Arrhythmia

  “Desiderio, I’m so sorry for everything.” My voice quavered. “If I hadn’t been so stupid, none of this would have happened! I shouldn’t have been such a coward, and I should have talked to you much sooner. Everything would have been cleared up—without your getting hurt. Oh God, I don’t know how I’m ever going to make this up to you!”

  “You don’t have to. I caused the accident myself. You are absolutely not to blame.” His voice became quieter and quieter. “But can we please talk about it tomorrow? I’m just . . . much too tired now.”

  I tenderly stroked his cheek. “You don’t have to talk anymore. It’s my turn now. Your letter said everything I needed to hear. I cannot tell you how much your words moved me. You spoke directly to my soul.”

  Very carefully, so as not to hurt him, I leaned over him and snuggled my head against his neck. Calmly and deliberately, I at last whispered what I should have told him long ago. “Desiderio, you are my other half. Although I fought it, I have known all along that we belong together. I cannot live without you anymore. There is only you for me.”

  His breathing was calm and regular, but I knew he was listening. I slowly lifted my head and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.

  “I love you,” I said. “Always have and always will.”

  I lowered my lips and gently kissed him.

  The quiet beep of his pulse became audibly faster.

  If I hadn’t been sure before that Desiderio loved me, now I was 100 percent certain.

  Because the heart cannot lie . . .

  Chapter 35

  It was the end of May, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a glorious day. Even if it had rained buckets, it would have been a glorious day.

  Today was Vera and Sebastian’s wedding.

  I was sitting alone at the bride’s table and looking at the excitement around me with great satisfaction.

  Why was I sitting alone at the bride’s table?

  Because I was the proud witness to their marriage!

  The entire day had gone perfectly in every way. From the registrar’s office to the church and on to the subsequent celebration. An absolute dream wedding.

  But that was to be expected, after all, since I planned the whole thing!

  And yes, I was proud of myself.

  Perhaps I should consider a secondary career as a wedding planner in case the one as interior decorator falls through . . .

  The partygoers’ faces glowed happily. Some were engaged in cheerful conversations, while others were playfully whirling around on the dance floor.

  Arm in arm, the happy couple was going from table to table to exchange a few pleasantries with each guest.

  Vera really looked awesome.

  Her dress was a dream in ivory satin. The strapless top fit like wax, and the wide skirt hugged her legs with every step. She looked like a fairy with the yellow sunflowers in her hair.

  Sebastian had gotten quite comfortable in his ivory tuxedo after all. It matched Vera’s dress, but getting him into it had required some persuasive skills on our part. The black shirt and the pretty boutonniere made of tiny sunflowers made him look absolutely dashing.

  Sun yellow and orange were the designated colors of the decorations. They matched the bridal couple perfectly. Warmhearted and cheerful.

  I spotted the other witness among the dancing couples. Frank. He looked exceedingly joyful, and that made me profoundly happy. With a perma-smile on his face, he was twirling his new girlfriend, Lisa, to the sounds of the band.

  Exactly. That Lisa!

  My shy coworker.

  That was something else I was proud of, because I had been instrumental in bringing those two together.

  I hadn’t forgotten my promise that I would drag her out to Go to dance the night away. We danced, laughed, screamed, and drank—and yes, she had thrown up. For two days.

  Great, right?

  At any rate, while she was drunk at the club, Lisa had decorated Frank with her shawl, which he then had to return to her personally a week later. Over a nice dinner. A short while later, the two were a couple.

  And what a couple!

  I was secretly already planning the next wedding . . .

  My thoughts were interrupted when two strong arms came from behind and wrapped themselves around me. Soft lips found their way to the crook of my neck and caused goose bumps over my entire body. I leaned my head back, searching for the most beautiful eyes in the world.

  Oh, and there they were!

  More radiant than ever, they captured me in their deep-ocean blue.

  “Beautiful lady, may I please have this dance?” Desiderio asked with a charming smile. He graciously held out his hand.

  I turned around and pretended that I needed to think about it. Actually, I just wanted to look at him a little longer. I would never tire of looking at his face.

  God, how I loved that man!

  He had recovered completely from the accident. The only remaining evidence was the fine scar from his surgery. And the two almost invisible lines on his face caused by the glass fragments. When the weather changed, he did complain of mild pain in his leg—like an old man. But I refrained from making any stupid comments, as I was still of the opinion that the whole disaster was my fault and that it was now my lifelong punishment to hear about his meteoropathy.

  Lifelong. It had to be lifelong because, without Desiderio, there was no future for me.

  He was dressed in a black suit that the show-off had of course had tailor made in Italy. With it, he wore a plain white shirt and a black tie.

  He looked simply incredible.

  His boutonniere was made to match my yellow dress perfectly. Just as the rest of him matched me perfectly.

  Altogether, everything was perfect. I was finally able to accept my immeasurable happiness with no mistrust.

  Desiderio was by now raising an eyebrow, because I was still making moony eyes at him instead of accepting his invitation to dance. At last I was able to tear myself away from gazing, place my hand in his, and stand up with an exaggeratedly sophisticated demeanor.

  “How could I possibly say no, young man?” I said and nodded my head graciously.

  “You’ll have to remember that answer,” he grinned and winked at me mysteriously.

  As he led me to the dance floor, I knew that there would never be a happier person in the world than I.

  Not now and not in the future.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to emphasize that the town of Wollbach, the hospital, and its employees are all fictitious. Any similarities to my place of work are purely coincidental. If there should still be any features that overlap with those of a living person, they are merely in the eye of the beholder. (Should anyone recognize himself in the character of Desiderio, I ask that he immediately send his résumé and application to the HR department of our hospital.)

  I would now like to express a few kind words: the first acknowledgment goes to my husband because of the heroic way he deals with my writer’s frustrations. He has accepted the fact that he should avoid speaking to me while I am typing. This is probably due more to a sense of self-preservation than to an understanding of my passion, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I also find it really sweet that he reads everything I write from beginning to end and even finds it awesome even though he basically detests reading books in which every other page does not contain a pretty picture. (Yes, he really does read them. I initially asked the odd question about my text here and there because I am suspicious by nature. He was actually able to answer them, which genuinely impressed me. And yes, he has his hands full with me.)

  Thanks, too, to Mama, who always finds everything I do wonderful. (Just like my Pa, who will probably never read any of my books but still finds them terrific.)

  Thank you to Melly, favorite evaluator number one, who is not
afraid to tell me if something isn’t so great (although she seems to focus mainly on the correct order of the days of the week . . .) and who was a great help to me in the development of this story even when she often had to wait for days for the next chapter. Favorite evaluator number two is Caro, who had to “smoke a cigarette” after a certain point in the novel—thanks for that!

  Secondarily, a little apology to those among my friends who stopped by for coffee during one of my writing spurts and got a taste of my wrath because of it. (Someday I will build a bunker into which I can retreat with my laptop in order to avoid greater escalations. Promise!)

  My heartfelt thanks to all my coworkers, who regularly make me blush with their praise and occasionally make me panic because I still have no clue how to write a professional dedication. Thank you, Helga, who took such pains as an evaluator and who makes a great editor. A huge thank you to Simone and Tina, who have a photograph of Desiderio in their desk drawer (and what a photograph it is!), which they will let us look at any time we need a break from the stress and chaos. You two are brilliant!

  A giant thank-you to Franz Edlmayr, who “discovered” me and whose initial telephone call I mistook for a prank. I thank myself for not hanging up because I would presumably have ruined my chances of working with Amazon Publishing.

  And last but not least, thank you to all my readers who have read these panegyric lines to the end. You are really the most important people on this list, because without you, writing would ultimately make no sense for me.

  Johanna Danninger

  About the Author

  Photo © 2014 C-Martin Danninger

  Johanna Danninger was born in Germany’s Lower Bavaria in 1985. She works as an ER nurse and lives in a rural community with her husband.

  About the Translator

  Christiane Galvani, a German native, was educated in Germany, France, and the UK. She holds a BA in German and French from the University of London and an MA in German from Rice University. Galvani has worked as a translator and an instructor of German and intensive English at the university level for over thirty years. Her previous translations include the thirteenth-century Das fliessende Licht der Gottheit (Flowing Light of the Divinity) from the Middle High German into modern English and the Regency-era novel Twice a Rake, the first book in the Lord Rotheby’s Influence series, from English into German. The proud mother of a grown daughter, Jacqueline, Galvani lives outside of Houston, Texas, with her husband, Paul.