself from Carole's proprietorial grip. She tried out a fresh smile. 'I didn't come here to bet underfoot. I know you must have work to do, and fm fine now. I"11 just wait out here for John. Maybe I'll come back inside in a few minutes.'
Carole seemed uncertain, but Nest reassured her, and the other woman left her alone. Nest leaned .against the wall of the building and stared out at the people and traffic, trying to make sense of what had happened. .She could not account for it. This odd uneasiness was an entirely new experience. It was like having a sudden bout of flu coupled with a good scare. It didn't make any sense. The feeling had started when she entered the building and talked with the people who worked there. Was it something connected with that? Was it her magic, reacting to something' If so, her magic was taking a new direction; it hadn't ever done anything like this before.
She whispered Ariel's name as she stood with her back against the building wall, thinking that the tatterdemalion might appear and reveal to her the source of her discomfort. But Ariel stayed hidden.
Nest stood to one side of the doorway and considered the matter from every angle she could imagine, but the answer she was seeking eluded her.
She was still deliberating when a taxi pulled up in front of her and the man she had come to Seattle to find stepped out.
CHAPTER 12
John Ross.
She recognized him immediately. Even though it had been five years since she had seen him' last and she had been only a girl at the time, she recognized him. He didn't look as if he had changed at all. His boyish face was still weathered and rugged, still all planes and angles, still the face of the bay next door grown up. He still wore jeans and a blue denim shirt with worn walking shoes and a silver–buckled belt, looking as if he might be one meal or one paycheck from being homeless himself He still wore his long brown hair tied back from his face with a bandanna, and lie still carried the heavy black staff.
It was as if he had been frozen in time, and while she had changed, grown into a young woman, he had remained exactly the same.
She watched him climb gingerly from the taxi, leaning heavily on the staff, reach back to pay the driver, then start toward the front door of Fresh Start. She straightened and moved away from the wall. He looked at her without recognition and smiled pleasantly.