Chapter 7
Alexander's Mother Had a Heart Transplant
Alexander had been at the hospital to watch his mother's surgery. He had been looking through the window to see the staff in the operating room. They had been wearing scrub green clothes, caps and masks. The surgical tables had been set up with metal instruments. Alexander's mother had been laid flat on a surgical table. A safety strap had been put over her knees and she had been covered with two extra blankets. She had been endotracheally intubated and her vital signs had been closely checked. Three leads had been used to monitor her heart. She had been connected to a monitor to count her heart rate. From time to time, the doctor had been looking on the screen to search the normality of her heart. A nurse had placed a small pulse oximeter on her finger to measure her pulse and the amount of oxygen in her blood. The surgeon had exposed the chest cavity and had opened the pericardium to remove the heart. A bypass machine had been hooked up to the arteries and veins of the heart. The machine had been pumping her blood through her lungs and body, while the diseased heart had been removed. The donor heart had been sewn into the place to fit the remaining parts of the old one. The surgery took almost five hours. After the operation, she was taken to a special hospital floor for recovery. Alexander looked at her and he was so happy to realize that she's still alive. He understood that there were some moments of suspense, but the operation was successful. He felt as his skull would split in two. Thousands of words and images were scrambling about this event in his mind. He tried to control the swirling of information he had stored in his memory.
He was very tired. When he asked the doctor if he could guarantee her life, he told Alexander that her condition was changed in better.
"What must she do after leaving the hospital, doctor? I want to help her."
"Try to increase her activities very slowly, Alexander. She will get her full strength back, in time."
"I'm scared, doctor, because her immune system is very weak."
"You must watch for possible signs of infection. Someone must take care of her. I will give you some details. Anyway, the heart biopsy will spot the immune rejection."
"Isn't it better to remain here?"
"You can take her home, but she must avoid the contact with the people that have infections such as flu or cold."
"Thank you very much. When can I take her home?"
"Try to contact me after ten days."
"Good bye, doc!"
"Good bye. Have a nice day!"
Alexander left the building of the hospital and drove his car home. He thought, while shifting gear carefully, that he should count himself a very lucky son. The event overwhelmed him and he couldn't fully realize the real meaning of it.
People were still dancing at the party, when Nora received a call from one of her patients. It was an urgency. She was very passionate about dentistry and she used to take care of all her patients. She used to take a lot of time to listen to her patient's concerns and to address their needs in the most caring manner. She understood that dentistry could not always be pleasant, but her patients should have a positive experience.
It was seven o'clock in the morning, when Nora said to Ella, "I have to go, my dear, because I have an emergency. Did you see Michael?"
"I saw him a few minutes ago. Look, he is coming."
Nora kissed Michael. "I have to go. I have an urgency."
"I will drive Ella home and maybe I will return here, or I will go home to sleep."
"See you at home!" said Nora. She kissed him again.
The tables of her dental cabinet had the surfaces made of quartz stone. The wooden drawers were equipped with wheel orbits, which enabled the drawers to go back automatically to their original position. Everything around was kept clean for shining. The main body of the cabinet was made of melamine board. The aluminum alloy pull handle had a blue surface. The color was shriveled up here and there, creating the image that the pull handle can crack at any moment. Nora had a radio in her cabinet, which served as a decorative aspect and to keep the atmosphere calm and cozy.
"I was so thrilled to find you, doctor!" Norman told her, while he was trying to hide his trembling voice. "You was recommended by my co-worker. He told me that your office staff is very friendly and professional and you're up on all the latest technology and dental information. I am honestly nervous and somewhat scared. I know that every treatment is different and I was wondering how long it takes for you to treat my tooth. Sometimes it is a very bleeding act. This dental surgery part is what makes me be so scared."
Nora took him by the hand, she helped him to feel comfortable and to overcome his fears. She began to work. After she had finished her work, Nora asked him, "Did you feel pain during my dental treatment?"
"No, not at all! You changed my life. Your staff is awesome. You made me feel completely comfortable and you did an amazing job."
"I was wondering if you're still afraid to come here."
"The horrific dental experience, which I had gained many years ago, determined me to develop this kind of phobia. Now, I feel better than before. By the way, you was wearing a wonderful dress when you entered here."
"Thank you, Norman."
After performing the ceremony, Michael asked Ella to drive her home.
"Can we go home?" Michael asked her, having to raise his voice to be heard over the bass of the music, which seemed to make the theater to shudder. Ella told him to wait a few seconds and continued to talk with Laura and Jeff. Their discussion seemed to be very important. Michael found himself staring into her sparkling eyes and getting lost in them, until she asked him what happened. She looked at him smiling. He seemed to have a very visceral response to her smile, which seemed to be pretty stuck on himself.
"You was a little bit nervous." Suddenly, he turned to her, he embraced her and tenderly kissed her on her lips.
"Are you happy, baby dear?" He turned her to face his feeling and, with his powerful gaze, he searched her eyes, silently communicating all she needed to know. He pushed her hair out of her face. The worst of everything was that she realized how much he has been missing her all these years. She remembered that she had wanted to go out of this life because of him as inconsequentially and insignificantly as she had passed through it. A primal instinct awakened in her as his aura summoned her. It took everything she had, but she resisted his riveting smile. Gesturing with his head, he said, "By the way, I feel excited to drive this new machine home."
Raising her eyes to him, she said, "I paid for my car repairs, but it's not ready. You're a very good friend, Michael."
He offered her a drink, but she declined. He drove very carefully, watching the road. "Tell me, when the men will stop being the emotional tampon of the women, Ella?" He had looked like being deep in thought for a few minutes. After that, he was noticing how their relationship have changed in time. Ella was tenderly touching his hair and his neck. She was tired, but not completely exhausted. She felt better seeing again, for a few moments, the same man she had loved long time ago. "I feel okay," said Ella and, this time, he knew it was true.
"Do you expect the women to magically fall in love with the men, if they're only nice to them?" Ella searched for his answer.
"You know, the men totally feel the pains of the women when they love them."
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head, saying, "That's what I was wondering to know."
"Women are sometimes so useless. The first half of them thinks that men are actually being bad and they don't get them, while the other half of women completely tries to get them, pretending that they don't do this. And it's up to men like me to decide if the women are worthless or not. Sometimes, it's a waste of time to do this," said Michael.
"Maybe nice married men like you should stop thinking of this subject and start taking notice of their own women," said Ella.
"I hope when you're shouldering your massive burden of responsibility as a wife, you're able to understand which real category of women you fall into."
"Stop being so malicious!"
"Always a man tries to make happy the woman he's in love with, but sometimes, he doesn't receive love in return. What actually changes his attitude is the fact that the man learns from his experience and he doesn't repeat the same mistake."
"Maybe this man needs to find a woman, who deserves someone like him. Why do you tell me this?"
"Just talking!" She looked straight into his eyes, but Michael averted her eyes. He continued his idea because he thought that Ella wanted to know these specific details. "Maybe I want to understand the woman, who receives love, but she is incapable to give love," continued Michael.
"Give her a good spanking," smiled Ella. He turned his head and looked at her. He understood that his jealousy was a powerful thing, after all. Even though, he had initially decided to avoid standing in between Ella and Alexander. In meanwhile, he might have changed his mind. He might have turned against that love to fight for reconquering her heart, in the end.
"No man has ever been interested in a woman who is taken. There's more than one beautiful woman in this world."
"May I suggest you to tell her how bad she is. It might work. I feel sick, Michael!"
"Why, my dear?"
"I'm pregnant."
"What?"
"I feel like I wanna throw up everything from my stomach. It can be an acid reflex or something like this."
"I will ask Nora to call a doctor to visit you." They entered the house. After all, Michael was trying to remember those lost moments in time, mainly for Ella's sake. Ella wanted him, even she had been scared and had leaved him long time ago. Now, with this child, he begin to lose control.
"Just try and calm down. I'm sure that your baby is safe," said Michael.
After fifteen minutes, Nora and the doctor entered the house.
"Oh, my dear, maybe you ate something wrong," said Nora, being visibly worried.
"I snacked more salt food, fruits and veggies," whispered Ella.
"How do you feel? Do you have pains?" Doctor asked her.
"My breasts were becoming more sensitive than usual and I am cramping. I started shaking and I feel like vomiting."
"Are you sure that you're pregnant?"
"I had been visited by the doctor. He helped me to read my pregnancy test. He had to visit me again because I had nausea. Then, I did a blood test and they told me that that I'm pregnant."
"Take this," said the doctor, giving her a pill.
"You will feel better than you can imagine. Every pregnancy is different, my dear. Don't worry! It's totally normal."
"Thank you, doctor. You was so kind to come here to visit me," said Ella. After that, she continued, "I'm so happy, Nora. I love Alexander so much and this child is a real blessing. You should think to have another one. Michael, what do you say about this?"
"It's up to her, Ella, what can I say?"
"Indeed."