Chapter 11 – Alice
“Oh, dear…” Thea sighed again, shifting her weight between her feet for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders “Just make sure Massimo doesn’t hear you, okay? He is always terrible after seeing Dr. Lewis.” Thea’s husband and son mirrored her concern, but they still seemed to resign themselves when Thea held Millie’s hand and tried to walk her down the
stairs.
“Is Mr. Bianchi going to fight you again, mommy?” Her daughter stood where she was, fearful.
“It’s okay, honey. I promise is not that. But, remember what you asked me yesterday about me always saying that sick people shouldn’t be left alone?” Alice bent down to caress her little angel’s face “Well, I keep thinking like that. That’s why I’m going to do what I can to help at patient, even if he’s rude and grumpy like Mr. Bianchi.” She made an exaggerated face, until Millie laughed.
“But you’re going to see the horses with me later, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Now, go with Thea. The faster you get to the stables, the faster I will finish everything here and follow you.” Alice placed one last kiss on her daughter’s forehead and finally, Millie followed where Thea and her family were leading her, starting down the stairs as Alice turned to see a man crossing the hallway towards her.
“Oh…” the man Thea had called Dr. Lewis blinked, his features sleepy, the wrinkles around his eyes and the stubble making him look older than he probably was, in his forties “You must be Alice Dawsey, I suppose.” He smiled tiredly, as if he could lie down and sleep right there on the carpet. “I’m Jackson Lewis, your husband’s doctor. It’s good to meet you. I think I should call you Mrs. Bianchi, right?”
“There is no necessity.” Alice murmured, a little embarrassed “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Lewis. And, if you don’t mind giving me a second of your time, I would like to let you know that Massimo appears to be having difficulty healing his sutures. I imagine you probably know this, but yesterday I caught him trying to bandage himself after the stitches had opened and… I felt it was my responsibility as a wife, despite the circumstances, to warn you about this in case Massimo isn’t collaborating or allowing himself to be examined.”
“It was as I imagined.” Dr. Lewis grunted in annoyance, “This thick–headed man…. His father would be climbing the walls if he could see him denying treatments. But thanks for letting me know about this, Ms. Bianchi. I’ll try to be a little more incisive in convincing Massimo to let me examine him… On my next visit.” The doctor sighed exhausted.
“Is… Is he really sabotaging his own treatment?” Alice swallowed hard, “I mean, when I got the news that his spine had been badly damaged, I imagined it would be a huge shock, but… It’s already such a miracle that he’s alive and back home…
“I wish he could think that way, too.” Dr. Lewis grumbled “But, it seems the shock was stronger than any of us could have imagined. If he hears anything that doesn’t say there’s still a chance he’ll walk again… He just throws a tantrum and sends everyone away. Unfortunately,
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medicine is not capable of performing such miracles. Or convincing a patient to understand that their best chance now is to accept this change and move on.
“After everything Massimo has been through in his life…” she bit her lower lip, unable to stop her heart from hurting a little more. “I can understand why this new difficulty has affected him so much.”
“I understand that this will not make it easier for him to continue being the CEO of the Bianchi companies, especially not with his stepmother willing to do anything to have him removed from the position.” The doctor lamented, “But if Massimo doesn’t change his attitude soon, that will be the least of his problems. He is forcing his legs all the time, trying to force them to function as before, his wounds are always opening and increasing the risk of infection. Not to mention all this stress that makes healing difficult and his body already has difficulty absorbing nutrients….” Lewis ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated “I can tell from his condition that he hasn’t been taking his medication right and this could end
up leading to another case of anemia. At this rate, he might even…” he hesitated, causing Alice’s blood to turn to ice “No. He is still a young man and was in excellent physical condition before the accident. He just needs to find the right motivation to try and rebuild his life…” the man’s eyes ran over her in a speculative way that made Alice a little uneasy “Well, I imagine having a wife who cares about him is an excellent first step.”
“I… I’ve known Massimo practically since I was born. His father and my grandfather were great friends.” she tried to explain casually “Our marriage may have been a strategy by our families to secure agreements between our companies, but… I really care about him. Not like a real wife should, of course.” Alice blushed as she realized that perhaps her words were betraying her “But I couldn’t stand by while he was wasting away by choice. Although, after hearing the way he treated you, I doubt someone like me would be able to convince him of anything.”
“I disagree.” Dr. Lewis smiled “When I walked into his room today, he seemed distracted looking at the bandage on his leg and I later understood why. It seems he finally let someone other than Thea see his injured body and help him with his bandages. Massimo has always been the type of man who hides his emotions, but I can tell that having someone do that for him touched him, even if he would never admit it” He hesitated for a moment, “What reminds me, Mrs. Bianchi… That dressing didn’t look like an amateur job. Do you have experience in the hospital field?”
“A little. I think you should know that my grandfather is one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical industry in the country. Taking care of the health of others is something that runs in the family’s blood. So, I started trying to get a degree in nursing, but… I ended up having some unforeseen events.” She smiled, embarrassed. “I guess you could say I had enough experience with the internships I ended up doing and spending time with my grandfather and his many colleagues over the years.”
“That is great. I am relieved that Massimo now has someone nearby who can help him during an emergency. He refused to accept my requests to hire a private nurse, but he also wouldn’t allow me to move here to help him if necessary. He thinks that accepting this kind of help
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Chapter 11 – Alice
would mean resigning himself to the fact that his spine’s condition isn’t going to change.” Dr. Lewis returned her smile. “But now that you’re here, I think we might have a chance, right? I mean, I say from experience that no one is more capable of making a man change his mind than his wife.”
“Uh… Our marriage doesn’t have that kind of nature…”
“I get it. But, if you really care about that man, no matter how rude and out of control he may
can? I be showing himself right now… Could you at least keep an eye on him, as long as you already had to watch his father waste away from pancreatic cancer without me being able to do anything, six years ago.” Dr. Lewis lamented, as if speaking of someone of his own family, “I don’t want to have to do the same to Massimo. Especially not when he has every chance of recovering and moving on with his life, if he accepts the appropriate treatment.”
“I… I’m certainly not an important person to Massimo, so my words aren’t worth much to him…” Alice tried to force out the words that would wash her hands of that matter, but soon realized that, regardless of the doctor whether he was facing her or not, there was no other answer to that request “But I promise to try. Maybe Massimo doesn’t want to help himself, but I won’t let him kill himself so easily.” Alice promised to herself, although that would make Dr. Lewis more than happy.
“I sincerely thank you, Mrs. Bianchi.” The doctor sighed in relief, reaching out to shake her hand. “I hope that, whether the circumstances of your marriage have been good or not, Massimo can realize that he was lucky to get a wife who cares about him.”
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