Promise Me Eternity (15 page)

He clenched his teeth. Helen had never
insulted him in this way before. “I’m warning you, Helen!” he said
in a loud voice. “Watch what you’re saying. You have no right to
talk to me like that.”

She wasn’t going to be intimidated. She spoke
twice as loud, almost shouting at him. “I’ll never forgive you for
refusing that money! Never! To me, you’re nothing but a fool, a
simple fool!” With her shouting, the towel turban slipped from her
head. Her hair was still wet, which made her look even worse.

Angrily, he adjusted his glasses. “Your brain
is so addled that you’re incapable of understanding the simplest
thing. A colleague warned me about Vucci. You haven’t the simplest
idea how dangerous that man is. If I’d taken that money—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve told me a hundred times
already. Then you’d be indebted to him. Blah-blah-blah. You just
keep talking and trying to convince yourself, while I say you’re a
fool. You turned down a huge sum of money. Carlo Vucci is rolling
in money and wouldn’t even miss fifty thousand. You’re being so
damn stupid.”

Simon got up and stood in front of her. “Stop
yelling! I wanted to talk to you calmly!”

“I’ve got nothing more to talk to you about.
It’s finally become clear to me that I married an imbecile. I made
a big mistake.”

He’d never in his life heard so many
insulting words from her. There had been times when she had
insulted him, but never ever had she gone so far. He stared at her
as she shrieked at him and could barely resist the inner voice
telling him that he had to do something. “I’m warning you, stop
insulting me!”

“I’m sick of your promises that things will
get better. Things will never be any better. You’re just a dreamer.
You don’t live in this world. Your life is in that dirty cage. I
don’t know why you don’t sleep down there too. You think you’re a
scientist, but you’re nothing but an incompetent quack!”

Without his being aware of it, his right hand
flew toward her face. The slap was so loud it frightened even him.
Helen fell quiet instantly and looked at him with eyes wide open.
Then she started to whimper at the top of her voice.

He had never hit her before. “Helen, I didn’t
mean …”

She turned and ran to the bathroom.

He felt so sorry about it. He thought about
the times they had been through together and their relationship
which had cooled down. He’d never imagined how much she hated him.
He tried to comfort himself by saying she was angry and really
didn’t mean it.
Maybe I should have taken the fifty thousand. If
I’d known it would affect her so much, I would have taken it. I
didn’t realize ….

Chapter 25

_______________________

John Melton stood on the sidewalk, rolling
his eyes in astonishment and hoping to hear more.

He had been in bed, but couldn’t get to
sleep. His wife Maria was fast asleep beside him, snoring slightly.
It got on his nerves, so he prodded her a few times and even
succeeded in quieting her for a short while. But then he’d had
enough. He got dressed and went for a walk. The air was cool and
refreshing. He looked at the moon, amazed that its craters were
visible with the unaided eye.

Suddenly he heard yelling coming from the
Pattersons’ place. He checked that no one else was around and with
rapid steps moved toward the tree nearest to their house. He stood
there pretending to be thinking while trying to catch their words.
He was astonished at what he heard. His wife was always saying what
an ideal couple Simon and Helen were. She sometimes said things
about the other neighbors, but never had a word to say against
them. The thought of them arguing was pleasing to him. He was taken
aback listening to them and he smirked slightly. He was glad that
he hadn’t been able to get to sleep. It was worth it for this show.
And then that blow. He would never have thought that Simon would
hit Helen. John covered his mouth with his hand, clenched his
teeth, and shook his head. Obviously they had serious issues.
“Uh-oh,” he said quietly. “Simon may not be as perfect as Maria
thinks.” He smiled to himself.

When he crawled into bed he couldn’t help but
wake his wife. He told her what he’d heard and she fell silent. At
first she was scared, fearful that something must have
happened.

When they finally stopped talking and he shut
his eyes he was thinking,
They were talking about money. I
wonder what money it could be?

Chapter 26

_______________________

The next morning in his office, Simon
Patterson was shuffling nervously on his chair. He was wearing new
trousers and a white shirt. He’d had a shower before leaving home
and was giving off a scent of birch shampoo.

He looked through the window to see if she
was on her way. It was ten and she should have been here by now.
I will do the tests for her and then I never want to see her
again.
At that moment someone knocked on the door.

“Come in, please,” he said in a cold
voice.

The door slowly opened. When she stepped in,
he licked the inside of his lips. She was even more beautiful than
last time, dressed in a woolen, charcoal-gray suit.

“Good morning, Dr. Patterson.” Christine
Vucci beamed when she offered him her hand.

“Morning,” he replied, shaking her hand. “How
are you feeling?”

“Pretty good today. You won’t believe how
much I was looking forward to coming to see you. That’s all I’ve
been thinking about.” She fixed her eyes on him.

“How … excuse me …?” His tongue became
tangled and he stopped there.

“You know, I can’t believe that I’ll finally
be free of all those headaches.”

“Aha?” He took hold of a pen and put it down
again. “Please, sit down, Christine.” He also sat, behind his desk.
“Today we’ll run some tests to get a clear picture of what’s going
on in your head. But I can’t promise that you will actually fully
recover. First we have to find the cause.”

“Carlo sends his regards,” she said to him
gently.

“Is that so?” She confused him with that and
he forgot what he’d been saying. “So, as I was saying …”

Christine stood up and went to the window. “I
know you can’t promise anything. I realize that you must first find
the source of the problem.” She picked up the pot of miniature
roses and lifted it to her nose. She gazed at him while sniffing
them. “I believe in you, Dr. Patterson, and I know you will do
everything in your power. I’m sure you can help me.”

Those eyes. He felt her looking at him as a
child looks at sweets in a shop: a gentle and innocent look, in
which he could sense incredible longing.

“There are no words that will be adequate
enough to express my gratitude if you can actually help me. The
pain—”

“OK. Let’s go for the scan. Do you have
enough time?”

“Of course, Dr. Patterson, all the time in
the world. I will even stay the night here if you wish.” Her eyes
teasingly lit up as she said it.

Blushing, he said, “That won’t be
necessary.”

They both laughed.

In the course of the day he was with her the
whole time. At first he wanted to leave her, but then changed his
mind at the sight of her frightened eyes.

“It won’t hurt, will it?” she asked, and took
hold of his hand.

“No, no. It’s nothing of the sort.” Again he
licked the inside of his lips. The dryness was annoying.

During this time he should have performed a
minor operation, but since it was a straightforward one he left it
to Jerry Duncan. “If you need me, page me,” he said to Jerry before
leaving.

While waiting for individual tests, they
chatted about various things. Christine told him she was from
Oklahoma and that she’d met Carlo on vacation. While saying this
she let out a strange sigh, as if something was wrong.

Simon leaned back on his elbows and said
nothing.

Christine said, “You get involved in a
relationship and things are never how they should be. But I won’t
talk about my problems. Why don’t you tell me something about you
instead? How are things with your wife? She seemed like a pleasant
and elegant woman.”

He closed his eyes tight. He was sitting next
to a woman he didn’t even know and thinking whether to lie and say
things were fine or to tell the truth.

“We’re not doing so well lately,” he finally
let out. He regretted it for a moment, but on the other hand
thought that she’d never have anyone to pass it on to.
After
this visit I’ll probably never see her again, anyway
.

Christine Vucci was surprised. “Really?
Probably because of the money, right?”

His desperate look confirmed her words.

“Women are crazier about money than men are.
That’s one of our problems.”

Then everything came bursting out of him. As
if he’d been waiting for the chance to tell it all to someone. He
told her that Helen had been ignoring him for three weeks now and
that she had even threatened him with divorce. He told her
everything that lay on his heart.

Christine listened closely, nodding
encouragement. A few times she even took his hand. He felt so bad
that he didn’t even notice how the head nurse Gertrude had walked
by at that moment. She turned twice to see this amazingly gorgeous
woman holding Dr. Patterson’s hand.

Simon also told her he knew he wasn’t the
best of husbands. “I spend a lot of time in the basement working on
my research and I know that’s one of the reasons our marriage is
suffering.”

When she asked what kind of research, he
didn’t tell her the truth—no reason to. It was so complicated she
surely wouldn’t believe him. He told her, as he had Edna Weiss,
that he was working on a special fertilizer for plants.

She was thrilled and told him so. She said
she’d always admired people involved in science. “If I’d found a
scientist before, I would definitely have married him. I’ve always
found an intellectual-looking man in a white gown attractive,” she
confessed with a slight smile.

He started to sweat.

When they’d run all the tests, they went back
to his office. Simon told her the results would be ready in a few
days, adding, “I hope we’ll find the cause of your headaches.”

“I hope so too,” she said. “Thank you, Dr.
Patterson. I can’t recall the last time I had such an enjoyable
day. Your wife should think herself a very lucky woman.”

It looked as if he wanted to say something,
but his mouth remained closed. He tried hard to tell her that he
had enjoyed it too, but only managed to say good-bye. Watching her
go, he trembled like a teenager. When she shut the door, he
immediately took off his white shirt and undershirt because he was
soaked in sweat. He wanted to change.

The door swung open. “You forgot to tell me—”
She stared, speechless, at the hair on his chest.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know …” Dr.
Patterson mumbled.

“You didn’t tell me when to come,” she said,
and smiled.

“Oh, really? … Thursday, at eleven. Is that
convenient?” He looked at the wall.

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it
already.” She closed the door.

At first he was mad at himself for not having
waited at least five minutes.
That way she wouldn’t have caught
me changing.
Then he started to laugh. The whole thing seemed
funny. The smile on his face lasted for the rest of the day, until
he got home. There, Helen was waiting for him.

Chapter 27

_______________________

With a sullen expression on her face, Edna
Weiss was wiping the bathroom tiles. Helen Patterson had reproached
her for being careless last week and not cleaning the bathroom
properly. She had even said that she didn’t intend to pay for
laziness. Edna had barely been able to stop herself from arguing
back.

She squirted a thick layer of cleaner onto
the bathtub and started cleaning it. While doing so, she heard
Helen clomping up and down the stairs, which obviously meant she
was getting ready to go somewhere.

When she had finished in the bathroom, Edna
caught Helen looking at herself in the mirror and noticed right
away that she must have bought some new clothes. She was wearing
black slacks and a white cotton blouse. She had draped a yellow
silk scarf around her neck.
Nothing special
, thought Edna.
The woman never had much taste
.

“Have you finished the bathroom?” Helen asked
contemptuously.

She confirmed with a barely visible nod.

“Good. Then start on the windows. I can’t
remember the last time you cleaned them.”

“I cleaned them last week,” she stated.

While applying mascara, Helen said, “Not so
that you’d notice. Better clean them again.”

Edna had to bite her tongue. She did so
because she cared for Dr. Patterson. It was only because of him
that she continued coming to clean this house.

Edna Weiss had first heard that a Dr.
Patterson was looking for a house cleaner more than five years ago.
She applied and got the job, which she desperately needed. She had
just been fired from the dye factory nearby, where she had worked
for twenty years. She’d been told that the factory was facing a
financial crisis and so they had no choice but to lay off over a
thousand employees. The company gave her a small severance check
and then put her on the street. She didn’t like to think of those
times. Since she wasn’t so young anymore, no one wanted to hire
her. To show her gratitude to Dr. Patterson for helping her out,
she stayed an hour or two extra every time—for free, of course.