Chapter 50
"Come on, Lou. Don't be so sluggish!" Kid called as his girlfriend kept lagging behind on purpose.
"Maybe... maybe we could leave this for tomorrow," she said when she caught up with him.
Kid stood before her and taking her hands, he looked into her eyes and added, "Lou, today or tomorrow... nothing's gonna change."
Lou made an unhappy gesture. He was right; she had been putting the thing off too many times before, and it was high time she mustered the courage and did it once and for all. Dr. Schneider had told her that she had to face her fears little by little, among which was her phobia to swimming pools. There was a pool in the hospital for the department of physical therapy, and Kid had suggested going there when daily activity had finished. Lou had thought it was a great idea; she didn't feel like facing something so frightening for her in a place that might be full of strangers, so she had accepted. But the thought that the pool would be empty did not make the moment easier. Three times before today she had been ready to take the step, but she had backed out at the last minute. The mere notion scared the wits out of her and things weren't very different today.
"Kid, I can live perfectly happy without having to be near a swimming pool."
"That's true... but Lou, do you want to be scared of a place all your life? Is that what you really want?"
Louise shook her head with a rueful expression. "I guess you're right," she muttered between gritted teeth.
Kid did not say anything else and simply resumed his walking, pulling her along. Louise let herself be steered but as they approached the place, she started to panic and her heart pounded in her chest with such a force that its beating seemed to be the only sound that Lou could hear in her head.
When they reached the hall and got inside, the smell of chlorine quickly penetrated her nostrils and Louise brought her hand to cover her nose in an attempt to block the whiff of nauseating blood that she actually smelled. Kid turned to her and asked, "Lou, what's wrong?"
"I can't stand the smell... the smell of blood... I think I'm gonna be sick," Lou replied with a nasal voice, her eyes bright and her skin sickly pale.
Kid did not reply to her words and coming closer to the edge of the swimming pool, he crouched and collected some water in his cupped hand. As he walked back to Louise, he said, "Lou, you and I work in an environment where we're in constant contact with blood. You know how blood smells, and this is just water." He brought his hand over hers, pulling it off her nose and drew his other hand with the water near her face.
Lou scrunched her countenance in horror and disgust while she exclaimed, "Oh God!"
"Lou, breathe in," Kid instructed gently. "It's just water... only water."
Louise closed her eyes while inhaling and exhaling nervously, trying to control the growing urge to vomit. Kid continued talking to her in soft tones and little by little she felt more and more relaxed. She even took a dare and buried her face in his hand, feeling the water on her skin and tasting it on her lips. As she lifted her head and opened her eyes to him, Kid was smiling and asked, "Are you feeling all right?"
"I... I guess," Louise replied vaguely. She could not actually say how she was feeling because she did not know. This was so strange, and all she wanted was to be done with all this as quickly as possible.
"Ready to jump then?" Kid asked again.
"Only if you jump with me," Louise replied. Since she was already there, she wanted to tackle the matter that had haunted her for so many years. She told herself that she could do it... this could not win over her.
"Always... you know that.
Kid turned around as he stripped down to his swimming trunks. He wanted to give her some privacy while she took off her sweatpants and T-shirt. The situation was not easy for her, and he did not want to make her more uncomfortable by gawking at her figure, which he knew he would do without fail.
The touch of her thin fingers intertwining his strong ones made him turn back to her timidly, and his eyes almost popped on seeing her body wrapped in the black swimsuit Emily had given her during that weekend away. "You look beautiful... you are beautiful."
Louise smiled despite feeling jittery. With their hands joined, the couple came closer to the edge of the swimming pool and her hand squeezed his more and more tightly with anxiety. Their eyes locked in a silent exchange, and Lou crouched and sat just on the rim of the pool nervously. Kid had slid into the water and as he floated, he raised his arms over his head and exclaimed, "Lou, come and join me, please." She did not obey straightaway and after a few seconds she crept closer. Her legs came into contact with the water and the moment she felt the fresh sensation on her body, her skin crawled in disgust. Lou told herself that she could not back out now and closing her eyes she gave herself a push and fell in the water. A piercing scream left her lips when her head resurfaced and Kid's arms instantly came to hold her around her waist.
"Hey... hey, Lou, listen to me. I'm here... there's nothing to be afraid of. It's just water, honey, only that."
"Oh Kid!" she cried, feeling as if she was living in total agony. "I can't ... I can't."
"Of course you can," he tried to encourage her. "You know you can." He paused and then he asked when he felt her relax in his arms. "What about a nice, pleasant swim to that wall?"
Louise looked at the spot Kid was pointing at, and she thought that the distance was simply too immense. She had no energy to do so, but she wanted to try... she had to, so in the end she nodded reluctantly. As soon as Kid's arms let go of her, she found herself sinking down and struggling underwater despite the fact that the pool was fairly shallow. Her limbs moved desperately, panicky but she could not reach the surface. Water was getting into her mouth, making her weaker and weaker, and when she thought she could not struggle anymore, a couple of strong arms grabbed her and she was pushed towards the surface. As soon as she emerged, she was overwhelmed by coughs.
"Lou! Lou!" he called breathlessly in a desperate voice. He had been frantic with fear when Louise had gone underwater and those few minutes he had been unable to reach her had felt like hours. "Lou..."
Louise nodded her head, letting him know she was all right, and when the cough subsided, she rested her head against one of the walls in the pool while her hands held onto Kid's shoulders for dear life. "I... I'm fine," she wheezed as she tried to get her breath back.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," Kid said. "Let's get out of here."
"No!" Lou exclaimed, shaking her head energetically. "I want to do this. I need to do this!"
"All right... as you wish."
"Let's try again... just don't let go of me, please," she said and breathing in deeply, she positioned herself to give it another go. Kid floated next to her, holding her by the waist. Smoothly she started advancing towards her aim, the wall that Kid had mentioned. Every stroke and second felt like a terrible effort even though she tried her hardest to disregard the sensations invading her mind. Her whole self urged her to give up and stop, but she was a proud and stubborn woman and continued regardless. At some point she even pushed Kid away and continued on her own and after what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the end. As her head came up to the surface, she saw Kid swimming towards her and when he reached her, he exclaimed with a big smile, "You did it, Lou. You did it!"
"Can we go now?" she replied, unable to share his glee at all, and before he could say anything either way, she pushed herself out of the pool. Kid came after her and turning towards him, Louise wrapped her arms around his wet figure and added in a miserable voice, "I need a shower... like right now."
She was about to flee, but he stopped her. "Lou, you all right?"
"Yeah..." she replied gruffly, somehow annoyed by his interruption. She could not stand the sensation of this smelly water on her skin and needed to get rid of all the sensations that were torturing her. "I just need a shower... please."
Kid nodded, a gesture that she did not even see as she ran to the ladies' changing room as if the very devil was after her. He followed suit and got changed quickly. Lou reappeared a few minutes later and without exchanging a word, the couple left the place. As they walked towards the exit, he asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah... I guess I am. I still felt weird and kind of sick there, but I think if I keep trying, I'll bee able to get over that," Lou admitted.
"You know... I'm very proud of you," Kid whispered, leaning towards her and planting a quick peck on her right cheek. Louise smiled, obviously pleased by his words and after that tiny pause, he asked, "So eager to try tomorrow again?"
"Tomorrow?" Louise exclaimed, shocked by his suggestion. She had thought that she could repeat the experience some day the following week but not so soon. Yet, on seeing his expression, she knew she had to relent. "All right... tomorrow then."
"That's my girl!"
Lou did not show the satisfaction that he did. The minutes she had spent in the pool had been a totally anguishing experience, and in fact she did not look forward to a repeat of that. Yet, she also knew that she could not stop from trying if she wanted to get past that completely. She had taken the first step, which was the hardest, and all she needed was to keep trying. At sixteen she had adored swimming and she actually wished she could enjoy the same feeling again.
The couple reached the car and drove off. As the vehicle rolled along through the congested traffic, neither spoke much, both lost in their own thoughts. At some point Kid's cell phone rang, almost startling them and breaking the smooth silence that had settled between them. "Honey, could you get that for me, please?" he asked without averting his eyes from the windshield as he drove.
Louise picked up the phone from the dashboard where Kid had left it and glimpsing at the screen she noticed the number was unlisted. Without further ado she jabbed the answer button and pressed the phone against her ear. "Hello?... Yeah, this is his phone but he is driving at the moment... I see... Yeah... one moment, please." Lou covered the microphone with her hand and turning to Kid, she said, "Kid, it's somebody called ... uh... Martin something. I didn't catch his last name. He says you were supposed to phone him."
"Oh yeah..." he replied. "Lou, could you connect the hands-off option for me?" Louise did so after telling the man on the phone and when his voice was heard, Kid greeted him warmly. "Hey, Martin. How's it going?"
"Good, good, thank you." There was a brief pause before the man continued. "Kid, when we talked, you said you'd be back to me in a few days. It's been almost a week... Is it you've decided against it?"
"Uh... no, not really," Kid replied hesitantly, eying Lou sideways. "Thing is I haven't had the chance to talk to my fiancée yet." As he mentioned her, Lou looked at him curiously, wondering what all this was about, and she kept listening to the conversation more intently now. "We're up to our eyes in work and with the wedding... things are kind of crazy lately."
"When are you getting hitched?"
"In a couple of weeks," Kid replied with a bright smile. "Uh... listen, Martin. I'll call you sometime tonight and give you an answer. Is that all right?"
"Yeah, fine."
"Talk to you then," Kid concluded and after the two men exchanged good-byes, the line went dead and Lou pressed the hang-up button. Curiosity was killing her and she didn't waste any time to ask him, "What was that, Kid?"
He didn't answer straightaway and after a few seconds, he said in a very serious tone, "We need to talk, Lou."
"You're scaring me..."
"It's nothing bad," he simply said and after driving for a few more minutes, he finally found a parking space a few blocks further, where he stopped the car and cut the ignition.
"Kid, can this wait until we get home?" Lou asked, clueless at what he was up to. Actually, she was dying to know and couldn't wait, but she was simply checking how serious this mysterious business was.
"I want to tell you now."
"Then I'm all ears," Lou concluded as she folded her arms over her chest and adopted a listening pose.
"Lou... uh... what were you supposed to do this coming summer before we... before we started?" he asked.
"What's that got to do with this?" Louise asked instead.
"Answer the question, Lou."
She made an impatient gesture and said, "Well... I had to travel to Somalia... go as a missionary."
Kid nodded and continued, "My friend Martin... the one I've just talked to... he is a representative of "Doctors Without Borders" and... well... seems they'd be pleased to have a soon-to-be married couple of doctors... actually, they're in urgent need of obstetricians in Rwanda."
Lou stared at him flabbergasted. "You're kidding, aren't you?"
"Apart from the day I proposed to you, I've never been more serious than right now," he answered. "I know this is something you wanted to do... Lou, you've given up so much for me... for us... and I really need to do this for you."
"Kid, no... you have it all wrong, honey. I left my past life because here is where I want to be... next to you. Loving someone always means to sacrifice a part of you... but it's a sweet sacrifice. I know you've put aside things for my sake too. You don't need to do anything else."
"But, Lou, this is something I really want to do with you," he rejoined. "You were right... I was leading a very shallow kind of life... going to the social hall with you has really woken me up."
"I never said you were shallow!" Lou protested. She had always teased him because of the way he had cared for his luxurious car, but she had never thought he was a superficial man. Actually, she believed he was a thoughtful person who cared about his patients and friends greatly. "You don't need to prove that to me. I already know."
"But Lou…"
"Working in a country with a complicated political situation is nothing to take lightly, Kid. It's really hard... and you have to be very strong and sure to face terrible circumstances on a daily basis."
"Lou, I know that! I'm not stupid!" he exclaimed, slightly irritated.
"I didn't say you were!"
"Besides, Martin showed me some slides when I went to see him."
Louise frowned at his comment and asked, "And when did you do all this?"
"One of the days you and your sister went hunting for your wedding dress." Louise nodded and Kid carried on, "So, Lou, what is going to be? What shall I tell Martin?"
"You're definitely serious."
"Lou, if you don't want to go for it, it's OK... but please don't say no for my sake because I do want this," Kid said, looking into her eyes intently.
Louise brought her hand over her mouth as a nervous giggle left her lips. "And when are we expected to be ready?"
"Well, we're getting married in a couple of weeks, and after our honeymoon, you still have a month to complete the fellowship. So I guess during that time we can arrange the paperwork, get the shots and give Teaspoon enough time to find somebody to replace me. So I imagine we'll be ready to board the project in July or August."
Louise smiled brightly and exclaimed, "We are doing it, aren't we, Kid, aren't we?"
"I gather we are, honey. We're going to Africa," he said and among laughs the two of them reached for each other and joined in a long and hot kiss.
A bit later the couple finally got to the building where they lived. All the way Kid had been telling Lou everything that his friend had told him... the project they'd be joining, about the town where they'd fly to, about the situation in the country, about the clinic they'd be working in. Louise heard him with total attention and kept asking him question after question. She was totally excited with the plan and she felt as if she was given more than she had ever desired. She was very lucky indeed, and all she could think of was all the gifts she had been granted in this life. The ordeals and bad times she had gone through didn't matter right now as she watched the man by her side.
As Kid and Lou walked out of the elevator, they were surprised to find Theresa sitting on the floor just in front of the door in the hallway. "It's high time you two showed up!" Theresa exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet. "I've been waiting for hours… my darn cell phone has gone dead. Where on earth have you been?"
"Swimming," Kid simply replied, sharing a smile with his fiancée and searching for his keys in his pants pocket.
"Swimming... great," Theresa replied sarcastically. "Yeah, I remember you were crazy about it years ago, weren't you, Lou?"
Louie did not want to talk about it, and while Kid proceeded to open the front door, she asked, "And what are you doing here, Tessie?"
"I came for you," her sister replied.
"What?" Louise exclaimed with a frown.
"You're moving out to live with me in these weeks before the wedding. So let's go!"
"What are you saying?" Kid turned to his soon-to-be sister-in-law with an unpleasant expression.
"Kid, my sister... your future wife... is marrying you in two weeks in case you don't know... and there's still so much for us girls to do... things that you men have no idea about whatsoever... Besides, we are decent, Catholic girls and the custom is for the bride to leave for the church from her family's residence and not from the groom's nest. She'll come back here with you when she becomes your lawful, wedded wife." Turning to Lou and hooking her arm around hers, the younger woman said, "Come on, let's go, sis."
"Theresa, where did you get all that from?" Lou asked annoyed.
"People might not mind it, but it's the tradition… I read it somewhere. Besides I want to spend this time with you… I want to. Come on… let's go," Theresa repeated after her vague explanation.
"But, Tessie, my things... I ..."
"I'm sure Kid won't mind to pack a few clothes for you and take them to the hospital. You can borrow some of mine today... we need to go now. Annie is with a babysitter and I'm already running late. Bye, Kid!"
Before the man could answer or Lou could react, Theresa had practically dragged her sister back into the elevator. Through the door Louise exchanged an amused look with her fiancé and shrugged her shoulders and as the door slid closed, she only heard Kid's voice saying, "I'll call you later."
