The Italian's Touch (Promotional Presents)

by Carol Marinelli

  Fleur squeezed the old man’s hand. ‘Hopefully I shan’t be long.’

  Walking into Luke’s office, she half expected a query about a patient’s treatment, a budget concern or perhaps, as was often the case unfortunately in Accident and Emergency, a complaint to be answered. Any of these she could have dealt with, anything other than the news that greeted her.

  ‘I’ll try not to hold you up.’ Luke closed the door behind them. ‘But I had some rather upsetting news last night from Mario. I thought I should tell you first and you can fill in the junior staff.’

  Fleur stood straight, her face impassive, belying the violent dive her stomach had just taken.

  ‘Apparently his father suffered a cardiac arrest yesterday afternoon. It seemed he survived the event but, as you can imagine, he’s not a well man. Mario flew directly home which, unfortunately for us, leaves us down a man, a good man at that.’

  ‘He’ll be coming back, though?’ Danny asked, echoing Fleur’s immediate thought, but Luke shrugged noncomittally.

  ‘Hard to say. For now he’s taken annual leave, but I guess it all really depends on how his father does or doesn’t do. Italy’s hardly a destination he can pop back to at weekends. We’re just going to have to play it by ear for now.’

  The hospital wasn’t the place to cry, to break down. No one there knew what Mario meant to her, and that had been her choice, she recalled. So the brutal news, delivered without padding or sentiment, had to be taken in a professional way.

  ‘Thanks for letting us know, Luke.’ She turned to go then hesitated, her mind working ten to the dozen. ‘Perhaps we should send some flowers or something? If you’ve got an address, I’d be happy to organise it.’ At least if she had an address she could contact him, tell Mario how sorry she was, not just for her behaviour but for what he must be going through.

  But her attempt to put things right yet again proved fruitless. ‘Good idea, Fleur, but I think we’d better wait a couple of days to make sure we’re putting the right message on the card.’

  Fleur gave a brief nod. ‘You’re right. Oh, well, I’d better get back to it.’

  * * *

  ‘Sister Hadley here tells me you’re a good friend of Mr Ruffini’s.’ Dr Lupen peered over his glasses at Frank.

  ‘He’s me bowling partner,’ Frank said proudly.

  ‘Well, I’m sure he’d have liked to have seen you for himself, but as that’s not possible I’d better make sure you’re well looked after. We’ll get you moved directly up to the ward, Mr Hadley, and thank you for being so patient. I know it’s been a long wait.’

  After settling Frank into bed on the coronary care unit, Fleur went over to the nurses’ station and gave her handover to the charge nurse, relaying the tests and investigations that had been carried out in the emergency department.

  ‘Dr Lupen says we’re to give Mr Hadley the five-star treatment.’

  Fleur laughed. ‘Actually, it was very good of him to play along with it. Mr Hadley was pretty cantankerous when he came in, though you wouldn’t think it, looking at him. He’s like a teddy bear now.’

  She relayed the story of how Mario had befriended him and how it had brought the barriers down. ‘So any time he refuses his meds or threatens to go home, just tell him Mario would be horrified if he thought you weren’t treating him properly, how it’s more than your job’s worth—that sort of thing. It works a treat.’

  The charge nurse grinned. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll give him five-star treatment. Poor old boy, it must be hard, being on your own. He sounds nice, that Mr Ruffini. We could do with a few more like him around the place.’

  Couldn’t we just? Fleur thought as she wandered slowly back to the ward. But how many Mario Ruffinis were there in the world? He was a one-off, unique. Yet again he’d taken a horrible situation and made it just that bit better. Not just for the likes of Mr Hadley and Mrs Levitski, but for all the staff.

  Everything he’d touched he’d turned around, from the comradeship and team spirit right down to the coffee they all drank. He had changed things for her and Alex, too. Slowly, so slowly he’d shown them the way back to the outside world, shown them how sweet and good life could be, if only you let it.

  And what had she done for him? Screamed at him on the beach when he’d tried to tell her about his father, shown him the worst possible side of her nature the one and only time he’d really needed her.

  ‘What are you doing, dawdling? You know that Danny will be screaming for you!’

  ‘Delorus.’ Fleur jumped as the familiar voice broke into her thoughts. ‘How was your appointment?’

  ‘Fine. But can I go home? Oh, no, I come out of the doctor’s room and the receptionist tells me Danny wants me to drop in on my way home, as if I don’t spend half my life here already! Anyway, you take your time, honey. I’d best dash if I want any sleep today.’ And without waiting for a response she bustled off down the corridor, muttering furiously to herself.

  For once Fleur did take her time. Danny could wait. She couldn’t believe there was no chance of bumping into Mario, no chance he would suddenly appear at the coffee-machine or yell at her in Resus. No chance he would knock on her door tonight and suggest he and Alex cook dinner on the barbie. Mario was gone now, back to his family, back to Italy, back where he belonged. And, though it terrified her even to think it, back to Carmella.

  And she hadn’t even said goodbye.

  ‘There you are,’ Felicity greeted her as she returned to the department. ‘We were just about to send out a search party.’

  ‘Why, is there someone new in Resus?’

  ‘No, deadly quiet.’

  Fleur raised a feeble grin. ‘You’ve jinxed me now.’

  ‘Danny wants you in his office.’

  Fleur rolled her eyes. ‘What have I done this time?’

  ‘Don’t ask me, but he said that you were to go straight there and I was to take over Resus.’

  The last thing Fleur needed was a morning going over staff rosters and budgets. At least out on the floor she could immerse herself in her patients’ problems—anything beat her own at the moment. Opening the office door, the first thing that hit her was the most delicious smell. Sitting on the desk was a vast red box containing pizza. Rather more surprising were the faces of Delorus and Kathy, with Danny sitting between them.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Fleur asked suspiciously.

  ‘That’s what we were hoping to find out,’ Danny said, pushing the box in her direction. ‘And as pizza worked so well in the staff meeting, I thought we might give it a try here.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Fleur asked, bemused.

  ‘Honey.’ Delorus folded her arms across her enormous bosom and fixed her with a steely glare. ‘I have been up for twenty hours now and I want my bed, so why don’t you sit down tell us what’s going on with you and Mario so’s we can work out what you’re going to do? Then I might just get some shut-eye.’

  ‘Kathy,’ Fleur wailed. ‘You promised you wouldn’t say a word.’

  ‘She didn’t, well, not until this morning when I rang her. We all knew, Fleur. It stood out a mile off. Mario Ruffini is positively smitten with you. And if there was any room for doubt, you and him arriving together when Alex had his accident only confirmed things. So let’s stop wasting time and get down to it.’

  With a suspicious look Fleur rather reluctantly sat down. ‘It won’t do any good,’ she warned. ‘You know as well as I do he’s in Rome.’

  ‘Tell us anyway,’ Delorus said as she deftly divided up the pizza.

  They might as well have shone their pocket torches in her eyes. Stumbling at first, but gaining in momentum as she went along, Fleur told them her story, not all of it, of course—there were some bits too precious for sharing. And her three friends and colleagues listened as she spoke. Not commenting at all, just munching on their pizza as Fleur recounted the sorry tale.

  ‘So,’ Delorus asked as Fleur’s story concluded, ‘if he were here now, w
hat would you say to him?’

  ‘This isn’t a set-up, is it?’ Fleur said nervously. ‘He’s not hiding in the cupboard or anything.’

  ‘You wish! No, honey, he’s not here, so come on—what would you say to him?’

  ‘That I’m sorry, I guess.’

  ‘Sorry for what?’

  ‘For not giving him a chance to speak, for being so wrapped in myself—’

  ‘For not being there when he needed you?’ Danny suggested.

  ‘Something like that,’ Fleur admitted reluctantly. ‘I know I’ve been wrong. I was all set to say sorry when all this went and happened, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. At least, not until I can get hold of a telephone number. Perhaps I should ring the hospital in Rome, ask to speak with him—’

  ‘Since when did you start speaking Italian?’ Kathy pointed out. ‘You’d never get past the switchboard. Anyway, there are some things that can’t be said over the telephone.’

  ‘And some things that can’t wait,’ Delorus added.

  ‘Great,’ Fleur sighed. ‘I told you there was nothing that could be done, unless I jump on plane and fly off to Italy myself. It looks like I’ve made a real mess of things…’ She sat there waiting for a response, a clue as to what she should do now, but her friends just stared back at her, not saying word, their eyes holding hers as the silence grew ever louder. ‘You surely don’t think…’ Fleur’s eyes widened ‘…that I should fly to Italy, for heaven’s sake? That’s the most ridiculous suggestion I’ve ever heard.’

  ‘Is it?’ Danny said bluntly. ‘You mean more ridiculous than sitting here doing nothing, giving up without a fight?’

  ‘I’ve got an eight-year-old son with a broken ankle. I can hardly just hop on a plane. Alex has to come first.’

  ‘Fleur, nobody’s disputing that,’ Kathy said gently. ‘Of course Alex is your priority, he always will be. But if you’ve any hope of having a relationship with anyone, and I’m not just talking specifically about you and Mario here, there have to be times when your partner’s needs take precedence. Everyone needs to come first sometimes. It doesn’t mean you love Alex any less, it simply means that you might have to spread yourself a bit thin for a while. Mario needs you now. If you wait till his father’s better or, heaven forbid, dead, sorry might not be enough. If you’re not going to be there for him when he needs you the most, there’s really not much point.’

  ‘She’s right,’ Danny said sadly. ‘I let Geoff down with his mother. It’s only the fact we’ve been together so long that we survived it. You haven’t got that luxury with Mario. You’ve got a passport?’ he added as Fleur sat there stunned.

  ‘And a credit card?’ Delorus said, coming around the desk and wrapping her arms around her.

  Kathy came, too. Crouching down, she took her friend’s trembling hands in hers. ‘And you’ve got a babysitter who’s going to wrap your little treasure in a wad of cotton wool and never let him out of her sight. Anyway, he’s not going to be able to get up to much mischief with that plaster on his leg.’

  ‘I wouldn’t bet on it,’ Fleur sniffed. ‘It’s too much to ask, Kathy. You’ve got work, Ben, Greg.’

  ‘Danny and I will work out the roster. There’s two new staff starting tomorrow anyway. And don’t think you’re getting off scot-free. I’ve decided I need a bit more romance in my life, too, so Greg and I might just head off to Bali in a few months’ time. You can return the favour then.’

  ‘I mightn’t get a flight,’ Fleur said in a last futile attempt to halt the proceedings, but Delorus just laughed.

  ‘Honey, there’s a flight at seven tonight with your name on it—you didn’t think we’d leave out a detail like that, did you? You’ve just got to pay for your ticket at the check-in desk. Now, if all that’s sorted I’m off to bed.’ Her knees creaked as she stood up. ‘You be sure to give that gorgeous Mario a big kiss from Delorus—don’t you dare forget. You’re not scared of flying, are you?’

  Fleur shook her head ‘No, at least I don’t think so. I’ve actually never flown before.’

  Delorus flashed her gorgeous grin. ‘Well, honey, there’s one way to find out.’

  * * *

  Alex took the news amazingly well and Fleur couldn’t help but marvel in the change from the nervous, shy boy of just a few months before. Sitting on the veranda, a milk moustache on his freckled face, he fixed his direct gaze on Fleur. ‘Is his dad going to die?’

  ‘I don’t know, Alex,’ she answered honestly. ‘It sounds as if he’s very sick.’

  ‘And Mario’s with his dad now?’

  ‘He’s on his way to him,’ Fleur said gently, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of Mario so proud and strong, sitting alone on the plane, his heart filled with despair at his inability in this instance to do a single thing.

  ‘Will he come back? I mean, are you going to bring him back with you? I’m going to really miss him otherwise.’

  Fleur looked out at the ocean, desperately trying not to break down, her voice trembling with emotion. ‘I wish I could say yes, I wish I could give you that, but again, Alex, I just don’t know. All I do know is that Mario had been good to us, very good to us. Even if he can’t come back to Australia, I think he deserves a proper thank you, don’t you?’ She turned her troubled eyes to him, her heart bursting with love as she looked at his pensive little face.

  ‘Maybe I could give you a card to take from me. I could draw him a picture of the Tigers,’ he suggested. ‘He must be feeling really sad at the moment. It might cheer him up.’

  ‘I think that’s a wonderful idea,’ Fleur said as he walked over to join her, their eyes looking up into the clear blue sky, focussing on the tiny silver glint of an aeroplane carrying its passengers to their destination. ‘I won’t be gone long, sweetheart, and I’ll ring every day. You do understand, don’t you?’

  Alex nodded, his face breaking in a wide grin. ‘Will I get a present?’

  Fleur ruffled his hair. ‘Oh, I would think so. Maybe while I’m away you can have a big think about what you’d like me to bring you back and then you can tell me on the telephone. Come on, darling, we’d better get packed. I’m supposed to be at Kathy’s in an hour.’

  Saying goodbye to Alex was agony, and only made worse as Fleur wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. Her instinct was to stay with her son. What on earth was she thinking, heading to the other side of the world? Yet part of her knew that for once in her life she had to follow her heart, no matter how difficult the journey. Fleur and Kathy had decided against taking Alex to the airport, realising it might be a bit much for all concerned. That trip could wait for Fleur’s return. Pulling his little sturdy body into her arms, she bit hard on her lip to stop herself crying, smelling the apple scent of his shampoo, the mint of his toothpaste.

  ‘I’m not going to tell you to be good, sweetheart, because I know you will be. I’m just going to tell you that Mummy loves you very much and she’ll be home soon. Here.’ She handed him one of Rory’s wallets and Alex opened it, wide-eyed.

  ‘Is that all for me?’

  Fleur nodded. ‘But be sensible. Maybe you can take everyone out for tea at the pizza place or burger bar a couple of times.’ She gave him another kiss before turning quickly so he wouldn’t see her tears.

  ‘You’d better go if you want to get that plane,’ Greg said gruffly, giving her a hug as Kathy hooted in the driveway.

  Waving, smiling, she held it together until the car rounded the corner and she could finally break down. Kathy didn’t say anything, just handed her a tissue from the dashboard as she battled the peak-hour traffic. Only when they had made it through the city and were heading down Flemington Road, the signs for the airport becoming more frequent, did Fleur finally manage to stop the tears.

  ‘Feel a bit better?’

  ‘Not really. He’ll be all right, won’t he? I don’t mean with you looking after him or anything like that, I mean with me leaving him at such short notice.’

  ‘
Fleur, a couple of months ago I couldn’t have even imagined this moment, but Alex is a different boy now. He’s happy and he’s confident and he knows his mum will be home soon. Hell, businesswomen do it all the time. Stop beating yourself up. There’s a slab of chocolate in the glove-box,’ she added. ‘Break me off some.’

  ‘I’ll bring you back loads.’

  Kathy laughed. ‘You’d never get it through customs. I’ll just have to settle for some gorgeous Italian shoes—you know my size.’

  ‘Cripes,’ Fleur gulped. ‘I still haven’t given you back the grey ones.’

  ‘And no doubt you just happened to pack them ‘‘by accident’’?’

  ‘Well, I was rushing,’ Fleur said guiltily. ‘At this rate I’m going to need an extra case just for all the presents I’ll have to bring back!’

  ‘Guilt,’ Kathy said dryly. ‘Don’t you just love it?’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE first leg of the journey was horrendous. Fleur sat seemingly surrounded by happy families and couples, all safe and content in their two by two world.

  As the captain gave the time at their destinations she realised it was morning in Italy. Mario would be landing now or on his way to his father, maybe already at his side. And though it hurt like hell to leave Alex, deep down Fleur finally knew she was doing the right thing. She gave up on the eye mask an attendant had handed out when it grew soggy from her tears and instead put on some headphones, staring unseeing at a film before finally drifting off into an unsettled sleep.

  She rang Alex from Singapore, which entailed Kathy dragging him out of the shower so he could say hi to his mum. Thankfully there were no tears or worries. If anything, he was having a ball.

  ‘I love you, Mum.’

  ‘I love you, too, Alex.’

  The hour or so in transit was spent exchanging money, spraying perfume and trying on lipsticks, as well as compulsively checking and rechecking her bag for her tickets and passport.

  Clipping on her seat belt for the long-haul flight, finally Fleur felt better. As the jet lifted into the air, the lights of Singapore disappearing as they soared through the sky, Fleur found the hum of the aircraft comforting. Trapped in her own time capsule, here the world was on hold, and for now at least there was absolutely nothing she could do. It was strangely relaxing.