A Taste of Honey
Chapter Nine
As he approached his destination M'Binga had to admit his nerves were frazzled. Before he left he had checked his appearance several times and then chastised himself for acting like a 'loved starved teenager'. Before exiting his car he took a deep breath and simply said,
"What will be, will be."
The door was opened by Elsse, who smiled, and said,
"Well now, don't we look just perfect."
He responded,
"From my observation, I believe I must return the compliment."
She nodded and gestured for him to enter. McCoy came forward and shook his hand and Blake came running toward him,
"Uncle Binga, Uncle Binga, lift me high…"
The child was rewarded with a swing upward to M'Binga's broad shoulders. To insure his safe seating, Blake placed his hands on M'Binga's forehead since there was nothing to grasp on the doctor's shaved head.
McCoy simply said,
"Blake, Uncle Binga did not come to see you today, he is here to take your grandmother out to see the settlement.
Lowering his face to be within M'Binga's side view, Blake said,
"Uncle Binga, take her to see the waterfall. I think she will like it."
"OK little man, I shall."
With that he reached up and lifted his 'nephew' down from his perch. As he trotted away he gave the boy a gentle tap on his rear. Blake then said,
"Make sure you return for last meal, Grandma has made vegetarian lasagna."
Elsse then echoed Blake's invitation.
Of course, M'Binga accepted.
He held out his hand for her wrap and positioned it around her shoulders and waved goodbye.
As they settled into his vehicle he simply said,
"Again, I must say, Elsse you look quite lovely."
She responded,
"Then I must repeat, Dr. G, you are not doing so bad yourself."
He drove through the settlement's housing, manufacturing district, educational facilities, then he took her inside the clinic, explained its goal and present projects. Their last stop was the suggested waterfall. It appeared that the water source was not a river, pond or lake but a source hidden in the rocks on the face of a mountain. It was lush and beautiful, quite a sight. She commented,
"At one time I thought this away place unsuitable for the raising of my grandchildren. Dr. G, you have helped change my opinion, thank you."
She started the conversation while they sat and observed the falls,
"Doctor, I am curious, why is it you never married?"
Raising his eyebrows and with a slight smile on his face he answered,
"I believe such an act requires developing a relationship. To do that, it necessitates the use of time, which I never had,…until now. My job required constant research, supervision, investigation, interviews, proving theories, assumptions, project deadlines, change of location…well I could go on but you get the idea. My stay here on Nag'luv1 is the longest assignment I have ever had. It has given me pause…Tell me, why such a perfect female specimen as yourself, has not remarried?"
"It is just the opposite of yourself—in one place, doing one thing—raising my children, all six of them. My husband left his family very well off. He died when T'Prie was seven years old. Not In true Vulcan fashion he pursued all aspect of his career, at the expense of his children.
"Although they are all half-Vulcan physically, all but T'Prie, are human mentally. Like many daughters, T'Prie worshiped her dad. He had been in an accident when she was five when he had the longest stay at home, an entire eighteen months at home. He lavished T'Prie with attention, she was his only daughter. He tutored her in The Vulcan Way, she became the only one that could reflect him in that way. Her siblings, all males, look totally Vulcan, but once they open their mouths, persons know that 'something is not right'.
"Try to imagine a Vulcan telling jokes, performing high fives, giving persons back slaps… Would you believe they wear the Vulcan haircut, robes and when not cutting up, the visage. I am sure, at times they have sat some person's view of the Vulcan culture back at least one hundred years. But they love me and their sister and in true Vulcan fashion, would die for us. Fortunately for McCoy, they knew him as a friend before he asked for T'Prie's hand. If that were not the case, they would have given him the hardest of times."
M'Binga sighed as he reached for her hand,
"They say opposites attract."
"So I have heard," was her response.
M'Binga simply raised her hand to his lips. Then he started the vehicle and started back to The McCoy's, no reason to be late for last meal.