More Than Once by Dominique Wolf

CHAPTER 32:

M

y dad's surgery went on longer than we expected, but he was finally back in the recovery room with two stents successfully placed in his arteries. His doctor was happy with how everything went and told us that he could head home as early as tomorrow. Relief rushed over me - the worst was over now. My mother and sister followed the doctor into the recovery room but I stayed outside, needing a moment to take this all in. It had been such a rollercoaster of emotions these last few days, I was thankful to have the moment to soak in that everything would be okay now. I knew it meant it was time to head back home and I needed to say goodbye to him. I pushed through the door and walked over to his bed. My mother and sister were in conversation with his doctor so it was the perfect opportunity for me to have a moment with him. I grabbed his hand softly and wrapped it around my own. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled at me.

“Hi, dad,” I whispered. “Everything is going to be alright now.”

“Are you leaving again?” he murmured, a flicker of sadness in his voice.

I held back the tears that started to form in my eyes and nodded. “I don't belong in London.”

He squeezed my hand. “I understand.”

Those two words were all the comfort I needed to hear from him. He wasn't like my mother, he was always the softer of the two of them. How was he so understanding?

“Just promise me that you'll be happy,” he whispered. “And that you'll call more.”

I nodded and a tear escaped my eye. “I promise dad, I'm so sorry.”

He pulled me in for a hug and I could no longer hold back the tears. They ran down my cheeks as I buried my head in his shoulder.

“Don't cry, Bella. It's okay now.”

I pulled away. “I know and I'm glad you're okay.”

He smiled and squeezed my hand again just as my mother and sister came to join us. I wiped my tears and stepped away from the bed, allowing them to have their time with him. I smiled at him one last time before turning to leave the room. I came to make sure that he was okay and now that he was, there was nothing left for me here. I reached for my phone and dialed Giovanni's number. Last I heard from him he had arrived in Barcelona and was headed to the hospital.

On the second ring, he answered. “Hello, baby.”

“Hi!” I smiled at the sound of his voice. “Are you at the hospital?”

“Getting out of the car now. How's your dad?”

“He's out of surgery. Everything went well and they said he can go home tomorrow.”

“That's amazing news!” he exclaimed. “So, does that mean you'll be coming home soon?”

“I'm going to head to the hotel now to book my flight.”

“Good, cause I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Please give Alvaro my love and let me know how Penelope and the baby are.”

“I will.” He stopped to ask for directions before returning to our conversation. “Sorry about that. Can I call you later?”

“Yes of course,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

We disconnected the call and I was smiling from ear to ear. I would never get tired of hearing him say those words. It filled my heart with a warmth I had never experienced before.

“So, you're leaving?” Camila said from behind me.

I turned to face her. “Yes, that was the plan.”

She was silent but I could see she was itching to say something.

“I know you want to say something.”

She crossed her arms defensively. “I just can't relate to your life decision, Isabella so it's difficult for me to understand why you would keep running back to Barcelona.”

“I'm not running back to Barcelona. That's where my life is now and I wish you would try to understand it, or at the very least, respect it.”

“You don't have to leave. You can stay in London. Mother had spoken to Nigel about getting your job back and he-...”

I held a finger up to stop her from finishing that sentence. Of course, my mother would go behind my back and do that. It angered me that my decisions couldn't be respected.

“Listen to what I'm saying here, Camila.” I turned to my sister. “I'm not coming back to London ever again.”

Gloria Avery stepped out into the corridor where we were and I wondered if this would be the last time I saw my mother. I had every right to turn around right now without another word to the two of them but a part of me didn't want that. Even after all this, I didn't want to have such a strained relationship with them - I wished things were different.

“Mother, I'm letting you know that I am leaving London and even though you and Camila disapprove of my decisions, at this point I really couldn't care less.”

I fully intended to remain polite but that didn't go according to plan. “And I hope that while I'm gone, you'll think about things from my perspective and try to understand the choices I have made.”

My mother remained silent and her face unchanged. I sighed. I tried but if they weren't going to meet me halfway, there was nothing I could do about it.

“Right,” I murmured and rolled my eyes. “Well, there's nothing else for me to say so I'm going to go now.”

I turned and made my way down the corridor. A part of me had hoped that either of them would have said something or at least tried to make amends but they were too proud. My mother had a stubbornness to her but I didn't expect it to be something she would cling to in a moment like this. A sadness spread through me and I knew I would always long for things to be different.