Chapter 22
Louis had been back from China for more than a week, but the only sign of life he gave from his lab was a request for a sandwich.
Dora used to give psychotherapy advice to her patients, but over the last months she noticed she had given up advising couples in trouble. She knew why.
As Christmas was approaching, she used to spend the whole afternoon shopping in the gleaming streets of Central Zurich, accumulating gifts for no one in particular.
She decided it was time to face the problem. She went down to the basement and stood in front of the retina scanner. The door opened and she entered the room. At least Louis had not reprogrammed the security system. She walked down the corridor and there she found him, sifting through images and numbers on three different screens glowing in front of him. He did not realize her presence until she touched his shoulder. He turned towards her, forcing a faint smile, but realized that all his face could show was a mixture of tiredness and sadness. Dora stared back and whispered,
“What is bothering you, Louis? Is it the new version? Is it our team? Or is it me?”
“The new version might not work. I am not sure. I do not even know how to test it. I have not heard from George in weeks. At least I can take comfort in knowing Helena is focused on Aurora. She and the baby are doing well and are safe, in Brazil. And I have the feeling that Tarek and Valerio are not as safe as they pretend to be.
I am tired, Dora. And I fear it might all fall apart in the worst possible way. All of the sudden, I feel all my eighty-one years of life hitting me. Sometimes I think all of this should have never started….as if something inside me telling me it’s time to give up.”
Dora did not answer. She hugged him. She started kissing him and when he hesitated, she drew all the more closer.
“Forget it all. It’s just you and me. We are going to make it, one way or another. And forget your tests for today.”
A few hours later they were in bed, exchanging meaningless small talk and laughing at each other’s inside jokes.
“Louis, have you noticed that Frau Glockner no longer greets us by name? And I have found her staring at our house from her living room window, quite a few times. Imagine if she looked into our windows now..,”
Dora chuckled.
“Oh, Frau Hannelore..I should have told you. I almost ran her over the other day, when I arrived home after my long flight. Do not worry. I think we are back to the ‘neighbor probation process’, like when we arrived back in 2011. In a few months she will be back to normal and greet us on a first name basis.”
“Oh yeah sure, in a few months,” Dora echoed. “So many things can change in a few months.”
Louis suddenly changed his tone. He looked at her with tenderness and fear.
“Dora, you know what Helena went through. She made it. It is not guaranteed at all that you can make it too. Why did you want to take the risk?”
“Why did you accept to take the risk with me, Louis? You could have stayed in front of your screens.”
“Because I knew if I didn’t, I would lose you. Maybe I was selfish, but I prefer to be with you until the end rather than regretting the end of our relationship while we are both still alive for eternity.”
“You men always calculate. I simply felt it was the right thing to do. And now, rush back to your lab, you have one more good reason to fix your drug!”
She kicked him out of bed and stood up to have a shower.