Page 79 of Three Times You

“Ciao. Thanks for dropping by. And don’t forget what you promised: make him happy.”

Chapter 60

When I return to the Quisisana Clinic in the afternoon, a pleasant surprise is awaiting me. I knock at the door. “Can I come in?”

“Of course!”

Gin is dressed and has put on makeup, and she’s playing on the bed with Aurora. “Ciao, my love. How are you?”

“Much better. I’m not feeling any discomfort.”

Unfortunately, it’s entirely due to the morphine. That morning, when we crossed paths in the hallway, the doctor made matters all too clear to me.

Gin is brushing the scanty hair on the back of Aurora’s head. She looks at me with great satisfaction. “Do you see how lovely she is?”

“Yes.”

“If you ask me, she resembles you very much.”

“That’s not true. I see a great deal of you in her.”

“Yes, the shape of the eyes, but the shape of the face and the mouth are completely you.”

“Maybe so.”

“Every so often, when you look into her eyes, will you think of me?”

“I’ll think of you even when she’s not with me.” Then I gently caress her hand, lying on the blanket on the bed.

She smiles at me. “I’d like to go outside. I’ve seen that the garden in the back is very lovely. Do you feel like taking me there?”

And so we go out onto the avenue. The air is filled with silence, and the traffic noises are distant. We hear a few birds singing, and the sun is low by now. Aurora is sleeping in her baby carriage. We arrive at a small rose bush, and we stop. The walls of the buildings all around us are glowing orange. Somewhere in Rome, the sun is already setting, but we can’t see it from here.

“You can see the most beautiful sunsets on Corso Francia.” She had the same thought as I did. “How many times have I seen them from behind you on that motorcycle?” Then she tucks Aurora’s blanket in a little. “With her, I’ve finally experienced happiness, the strongest emotions, and all of this is thanks to you.”

“Don’t say that. I’ve made lots of mistakes.”

“Yes, I know that, but then you changed your mind all on your own, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Gin walks over to the rose bush, delicately takes a flower in her hand, and pulls it close to her nose. She shuts her eyes and breathes in. “Every time, the smell of the roses surprises me. It’s so unique. I really love it. I want Aurora to smell of roses.”

“She will.”

“And when she turns eighteen, I want her to have a cherry-red dress, and on that day, I want a gorgeous bouquet of roses to be delivered to her, and a beautiful piece of jewelry with both our names engraved on it…”Then, all at once, she stops. “There are so many things I’d like. Right now I’m only just starting to appreciate every tiniest detail of life, and yet it was all right there before my eyes every single day.”

“My love, but you’ve never been distracted. You might have been in a hurry, yes, possibly, but you always savored everything.”

“Yes, especially when we went out to dinner!” Gin laughs, sincerely amused, with the lightness that she’s displayed so many times during the happiest, finest moments we ever lived together.

“It’s true. It was always wonderful to watch you eat. You eat better and with more gusto than anyone else in the world.”

“Thanks! This time I believe you, and I’m willing to accept the compliment.”

Then we sit down on the nearby bench and remain silent for a while.

“I saw Babi today.”

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