Page 20 of Prognosis Baby Daddy

Ben’s lips twisted. ‘Such is life. Come on.’ He stood. ‘Let’s eat and get on our way.’

Ben strode ahead of her and she followed him slowly. Was this why Lucia was so worried about her son? Something had obviously happened between Ben and his brother. Something that had been strong enough to drive a wedge between them for ten years. Something that had persisted, even through death.

Katya caught up with Ben a minute later. He had been stopped by Damul, the father of the two children they had operated on yesterday. The man had tears in his eyes and the biggest, broadest grin Katya had ever seen. He was shaking Ben’s hand and gabbling away at him in his own dialect.

Ben spoke back to him in Italian as their hands remained clasped. Katya smiled at Damul, who bestowed another grin on her. She could see the joy behind his tears, how grateful he was, and her smile grew wider. Damul had been through so much. The loss of his wife and the injury to his children. Katya could only imagine how impotent he must have felt.

Damul patted Ben on the back and slowly withdrew, smiling all the way. ‘A happy customer,’ Katya said, still smiling from Damul’s joy.

Ben smiled back. ‘It’s a good feeling.’

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘it is, isn’t it?’ To be a part of Ben’s grand dream had been extremely rewarding, even in the little time she’d been there.

He frowned at her. ‘Really? I’d have thought it’d be a little too slow for you. I thought you liked the pace and the anonymity of the patch them up and send them on environment?’

So had she. And she did. The high turnover and hectic pace was exhilarating. She thrived on it. And the virtual anonymity of their patients was vital to keep burnout at bay. Being a body part rather than a whole person made the horror of it all easier to process.

From a very young age Katya had learned to block her emotions so it was inevitable, almost, that she should gravitate to a work environment where there was no time for emotions. But suddenly it didn’t seem to be the be-all and end-all.

Getting to know Lupi and Damul’s children and the other kids had been surprisingly gratifying. Maybe it was just her hormones but for the first time in a long time she actually felt like a nurse.

She knew what she did at MedSurg mattered, that without people like her and Gill and Ben, many, many people would die. But here at the clinic she was learning that making a difference to just one person, one child, could be intensely, intimately rewarding as well.

‘Maybe I’m mellowing.’ She shrugged.

Ben hooted with laughter, remembering their altercation yesterday. ‘I can’t quite imagine you mellow.’

She straightened. He was right. She was about to turn his life upside down. She couldn’t afford to mellow until her job here was done. She shot him a withering look. ‘And don’t you forget it, Count,’ she said, and strode away.

––––––––

Half an hour laterthey were on the road to Amalfi and Katya was, once again, clutching the seat as Ben steered the Alfa expertly on the kamikaze roads. She was too frightened to even worry about what the rest of the day would hold, and in a crazy way it was a blessed relief.

When they arrived in Amalfi, Ben parked his car in the harbour car park. The sun reflected off the shiny surfaces of all the sleek white boats and Katya donned her sunglasses. She followed him past rows and rows of aquatic craft before pulling up in front of The Mermaid.

‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ he asked.

Katya was pleased to see that Ben had shed his mood from the garden and she gave The Mermaid the once-over. She supposed it was beautiful but she was paying more attention to the way the boat bobbed in the water.

‘Come on,’ he said, grabbing her hand and helping her onboard. ‘I’ll show you around.’

Ben adored this boat. He’d had every intention of selling her when he’d sold the Ferrari — after all, he hadn’t been out in her in a decade — but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe because it didn’t have the same symbolism as the red car. Mario hadn’t been interested in boats so The Mermaid was something that didn’t represent his continuous rivalry with his brother.

The boat had been truly just about his own pleasure.

As he sat at the helm and refamiliarised himself with the dials, ran his hands over the wheel, he lamented not having found the time to go out in her often. He’d been out in her once since his return to Italy and had been too busy with the Lucia Trust to go again. Maybe if Katya enjoyed herself this weekend, she’d come out with him again?

‘Is there a bathroom on this thing?’ she asked, her stomach already protesting the slight swell she could feel through the soles of her feet.

‘Sure.’ He grinned. ‘Come on, I’ll show you below.’

Katya didn’t feel like she was going to vomit — yet. But she wanted to make sure she knew where to head if she did. This boat was shinier than anything she’d ever seen before, and she didn’t want to foul it.

She climbed down the stairs, following his lead, and walked into pure luxury. Her feet sank into deep-pile carpet and her eyes took a moment to adjust to the muted light. They were in a lounge area with leather chairs and a coffee-table. A plasma screen dominated the wall the chairs faced.

Ben showed her the galley, which sparkled and shone like everything else. Then he showed her the cabins — two large luxurious ones equipped with huge beds. Beds you could roll over and over and over in. She had a vision of the two of them doing just that, the sheets tangling around their legs.

She blinked hard to dispel it as he showed her the decadent en suites complete with spas. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

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