Chapter 9
The strange smell did not have the same effect on Lorenzo as
it usually did. In the past, just the thought of the smells that permeated a
hospital awoke in him an uneasiness that turned into anxiety and then
discomfort. He did not understand the specific reason why, but he knew that he
was not the only one. The interesting thing was that he had never been
hospitalized. Maybe it was some repressed fear of not knowing when he would
make his debut as a hospital patient. Or maybe it was because of the stories he
had heard about people who were hospitalized for some unexpected illness and
never returned home. Maybe it was simply because of his phobia of needles. In
hospitals there were needles ready to be used in every room. And the staff who
were able to perform that unpleasant task were always more than ready to do so.
Nevertheless, the smells did not awaken any further anxiety in Lorenzo that
day. His anxiety was already at its maximum level for another reason.
While Lorenzo was being transferred
to the room where Doris was, he saw something that made him reevaluate his
feelings toward hospitals. He walked by an area where the majority of the faces
were happy and radiant. There were hugs and handshakes. The sobs that were
heard broke into smiles and the tears were from happiness. He remembered that
he, too, would soon be looking at his little one through the window of a
maternity unit with pride, accompanied by and congratulated by his family
members who did not live on the island but who would not miss the happy
occasion for the world. Only under that circumstance would he accept being
within the walls of that terrible hospital, even if only for a few days.
When his gaze stumbled into Alexis’
at the end of the hallway, he abruptly came back to the present. He saw him
conversing with a man in a white lab coat, who he assumed was a doctor, and who
was flanked by two uniformed police officers, and he realized that the future
he had just been dreaming about was in real danger of becoming exactly that: a
dream. What he was actually experiencing was worse than a nightmare; it was
reality and he could not wake up from it.
Alexis interrupted his conversation
with Doctor Vidal and introduced him to Lorenzo, who did not lose any time in
asking how Doris was. Alexis had not provided any details over the phone.
Meanwhile, Edgar remained hidden around the corner but very much alert to what
was going on.
“Mr. Mojica, please allow me to
speak with Mr. Almeida in private,” Doctor Vidal requested of Alexis, who
instantly obliged. Turning to Lorenzo, the doctor said, “Your wife was brought
here because she suffered an extreme anxiety and panic attack. She has plunged
into a severe depression. It appears the ordeal she’s going through right now
triggered an already underlying condition.”
“And the baby?” questioned Lorenzo
worriedly.
“The baby is fine….for now. Look, I
need you to understand that severe depression is a serious condition that can
be as dangerous to the mother as it can be to the baby,” the doctor explained
with care.
“How dangerous?” asked Lorenzo,
without really wanting to hear the answer.
“Both of their lives could be at
risk.”
“I see,” said Lorenzo with a sigh.
“There are treatments that can be
effective. That said, we want to avoid treatment with drugs at this moment
because it could put the fetus at risk,” he explained.
“Yes, yes. I understand,” said Lorenzo
without looking at him. “So, what can we do?”
“Talk to her. See if she reacts to
your presence. Let her see that she’s not alone, that everything will be all
right. Give her a loving sense of assurance and warmth,” instructed the doctor
affably.
“And if she doesn’t believe me?”
asked Lorenzo to the doctor’s surprise. The physician gathered that the strain
was taking its toll on Lorenzo, too.
“If you believe it, she will, too,”
he answered with an understanding smile that was his attempt at encouraging
Lorenzo to give it a try. Lorenzo could barely nod his head in agreement. The
doctor gave him a pat on the shoulder and took a small step back to give him
space.
Lorenzo silently entered the room.
The only source of light came from a small lamp next to the bed where Doris was
lying. She was the only patient in the room. When Lorenzo got close enough to
her, he could see the ravages caused by what she was going through. The
deterioration in Doris’ physical appearance was clear. Her eyes were closed and
she had no color or expression. He was used to admiring her copper-colored
skin; seeing her so pale made him feel like he was looking at a cadaver. But
there was life in her body. He just had to find it. The only obstacle was that
Lorenzo did not have the slightest idea of what to do or say. So, he said the
first thing that came to him.
“Doris,” he called tenderly.
“Doris.”
He waited for an answer that he
knew he would not get.
“Doris, I guess you can hear me. I
need to ask you some very important questions. I need your help to clear this
up…”
Lorenzo interrupted himself. The
room filled with silence again for a moment. He closed his eyes and let out a
big breath of air. He took one of her frozen hands and clasped it between his.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered lovingly.
“I want to tell you something…I believe in you….I love you, now more than ever.
I’ll fight this ’til the end, but I can’t do it alone. I need you to fight,
too. Don’t let me lose you, please. We’re fighting and we’re going to win. I
promise you. We’re going to win so that we can be like we were before…better
than before, actually, so we can give a beautiful home to our baby boy…or
girl.” That thought stopped him. “I’m going to be a dad and you’re going to be
a mom. Our dream. Every time I think about it, it makes me so happy…but at the
same time, I feel like it can’t be true. The truth is that we need you.
Your
family
needs you.”
Lorenzo did not perceive any change
in her appearance. He moved closer and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead.
He realized that he was losing her to the cruelty of depression. Lorenzo’s
facial expression transformed from loving affection to a radiating fury. He
said goodbye to Doris giving her another kiss on the forehead and then
hurriedly left the room.
Without exchanging words or looks
with the people waiting for him outside, Lorenzo rushed down the hallway.
Alexis and Edgar barely had time to react as Lorenzo left them in a cloud of
dust. Alexis tried to stop him as he flew past people.
“What’d she say to you? The doctor’s
coming right back. Don’t go!” Alexis implored in vain.
“Yeah, don’t go! You’re my ride!”
clamored Edgar, running after him.
Edgar was just able to catch up
with him when Lorenzo entered one of the elevators. Edgar refrained from asking
any questions because he could see that Lorenzo was not in the best state. He
figured it would be more appropriate to wait until a later time. In the
meantime, he would discuss a different matter of utmost importance to him.
“Okay, where are we going to eat?”
asked Edgar.
“We’re going to my house,” answered
Lorenzo dryly, with his gaze fixed on the changing floor numbers as they went
down.
“Oh, you’re cooking. Even better. What
are you making?” he asked again.
“We’re not going to eat anything
right now. We’re going to look for the invitation that Doris brought to
Pedroza’s house. I have to find some sort of clue, and I’m not going to eat
until I’ve found it,” said Lorenzo, expressionless.
“Okay, but I have to eat now. I can
tag along on your hunger strike, but I’ll be at your side eating,” Edgar
pointed out, crossing his arms.
Minutes later, Lorenzo started his
car and drove toward the highway. Traffic was light, which was normal for the
area at this time of night. Lorenzo hit the brakes when the stoplight in front
of them turned red. The car came to a complete stop in the middle of the
intersection. The characteristic sputtering of his car was the only thing cutting
through the total silence. Lorenzo appeared to be very wrapped up in his
thoughts.
“What’d Doris say to you? Did she
help you with anything?” asked Edgar, trying to end the uncomfortable silence.
“She told me that she’s the one who
needs help,” answered Lorenzo to Edgar’s surprise. Edgar was only met with more
silence as he tried to find out more, especially about something that he had overheard
when he was listening in on the conversation between Lorenzo and Dr. Vidal.
“And what’s this about you having a
baby? Congratulations….although under the circum…”
His words were cut short when a car suddenly
slammed into them from behind. Edgar let out a groan as he rubbed his neck with
both hands. Lorenzo looked into the rearview mirror but could not see anything
except the glare of the headlights from the car that had rammed into them. When
he veered to the side to get a better look he noticed it was a large SUV, but
he could not make out the driver. He was getting ready to get out when Edgar
stopped him.
“No! What are you doing?” asked
Edgar, alarmed.
“I’m going to see what they did to
the car,” explained Lorenzo calmly.
“Don’t get out. Something weird is
going on,” said Edgar, fixing his gaze on the truck. “No one’s getting out. I’m
telling you, something weird is going on.”
“I think you’re right. That’s a brand
new truck. Why hasn’t anyone gotten out?” Lorenzo wondered. He knew from
experience that when you have an accident with a new car, it does not matter
who is at fault. The owner of the new car is the first to get out to see if
there is any damage to the car. And they generally blame it on the other
person. No one wants other people to say that they have wrecked their new car.
As soon as the light turned green,
Edgar urged Lorenzo to hurry up and leave the other car behind. Lorenzo gave in
without protest. The truck continued in the same direction as Lorenzo and Edgar.
“They’re following us,” Edgar
announced, losing his cool.
Edgar’s announcement was not
necessary. Lorenzo was very much aware. Nevertheless, he tried to calm both
Edgar and himself down.
“No. Since the accident was their fault,
and it wasn’t anything big, he just wants to see if we’ll let him pass. It’s
fine. I’m not even going to think about the ding in the bumper,” explained
Lorenzo without obtaining the desired effect.
“He’s following us. I’m telling
you,” insisted Edgar vehemently.
“We’re on a road that tons of
people use. I’m going to turn so you’ll see,” said Lorenzo, hoping he was
right. He swerved to the right, pulling onto a secondary road. In the mirror,
Lorenzo could see that the truck swerved in the same direction. Edgar grabbed
his head, bumping up and down in his seat.
“I told you! They’re still there!
What’re we going to do?”
Lorenzo looked back in his mirror
constantly while searching for a reasonable explanation.
“It must be a coincidence. I’m
going to try to get farther ahead of him,” said Lorenzo, pushing on the gas
pedal to speed up. The truck stayed back. “He didn’t speed up,” announced
Lorenzo, relieved.
“But they’re still behind us,”
objected Edgar.
“Okay, we’ll turn again, if it’ll
calm you down.”
Lorenzo spun the steering wheel
around again, this time to the left, pulling onto a narrow, deserted road.
Slowing down, they carefully looked back at the road they had just abandoned. A
few seconds later, the road gradually lit up from the headlights of an
approaching truck.
“Go, go, go!” begged Edgar,
clutching his seat.
The truck slowed down and slowly
made the same turn, pulling onto the road and bathing them with the light of
its powerful headlights.
“Uh, oh,” muttered Edgar.
“Now it’s more than a coincidence,”
declared Lorenzo, pushing the gas pedal to the floor. They quickly shot
forward, leaving behind a thick plume of dust. In front of them they could only
see what little bit was illuminated by Lorenzo’s weak headlights. He had been
meaning to change them for a while. Now he was sorry he had not made time to do
it when he was able. The time he had saved might end up costing him his life.
Due to the lack of visibility and the speed at which they were driving, he
estimated that if they encountered an obstacle he would not have enough time to
react and brake safely. Oddly enough, that seemed like a better alternative to
him than stopping or slowing down.
Suddenly the truck sped up wildly.
The eight cylinder “gas guzzler” roared like a lion pouncing on its prey.
Lorenzo and Edgar saw how the car’s headlights got exponentially larger through
the cloud of dust, blinding them with intense beams of light.
“Okay, what’s the plan? Where are
we going?” asked Edgar, exasperated.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” snapped
Lorenzo.
“What do you mean ‘don’t get ahead
of myself?’ Do you know what you’re doing or not?”
“Of course not!” shouted Lorenzo.
The truck continued closing in on
them when, suddenly, Lorenzo no longer had to decide what to do. He simply
pushed the brake pedal down as far as it would go. His car spun out in the dust
until it stopped only inches from the edge of a high bluff overlooking the
beach. Lorenzo and Edgar were completely petrified, eyes squeezed shut.
The truck stopped behind them. The
cloud of dust raised by the vehicles swirled around both cars. Through the
cloud, Lorenzo could see the silhouette of two men walking toward his door. One
of them was completely bald and skinny, maybe too skinny, with eyes that seemed
to pop out of their sockets, and a face that appeared to be covered in only a
very thin layer of skin. No muscle. He was dressed in a shirt and tie, but his
clothes seemed to hang off him. The other individual was tall and stocky,
dressed in a jacket with no tie. The skinny guy wore a smile that made Lorenzo
feel uneasy. The tall guy was very aggressive looking, as if he wanted to punch
someone.