Chapter XLVIII

The finer things keep shining through
The way my soul gets lost in you
The finer things I feel in me
The golden dance life could be

St.Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, England

The next day

As soon as Alex entered the busy hospital where she'd worked for the past seven months and saw the chaos around her, it gave her a sudden longing to grab a lab coat and stethoscope and get back to work.

“So this is where you worked?” Max asked her. He'd stayed behind in London with her while Dimitri and Robin had flown to Paris to pack up her and Max’s belongings. Alex was certain that Max would want to join them, but to her surprise he'd insisted on staying here with her. In fact, just as she was reluctant to leave him out of her sight for longer than a few minutes, Max too seemed to be glued to her side lately.

Alex looked at her son, holding on to her hand in the hospital corridor. He had changed, as much as she tried to tell herself he hadn’t. He'd grown and matured, in every sense of the word. Alex didn’t think it was possible that she could hate Charlotte any more than she did, but each time she looked at Max, she wanted to curse her again for destroying an innocence that Max would never be able to recapture.

Later tonight, Alex would drive to Brynn Wydd with Max, where they would stay with Heidi for a few days before Robin and Dimitri joined them there. Then the four of them would fly back to Pine Valley together.

“This is it,” she told him. “Crazy place, huh?”

A nurse wheeled a stretcher past them, carrying an elderly lady, moaning in pain. Max stared at her. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Max.”

“Can’t you help her?”

Alex shook her head, “I don’t work here anymore.”

“I wish you did,” a voice behind her announced.

Alex turned around to see Sanjay standing behind her. She smiled and gave him a hug. “I’m going to miss you so much,” she admitted.

Sanjay smiled at Max, “Have you told your mom we’ve met before? When you came to see me with your cousin, Robin.”

“It’s one of the reasons I came to see you.” She handed him the medical bag he'd loaned to Robin.

He took it from her, “She told me what happened to you. Have you gone for a complete check up?”

“Between Robin and Dimitri hovering over me, I think you don’t have to worry about my health.”

Sanjay grinned, “You do look well, Alexandra," he admitted. "Better than well. Maybe getting fired was good for your health.”

Alex looked at Max, “Nah…the best thing for my health is standing right here in front of me, right, my little Count?”

He shrugged his shoulders, not having listened to what she was saying. Still, he gave her one of his lopsided grins, “Sure.”

“I still hate what Watson did," Sanjay told her as they walked towards his office. "He had no right to fire you. You have every right to protest his actions.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sanjay. He saved me the trouble of having to quit.”

“It’s a matter of principle, Alexandra. A madman kidnaps you and as a result, you’re fired? It’s wrong! It's so wrong that it made me realize I can’t work for a man like that anymore.”

“What?”

“I handed in my resignation yesterday.”

Alex raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Well…it looks like I might not have to work so hard then, to try and sell you the second reason I came to see you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know that before I came here my main job was running the Andrassy Foundation.”

“Yes.”

“The Andrassy Foundation used to be dedicated to finding cures for rare diseases, mostly of a neurological origin, but over the years it’s come to encompass funding and research for not just rare but all incurable disease. AIDS and other sub-Saharan viral infections in particular.”

“Alright...”

“A lot of our research and distribution of funds is now focused on Africa, especially in countries that are members of the British Commonwealth. It would make sense for the Foundation to have an office in London from which to delegate those projects.”

Sanjay raised his hands in defence, seeing where she was headed, “Alexandra…if this is what I think you’re suggesting…I couldn’t. I’m not a researcher like you, you know that.”

Alex smiled, “The work would be largely administrative, something you’re more than familiar with give your current position. A small part of it would be hands-on medical work, as you travel to the actual sites, mostly in Africa.”

“You're saying you want me to head up the future London office of the Andrassy Foundation?”

“If you’re interested, that is. And don’t mind working for a terrible ER physician.”

Sanjay laughed out loud, “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, “You don’t have to answer me right away.” She handed him a card, “This is my number in Pine Valley. I’ll be there next week. But I have to warn you, I can be persistent. If you don’t call me, I’ll call you.”

He nodded, watching Max eye the hectic activity in the hallway. “I will call you.”

Alex took Max’s hand and gave Sanjay a final kiss goodbye. “I’ll forward to working with you again. And thank you, Sanjay. Thank you for everything.”

He watched her walk down the hallway for the final time, as his pager went off. “No…thank you,” he whispered, even though he knew she couldn't hear.

Epilogue

Two months later

Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA

It was a hot, languid summer evening. The skies had turned a misty pink after the sunset and Alex sat outside, on the grounds of Wildwind, exhausted after having taken Edmund’s latest acquisition, a young, black thoroughbred stallion named Oracle, for a exhilarating ride around the grounds.

She pressed an ice-cold glass of iced tea against her forehead, in an attempt to cool off

She barely noticed Dimitri sneak up behind her as he leaned in to kiss the nape of her neck. “Tired already?” he teased.

“I didn’t think you’d be back for another few hours,” She reached up to return his kiss. “Have you ridden Oracle? He’s incredible, Dimitri. Young and temperamental, but so much potential.”

“Unlike our own little rider over there…” He sat down next to Alex as he watched Maddie helping Max mount one of his ponies, in the distance. Even after countless attempts, Dimitri had little luck in interesting his son in becoming a better rider. He cringed as he watched him. “He looks like a sack of potatoes sitting on that horse, Alex. It’s a good thing Maddie has the patience of Job. Are you sure that’s our son, darling?”

“What are you talking about? He looks just like you do when you ride,” she laughed as she loosened Dimitri’s tie. He had just flown back from a business meeting in New York City.

“This is what I get for racing to catch an early flight home? Insults?”

“Besides,” she said, ignoring his remark, “Max is looking for a little more horsepower than your pony over there. He told me he wants to be a racecar driver. The next Michael Schumacher.”

Dimitri almost choked, after he took a sip of her iced tea. “Over my dead body. What is it with you two and speed anyway? Come to think of it, what are you doing riding the wildest horse in the stables? ”

Alex took the glass from his hands and took off her riding cap, to lie down in the warm, soft grass, pulling Dimitri down with her, into a deep kiss.

“You didn’t answer me…” he protested.

She kissed him again, cutting him off in mid-sentence.

“Hey…the kids could be watching us.”

“Maybe we can teach them something,” she laughed.

“I’m not sure I want to teach them that just yet…” Dimitri pushed himself off the grass, without taking his eyes off her. “By the way…before I forget. I brought you something.”

He opened his briefcase, pulled out a small, blue rectangular box and handed it to her.

“A gift? What’s the occasion? My birthday’s not for months…”

“Do I need a special occasion to bring my wife a gift?”

She winked at him, “Nah…you’re right. No special occasion needed.”

She was about to open the box when Dimitri stopped her. “Wait…” He took her wrist in his hands and slowly undid the watch she had bought at Heathrow’s duty-free shop.

“You don’t like my Swatch?” she joked, but then her face was suddenly serious, pausing before she spoke, “I hope this doesn’t sound shallow, but more than anything, more than the drugging even, I hate that Faison destroyed the watch you gave me. That watch meant the world to me because for seven long years, that and my wedding ring, were the only tangible things I had to hold on to you."

Dimitri said nothing as he watched her remember that dreadful night in London.

She reached out to touch him, running her fingers along his lips. “I'll love whatever you're giving me…but I want you to know that watch was more than a piece of jewellery to me. I never took it off and now it’s gone forever because of that man.”

“Open it.”

Dimitri watched her eyes widen in shock, as she opened the box.

She took out the watch, “How is this possible? Dimitri, this is it…it’s my watch.” It was the same Omega, the metal band still slightly scratched and the same inscription still on the back. ‘A love for all time. D.’ Only the glass covering and the watch face were brand new. “How did you do this?” she asked him, incredulously.

“I saw it in the waste bin, in the hotel room. I have to admit; it took a lot of cajoling to convince this watchmaker in New York that it was worth fixing. He kept telling me I could buy a newer model for the same price, but I told him that’s not what I wanted. So…he bregrudgingly repaired it for me.”

Alex took a closer look at it, noticing something else was different about it. There were three small diamonds on the watch face, their slight blue hue glistening in the last rays of the day’s sunlight. “Marick diamonds…”

“One for each of us. You, me and Max.”

It was an incredible gift, and Alex couldn’t help the emotions it unleashed.

Dimitri smiled as he wiped away her tears, “So you like it then?”

“How can you ask me that? I love it!”

“There’s always room for another diamond…”

Alex laughed, “I guess we can't do more than try, and heaven knows we’ve been doing our fair share of that.” She glanced towards the darkening sky, “The rest is up to him.”

Dimitri’s expression too turned serious now, “You know…if we’re blessed with another child, it would be wonderful but I’ll be content if we just have a chance to live a normal life, together, you, me and Max.”

“We will this time…please don’t think we won’t.”

“I hate that Faison is still out there somewhere.”

“I won’t think about him…I can’t. I'd like to think that he's realized that I’m not Anna. That whatever bizarre obsession he had with her might be over now.”

“I hope so…” Dimitri mumbled. He nudged her back down onto the soft grass, running his fingers through her hair as he did, watching blades of grass intertwine themselves in it. He bent down to kiss her again just as Max came running towards them.

Dimitri cringed as he watched Max plop himself on Alex’s stomach, while she was lying on the ground, and he deftly picked him up. “I don’t think so buddy. Your mother’s not a pony, and you’re not thirty pounds anymore.”

Max wriggled out of his grasp, and moved to lie down next to her, “You’re right…” he conceded, looking at Alex. “You smell much nicer, Mum.”

She tousled his hair, grinning, “Glad to hear. Is your riding lesson with Maddie already finished?”

“She says I suck,” he told her wistfully.

Alex burst out laughing, “So much for the patience of Job, huh, darling?”

“What can I say? She is a teenager. Even Edmund’s genes don’t help out there.” Dimitri pointed out.

“You don’t suck Max, you just need a little more practice…” Alex smirked. “Okay, maybe a lot of practice. But let’s worry about that later…I’m starving, why don’t you get changed for dinner? Robin’s going to join us tonight.”

“If you promise not to make me ride that horse again.”

“No problem. You can ride Dad’s horse tomorrow.”

Max's mind obviously pictured the huge, daunting brown stallion he had seen at the stables and gave her a look of disbelief. “You won’t, will you?”

Alex laughed and when Max realized she was joking he picked up a handful of grass and threw it at her. “You’re so mean.” He picked up another handful and threw that at her too, before running away towards the estate. “Can’t catch me without your horse, can you?”

Dimitri chuckled, as he watched Alex spit out the grass.

“Devil,” she said, giggling as she got up, picking up a handful of grass, ready to chase after him but Dimitri stopped her, grabbing her by the waist.

“Hey…how about no more racing today? Not on horseback, not on foot. Or behind the wheel for that matter.”

Alex rolled her eyes, and threw the grass at him instead. “You’re no fun.”

He shook the grass off his suit, still holding on to her. “Wait until later today, and I’ll show you just how much fun I can be…”

She didn’t resist when he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, as they started to walk back to Wildwind. “You do know you drive me crazy, don’t you?”

He nodded, “I try…” His lips curled into a smile, stealing a glance at her when she wasn’t looking. As he reached for her hand, he closed his eyes to revel in the soft warmth of the evening air. He felt the coolness of her watch against his hand, pleased to see it there again, ‘Slowly,’ he thought, ‘Things are returning to normal. And this time there’s nothing I won’t do, to make sure they stay that way.’

Two hundred feet in the distance, a man with pockmarked skin and shoulder-length grey hair observed the scene before him. They reminded him of two teenagers in love, and the sight made him uncomfortable.

He frowned as he folded up his binoculars and lit a cigar.

Then he quietly moved out of the bushes and left.

He had seen enough.

For today.

The end

Lyrics from “The Finer Things” by Steve Winwood