Chapter 5

A nurse asked whether I wanted to notify my family. I looked at my contacts for a few seconds.

“I can sign the forms myself,” I said. “If you need to reach someone after surgery, I’ll give you a number.”

She nodded and explained each step.

The next morning, I was walking slowly along the hospital corridor, one hand against the wall. Matteo arrived as I turned back toward my room.

“The house manager just told me,” he said. “You had surgery last night?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

His collar sat crooked from the rush over. Looking at it, I remembered a call I had made a month ago, on the night after my mother’s funeral.

I had left a relative’s house alone. A stranger followed me for part of the walk, then seized my arm on a side street and tried to pull me toward a car.

I hit the emergency contact button on my phone. Matteo answered. I managed to tell him the street I was on. Laughter came through the line, and I heard Sofia ask him what he thought of her Halloween costume.

Matteo had missed my words. He told me impatiently to call another time and hung up.

A nearby shop was closing. An employee heard me struggling, opened the door, and shouted. The man released me and ran.

I called the police. Bruises remained on my arm.

When I told Matteo the next day, he said I should contact the police first in an emergency. He was right about that. In those few seconds on the street, I had wanted to hear my husband’s voice.

We were still talking when Sofia called to say her home had a leak. Matteo went to help her.

Now he stood in the hospital corridor waiting for my answer.

“I knew who to call,” I said. “The driver brought me here. The doctors and nurses took care of me.”

His expression shifted, and he reached to support me. I took hold of the rail along the wall.

“How bad is the pain? What did the doctor say you can eat?” he asked. “I’ll arrange it.”

“The doctor has given me instructions. The hospital provides meals.”

His phone lit up. Sofia’s name appeared on the screen. He declined the call. A few minutes later, it rang again, and he let it go.

Back in my room, he poured me water and pulled up a chair.

“You can go home,” I said.

“I’ll stay with you.”

I let him stay. I had spent years wishing he would sit beside me when I needed him. Today, I was tired.

Nico came that afternoon carrying a bag of fruit. He stopped at the doorway.

“Dad said you had surgery.”

“It’s done.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“That I need to rest.”

He set the fruit on the table and looked from me to Matteo. “Then get some rest.”

He sat in the room for twenty minutes. For once, his phone stayed in his pocket.

During my hospital stay, Mike emailed the project documents and told me to reply when I felt ready. I read a few pages and noticed several phrases that could cause confusion in negotiations. I sent him my observations.

He wrote back quickly. If I wanted, I could consult on that part of the project, with a fee agreed in advance.

I saved the email. The work had come to me because Mike knew what I could do.