Chapter 6
Elizabeth was finding Positano more beautiful the longer she stayed. The next couple of days they just spent lounging around the house and town and going for dips in the warm sea when it got too hot for them. Ella loved the place as well. She was the centre of attention from the towns people who knew Robert. Robert had to correct quite a few people that Ella was not his daughter and that Elizabeth was just a friend. Of course, Robert knew Elizabeth was more than a friend, and things had changed between them.
Robert had got up early one morning to make another picnic, for their surprise day trip. He had been hinting that Elizabeth would need her swimming suit but that was all he had said. It annoyed Elizabeth because usually she could get any information out of Robert she liked, but this was different. He didn't seem so willing, and Elizabeth could only put it down to Robert wanting to surprise her.
While preparing the picnic, Robert realised how well he had been adjusting to doing tasks with only one hand. The salads were washed and prepared, sandwiches were cut, in straight lines, and he had cooked pasta on the gas cooker without burning himself. He had to admit to being proud of himself for accomplishing this skill, but he would never stand down from a challenge. He was still determined to one day continuing surgery but for now, the operation of pouring the grapefruit juice into the flasks was enough.
Elizabeth woke up Ella and got her washed and dressed for their exciting day out.
"Mummy, where we go?" Ella asked in her cute way.
"I don't know. It's a surprise," Elizabeth said smiling at her daughter.
"Shells!" Ella cried. Ella had fun collecting shells and had found about twenty that she just refused to leave behind. She had them lined up on a chest of drawers and would refuse to go to sleep until she heard the Ocean through her shells.
"Yes darling. We might find some shells," Elizabeth told her daughter, and Ella had a huge grin across her face in anticipation of finding more mermaid shells.
"Elizabeth had bought a sun dress especially for the holiday, but hadn't worn it yet. Part of her thought it was too pretty to wear for Robert who might get the wrong idea, and the part of her thought that it was pretty so Robert would get the right idea. She hated being torn in two like this. She held it up in front of her and looked at herself in the mirror. It was a halter neck dress and was bright reds and had a swirl pattern on. She really did like the dress and, more importantly, she looked good in it!
"Pretty," Ella said, as she watched her mother from the bed.
"You think so?" Elizabeth said asking Ella her opinion. Ella nodded vigorously. "OK, if you think so," and Elizabeth put the dress on.
She came down the stairs with Ella in her arms, and put Ella into her high chair. Elizabeth saw the picnic hamper laid out on the table and lifted the lid up slightly to see what goodies were inside.
"Oi!" Robert said as he grabbed her hand to stop her looking in. "No peeking." Ella laughed. Robert waved at Ella, who imitated him and waved back. He looked at Elizabeth and realised what she was wearing. His breath was taken away. She looked stunning. That dress was beautiful and she looked amazing in it.
"Wow!" he exclaimed. Elizabeth blushed and mumbled something along the lines of a thank you. "You look stunning! I mean that dress……. it really suits you," he complimented her.
"Anyways…… what time we setting off?" she asked, getting Ella something for breakfast.
"As soon as we've finished breakfast," he told her.
"You had any breakfast, Robert?" Elizabeth asked motherly.
"I had mine earlier." Elizabeth looked around the kitchen. She couldn't see any dirty plates or any sign that Robert had had anything more than a cup of coffee.
"I'll make you some toast, Robert," she said, ignoring his claim that he had already had something.
"Really, it's fine," he said trying to stop her.
"You need something to eat," Elizabeth demanded. Robert held up his hands in surrender. He wasn't going to argue with her.
She made him some toast, and she refused to move until he had eaten both slices. Even though he wasn't really in the mood to eat at this point, he still stuffed the slices into his mouth and finished them both. Soon after eight o' clock, they set off from the house to the secret location. Robert said they didn't need the car for this trip and they walked into town. Elizabeth was very curious where they were going. They had explored the whole town over the last few days. Where could they possibly be going?
It didn't take long to see. As soon as they got to the harbour, Elizabeth saw a catamaran sitting off one of the jetties.
"I take it that's for us?" Elizabeth guessed.
"Yep," Robert said excited. He boarded the vessel first and put down the picnic hamper. While he was doing this, Elizabeth examined the boat, partly looking to see if it was child friendly and the rest, because she had never been on one before. She saw the name of the boat. It was called 'The Eliza'. That was the second time she had saw that name. Maybe this would give her a reason to bring the topic up.
Robert helped them aboard and Robert took to the helm to send them on their way. They pulled away from the jetty and off across the water. Ella saw with her mother at the front of the boat with their legs hanging over the netting, which connected the two parts of the boat. The water was so blue, and so clear that Elizabeth could see the bottom. She would point out the grasses and creatures she could see under the water. Ella was smiling, giggling, and swinging her feet. Elizabeth looked out across the sea ahead of them, curious to their destination.
"Mommy!" Ella screamed and pointed at the water. Elizabeth looked at what she was screaming at. There was a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins following the catamaran.
"Robert look!" Elizabeth screamed to Robert.
"It's the Alpha pod," he screamed back. "They are the main pod of dolphins in the area. I used to know them all by name. You see that dolphin with a white splodge on his dorsal fin," he said pointing to on of the dolphins at the front. "She is Seshat, the leader of the pod." He looked around.
"And you see the one on the left side, which looks like he's spotted. That's Thor. I remember when he was born. He would be about……twelve now," he informed her.
"They are beautiful animals," Elizabeth noted. Robert stopped the boat, grabbed a bucket and came beside Ella and Elizabeth. Seshat came up to the boat, with no fear and poked her head out of the water by where they all were sitting. He took a fish out of the bucket and threw it to her. She caught it in her mouth and ate it. She made a sound, which could only be happiness and seemed to be pleading for more.
"You wanna try?" Robert said, handing a fish to Ella. Ella cautiously took the fish. More dolphins had come in closer smelling food around. Ella threw the fish as hard as she could and one of the younger dolphins caught it. Ella laughed.
"Again!" she demanded. Robert handed her another fish and gave one to Elizabeth.
"Can't feed them too much. They have to hunt them on their own," Robert said to Lizzie.
"I know. But still, who could not stop and give them something?" Elizabeth pointed out.
"True. Tourists are told not to feed them, though. I used to come out here a lot. And feed them whenever I did. They got use to me, as you tell by Seshat being so forward," he said remembering. There was only one fish left.
"Let's see if she can remember," Robert said getting up with a fish in his hand. He walked to the furthest point on the boat and held up the fish. Seshat swam off. Elizabeth was curious to know what he was doing. She then saw Seshat jumped out of the water in the distance. Her and Ella clapped the performance as Seshat came forward to collect her prize. Robert carefully dropped the fish into her mouth. The pod broke into a loud chatter of squeals and calls that echoed around for miles. It wasn't long before Seshat led the pod off from he boat and back on their way. And so did Robert.
"That was amazing Robert," Elizabeth said leaving Ella to play with one of her toys in the safety of the cabin.
"Thought you might like that. If we meet them on the way, I'll stop again and see if we can swim with them," Robert said hopefully.
"Back from where?" Elizabeth said confused. She had thought the dolphins were the surprise.
"Back from where we are going. I knew the dolphins would be around here which is why I took this route, but they were not our final destination," Robert said cryptically. She kissed him on the cheek. He looked surprised at her.
"Thank you," she said softly and returned to Ella to apply more sun cream.
It was a scorching hot day with the sun rapidly rising in the sky. The sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight. There was no wind apart from the movement of the boat. There were only small ripples on the surface of the sea, making the journey very smooth. Elizabeth sat on the netted area, sunbathing, while Ella chatted to herself, colouring in on a beach towel. This had to be one of the most relaxing days Elizabeth had ever had. She lay there on a towel, fighting the urge to close her eyes and go to sleep. Not, only did she want to keep an eye on her daughter, but she didn't want to burn either. She could feel the suns rays on her skin. She wasn't one to easily burn, but it would ruin the rest of the holiday if she did burn.
It took another two hours and a quarter to reach their intended destination. It was another beautiful secluded bay. This bay was different from the other one they had visited because it didn't have a beach, and there were high cliffs surrounding it. There were some caves to one side of the bay, and the cliffs had the odd bit of vegetation here, the odd tree there, but importantly, not another soul in sight. The water was deep, but clear, with lots of marine life to fascinate Ella and Elizabeth. Robert stopped the boat and dropped anchor.
"Here we are," he said. "There is some snorkelling equipment in the hatch, and inflatables for Ella," he informed Elizabeth.
"This is brilliant. How did you find it?" she enquired.
"I used to come here a lot. I know what's in most of the bays," he told her. Robert got out the snorkelling equipment while Elizabeth got Ella's swimming costume on. Elizabeth removed her dress to reveal a bright pink halter neck bikini underneath. Robert just got his trunk on and jumped into the water to show Ella how easy it was. Ella climbed down the steps, with Elizabeth holding onto her tight. Ella had large armbands on and ring around her waist. Elizabeth sat on the bottom step with her legs dangling into the water. Ella sat between her legs on the step, nervous about going in.
"Come on Ella," Robert encouraged her. He swam up close to her, and held his arm out. "I'll catch you," he said. Ella took a deep breath and jumped off, or more like slid into the water. Her head didn't go under the water and she was still smiling, so the experience of being in the water hadn't scared her too much.
"Elizabeth, you coming?" Robert said holding onto Ella, and coaxing her into the water. Elizabeth elegantly slid into the water, and swam up to Ella.
"Hello darling. Did you enjoy that?" Ella nodded.
"Take it she's never swum before?" Robert guessed.
"She is now," Elizabeth said holding Ella up. It wasn't like Ella could sink with the amount of inflatable armbands she had on, but still Elizabeth worried.
The water was lovely and warm, but still cool enough to cool them down from the heat of the sun. Elizabeth pulled Ella underneath the boat, which Ella thought was extremely funny, while Robert dived down. It was deep, but not too deep and with the clear water, he could see all the crustaceans and molluscs on the sea bed. He found a large starfish, and picked it up. He reached the surface and swam over to the girls with the starfish still in his hand.
"Hey Ella. Look what I've found," and he held out the starfish for her to see.
"Pretty," she said reaching for the starfish.
"Be gentle Ella," Elizabeth said. "That is a starfish. It's an animal that leaves on the sea floor," she explained.
"Yeah, I found just underneath where you are," Robert added. Ella looked at Robert then down at the water, confused. Robert and Elizabeth laughed at the innocence of the little girl. The starfish was sticking to Ella's hand, and she couldn't quite understand it. Elizabeth, laughing, took the Starfish gentle off her daughter and back to Robert.
He dived back down and placed the starfish back on a rock, and something caught his eye. He grabbed it and came back to the surface.
"Ella, I have something else you may like," Robert said coming over again. He held his hand out, but Ella didn't need to be told what this was.
"Shell!" she screamed. She hurriedly grabbed the shell and put the opening to her ear. "Ocean," she said giddily.
"Yeah, the ocean," Robert agreed. "Let's take it back to the boat to add to your collection. We can have some lunch too." They all swam back to the boat. Elizabeth, got out first and lifted her daughter out of the water, followed by Robert. Robert quickly dried himself and started to set up the picnic underneath the shaded cabin area.
"Anything I can do?" Elizabeth shouted from outside while she drying Ella.
"It's alright, I can manage." He put the plates out, and laid the sandwiches and the salad out on the table. The fruit was out too and there was some melon and/or prawns for afterwards.
Ella, without waiting for her mother, ran up to the table and took a sandwich.
"Ella!" Elizabeth shouted at her. "Wait." Ella frowned, and glared at her mother. After a mini staring contest, Ella returned the sandwich and slumped onto the chair close to the table.
After a couple of minutes, when Elizabeth and Robert were ready, Robert invited Ella to the table.
"Would you like something to eat Ella?" Robert gently said.
"No!" she forcefully said.
"You sure?" Robert questioned her. She sat and thought for a moment. She got up and grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the table and ran off to eat them on the netting.
"She'll be back for more," Robert commented.
"She sure will. These sandwiches look great. What's in them?" she asked, taking a bite into one of the little triangle sandwiches.
"Guess," he replied playfully. She chewed on the sandwich letting her taste buds guide her.
"I would have to say…….some sort of cheese," she broadly answered.
"Cottage cheese," he corrected her. "Ella is certainly enjoying them," he said glancing at Ella happily eating.
"So, what else we got here?" She said looking at the table. "Pasta salad, apples, bananas, grapefruit, ham sandwiches, and strawberries. Robert, you're spoiling us," she teased.
"Well, what else am I going to do," he said as he sat down. Elizabeth sat beside him and leaned against him, eating some pasta salad.
"Mmm……this is gorgeous," she said tasting the spicy, yet juicy pasta.
"Yeah, you are," Robert said playfully.
"Why thank you," she said joining in.
Robert put his arm around her and she rested her head on him.
"So, do you like my little surprise?" he asked.
"You kidding? Dolphins, swimming in our own private bay, and lunch provided. What more could I want?" I thousand thoughts ran through Roberts mind at the latter question. To stay here forever, have fun, a kiss. The last in that list Robert was most hoping for.
"So, what exciting adventure have you got planned next?" Elizabeth said.
"Just relaxing, go for another swim. I'm going to put the sails up on the way home, and show you how fast this baby can really go," he told her.
Ella came into the cabin area and crawled on to her mother and wrapped her arms around her neck.
"I think someone's tired," she said. Ella, clearly tried, didn't respond. Elizabeth laid her down on the bench and covered her with a light blanket. Elizabeth and Robert left Ella to sleep off her lunch, and both went back out into the water for a swim.
"Oh come on. It's not that far to the bottom," Robert pleaded.
"I just don't like going underwater too much that's all," Elizabeth said refusing to dive to the sea bed with him.
"Then do this and don't go underwater again," Robert said trying to rid Elizabeth of excuses. "Come on," he continued to plead.
"Fine," she put the snorkel on properly and she and Robert dived to the bottom. There was coral and rocks, with a multitude of brightly coloured fish. All different types. Yellow ones, blues one, green and red ones. Such a diversity that Elizabeth had never seen. There were a few of the starfish Robert found, plus a couple of smaller ones. Elizabeth followed a crab along the bed as it walked across until it reached a rock, and hid under it.
Robert pointed behind Elizabeth and she swivelled round to see what he was looking at. She saw a dolphin with a white splodge on its fin. It was Seshat and the pod.
She surfaced for air as the dolphins approached. Robert joined her at the surface.
"No need to find them after this now," he commented.
A dolphin swam up to Elizabeth. It was Seshat. She seemed more forward than the rest who still were unsure. A couple of others were gently nosing Robert who was laughing and playing with them. Elizabeth had always wanted to swim with dolphins, and decided to play with them as well. They seem friendly enough, and gentle. Elizabeth grabbed hold of Seshat's dorsal fin and Seshat she swam away with Elizabeth in tow. Elizabeth couldn't hold on for long, but it was fun nether-the-less. Robert had two young inquisitive dolphins to content with. They kept swimming underneath his legs and jumping close to him. He swam under the water and they followed where he would grab on to one and they would pull him along.
All too soon, the dolphins felt the need to leave. And Elizabeth and Robert left the water, and watched them swim away, bounding out of the water and throwing their whole bodies out of the water. It was a beautiful sight.
Elizabeth checked on Ella, and she was just waking up. She was still groggy, but was eager to get back into the water.
"Please," she pleaded with Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who was a little exhausted from swimming with the energetic dolphins, was a reluctant to go back into the water so soon.
"In a minute, Ella. Mommy's tired," she said. Ella pouted.
"I'll take in," Robert offered.
"Sure," Elizabeth said gratefully.
"Wanna come swimming with me?" Robert said to Ella.
"Yeah!" she said running off to the steps, but not putting a foot on them until she is told to.
Robert sat on the step and put his flippers back on, and jumped into the water first. Ella, more confident, jumped into the water, and this time, her head did go underwater. When she surface, she spat out the water that had gone into her mouth, and rubbed her eyes, trying to get the water out. After a minute she was fine and splashing about with Robert. Robert would pretend to be a shark and hunt her from under the water and Ella would scream when she was caught, but she was enjoying it.
Elizabeth watched from the boat at Robert's behaviour. He was really good with kids. The kind of good that only comes with being a parent. You know when to be tough on them, and you know how rough you can and cannot be. Robert had never mentioned that he had kids before, and she assumed he didn't have any. He does have a sister she knew about, which may have a child, who Robert visits regularly. Robert certainly was an enigma.
Ella quickly got tired, and they both returned to the boat, dripping wet. Elizabeth wrapped a towel round Ella, who instantly ran off to sit on the netting and look at the fishes she could see through the holes. Elizabeth grabbed another towel, and this time wrapped it round Robert.
"Having fun?" she said.
"Oh yes," he answered. "But like all good things, it must come to an end. I'll raise the anchor and we can head off back home," Robert told her.
"Pity, I would stay here forever," she said looking around the bay.
"Well you could if you want. But you might have a bit of trouble catching those fish," he joked. Elizabeth threw another towel at him.
Robert raised the anchor and they headed back. When they were on open water. Robert shut off the engine and, with the help of Elizabeth, raised the sails. The speed at which the boat was able to go on just wind, was faster than that of the engine. It was quieter too and they could hear the waves lapping up against the side of the boat. Elizabeth sat at the side, with her legs hanging over the edge and watching the coast of Italy sailing by. It was a beautiful country, Elizabeth thought. She could see why Robert had fallen in love with it.
After nearly three hours, they arrived back at the Positano jetty and back home. Elizabeth was slightly disappointed that the day was going to end, but it would have to at some point, she reminded herself. She climbed off he jetty, with a tired Ella in her arms, and walked up the jetty to the town. She started to walk up the mountainside home, when Robert stopped her.
"Wait!" he shouted catching up with her. "I think we'll take a taxi," he suggested. It wasn't like she didn't like walking, and although she really hasn't done much today, she was tired. But the taxi that came wasn't quite what she expected.
"It's a horse drawn carriage," she said.
"What did you expect, a yellow taxi with a driver from New York?" he quipped. She laughed and got into the carriage.
"Anyways, this way is faster then a car," he told her.
Once home, they saw Carina's car parked in the drive. Robert wondered what she had planned. It wasn't like her to just turn up like this. He knew he shouldn't have said anything to her about Elizabeth.
They walked into the house, and while Elizabeth put Ella to bed, Robert went in search of Carina. She was sitting in a hammock (which she must have put up) swinging, with a glass of fruit juice in her hand.
"Ciao Robert," she said without opening her eyes or moving.
"Hey," he said as he sat in the chair near the hammock. "so…?" he said, trying to induce Carina to tell him why she was here.
"So?" Carina repeated. "Had a good day?" she asked.
"Yeah, I took her to the bay of Tarus and we swam with the alpha pod. It was great. Elizabeth and Ella both seemed to enjoy it," he told her.
"The pods grown since the last time you saw them," she said.
"True. Seshat is looking older now,"
"She's not the only one," Carina pointed out. Robert laughed at how true that statement was.
"So, what are you doing here? The view's just as good from your house," Robert commented.
"I was thinking," she started moving to face Robert.
"Don't hurt yourself," Robert joked. Carina glared at him. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Anyways, would you and Elizabeth like to go out for dinner tonight?" Carina proposed.
"That sounds great," Elizabeth said coming through the double doors and onto the balcony. "But what about Ella?"
"Well, since she got on so well with Roberto, I was thinking that I could baby-sit for you," she offered.
"That's so sweet of you thank you," Elizabeth thanked Carina. Robert just smiled. "Italian food in a real Italian restaurant," Elizabeth added. She went off to get a shower, wash her hair and find something to wear.
Robert phoned his favourite restaurant in town and booked a table for two. He joined Carina back outside on the balcony.
"You going to tell her?" Carina asked.
"I don't know," Robert said looking out across the bay. "I don't want to ruin a perfectly good day."
"You won't. As a friend, you should tell her," Carina pressed.
"I'll think about it," Robert said finishing the conversation. He went back inside to get changed. Carina did have a point. It was part of his life that Elizabeth should know about, but he's been hiding it for so long, it feels wrong to divulge it to anyone.
Elizabeth was rummaging through the wardrobe at her clothes, looking for something to wear. She took out a perfectly nice top and trousers, but discarded them behind her and throwing them on the floor. They just weren't right. She was looking for the prefect outfit. She then came across a simple black dress. It had an interesting neckline, and wasn't too long.
"Perfect," she thought to herself.
Robert was waiting for Elizabeth to come out of her room, so they could get to the restaurant in time.
"Elizabeth, will you hurry up," he shouted through the door.
"I'll be just a minute," she shouted back.
"What's taking so long?" Robert said out loud.
"She just wants to look nice for you that's all," Carina said, hearing Robert's question.
Finally Elizabeth emerged from her room. The dress looked amazing, and Robert couldn't believe he was taking this woman to dinner.
"I'm ready," Elizabeth said, past Robert to the door.
"I'd say so," he said to himself. He followed her out to the car and they drove up to the restaurant. The restaurant was only small, but it had a brilliant view of the bay. It was higher up the mountainside than Roberts house, and, because of hat, Elizabeth could see far into the distance. They had a table outside in the garden and Elizabeth could smell the strong scent of jasmine coming from one of the plants. Robert ordered a bottle of red wine and they sat down.
"Today has been just perfect, Robert," she told him.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Robert replied.
"I hope you have too?" Elizabeth said. This was his holiday after all.
"Of course. Getting out into the open sea air, swimming with dolphins, you in a bikini," he said listing the events he enjoyed.
"Cheers!" Elizabeth laughed.
"And that dress," he said trying to redeem himself. Elizabeth smiled at the compliment.
"I'm glad you like the catamaran, though. I know some people just don't like boats,"
"Yeah, I did enjoy it," Elizabeth replied.
"It's just I saw your reaction to seeing it," he informed her.
"Ok, I'd never been on a catamaran before. But once I got over that, I really enjoyed it," she told him.
They were interrupted by the waiter, who had the menus for them to look at. Elizabeth opened up the menu, and found that it was written in Italian. But it wasn't as bad as she thought, as she did recognise some of them. Lasagne alforno and carbonara. She did love carbonara with taglitelli.
"Want a hand reading the menu?" Robert offered.
"No, I'm fine." She said to Robert. "I'll have the taglitelli Carbonara," she said to the waiter. The waiter then turned to Robert.
"Spaghetti Carbonara," he said. The waiter collected the menus back off them and went back inside.
"It was sweet of Carina to offer to baby-sit for us," Elizabeth commented.
"Yeah, it was," he replied.
"It gives us a chance to talk." But not much of one as the food arrived quicker than she expected. She would have to find another opportunity to bring up the subject she was desirous to know about.
The food was absolutely gorgeous and the pudding afterwards, was just as nice. Over dinner, they talked about a range of things, including County, Italy and Ella. Once dinner had finished, they decided to go for a walk. Elizabeth linked arms with him, as they wandered along to a viewpoint, a couple of minutes up the road. Elizabeth gazed out into the night and still could not believe how lucky she was to be here. Here with Robert. She decided that it was now or never.
"Robert, can I ask you something?" she said turning to him.
"Sure," he said willingly.
"When I was at your house in Chicago, Kes and I got talking," she carefully started.
"Well, I didn't expect you to be fighting," Robert answered.
"Well," she continued, "she mentioned something, that I've been wanting to ask you for a while now."
"Sounds ominous," he said.
"Robert she told me……. The thing is……. Erm……. I don't know……,"
"………how to finish a sentence?" he said.
"She said something about Eliza and Matt." She blurted out. The reaction in Robert was immediate. He turned away from her.
"Robert, please don't close up, or be angry at me," she said.
"I'm not angry, more surprised. I didn't realise that she told you about them."
"Well, that's the thing: she didn't. She told me their names but nothing else," she informed him.
"It's funny, Carina's been pressing me to tell you," he said honestly.
"Are you going to tell me? Because I'll understand if it's none of my business," Elizabeth said.
"Eliza was my wife," he simply said.
"And Matt?" Elizabeth asked.
"My son." Elizabeth was in complete shock. She had no idea that we was married, and had a son. It was not what she was expecting, but then again, she didn't know what to expect.
"I met Eliza in Med school. She wanted to be brain surgeon, psychiatrist and OB nurse. All she wanted was to help people. I met her when she was on her surgical rotation, at the same time I was. Just so we could keep seeing each other, we did the surgical rotation four times, before the doctors told us leave," he laughed at the memory.
"After about two years dating each, I asked her to marry me. She was such a sweet woman, and in some ways, you remind me of her a little. She was confident, determined and beautiful." He paused.
"We worked in same hospital, she was a psychiatrist, and I was a young surgeon. A few years into our marriage, Eliza became pregnant. It must have been the happiest day of my life when my son was born. We lived the prefect life, in our own little bubble, where no-one could effect us." Elizabeth could some how tell this story did not have a happy ending.
"What happened?" she asked.
"The bubble burst." Never before had Elizabeth knew so much from so few words. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she could hardly stop them from rolling down her face. It took a while for Robert to compose himself enough to continue the narrative.
"One …… one day, when I was working the ER, Eliza brought Matt in to see me. He was about two, and a very vocal two year old at that. He had been chatting all morning, and Eliza was trying to get him to repeat what he had been saying. But he'd gone all shy and wouldn't say anything. We were just standing at admin, talking while I was on a break. It was a normal day, which turned, quite quickly, into my worst nightmare.
"A guy came into the hospital. We didn't take notice of him. I mean, how many people wander into the department during a day. But this guy was different. Under his coat, he had a small machine gun. And he opened fire on the department." He couldn't go on. The memory was too much. He needed to control himself and calm down. Elizabeth didn't need to be told about what happened, she had every idea what happened. But still, Robert wanted to finish his story.
"I watched as my friends fell to the ground as they were shot, and then as my son and wife fell in front of me. I didn't need to be told that they were dead. I knew…… I knew they were dead before they hit the floor. Eliza was hit directly in the head, and my son, his heart. My only comfort is that they didn't feel it. I watched as my family died around me. I couldn't help them. Nothing I could have done would have brought them back. Our little perfect world was ripped about in front of my very eyes. My family meant everything to me. And all too quickly, they were gone.
"All in all, he killed 53 before he could be stopped. He injured countless more, including me. I was shot about three times in the chest. I had to have emergency surgery, and afterwards, they all kept telling me that I was lucky to be alive. It's funny. It didn't feel that way. My life was turned upside down and rolled over and over until I wasn't able to see which way up I was. I felt anything but lucky.
"After that I was never the same again. I had to leave the hospital because every inch of that place reminded me of her. I became suicidal and had about six unsuccessful attempts in the space of six months. They sent me to the Congo for three months to get a reality check. It woke up me and made me realise that if I wanted my life to get better, I had to do something. I threw myself into my work. I wanted to be the best. This is why this," he said pointing at his useless arm, "has been so hard. I'm slowly losing things to work towards. Things I desperately need to stay sane."