Promise Me Eternity (12 page)

When Helen saw what he had done, she felt as
if
she
had been torn in two. A terrible burning sensation
spread through her and she felt like screaming out loud. Tears of
anger and helplessness squeezed from her eyes. She could not
contain it any longer. She got up and ran to the bathroom, only to
get away from Simon. If she stayed with him even for a moment,
something might happen that she would later regret. She might kill
him. She hated him as she had never hated anyone before.

For a while Carlo looked on in amazement, but
then smiled and shrugged. “There are new surprises every day. You
are an exceptional man, Dr. Patterson. Not only did you save my
life, but you are more modest than anyone I’ve ever met. I can’t
tell you how grateful I am to have met you.”

Meanwhile, Christine had forgotten to close
her mouth. She stared at Dr. Patterson as if she couldn’t believe
her eyes.

Dr. Patterson placed the torn check on the
silver salver.

Silence again.

Carlo said, “I think we should drink a
toast.”

Simon gave a hollow smile and picked up his
crystal glass. In the moment when he touched glasses with Christine
he saw something in her eyes that told him they would see each
other again. Her smile was slightly different from her earlier
expression. She would stay in his memory a long time after
tonight.

The whole way home, Helen stared forward and
cried hysterically. Simon had known she would be upset, but he
never imagined it would be so bad. He drove fast, without speaking,
because he knew if he said anything it would make things worse.

At home he quickly went to his laboratory.
She’ll get over it
, he thought.
I’ve got a lot of work to
do.

He could hear Helen sobbing all the while he
was in the basement. She cried noisily for at least two hours.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and
went upstairs to calm her.

“I didn’t realize you’d take it so badly,” he
said as he got close to her.

Helen was loading dishes in the dishwasher
and wiping her tears. “How dare you come near me. Get lost! I never
want to see you again.”

“I couldn’t take the money.”

“Get lost, you damn fool!”

“Helen, how can you talk to me like
that?”

“I’ll talk to you how I want. I’ve had enough
of you. I want a divorce. Our marriage is over,” she said with
loathing. She stared at him with eyes red and swollen from
crying.

“I know you’re very upset, but—”

“Simon, I can’t take it anymore. Your way of
thinking is driving me crazy.” She slammed a green plastic dish
into the dishwasher and then she said to him, “I hate you.”

“Helen, what nonsense are you talking? You’re
my wife.” He moved toward her, wanting to take her in his arms and
show her that in spite of everything he still loved her. “Helen, I
never wanted to—”

She pushed him away with all her strength,
shrieking. He hadn’t expected that and stumbled backwards, losing
his balance. He waved his arms as he fell and ended up hitting his
head hard on the edge of the table.

Then she screamed even more, while he held
his head. He told her to stop because his head was hurting, but she
didn’t hear him. She moved hysterically about the kitchen, howling
noisily.

For some time Simon lay on the floor, barely
coping with the pain, and then finally got to his feet. Helen was
still walking to and fro and was obviously suffering some kind of
nervous attack. At one point he asked himself who was suffering
more, him or her? Then he decided he should leave her in peace. He
quickly disappeared into the basement.

Chapter 19

_______________________

Anita Carter and Jerry Duncan sat in the
Columbia Restaurant, on the first floor of an old townhouse in the
outskirts of Medford. Anita ate slowly and elegantly, while Jerry
threw fried mushrooms into his mouth as if afraid that someone may
come and take them away.

“We’re in a restaurant, Jerry. Can’t you
control yourself a bit?”

He looked at her with surprise. “What are you
trying to say?”

“I’ve got nothing against you stuffing
yourself at home, but people are looking at us and you’re eating as
if you were half starved.”

He quickly licked his lips and reached for
the cotton napkin. He wiped his chin and winked. “I completely
forgot. These mushrooms are so good.” Then he ate in a more refined
manner.

After a while, Anita said, “Guess what
happened yesterday.”

“What?”

“Simon Patterson said it was my fault what
happened to that patient who was allergic to iodine. You remember,
it was more than a month ago. He said that I should have warned
him. Can you imagine?”

Jerry was surprised. “He waited more than a
month? It’s obvious he didn’t dare tell you before.”

“He was in a foul mood.”

“Isn’t it his responsibility to ask about the
patient’s condition before the operation?”

“Exactly. And how dare he judge me like that?
I have my work cut out with the anesthetics. You surgeons think my
job is an easy one, but it isn’t.”

“I never said your job was easy.”

“You never said it, but I can see it in your
eyes. I know exactly what your view is. You think that it’s not
even worth training in anesthesiology.”

“What are you saying, Anita? You know very
well that’s not what I think.”

“My work carries a lot of responsibility.
Often, at critical moments, it’s in the anesthetist’s hands whether
a patient lives or dies. I do my best and I had to work damn hard
to get where I am now. And someone like Patterson is not going to
tell me how to do my job.”

Jerry put down his fork. “Of course not,
Anita. Don’t get so excited. Look, that guy and woman to our left
are staring at us. Maybe you were a bit loud.”

“I don’t care. Let them stare. Let them all
stare!”

“Come on, not long ago you said I shouldn’t
eat so fast because of other people. Now …. I think Simon Patterson
was angry because he got it in the neck from the director. He had
to take it out on someone. You were the first suitable victim.”

“Of course. Because I’m helpful and always
warn him in advance about any allergy and for once I forget. It’s
all my fault. In the future—”

“I think it’s best you drop the whole
thing.”

“Did you speak to him yet about a
promotion?”

“Hell, Anita, do you have to start all that
again? You know I don’t like it. Besides, we’re in a restaurant
and—”

“Did you speak to him?”

He dabbed at his mouth with the napkin and
laid it angrily on the table. “No, I didn’t speak to him yet. I
don’t know what the big hurry is.”

“It’s your salary that’s at stake. When are
you going to talk to him?”

He stared stubbornly at the waiter. “OK, I’ll
have a word with him. But stop bugging me, damn it!”

She took a few sips of wine. “Fine. The main
thing is you’re going to have a word. I’m really curious what
you’re going to say.”

“Me too. Now please, stop talking about work
and start enjoying the food.”

Chapter 20

_______________________

The following week they didn’t speak to each
other. Helen was frosty, while Simon acted like nothing had
happened. Nothing more was said about the visit to Carlo Vucci’s.
Initially, this suited him because for the first time in ages she
stopped nagging him. She was with him, but he had the feeling that
she was not there at all. She didn’t even look at him, acting as if
he simply wasn’t in the room. A few times he tried to start a
conversation, but she replied briefly and succinctly or seemed to
not hear him.

In spite of this, he persisted and was
friendly toward her. When he saw her sitting at the table, sad and
alone, he felt sorry for her. He wished he could put his arms
around her and hold her tight.

One evening Simon was lying in bed, thinking
about making love to Helen. It had been at least two weeks since
they had last made love. Very slowly, he moved toward her side of
the bed and embraced her from behind.

“Are you completely crazy?” she yelped. She
threw back the covers and jumped up. “How could you even think of
that?”

He quickly retreated to his side of the bed,
shocked at her violent reaction. He said something to persuade her
to consider the idea of making up.

Instead of listening she got dressed and went
down to the kitchen. In the end, he had no choice but to give up
and fall asleep.

Two days later Helen was holding in her hand
a small business card. On her coffee break, she was in a phone
booth and dialed a number. Through the glass she saw a crowd of
people, but in her mind she saw Simon holding that check and
tearing it in half. Her thin lips twisted and the lines at the side
of her face became deep.

“Bloody fool!” she said out loud, and covered
her eyes with her hands because she was about to cry.

Chapter 21

_______________________

Three weeks after the visit with the Vuccis,
Simon was having lunch in the self-service restaurant at the
hospital. His thoughts were constantly with his wife. Her saying
she wanted a divorce kept echoing in his head. He hoped she had
said it without thinking, out of anger. He simply couldn’t
understand how that check could upset her so.
When I finally
develop a vaccine against aging, we’ll earn millions. The stupid
fifty thousand dollars that Vucci wanted to give me will be
peanuts. No one can buy me.

When he had spoken the week before to one of
the other surgeons and mentioned meeting Carlo Vucci, his colleague
had said, “I’ve heard that Vucci is a dangerous type. I don’t know
what he’s involved in, but I know he’s had quite a few dealings
with the police. They wanted to charge him with a number of murders
but never got enough evidence. Two witnesses who were supposed to
testify against him vanished without a trace.”

Simon broke out in a cold sweat when he heard
this. He was proud of himself for not taking the money. He hoped
never to see the man again.

One evening he told Helen, to calm her down.
He was sure that she would finally understand.

She responded angrily. “I don’t give a damn
if he’s a criminal or not. The fact is you turned down fifty
thousand dollars and we are living in poverty. The rest doesn’t
matter. Do you have any idea what we could have bought with that
money?”

He was used to her exaggerating how poor they
were. He repeated once more that Vucci was an extremely dangerous
character and it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with people
like that. “If I’d taken the money I would feel I owed him in some
way.”

“I don’t know why you think in such a dumb
way. He’s the one who owes you. After all, you saved his life.”

“You don’t understand, Helen. If I took the
money he’d think he could buy me. He’d be sure to call me sometime
in the future when he got into difficulties.”

“What kind of difficulties? What are you
talking about?”

“If he’s as dangerous as they say and is
involved in criminal activities, then it could happen that he or
one of his henchmen got wounded. If they went to a hospital they
would have to call the police. Every shooting has to be reported,
you know.”

She raised her hand to stop him. “I know
exactly what you’re getting at. I think you’ve seen too many
gangster films. No one would call you. And these rumors of yours
that he’s a criminal have never been confirmed. I’ve no intention
of discussing this with you anymore. I’ve got a headache, I’m going
to bed.”

She didn’t even wish him good night.

Simon was eating his salad in the
self-service restaurant, still angry and wondering how Helen could
act like that. A few yards away he saw the director of the
hospital, Brad Horras. When Simon took his empty tray back, he said
hello to the director. Then Simon entered the elevator to go to his
office on the third floor. On the way up, a woman’s voice came over
the loudspeaker saying: “Dr. Patterson, please go to your
office.”

Two young girls in the elevator smiled at
him. They were wearing light-green gowns. He couldn’t remember
where he’d seen them before. He guessed they were medical students
doing their internship. “I’m already on my way,” he said out loud,
returning their smiles.

When he left the elevator, he said a friendly
good-bye. A few moments later he heard their loud giggles.

Who could be looking for me at this
time
? he asked himself. He had no appointments booked. He went
thoughtfully into the small waiting room in front of his office. A
woman with light hair sat there, her eyes on the ground.

“Good morning,” he said. “How can I help
you?”

She raised her head. At that moment he
recognized her.

“Oh, Mrs. Vucci. It’s you.” The next moment
his face went red. He waited in surprise for her reply.

She rose elegantly and offered him her hand.
“Good morning, Doctor. I came to speak to you. I’d like …”

He stared as she stood there. She seemed much
more beautiful than she had at dinner and it took his breath
away.

“Please, come in. We can talk in my
office.”

She gave a grateful smile, showing her
wonderful pearl-white teeth. Again, he felt a wave of heat rush to
his head.

When they had sat down, Christine Vucci said,
“I hesitated for quite some time before deciding to come and see
you. I’m not sure if you’re the one who can help me.”

He looked at her with interest and nodded.
“If it’s in my power to help you, I will certainly do so. Please,
go on.”