Chapter Twenty-two
The weather was par for the course in southern France when his pilot, Marco, landed. Vanni stared out the window onto a sun-drenched, luminous Mediterranean afternoon. They’d left Chicago in the middle of the night. He’d continued working on the flight, but also slept for almost four hours, which pleased him. Insomnia had become his constant demon as of late. Plus, he’d gotten an unheard-of seven hours of rest the night before, deep, peaceful sleep . . .
. . . with Emma in his arms.
How she could infuse him with energy, make him horny as a teenager, and yet promote a solid night’s sleep at the same time was yet another mystery when it came to Emma.
As they taxied in the private plane at the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, he fleetly checked the dozens of messages that he’d acquired on the transatlantic flight. When he noticed that Neil Parodas had called recently, he immediately hit redial.
“Neil, I hope I’m not calling too early,” Vanni said when the physician answered on the second ring.
“No, I’m up and about. I was half expecting a call, after seeing you yesterday. We only had a little time to talk in private. That was certainly an unusual visit for you.”
Vanni zipped up his briefcase. Through the window, he saw that Marco was approaching their usual spot for deplaning.
“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Vanni said, referring to the fact that he’d never brought a woman to his personal physician with a request for blood tests and exams with sexual safety in mind. Of course Meredith and he had gone to him for their premarital blood tests, but this was different. He’d known Neil for almost ten years now. As his private physician, Neil was privy to quite a few personal and intimate details about Vanni. He was one of a handful of people that had earned a place of trust and respect in Vanni’s life.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Neil was saying in his characteristic deep, warm voice that invited trust and confidence. “Ms. Shore is a beautiful young woman. Smart, too. What is it that you wanted to speak with me about?”
“Did Emma happen to mention during her exam yesterday anything about what happened to her when she was a child?” Vanni asked. The plane came to a halt, but he remained unmoving in his seat, staring intently out his window onto the luminous summer day.
“I’m not sure that I know what you mean,” Neil said cautiously. Vanni sensed his unease in talking about another patient.
“Emma and I both signed release forms so that you could discuss our medical conditions to each other.”
“Technically speaking, Van, those forms clear me to talk about the results from the exams and blood draws I did,” Neil said dryly.
“Well this relates to the test results and exam,” Vanni assured. “When Emma was young, she was diagnosed with alpha thalassemia. When she was nine, she had a heart attack because her organs weren’t getting enough oxygen.”
“Emma didn’t mention anything about that,” Neil said, sounding concerned. “Her vitals during the exam were excellent. She’s the picture of health. Are you sure about this?”
“That’s why I’m bringing it all up. Emma is convinced she’s cured of the disorder.”
“That’s impossible,” Neil said unequivocally. “There must be a misunderstanding. Thalassemia is a genetic condition. It’s not a curable disease.”
“I understand that. I looked it up myself. That’s why I’m asking you to check her blood work for indications of the condition, in addition to the other tests we talked about. Like I said, Emma is convinced she doesn’t have the disorder anymore.”
“All right,” Neil said slowly. “I’m confused, though. I spoke to her quite a bit during her exam. Emma seems bright, and she’s very knowledgeable as a nurse. She should know thalassemia is a genetic disorder. It’s not something that can be cured by a pill or something. Why wouldn’t she have mentioned any of this to me?”
“I think she’s learned not to speak of it,” Vanni said, holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder so that h
e could straighten his tie. “People don’t believe her.”
“That’s not surprising,” Neil said. Vanni paused in jerking his tie when he heard the concern in Neil’s voice.