Still Falling (17 page)

He put the bags down on the dresser and
tentatively sat on the edge of the bed behind her.

“Serena?”
 
His hand paused mid-air, not sure if he
should touch her or not.
 

Serena didn’t answer.
 
He moved around to the other side of the bed
where he could see her properly.
 
She
looked asleep.
 
Her cheeks were damp and
her eyelashes were clumped together with moisture.
 
She had been crying.
 
Then he noticed it.
 
It was small.
 
The faintest of little movements, ticking like the second hand of a
clock.
  
One of her legs was
twitching.
 

“Serena?” he called shaking her gently.

Deeply worried now he did the only thing
he could think of.
 
He phoned Revel.
 
Very quickly he tracked down Serena’s assistant
and pried her doctors’ details from her.
 

Idly he thought to tell Serena to fire
her assistant.
 
She couldn’t be trusted
with private information.

Then he got the doctors receptionist on
the line and coerced her into putting Serena’s doctor on the phone.
 
Without giving much in the way of reason, he
demanded that the doctor drop everything and come to the hotel immediately to
attend to Serena.
 
He had noted that the
surgery was not far from the hotel.
 
At
least the Doctor wouldn’t be long.
 
He
threw on a shirt and looked for something to cover her, without disturbing her
by pulling blankets out from under her.
 
He settled on a large bath towel.
 

Checking the time he phoned the
concierge and advised him that he was waiting for an Englishman by the name of
Doctor Roberts and the Concierge was to see him up as swiftly as possible.

With nothing left to do, he sat in the
chair beside the bed and watched Serena, just like he had watched her all
night.

Serena woke to
raised
male voices in the room next door.

“Mr. Spinozzi, I promise you Serena is
out the woods, but I can’t and won’t discuss the details of her condition with
you.
 
You are not a relative and I have
to consider patient confidentiality.”

“Doctor, I am already aware of the
‘treatment’ Serena underwent.
 
But that
was weeks ago.
 
Surely she should have
fully recovered by now.
 
This is just not
right!”
 
Suddenly Marco paled.
 
Oh God.
 
I didn’t think.
 
What if I was too
rough with her and hurt her.
 
Shit so
soon after an abortion.
 
Stupid!
Stupid!
 
Stupid!
 
I should have realised something like that
can tear a woman up inside.
 

“

“Serena.”

“It’s alright, I’ll handle this.”

The doctor raised his eyebrows at
her.
 
“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

“That’s fine then Serena.
 
I’ll see you at your next appointment?”

Serena was about to nod again when Marco
interrupted.

“Sorry Dr. Robinson, but I must ask you
to stay.”
 
Marco looked at both of
them.
 
Serena shrugged and pulled the
silk sheet she had pilfered from the bed tightly around her.
 
She made herself comfortable on one of the
sofas, tucking her legs under her for comfort.
 
The Doctor, frowning, followed and lowered himself into an armchair.

When it became clear that Serena was not
going to start until Marco sat down, he reluctantly perched himself on the edge
of the coffee table.

“

“Marco. I am not pregnant.”

“I know.”
Said Marco
cautiously.
 
“I know about the
abortion.”

Both Serena and the doctor gaped at him.

What?
Is that what he thinks?
  
I could
never!
 
I’m I wasn’t even....but even if
I was...!

Serena’s eyes brimmed with tears.
 
The Dr.
Robinson,
looked incredulously from Serena to Marco and back again.

“Serena?
 
Is there something I should know?”

She shook her head ashamed.
 

He
really does think very little of me doesn’t he!

Marco was more concerned than ever
now.
 
Dr. Robinson had been treating her
for an illness that was apparently healing now, but appeared to know nothing
about the abortion.
 
She must have asked
the kids doctor to do.
 
He didn’t know
much about medicine, but experience with both his parents had taught him about
the importance of medical history.
 
Serena’s Medical history was now spread out across Italy and
doctors were treating her without knowing everything there was to know.
 
It was dangerous.
 

Unhappily he saw the Doctor out and
turned to study the small figure curled up on the sofa.
 

“I don’t know what is going on here
Serena, but you are playing a very dangerous game.
 
There are some clothes in the shopping bags
through there.” He said pointing to the bedroom.
 
“Get dressed and I’ll take you home.”

They spoke only to confirm the address
of Serena’s flat.
 
The rest of the drive
was made in silence.
 
The buildings
doorman opened her door and let her out when they got there and she didn’t look
back.
 
Marco drove away in silence.

It was well into the end of October and
Josephine was concerned about Serena.
 
Whilst Serena was certainly a lot healthier physically, which everyone
was grateful for; it was the general opinion in the studio that someone had
given Serena a partial brain
transplant.
 
In particular, the part of
the brain controlling rational thought and emotional control.
 
Since returning to work her
moods had swung dramatically and frequently and always to the extreme.
 

Serena would arrive at Revel in the
morning, two to three hours earlier than she needed to.
 
Start off the day quiet and sullen, snapping
when disturbed.
 
Then by lunch time she
would wonder off somewhere and Jo would find her hiding in an empty room or on
the fire escape or the ladies room, crying.
 
Jo would sit with her a while waiting for her to talk, but Serena would
just wipe her eyes when she had enough, nod at Jo in thanks for the company and
walk back to work.
 
By the end of the
day, Serena would be spitting nails and her assistant and several apprentices
would be the ones hiding in various locations crying.
 

Then she would work two hours late
before Marie would insist it was time to go home.
 
No one ever saw her eat.

That just covered the emotional.
 
The list of irrational behaviour was even
longer.
 
This morning
Jo had come in to find Serena with her hair wept back into a bun, a smidge of
make up on, a pearl choker over a burgundy polo neck sweater and a pair of
suede boots, Jo had bought her last winter.
 
If it weren’t for the trademark sour face and
the yellow, brushed cotton Pyjama pants, Serena would have looked fabulous.

“Well at least she is predictable.” Said
Jo to Serena’s assistant.
 
“I give her
ten minutes and she’ll be crying somewhere.”

“Can’t we just give her a bit of time
off?”

“I did.”

“What happened?”

“She still came to work.
 
She used to tell me stuff.
 
Now she has just closed herself off.
 
I can get through to her.”

“Does her mother have any ideas?”

“Nope.
 
She says she has spoken to Serena on the
phone but Serena insists everything is fine.”

“Well clearly it’s not.”

“Clearly but if she
can’t ask for help, there is not a lot of help that can be given.”

Jo excused herself and went in search of
her friend and best designer.
 
She found
her sitting on an upside down waste paper basket in the cutting room.
 
Box of tissues in hand, Jo ignored the scraps
of fabric and stray cotton threads that she knew would stick like a magnet to
her clothes, and sat down on the floor in front of her friend.
 
She held out the tissues like a peace
offering.

“Nice pants.”

Serena looked at her yellow Pyjama pants
as if seeing them for the first time.
 
She even managed slight blush and small smile when we realised how
ridiculous she must look.

“Serena, I love you like you are my own
sister.
 
You know that right?”

Serena nodded.

“Well you’re putting me in a difficult
position.
 
All my staff
are
threatening mutiny.
 
I’m worried as hell about you, as is your mother.
 
And my favourite designer hasn’t come up with
anything for autumn/summer fashion week which is only in three months.”

Serena looked up her friend, eyes
wide.
 
“Are you firing me?” she sobbed.

“No silly.
 
But I am seriously considering booking you
into a nice little hotel I know, where security is top priority and the
concierge is a qualified doctor!” Josephine put her hands on Serena’s lap.
 

Hotel.......The Hyatt.....Oh God.

“What’s the matter huh?”

“Truthfully, I don’t know.
 
Initially I was just hurt and angry at Marco
and I supposed a little lost without him.
 
I missed him. Now I’m just hurt and angry at everything!”

“Honey, Marco was years ago.
 
Did something happen at Tramonto?”

“Ummm no.
 
Not exactly”

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”
 
Said Jo with genuine
concern.

“I chaperoned Marie to that party for
the English guy she is all hung up over.”

“She did mention it and I told her
off......but what has that got to do with Marco?
 
I know he wasn’t at the party.”

“No but he was staying at the Hyatt and
I got a little drunk and well.....”
 
She
trailed off.

“So what happened?
 
I mean I know you’re still attracted to the
bastard, and that is okay you know?”

Serena looked down at a scrap of fabric
she had been twisting in her fingers.
 
She wanted to explain but needed to get the choking lump cleared from
her throat before it burst the flood gates.
 
Finally she took a cleansing breath and admitted, to herself more than
anyone else her root problem.

“I love him.
 
I thought I could stop.
 
I thought I could move on.
 
That morning at the Hyatt I fooled myself
into thinking I could get finally satisfy my need for him and get him out from
under my skin.”
 
Serena looked up at her
friend, eyes red and watering.
 
“It just
made it worse!”
 
She wailed.

“Well that would explain your
moods.
 
Is that why you’re not eating?”

Serena looked at her friend genuinely
scared.
 
“I’m not eating because I always
feel ill.
 
But I’m scared to tell the
doctor.
 
You know in case.....well in
case it’s back.”

“Oh Serena!
 
You little fool.
 
So much on your plate and
trying to handle all this on your own.
 
That’s why you’re so emotional.
 
It might be nothing more than a little bug.”
 
She pulled her friend into a comforting
hug.
 
“I’m going to get you an
appointment for the doctor this afternoon.
 
If it’s a bug you can stop worrying yourself to death and stop
terrorising my staff.
 
If...and this is a
BIG if it’s back, we’ll deal with it.
 
Okay?”

Serena nodded wiping her nose with a
handful of already soggy tissues.

“And as for Marco......we’ll deal with
him later.
 
One step at
a time baby.”

“Thank you Jo.
 
I’m sorry.”
 
Serena sobbed.
 
Jo squeezed her
hand.

“Right first things first, hit the rails
and see if you can find something other than those very sexy pants.
 
You’re not going anywhere with me looking
like that!”

Later that afternoon, the two women
walked into the waiting rooms to see Doctor Robinson.