Page 76 of Three Times You

How long are we talking about when we say “And then…”?

***

I wake up early, and after feeding Aurora her bottle, I enter Gin’s room. She’s already awake, and she’s eating breakfast in bed.

“Good morning. Did you sleep all right?” I ask.

“Like a dream.”

The doctor had said that she’d do much better thanks to the morphine.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Unfortunately, this morning I’m going to have to go into the office. Renzi had set an appointment to meet with the new director of scripted television. We were going to have a work session at the office and then a luncheon, but then what do you think happened? That he, of all people, the precise Signor Renzi, had another thing going on, and he’d forgotten all about it.”

“Well, I guess that means he’s not really all that ‘precise.’ So much the better, right? You’d said that there were times when he seemed like a space alien, and that you found it vaguely unsettling.”

“Very true. Oh well, I’d better get going. If you need anything, call me. I told the nurses to help you with Aurora if you need it. There’s Claudia, the nurse in charge of this floor. She has two small kids, she’s young, and she’s happy to help out.”

“Is she attractive?”

“No, Gin, she’s not attractive in the slightest. But she seems to know what she’s doing, and what’s more, I’ve paid her extra to help out and be competent too.”

I step toward her and give her a kiss.

“I’ll see you later today.”

“Yes.”

Softly, I shut the door. That burst of jealousy made me smile. It was a spontaneous moment. I only wish it was all a little simpler, but how can it be?

***

Gin is alone now. She sends a text message from her cell phone containing all the necessary instructions. Then she goes over to look at Aurora. The baby girl is sleeping calmly and peacefully, the warmth in her bedroom is just perfect. Accommodations and comforts in this clinic are ideal.

She walks over to the big picture window and looks down. Behind the building is a tree-lined boulevard. There are hedges and a garden that’s not especially large but with a small patch of roses. Everything has been tended to, right down to the smallest details. The nurses do their best to make you feel at ease here, making sure there are no problems, that there is no noise. Maybe that’s why Aurora sleeps so well.

Then Gin goes back to her suite and into the bathroom, where she undresses, takes a shower, and gets dressed. She does her best to be elegant with what she has. She puts on her makeup in front of the mirror. She’s happy that not all of her hair has fallen out, even though it is definitely thinner than it used to be.

Ten minutes later, someone’s knocking at the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yes, come in.” Gin smiles at Giorgio Renzi.

“I got here as fast as I could. When you texted me that Stefano had left the clinic I was actually already on the road, but I ran into a little traffic at Piazza Euclide. Now then, tell me, what can I do for you?”

“Listen, it’s very simple.” Gin starts explaining what she needs, which is what she believes is the best solution.

Renzi is speechless. “If you’re convinced this is the thing to do, I’ll do it. But I’m going to need some time.”

Gin shakes her head. “Yeah, so would I, more than you know…Unfortunately, there’s no more time left.” She hands him a sheet of paper. “Here you’ll find everything you need to do things faster.”

Renzi takes it and reads it while Gin explains how she did it.

“Do you need anything else?” he asks.

“No, thanks. You’re very kind to take care of this. I’ll expect you back here. But don’t take too long.”

“What if I can’t get it done?”

Gin smiles at him. “I turned to you because you’ve succeeded in doing much more complicated things than this. You’ll get it done.”

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