Part Four
Luka and Harmony's "day" ended rather late, as a trauma had come in that required basically everyone's help. They met in the doctors' lounge to discuss plans.
"So, where do you want to go?" Luka asked as they put away their "uniforms" and grabbed their coats.
Heather shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea. I've only been in Chicago for a few months. Didn't Michael Jordan have a place…"
"Closed."
"Oh. Well, in that case you can chose. Except, no Chinese. I went out to a Chinese place the other night."
"Okay. Well there's this nice French café a couple blocks away. Do you want to try that?" Luka suggested.
"Sounds good."
The couple walked the few blocks to the little café. Finding it rather empty, they were quickly seated outside.
"This is really nice," Harmony commented. "The café reminds me on the one my sister owns in New Orleans. It's in the French Quarter."
"How many siblings do you have?" Luka asked.
"Fourteen."
"Fourteen!"
"Yup. Kathleen, Sasha, Jake, Ryan, Teresa, Allen, Krystal, Cameron, Jerry, Lisa, Patricia, Terri, Jemima, and Tony. I'm the baby of the family," Harmony said nonchalantly. "Here, I think I have a picture of us all somewhere." She dug through her purse. "Yeah, here was go. This is at Teresa's wedding. " She handed the picture to Luka.
"Which one is you?" he asked.
"I'm this one," Harmony said pointing at a little girl dressed in a white, puffy, dress. "I'm about ten. We are each one and a half years apart. Kath is fifty right now."
"Must make for a lot of birthdays to remember."
"Yeah, I think that's why those Gregorian monks invented calendars. Or was it the Aztecs of Latin America?" Harmony said. She smiled. "Do you have any siblings?"
"A brother. He still lives in Croatia," Luka said.
"Cool. Speaking of birthdays, when is yours?"
"September eight."
"I guess I missed it. I'll have to find you a belated birthday gift," Harmony said with a grin.
"When's yours?"
"April fifteenth. Tax day. Perfect hun? I'm the fifteenth kid in my family."
"Where did you grow up? Did you always live in Rome?" Luka asked.
Harmony laughed. "No. I was born in Tucson, Arizona. I lived there until college, then I went to New York for undergrad. Then I was offered a scholarship from the University of Rome. After I finished med school and was offered a job in Kenya. Nairobi to be exact. And, now I'm here," she explained.
"I've lived in Croatia for most of my life. I got married there, and during the war my wife and two children were killed. A shell hit our apartment building." Luka sighed as the memories of that day came back. The sirens, the smell of burning rubble and skin. Blood running everywhere. The sight of his wife and children's broken and bloodied corpses. The intense feeling of loneliness, of depression of utter aloneness. A feeling he had never shed - until now.
"I'm so sorry," Harmony said. Her voice abandoned its fun tone and adopted a tone of pain. As if she knew exactly how he felt. "I didn't lose a spouse, but I did lose a good friend. Naomi was another doctor in Nairobi. She had to leave because some of her family members were in trouble in South Africa. She was shot and killed by a radical in broad daylight."
Luka looked at Harmony's eyes. A sense of pain was visible in them. Something Luka had never seen in her, but could identify with. He decided it was time to change the subject. "So, how many languages do you speak? If you lived in all those countries, that is."
Harmony smiled her half smile. "Five. English, of course. Italian, Swahili, Latin, and Croatian."
"You can speak Croatian?" Luka asked.
"Yeah. I told you about that one professor I had in Rome right? Well, his English was terrible, and his Italian was even worse. So, all his students had to learn Croatian," Harmony elucidated.
"Interesting. How do you say 'hello' in Swahili?"
"Habari. Kwaheri is goodbye. Unasemaje is how do you say… And jina langu ni is my name is…"
"So my name is Luka Kovac is jina langu ni Luka Kovac."
"Exactly! You're a natural," Harmony said grinning from ear to ear.
A waitress came by and they ordered.
"So, do you have any pets?" Luka asked.
"I had a cat that I got in Rome, but I was afraid that it wouldn't make it all the way to Chicago, so I left her with my friend Bonnie. You know, Kenya still has a lot of British influences - it was a British colony, you know - and many of my friend in Nairobi were British. But many more were African. My closest friend in Nairobi was Addy Kulmari. Once we went to a club in Nairobi and we got so drunk, it wasn't even funny. But don't tell my parents that. If they knew that, ohhh, I think they would have my head. They'd probably mount it like moose heads or something and but it in my father's study."
Luka sort of stared at Harmony in shock.
She began laughing. "I'm just joking. They'd be upset, but they wouldn't take my head. They're actually the sweetest old couple I've ever met. And I'm not just saying that because they're my parents either. One of these days you should come with me to Tucson to visit them. You know, we could make it a cross-country trip. We could visit all my siblings. At least most of them."
"Where exactly do your siblings live?" Luka asked.
"Kath lives in Missoula, Montana, Sasha lives in Denver, Colorado. Jake is in the Air Force, and I think he's stationed in Mongolia right now. Ryan is in Spokane, Washington. Teresa is in Washington DC. Allen lives in lives in Orlando, Florida. Krystal lives in New Orleans. She's the one who owns the café. Cameron lives in New York and works on Broadway. Jerry lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lisa lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Pat is in Maui, Hawaii. Terri lives in Los Angeles, California. Jemima lives in Phoenix, Arizona. And Tony lives in Detroit, Michigan. And, I'm in Chicago of course. Yeah, I'd say the Morrises cove most of the United States," Harmony said. "Do you want me to go through all their jobs?"
Luka smiled. "Only if I wanted to be here all night. Not that I would mind that."
Harmony too smiled as the waitress brought their food.
"I can't believe neither of us ordered a flaming crepe suzette," Luka commented.
"You know, one time when I was visiting some of my nieces, they were watching this show called 'Pinky and the Brain'. That's this cartoon about these two mice that try to take over the world. Anyway, the Brain wants the take over France by putting nutmeg in the flaming crepe suzette so it will explode. So, that's what flaming crepe suzette reminds me of."
"That would have been a sight to see."
"Oh yeah."
------------------------
After dinner, Luka and Harmony were walking past the hospital when they ran into Malucci.
"What have you two been up to?" he asked, unchaining his bike.
"We went to dinner," Luka said simply.
"Ohhh," Malucci said, a bemused expression on his face.
"You know Doctor Dave, if a guy comes by with a good pair of metal cutters, your bike is history."
"So I've been told."
"Don't you have a helmet?" Harmony asked. "You're not a real great role model."
"Yeah, yeah," Dave growled. "See you two love birds tomorrow."
Harmony looked at Luka. "Did he just say what I though he said?" she asked.
"Knowing Malucci, probably. Come on." The couple walked in silence for a while, and waited for the train. "Can I escort you home?" Luka asked suddenly.
"Sure," Harmony said, slightly surprised. They rode to the stop near Harmony's house and walked to the nice little house. "Thanks for a great night," she said, with a smile.
"You're welcome," Luka said and kissed her. "Good night Harmony."
"Good night Luka." They parted and Harmony walked into her house. She fell onto her couch. She was happier than she had been in a long time.
Luka and Harmony's "day" ended rather late, as a trauma had come in that required basically everyone's help. They met in the doctors' lounge to discuss plans.
"So, where do you want to go?" Luka asked as they put away their "uniforms" and grabbed their coats.
Heather shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea. I've only been in Chicago for a few months. Didn't Michael Jordan have a place…"
"Closed."
"Oh. Well, in that case you can chose. Except, no Chinese. I went out to a Chinese place the other night."
"Okay. Well there's this nice French café a couple blocks away. Do you want to try that?" Luka suggested.
"Sounds good."
The couple walked the few blocks to the little café. Finding it rather empty, they were quickly seated outside.
"This is really nice," Harmony commented. "The café reminds me on the one my sister owns in New Orleans. It's in the French Quarter."
"How many siblings do you have?" Luka asked.
"Fourteen."
"Fourteen!"
"Yup. Kathleen, Sasha, Jake, Ryan, Teresa, Allen, Krystal, Cameron, Jerry, Lisa, Patricia, Terri, Jemima, and Tony. I'm the baby of the family," Harmony said nonchalantly. "Here, I think I have a picture of us all somewhere." She dug through her purse. "Yeah, here was go. This is at Teresa's wedding. " She handed the picture to Luka.
"Which one is you?" he asked.
"I'm this one," Harmony said pointing at a little girl dressed in a white, puffy, dress. "I'm about ten. We are each one and a half years apart. Kath is fifty right now."
"Must make for a lot of birthdays to remember."
"Yeah, I think that's why those Gregorian monks invented calendars. Or was it the Aztecs of Latin America?" Harmony said. She smiled. "Do you have any siblings?"
"A brother. He still lives in Croatia," Luka said.
"Cool. Speaking of birthdays, when is yours?"
"September eight."
"I guess I missed it. I'll have to find you a belated birthday gift," Harmony said with a grin.
"When's yours?"
"April fifteenth. Tax day. Perfect hun? I'm the fifteenth kid in my family."
"Where did you grow up? Did you always live in Rome?" Luka asked.
Harmony laughed. "No. I was born in Tucson, Arizona. I lived there until college, then I went to New York for undergrad. Then I was offered a scholarship from the University of Rome. After I finished med school and was offered a job in Kenya. Nairobi to be exact. And, now I'm here," she explained.
"I've lived in Croatia for most of my life. I got married there, and during the war my wife and two children were killed. A shell hit our apartment building." Luka sighed as the memories of that day came back. The sirens, the smell of burning rubble and skin. Blood running everywhere. The sight of his wife and children's broken and bloodied corpses. The intense feeling of loneliness, of depression of utter aloneness. A feeling he had never shed - until now.
"I'm so sorry," Harmony said. Her voice abandoned its fun tone and adopted a tone of pain. As if she knew exactly how he felt. "I didn't lose a spouse, but I did lose a good friend. Naomi was another doctor in Nairobi. She had to leave because some of her family members were in trouble in South Africa. She was shot and killed by a radical in broad daylight."
Luka looked at Harmony's eyes. A sense of pain was visible in them. Something Luka had never seen in her, but could identify with. He decided it was time to change the subject. "So, how many languages do you speak? If you lived in all those countries, that is."
Harmony smiled her half smile. "Five. English, of course. Italian, Swahili, Latin, and Croatian."
"You can speak Croatian?" Luka asked.
"Yeah. I told you about that one professor I had in Rome right? Well, his English was terrible, and his Italian was even worse. So, all his students had to learn Croatian," Harmony elucidated.
"Interesting. How do you say 'hello' in Swahili?"
"Habari. Kwaheri is goodbye. Unasemaje is how do you say… And jina langu ni is my name is…"
"So my name is Luka Kovac is jina langu ni Luka Kovac."
"Exactly! You're a natural," Harmony said grinning from ear to ear.
A waitress came by and they ordered.
"So, do you have any pets?" Luka asked.
"I had a cat that I got in Rome, but I was afraid that it wouldn't make it all the way to Chicago, so I left her with my friend Bonnie. You know, Kenya still has a lot of British influences - it was a British colony, you know - and many of my friend in Nairobi were British. But many more were African. My closest friend in Nairobi was Addy Kulmari. Once we went to a club in Nairobi and we got so drunk, it wasn't even funny. But don't tell my parents that. If they knew that, ohhh, I think they would have my head. They'd probably mount it like moose heads or something and but it in my father's study."
Luka sort of stared at Harmony in shock.
She began laughing. "I'm just joking. They'd be upset, but they wouldn't take my head. They're actually the sweetest old couple I've ever met. And I'm not just saying that because they're my parents either. One of these days you should come with me to Tucson to visit them. You know, we could make it a cross-country trip. We could visit all my siblings. At least most of them."
"Where exactly do your siblings live?" Luka asked.
"Kath lives in Missoula, Montana, Sasha lives in Denver, Colorado. Jake is in the Air Force, and I think he's stationed in Mongolia right now. Ryan is in Spokane, Washington. Teresa is in Washington DC. Allen lives in lives in Orlando, Florida. Krystal lives in New Orleans. She's the one who owns the café. Cameron lives in New York and works on Broadway. Jerry lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lisa lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Pat is in Maui, Hawaii. Terri lives in Los Angeles, California. Jemima lives in Phoenix, Arizona. And Tony lives in Detroit, Michigan. And, I'm in Chicago of course. Yeah, I'd say the Morrises cove most of the United States," Harmony said. "Do you want me to go through all their jobs?"
Luka smiled. "Only if I wanted to be here all night. Not that I would mind that."
Harmony too smiled as the waitress brought their food.
"I can't believe neither of us ordered a flaming crepe suzette," Luka commented.
"You know, one time when I was visiting some of my nieces, they were watching this show called 'Pinky and the Brain'. That's this cartoon about these two mice that try to take over the world. Anyway, the Brain wants the take over France by putting nutmeg in the flaming crepe suzette so it will explode. So, that's what flaming crepe suzette reminds me of."
"That would have been a sight to see."
"Oh yeah."
------------------------
After dinner, Luka and Harmony were walking past the hospital when they ran into Malucci.
"What have you two been up to?" he asked, unchaining his bike.
"We went to dinner," Luka said simply.
"Ohhh," Malucci said, a bemused expression on his face.
"You know Doctor Dave, if a guy comes by with a good pair of metal cutters, your bike is history."
"So I've been told."
"Don't you have a helmet?" Harmony asked. "You're not a real great role model."
"Yeah, yeah," Dave growled. "See you two love birds tomorrow."
Harmony looked at Luka. "Did he just say what I though he said?" she asked.
"Knowing Malucci, probably. Come on." The couple walked in silence for a while, and waited for the train. "Can I escort you home?" Luka asked suddenly.
"Sure," Harmony said, slightly surprised. They rode to the stop near Harmony's house and walked to the nice little house. "Thanks for a great night," she said, with a smile.
"You're welcome," Luka said and kissed her. "Good night Harmony."
"Good night Luka." They parted and Harmony walked into her house. She fell onto her couch. She was happier than she had been in a long time.