Arrhythmia

  I heard loud clattering, and soon Desiderio returned with a whole heap of frozen food. He proudly displayed his loot on the kitchen counter. “Not bad, huh? Take your pick.” Chicken wings, french fries, spring rolls, stuffed potato pancakes, lasagna . . . a veritable frozen-food bonanza!

  I looked at Desiderio with a frown. “What do you mean? Take my pick? Looks like a decent portion to me.”

  For a moment, he seemed confused and looked a little horrified.

  I heaved an exaggerated sigh. Then I pretended to resign myself to my fate and sorted the chicken wings and french fries from the rest of the herd. “This should be enough for the first course . . . but you’ll have to turn on that thing over there yourself.” I pointed to the ultramodern stove. “I’m sure you need a degree in IT to operate it. It doesn’t even have buttons!”

  “Whatever became of housewives?” Desiderio mused. He touched a small display that I had not noticed until then and, as if by magic, the oven began to hum softly.

  “Fascinating,” I said.

  I wondered how much the thing had cost. I didn’t ask because I was sure the answer would depress me. It didn’t matter; an oven was an oven.

  Desiderio handed me two baking sheets and parchment paper, and I got started layering our meal on them. When it came to preparing frozen food, I was a real pro, if I said so myself.

  Once we had heated the oven and put the food in, we stood waiting for it to cook.

  “Do you want to stand around here staring at the oven, or shall we watch a DVD?” Desiderio asked me.

  “What? Is there anything more exciting than watching a piece of frozen chicken getting crisp?”

  He punished me with a disdainful look.

  “OK, OK,” I laughed. “What did you have in mind?”

  “You choose. The DVDs are in the cabinet to the right of the TV. I’ll be right there.”

  To the right of the TV . . . what TV? Did he mean the huge black area on the wall? Yup. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a huge flat screen.

  I opened the cabinet and immediately my jaw dropped.

  What is this? A private video store? There have to be at least two hundred movies in here!

  My eyes wandered over the most diverse titles.

  Wait, he doesn’t have them all alphabetized, does he?

  He did. Unbelievable! I considered myself an organized person, but I would never have had the notion to alphabetize my DVDs. Granted, my collection was negligible in comparison.

  “Find anything?” Desiderio inquired, looking over my shoulder.

  “Did you buy all these yourself?” I asked instead of answering his question.

  “Most of them.”

  By now, I’d reached in and pulled out Gone with the Wind. I held it out toward him with a frown. “Including this one? Seriously?”

  “No,” he replied with a laugh. “My cousin Susi got me that one. She was convinced that no collection was complete without it.”

  “Hm. I wouldn’t exactly agree . . .”

  “Well, neither would I, but whatever. By the way, my cousin is your age. I think you two would get along well.”

  I held up the DVD and looked at him. “You think?”

  “Yes, I do. You might not go to the movies together, but otherwise . . .”

  I replaced the movie in its designated spot, though for a brief moment I was sorely tempted to mess up the orderly collection. “Where does Susi live?” I asked, perusing the endless rows of plastic covers.

  “In Munich.”

  “So, from the German side of your family?”

  “Yes, my aunt’s daughter.”

  “Hm. And do you stay in touch?”

  “In the past, we did, yes. We grew up like siblings, actually, when she still lived in Wollbach. These days, we don’t see each other much, but we talk a lot on the phone.”

  “That’s too bad.” I found something and handed him my choice. “What does she do in Munich?”

  “She’s studying fashion design . . . I see. Death Proof. We’re staying loyal to Tarantino, then.” He winked at me.

  This guy just never forgot anything, did he? All right, all right; I remembered out first shared night shift and Kill Bill just as vividly, so who was I to talk?

  “Well, his films are simply brilliant. I could watch them all day.”

  “And do you know this one as well?”

  “Sure. It’s one of my favorites.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Desiderio said wisely.

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “It’s just that the story suits you.”

  “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

  “Everything having to do with you is good, little warrioress.”

  I received a kiss on the temple and found myself on cloud nine once again.

  Fast food, soda, a DVD, and the most fabulous man in the world. The perfect combination for a perfect evening.

  We sat cross-legged on the couch and stuffed ourselves while, on the monster screen, a madman slaughtered girls with his stunt car until a group of strong women banded together to turn the tables on him. A completely crazy story, worthy of Tarantino.

  Having gorged myself on junk, I fell into a lateral recumbent position and placed my head on Desiderio’s thigh. Now and again, he played a little with my hair, each time turning me into one big goose bump.

  I felt incredibly comfortable with him. There was no shyness or awkwardness between us. It was as though we had never done anything except spend a quiet evening together.

  By then, it was pitch-black outside. The wind drove big raindrops against the large windows, which only made the couch even cozier.

  At some point, I got so relaxed that I passed out, which was completely out of character for me. The nervous breakdown must have exhausted me more than I’d realized.

  “Come on, Lena. Let’s go to bed.”

  Huh? Bed? Wasn’t that where I already was?

  I looked up at him in surprise.

  No, I wasn’t in bed. Certainly not in my own. I was lying in Desiderio’s lap, the epitome of coziness. Couldn’t I just stay here?

  “Come now, little one. Let’s go upstairs.”

  Without thinking, I scrambled to my feet and padded upstairs, half-asleep. As though it were a normal part of my daily routine, I shuffled into his bedroom and began to undress.

  I was slipping off my bra when Desiderio came in. His jaw dropped when he saw me in nothing but my panties.

  “Uh, do you want one of my T-shirts to sleep in?” he asked. He really tried to look me in the face, but somehow his eyes kept getting lost on the way there.

  Since I was much too tired to be embarrassed, I just shook my head slightly and crawled into the giant four-poster bed. I yawned hugely and wrapped myself in the cover, which had a lovely freshly washed scent.

  I remember sensing when Desiderio joined me and gently pulled me into the crook of his arm before I was fast asleep again.

  Chapter 27

  I was awakened by a tender kiss.

  “Good morning, little warrioress.”

  I stretched luxuriously and squinted to find my prince.

  Ah, yes, there he was. Gloriously handsome and straight out of a book of fairy tales, he was sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling at me.

  Just a minute. Why is he dressed already?

  “Shit, what time is it?” I sat bolt upright.

  “Don’t worry, you still have time. It’s only six thirty.”

  I immediately sank back into those wonderful pillows. “Ahh.”

  I closed my eyes with pleasure only to open them again a second later.

  “But what are you doing? Are you leaving?” I asked, confused.

  “Of course. My shift begins before yours; you know that.”

&nbs
p; Right.

  “Unfair, really,” he continued. “It starts earlier and ends later. There’s something wrong with that.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s why you make four times as much as I do,” I mumbled sleepily.

  “Four times? That would be nice,” he laughed.

  I pulled the covers over my head with a soft moan. At this hour, I was in no shape to discuss different pay grades.

  “Make sure you don’t fall asleep again and miss your shift, though. The house key is in the kitchen. See you later!”

  My answer was a growl.

  When I heard the door close, I yanked the cover from my eyes.

  He’s leaving me alone in his house?? With all these expensive things in it???

  OK, that was just my brain being crazy again. It hardly seemed likely that I would stash the movie-theater-sized flat screen in my station wagon and light out for another country.

  Still.

  All alone?

  It was too late anyway. Desiderio was gone, and it didn’t make much sense for me to stop by my apartment before heading in to work. Like most other women, I kept items necessary for survival in my purse: from makeup-removal cloths to toothbrush, everything was there. Thank you, drugstores, for your convenient trial sizes!

  All I had to do was win the struggle against myself to get out of the warm and cozy bed. Then I gathered my clothes, which were wildly strewn across the floor, and headed for the bathroom.

  Although I was well aware that I was completely alone in the house, I stuck my head out the bedroom door to be sure. When nothing moved, I scurried across the hallway into the wellness temple.

  A short time later, I found myself standing in front of the coffee machine, trying to figure out how to operate it.

  I had found a mug easily enough. At this point, nothing in Desiderio’s house should have surprised me, but the luxury tableware was a little intimidating. At first I assumed I’d stumbled across the special-occasion set. But when I found no other cups, I had to assume that the colorful Villeroy & Boch series was, indeed, the everyday china.

  I concentrated on holding on to the fancy cup, because I was afraid of breaking it while studying the control panel in front of me.

  By the time I had figured out the “On/Off” button, it was already getting too late for me to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee, but I was determined to find out how this mysterious appliance worked. Once the display was lit up and friendly, it really wasn’t that difficult.

  The moment I got a whiff of the steaming liquid, I knew that the beans had to have cost a flaming fortune. Just like everything else in this insane place.

  The first sip made my taste buds dance with joy. The only thing that I, the greatest coffee addict of all time, could say was that this was the best coffee I had ever tasted.

  At least in Germany.

  Yes, indeed, you just had to be rich—and then you could really enjoy life!

  When I got to work, my number one priority was to remain inconspicuous. I couldn’t help feeling like there was a sign stuck to my forehead that said, “Spent the night at DiCastello’s place!”

  First, I was afraid that someone might notice the fact that I was still wearing the same clothes as I had the previous day. Fortunately, nobody did.

  Then I feared that one of my coworkers might wonder about the dreamy smile that kept appearing on my lips.

  I thought it might be obvious that every time the doors of the outpatient department opened, I automatically spun around to look for a certain person.

  I was actually pretty sure that Sandra suspected something, because she was still watching me with eagle eyes to see whether I was really ready to be back at work or might need some psychological help. To convince her that everything was fine, I told her that the perpetrator had been apprehended and that I was feeling much better. It was even the truth. I noticed that I had no trouble talking about the attack. Sandra seemed to notice this, too, and finally eased up on the appraising looks.

  I was really put to the test when Desiderio finally came to the outpatient department after rounds.

  He was walking down the hall next to Dr. Heimer. The attending physician was describing a case from his student days, and Desiderio was apparently listening very attentively, but his gaze rested on me the entire time as the distance between us grew smaller and smaller.

  I swallowed hard and struggled against the urge to go over to him and kiss him.

  “Good morning,” I greeted the two gentlemen politely and with a surprisingly firm voice.

  “Good morning,” they called back in unison.

  Heimer nodded at me with a smile but paid no further attention. There was no reason to. After all, it wasn’t the first time we had passed in the hallway.

  The only thing new was that my heart began to race when I reached Desiderio and he somehow managed to brush against my hand in passing. This small touch hit me like a lightning bolt.

  Was he trying to kill me or something?

  I ducked into the next empty room and tried to remember how to breathe.

  A little while later, I had an opportunity for a counterattack.

  Desiderio was standing in treatment room one and studying an X-ray of a shoulder joint. I waited until Sandra went to fetch the owner of that shoulder and then stood next to him with feigned interest.

  “Severe arthritis,” I said loudly. I casually stroked his hip, made my way to his pocket, and slipped his house key inside. Mr. Supercool didn’t even bat an eye.

  “Yes, I believe this patient will need a prosthetic joint replacement,” he said without looking at me.

  Crap, my counterattack had failed.

  Sandra made a noisy return with an elderly gentleman, so I had no choice but to retreat for the time being.

  Unfortunately, Desiderio was faster and scored his second hit just a short time later.

  I was standing on my tiptoes in the storage room, struggling to lift a large box into a cabinet but finding that I was a hair too short. My efforts had me so distracted that I didn’t notice him behind me. When a slender arm reached around me to hoist the box effortlessly, I got a tremendous shock and would have fallen over had he not simultaneously wrapped his other arm around my stomach.

  “Jesus Christ!” I burst out. “Are you part cat? Why are you so good at sneaking up on people?”

  He just whispered, “You’re welcome,” and kissed me on the neck.

  And he was gone. I had to take a moment to consider whether I had only imagined what had just happened. Only the tingling spot where his lips had touched my skin convinced me that it really had.

  I hardly dared look at Desiderio in the presence of others. As tempting as it was to let my gaze linger on him, the fear of getting caught was simply too great. I thought our little hide-and-seek game was incredibly exciting, and I relished the thrill that accompanied me all day.

  Desiderio was a true master at these games. Time and again, he succeeded in touching me without being noticed or in whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Whenever he felt that no one was watching, he pulled me close and kissed me until I wriggled free.

  I had just discharged a patient from a treatment room when Desiderio pushed me against the wall and lowered his lips toward me.

  “Stop it. Sandra almost saw us earlier,” I gasped hoarsely while making an admittedly halfhearted attempt to fight him off.

  He raised the corner of his mouth in a devastating smile. “Would that really have been so terrible?”

  Would it?

  “If Sandra catches us, the whole hospital will know within the hour,” I pleaded.

  “I know that,” he said and began kissing my neck.

  “But . . . the whole hospital.” I tried to argue, but with difficulty, as shivers were running down my spine.

  “I know,” he repeated without stoppin
g.

  Was he really indifferent to this, or was he just talking big because he knew I wasn’t ready to make things official?

  Of course, once again I was too cowardly to test his statement, so I resolutely pushed him away when I heard a stretcher rumbling past.

  “It would be better if we waited,” I said.

  He cocked his head and looked deep into my eyes. “As you wish. As far as I’m concerned, the whole world can know. I don’t think that there’s anything to hide. But if that makes you uncomfortable, that’s fine.”

  His voice sounded firm and honest. He meant what he had just said. Pure happiness was running through my veins, and my head was buzzing.

  Still, I stuck to my decision and held something back.

  “Not yet,” I whispered. I cleared my throat and pulled myself out of his gaze before I drowned in it. “Don’t you think we should get back to work?”

  He simply ignored me and asked instead, “Will you come over again this evening?”

  “I’d love to.”

  “I have to run an errand after work, so let’s say . . . around six o’clock?”

  “Around or at?”

  “All right, then, at six o’clock,” he laughed. Then he gave me one last kiss on the forehead. “I can’t wait, little warrioress.”

  I watched wistfully as he left the treatment room. I still couldn’t believe the direction my relationship with my former adversary had taken. The arrogant womanizer had become something entirely different for me. Something special. Something I hadn’t dared dream of.

  Something that was finally convincing me to open my heart.

  Our shift was over, and Sandra and I began our treks toward home. We were in good spirits as we walked down the wide hallway of the ER in anticipation of some time off. As we passed the large triage room, we heard Attending Physician Reinmann cursing to himself. “Jesus Christ, why isn’t this working?”

  The sound in his voice was enough to let us know that he had run into trouble with the computer system again. The digital age and the aging physician just couldn’t get along.