Beyond the end

People who don't come back

"Why are you all dressed up tonight?" Hannah looked at her mother who was finishing the makeup in front of the bedroom mirror, with an operating room precision and meticulousness; a cure she didn't know her.
"I have a date"
"Yeah..." Hannah Rolled her eyes.."with whom? With Steve?"
Andrea looked away from the mirror, turning her with blame to her daughter, who was not missing an opportunity to throw embarrassing arrows
"Steve is a friend, we've already talked about him"
"So with whom?"
"With a colleague of mine"
"And who would ihe be? Do I know him?"
"Do you know any of my colleagues?"
"Yes, Dr. Redbone"
"But if he's 70 years old"
"Maybe you like the elderly"
"His name is Philipe and he's my age...or at least I think" in fact Andrea hadn't posed the problem; they rang at the door.
'I'm going!' Hannah rushed to the unknown one
"Hannah!"
The girl found herself in front of a man in his forties, grizzled, with olive skin, of those that in the sun becomes in a short time dark and shiny; but who sees quite little of the sun; tall and quite fit, he wore jeans, white shirt and dark jacket; and presented himself with a bouquet of red roses that left little room for the imagination about what
"Hello" Philipe said
"Hello," replied a listless Hannah, disappointed in not finding a delusional human behind her door. The possibility that her mother could attract pleasant men put her in a bad mood. Andrea had never understood if it was her daughter's jealousy or hope that, having no antagonists, her father could one day return to live with them. But she leaned more towards the first hypothesis. Anyway, Dr. Z introduced herself to her man all polished.
"Good evening Dr. Carson"
"Hi Andrea, These are for you," Philipe handed the bouquet of roses to the woman
"They are beautiful"
"They don't give you justice"
"I'm about to puke" Hannah couldn't resist
Andrea looked at her crookedly and turned to Philip"I see you've already met my daughter Hannah"
"My pleasure"
"Well, Hannah- she turned to the girl – can you put them in the cool? We go out"
"But of course mom, have fun" Hannah tried to unline the most false smile she had; the mother went out and closed the door behind her.
"Sorry her, she's in the midst of the teenage rebellion; and she's in love with her father"
"Yeah I Guess It is normal . I don't have children, I don't have ex-wives, I don't have hormonal storms to deal with; I'm a doctor who lives for his job and work; or at least I try"
Andrea really appreciated the kindness and the mannerism of Philip, she loved the details and that gave way to a wonderful evening. Dr. C started the engine and left without providing any particular information. On the way Andrea found out about MRArnold.
"No new, good news; the surgeon , as you know, was perfectly successful, we held him as a precaution, but if even this night there are no particular critical issues, we will be able to resign it tomorrow. I have already informed his daughter."
'"Perfect.'
They arrived in front of a club on the coast with the Spanish name "El pescador". Andrea imagined Mexican atmosphere and sometimes spicy fish cuisine. After crossing the threshold, an elegant room appeared, soft lights, waiters in livery serving at the tables; one of them showed up in front of the couple: "Dottor Carson, we were waiting for you, please follow me"
"You didn't book at random by taking the address on a guide, did you?" Andrea was ironic
"It's the first time I've come; I told you, my life takes place between home and hospital"
"But they seem to know you"
"The place is my cousin's, I called him"
"I understand. El Pescador?"
"It's the old name, he took over the place for two or three years and turned it into a fine dining restaurant; before it was a simple fish trattoria; or at least, so he told me today on the phone"
"Your cousin Stuart?"
"Precisely; he's out of town, but he thought about booking"
The reserved table was in front of the window overlooking the Ocean, the lights of the coast marked the furrow that divided the sea from the still earth. Every now and then that furrow was shooed by pyrotechnic games, which along the coast that ran south were not uncommon; on the other hand, the mixture with Mexican culture was unabatable.
The couple was advised by the waiter, both in terms of food and wine. It was a roundup of seafood, followed by lobster spaghetti of a clear Italian matrix; then it was the turn of a slice of salmon of Scottish origin. At the glass they alternated a Cremant and a couple of Napa wines, which Fred (this is the name of Dr. Carson's waiter's table) held to serve them, to demonstrate, with bell-wing pride, that the Californian production had nothing to envy to the French or the Italian one. Philipe disagreed, but he didn't say it so as not to hurt him.
"The spaghetti is great, by the way really well cooked," said the man
"Are you also an expert in Italian cuisine?"
"An expert doesn't, I have some experience"
"Why?"
"I spent 5 years at the Gemelli hospital in Rome"
'Really?"
"My parents never supported my decision, they would have preferred me to follow the family business activity; but they didn't even oppose it. In fact, my father proudly said that I was following my path without help and with excellent results. But he was still too proud to allow me to say that I had done it myself; so he made himself available when I had aired the desire to have an experience abroad. And he found me this opportunity through I don't know which network of contacts"
"And did you accept?"
"And why shouldn't I have? Andrea, I have not decided to be a doctor out of dislike the sacrifices of my family; or worse, out of rebellion against my parents. I am a doctor because I like to be a doctor. And if my father managed to facilitate my journey, what's wrong?"
"I don't know, maybe you took the role away from some Italian doctor more deserving than you"
"You're wrong. I spent 5 years in Italy, but thanks to an exchange with an Italian doctor who came here to Los Angeles to follow the same path. I continued to receive pay from the hospital of the States for a role, the one yes, that I had won without any help and only thanks to my merits."
Andrea was fascinated by that man so sure of himself, who had no superstructures, did not speak for made phases or commonly accepted preconceptions. She had a passion and had pursued it by all means, but without doing anyone wrong. He hadn't chosen the easiest way, although he had the chance; but that didn't mean perching on hero positions, against his parents or his own origins. He was a simple, but determined man.
"Returning to us, so great spaghetti"
"I couldn't have cooked them better"
"What about wine?"
"Good, I prefer the first one we drank"
"The French Cremant?"
"Yes – Philipe lowered his voice – but let's not let the waiter hear it, he might be offended"
Andrea smiled and lowered the tone in turn, approaching the man on the table "And why do you prefer the French one?"
"Andrea, I haven't had any experience in France – he smiled – so, in this case, I only trust what my palate tells me; I like the first one more; the reason? And what do I know..."
Andrea was amused by that exit, laughed and felt her head light, probably for the wine. The atmosphere was perfect, the dinner was perfect, the company was perfect. She couldn't have hoped for a better evening
"You're not a wine expert"
"I would say no"
"What about women?" – oh my God, but what did I say? It's the wine that speaks - Andrea now gave herself to internal dialogue
Philipe was blown away by that question, but he didn't give up
"I am very ignorant on the subject. Do you want to teach me?"
Philipe approached Andrea's face, when his cell phone rang
"Saved from the ringing"
"Yeah" Andrea retreated on the backrest looking around.
Philipe replied, it was the hospital; his face suddenly changed expression
"But when did it happen?" Andrea looked at him with concern
"I get it, I'm coming right away."
"What happened?" Asked Andrea.
"Mr Arnold had a new cardiac arrest – Andrea placed the glass on the table –. He passed away ten minutes ago."
"Oh my God," Andrea said, bringing her hands to her mouth.