Soon the spring term started at college, and Jan and Ilya resumed their routine of meeting every day for lunch. Ilya told Jan what it was like to grow up on a farm in the Soviet Union, and Jan told Ilya about her own childhood.

"Was it difficult to get used to having stepfather?" Ilya asked Jan.

"It was strange at first, and a little frightening," Jan admitted. "But Mike was never pushy. He was always patient and kind and didn't make a big deal out of trying to win us over, and after awhile, it just seemed natural for me to think of him as my dad."

One Saturday night Ilya and Jan were double dating with Abner and Cindy. They'd gone bowling and stopped for ice cream afterwards when suddenly Cindy winced in pain and clutched her side.

"What's wrong, babe?" asked Abner.

"I don't know." Cindy's eyes filled with tears. "My side's been hurting all evening, but I didn't want to say anything because everybody was having such a good time and I didn't want to wreck it, but now it hurts so bad I can't stand it anymore."

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

Cindy nodded. They all left their ice cream melting and dashed to the car. Cindy was in so much pain that she could barely walk, and Abner had to help her to the car.

Soon they reached the hospital, and Cindy was immediately helped onto a gurney and taken back to be examined.

"Since she's a minor, we'll have to have a parent's permission before we can treat her," the physician said.

"I'm her sister. I'll call our mom," Jan told him. "Mom, you have to come to the hospital right away," she said when Carol answered the telephone. "There's something bad wrong with Cindy."

Carol and Mike arrived shortly and signed the necessary paperwork. Cindy was examined and quickly taken back to surgery.

"I'm pretty sure it's her appendix," the physician told Mike and Carol. "If it hasn't ruptured, we may be able to remove it without doing very invasive surgery, but if it has, we'll have to open her up and get all the infection out."

Mike offered to drive Ilya home, but Ilya turned the offer down.

"Thank you for staying with me, Ilya," Jan said. "I'm really scared. I know they'll take good care of Cindy, but I'm still afraid."

"I know you are," said Ilya. "It is just like when my little sister Nika was bitten by spider. Her hand swell up like balloon. We had to take her to hospital too. I was really scared, as you are now."

Jan went to stand just outside the double doors behind which her younger sister had just been wheeled. She just stood there for a long time, remembering Cindy as she'd been as a little girl, thinking about both the good and the not-so-good times they'd shared together over the years. What if they hadn't brought her to the hospital when they had? What if Cindy had been alone when it had happened? The thought made Jan shudder.

Suddenly she felt a pair of warm, caring arms around her and looked into Ilya's soft brown eyes.

"Come and sit down, Jan," he said gently. "It does Cindy no good for you to stand and worry."

"I know." Jan sighed and let him lead her back to her seat.

"Do you want something to drink?" asked Ilya.

"No, thank you," said Jan.

As the hours wore on and there was still no news on Cindy, Jan's eyelids began to get heavy.

"You are tired," said Ilya. "Come here." He took her into his arms, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He hugged her close, and soon she was fast asleep.

He gently shook her awake when the physician finally arrived with news in the early morning hours.

"Her appendix had ruptured," he told the family. "It took us several hours to get all the infection out of her abdomen. We had to make quite a large incision. She's on massive doses of antibiotics and painkillers, and we're going to keep her here for at least a week."

Jan sagged with relief. "Well, at least the operation's over with," she said.

"Let me take you two home so that you can get some rest," Mike said to Ilya and Jan. He drove Ilya home first.

"Thank you again for staying with me," Jan told him as they were saying good-bye.

"It is not a problem at all," he replied. "That is what friends are for."