Page 14 of Amadeo
I already knew I would be staying here for a bit. I’d never abandoned a patient before this and I wouldn’t start now either. However, I never thought it would be for longer than a couple of weeks. That reminded me, I needed to call Mama and checkon things. Sitting on my bed, I dug my cell out of my pocket. Tapping the screen then onto the number, I waited for it to ring.
“Baby girl!” My mother’s voice came over the line.
“I-is everything okay, Mama?”
“So far, all is the same. I’m not sure you could say it was okay.”
I let out a soft sigh. “Dr. Palmeri said he was doing fairly well now. Is there something new going on?”
“No, just the same problem, bambina. He is still upset and I cannot blame him. But I don’t want him to get killed either. He is safer being where he is. Otherwise, you know what he might do. I hate having him there and I wish he could be at home.”
“You know why he can’t come home, Mama,” I reminded her. Here we were again. The same discussion. The same problem. That same frustration rose in me again. He had to stay there. He’d almost gotten killed when he had gone after them. To think he had actually gotten close enough to shoot at them. Thank goodness, I had caught him and took him home. He hadn’t immediately been blamed for the attack either as low and behold, someone else had been out there gunning for them. No surprise there. More people hated them than just the Ribisi family. The problem had been the fact that he hadn’t even been shooting at the right family member.
Keeping my father from ruination was all I could think of at the time. Keeping him from getting obliterated by the mafia of all things. Then if my mother knew where I actually was at this very moment? There would be hell to pay. I would never be able to explain any of this to her. Let alone have my father know. The Descalias were the devil's spawn, my father had said this often enough. They had ruined our family.
I knew I shouldn’t have accepted the assignment here, but I had been left with little choice. Stephano Descalia had givenme no choice in the end. In addition, I was the only neurologist at the hospital. So, here I was in their home and I sat right in the devil’s lair. I saw them daily. I saw Amadeo every day. I was about to have dinner with him tonight! I must be insane to have even accepted that invitation.
“Gia? Did you hear me?” my mother’s voice broke into my trouble filled thoughts.
“No, Mama. There was some static on my cell. Please tell me again?”
“Dr. Palmeri did say that your papa had resolved some of it. He has spent a lot of time in the chapel at the institution. I pleaded with the doctor to allow it. He said that you had offered to pay for him to have a constant guard. So that helped. Have I told you how proud I am of you? I know that you paid for his stay so far. Or else he would be in a state run place. I shudder to think. Anyway, your father told me that he speaks to God. He says that he heard God’s reply.”
I bit my lip. My father had always been highly religious. So while I would never say anything against it, I wasn’t sure about the discussion he could have with his deity. “And what was his reply?”
“To let him judge. To avoid taking revenge as that would be a sin.”
I paused as this was the best report I’d heard yet about my father. “That sounds very promising, Mama.”
“It does. So if we see this continue and the talk about revenge ceases, maybe he can finally come home. You know we aren't getting any younger. We shouldn’t be living apart.”
“I know, Mama. We will fix this.” I agreed with this but my father had left me no choice. I was lucky to get him placed where he was. Larkspur was a very affluent, very prestigiousinstitution. It sure cost enough that was for sure. I, myself, took a tour there and it was very nice.
“Perhaps God will fix it all,” she replied. “Like your father believes.”
“I hope so.” And I really did. I didn't pray like my parents did, but I still felt hope.
“So how long is this conference for?” she asked.
I paused as my mind momentarily went blank. Then I remembered I had told her I would be at a medical symposium for at least a month. I disliked any lie, but this had been necessary. I couldn’t tell her the truth as I could only imagine the extreme worry she would feel. And perhaps extreme outrage as well. No, it had been better to avoid telling her about this particular situation. Then now I find that they wouldn't be moving Deacon to a facility, so I would have to make a decision in a couple of weeks about this entire thing. “For at least 3 more weeks.”
“I miss my family being together,” Mama said softly.
I heard the tears in her voice and gripped the phone tightly as I fought my own tears. We had all suffered ever since that fateful day in Italy. But my mother may have endured more than any of us. She kept going, supporting, hoping and pushing for us all to not take life for granted.
“Why did all of this have to happen?” she asked as she sniffled over the line.
I knew she was crying now. “I don’t know, Mama.” My tears did not fall. I have never allowed them to. I had to hold myself together. Or else what would happen to my parents? I had no calming words to tell her now. No wisdom or anything to take away her pain. But I could find the truth maybe? Would that set any of us free? Probably not. But I needed to at least find out why my sister did what she did. Maybe then we could have somekind of closure. “I love you, Mama. I need to get changed. I will call tomorrow, ok?”
“Si, Gia. At least we have you. Although, you are married to your work. A grandchild would surely help. I would raise him or her and you can still be this wonderful doctor.”
I chuckled a bit dryly. “Mama, are you serious? It is not like I can just give you a grandchild in an instant, you know? I can't just make one like blowing a balloon up. Then I have yet to even find a decent man to start the process with.”
“You’d think one of those doctors you work with would fit the bill,” she replied.
“No, I won’t marry a doctor.”
“And why not?” she asked. “You are being hypocritical, are you not? I mean didn’t you take a Hippocratic Oath or something?”
