Midweek means words. It is Wednesday after all. I have new words. They aren’t fancy but they do move the overall story along and this scene happens closer to the end. I’m getting there. Slowly. Not very surely, but progress. So, what’ our #ThursdayThreads inspriation for today? This intriguing prompt:”Most of you never ask.”
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Cory’s gaze flitted around the table and, like a butterfly fluttery across a spring meadow, landed on everyone’s face. They were flying home in the morning and this evening would be the last time they’d be with the children and Petro. She couldn’t shake the melancholy that shrouded her. The weather, a cold drizzle, matched her emotions perfectly.

She smiled ruefully as Duke squeezed her hand. He knew. He always knew what mood she was in. Her mentor had warned her when she became a member of Doctors Without Borders. He’d been right. She cared far too much. Even though these kids had only been in her care for a matter of days, she’d come to love all of them.

Conversation buzzed around her. The team was excited to get back to the USA. They’d been cold, wet, and miserable for a couple of weeks and the idea of lying in the sun on the beach in Key West appealed to them all. She understood the sentiment. She was homesick too but at the same time, she worried about what would happen after they left.

Sunk deep in her thoughts, she startled when Duke’s arm circled her shoulders. When had he stopped holding her hand? She turned wide eyes on her husband.

“You must be a million miles away, princess. Kin asked you a question.”

Blinking to focus, she said, “Sorry. What did you ask?”

“Marishka,” Kin said. “When would she be able to travel?”

“With the right transport, probably now. The infection is under control and she’s responding well to the chemo infusions.”

Kin and Meg exchanged looks, but Dom spoke up before she could question what they were thinking about.
“Whose ready to go home?” The cocky pilot raised his hand. “There’s a beach towel with my name on it.”

That spurred more lively conversation. Cory returned to her somber head space but one question caught her attention because its answer had been the root of her contemplation. Unable to identify who’d asked, she responded. “What?”

Loch was who answered. “What’ll become of the kids? After we’re gone, I mean.”

And there it was in a nutshell yet his inquiry still caught her off guard. She thought she’d been the only one worried about the kids. Despite all their missions, she’d never once heard any team member ask about the consequences of their actions or what would become of those left behind.

“Most of you never ask what happens next after a mission. Why now?”

“Because these kids are important,” Kin said.

“Exactly,” everyone chimed in.
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And there you have it. Writers, feel free to beg, borrow, or steal the prompt to get new words. That’s what Wednesdays are for, right? Right! And readers, what a question you never ask?