Wish I Were Here

Chapter 20

O hhhh,” Luca groans as we burst into the waiting room of the St. Anne’s ER. “Ohhhhhhhhh.” He staggers around, clutching two hands to his abdomen. “Somebody help me.”

I run up to the front desk. “My friend needs to see a doctor right away. He’s having terrible stomach pain.”

Luca moans again, lying down on one of the waiting room couches and curling up in a fetal position. “I never should have eaten that sushi…”

I can feel the whole room staring at us, but instead of flushing with embarrassment, I have the urge to burst out laughing. I meet Luca’s eyes, and he gives me a wink before he goes back to rolling around and moaning. As I watch his handsome face screw up in imaginary pain, I can’t help but appreciate how completely Luca has committed to doing this for me. He throws himself into everything, whether it’s dancing with Mrs. Goodwin or breaking and entering or improvising food poisoning.

And it must be rubbing off on me, because I turn back to the woman at the front desk. “Please, can we get my friend into a room immediately?” I wave in his direction. “Look how much pain he’s in. He needs to see the doctor.”

The woman types something into her computer. “I’ll need his insurance card.”

I look to Luca, who rolls his eyes and pulls out his wallet, handing me the card.

“Sorry,” I whisper, vowing to pay him back for any medical bills he might incur as a result of this ruse. As soon as I get access to my bank accounts again, that is.

The woman types in Luca’s information while he clutches his stomach and moans some more.

“Please can we hurry?” I urge.

She nods and picks up the phone in front of her. “We have an emergency coming back. Dr. Jankowski will need to see him right away.”

Hearing that, Luca heaves himself off the couch, and though I know he’s trying to look weak and sickly, I can’t help admiring his grace. We follow the nurse back to the exam room, and I grab Luca’s arm as if to help him hobble through the pain. But, if I’m honest, I’m the one who needs the extra support as I take the long walk down the hall, about to come face-to-face with my mother.

As if sensing my apprehension, Luca puts his hand over mine as he shuffles with an exaggerated limp. The nurse waves us into an exam room, and Luca and I go inside. Luca falls face-first onto the bed, and it squeaks under his weight.

“The doctor,” he moans. “I need the doctor.”

The nurse looks at me sideways. “What did he eat today? We see a lot of cases of food poisoning. In addition to these types of terrible stomach cramps, people often throw up.”

My gaze swings from Luca, who hasn’t moved from his face-plant position, and then back to the nurse. “Yes, it’s definitely something he ate. He had some gas station sushi for dinner. I told him not to, I said this would happen, but he loves a spicy tuna roll.”

The nurse glances at Luca and then rolls her eyes, like, Men . “My boyfriend eats that stuff, too. I keep telling him he’ll regret it, but he won’t listen. I mean, it is literally my job to know this stuff.”

“I hope he never ends up puking in your car the way Luca puked in mine on the way over here. You should see the front seat. I might need to set fire to it.” I throw up my hands. “There’s no coming back from that.”

The nurse gives me a sympathetic glance.

I hear Luca gasp, and I look over to find his shoulders shaking. I’m pretty sure he’s laughing. I cough and move my body between him and the nurse, hoping she won’t notice. “Is there any way we could get a doctor in here?”

“Of course. Let me check his vitals, and then the doctor will be in.” She approaches the side of the bed. “Come on, let’s get you flipped over.”

Luca rolls onto his back, keeping an arm thrown across his face to hide his smile. The nurse takes his blood pressure and temperature, then checks his oxygen saturation.

“His vitals are all normal. It does sound like just a bad case of food poisoning, especially given the sushi situation. But I’ll send in the doctor to confirm it.”

“Thank you so much.”

As soon as the nurse is out the door, Luca sits up against the back of the bed. “You ready for this?”

I have the urge to chew on my thumbnail, something I haven’t done since I was an anxious kid. “What if they don’t send in my mom? What if it’s a different doctor?”

“I saw a board on the nurses’ station when we came in. It looks like it’s only your mom and a resident on duty tonight. Remember she said something to Victoria about being short-staffed.”

I bite my lip. “What if we’re keeping her from real emergencies?”

“The nurse thinks it was just some bad sushi and that I’m an idiot. So I doubt they’re going to prioritize me over anything important.”

I rub my sweaty hands on my dress. “I can’t believe this is happening. What if she doesn’t want to see me?”

“Catherine,” Luca says, his voice soothing. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

From behind me, I hear the swish of a curtain moving aside and then a male voice say, “Luca Morelli?”

Luca slinks down in the bed, clutching his stomach, and I turn around and come face-to-face with…

Oh no.

Oh, this really can’t be happening.

I quickly turn my body toward the wall.

It’s the handsome blond doctor I met in the elevator last night. The one who told me he works in the emergency room. The one I have a date with tonight.

I stare up at the laminated sign about handwashing like it’s modern art.

What was I thinking? I was so concerned with seeing my mom, I forgot he could be here.

The doctor moves to the sink to wash his hands, and my gaze swings to Luca’s. I do my best to get his attention by moving my eyes back and forth and giving subtle nods in the doctor’s direction. A moment later, I see it dawn on him, and he makes an exaggerated cringe face.

“Help,” I mouth at him.

Luca was in the elevator last night, too, but he stood toward the back, and this guy was really directing his attention at me.

“I’m Luca Morelli,” Luca says, his voice conspicuously loud in the small room. “Over here.” He waves his arms like he’s directing a plane in for a landing.

The doctor nods and approaches the bed. “I’m Dr. Kohler, the resident on call.”

Luca clutches his stomach. “Uggghhhhh…” he moans.

“I heard we’re dealing with a case of food poisoning?” Dr. Kohler’s gaze swings to mine. “The nurse said it was gas station sushi?”

I tilt my head down and press my fingers to my temples, hoping to hide my face from him. “That’s right,” I murmur into my hands. “Gas station sushi.”

“We probably get three cases of it a week in here,” Dr. Kohler confirms. “If you could just lie down, please, I’ll examine you.” Thankfully, he turns away from me to face Luca.

Luca flops back against the pillow, and I shrink against the wall, hoping to blend in with the beige hospital paint. Why did I choose today of all days to wear this blue dress?

While Dr. Kohler lifts Luca’s shirt to press on his abdomen, my eyes find Luca’s, and I hold up my hands. “What do I do?” I mouth at him.

He gives me a slight shake of his head and discreetly lifts a palm. “Act natural,” he mouths in return.

Act natural? How am I supposed to do that?

“Does this hurt?” Dr. Kohler asks, pressing on a dandelion stem growing out of the dip in Luca’s hip. I close my eyes and look away.

Luca throws his head back and lets out a low moan. “It huuuuuurts.”

Dr. Kohler presses a few more times, listens with his stethoscope, and then flips Luca’s shirt down. “I do believe the gas station sushi is the culprit. Some anti-nausea meds and IV fluids will fix you right up. But I’ll have Dr. Jankowski come in to examine you and see if she wants to do a scan or any further tests.”

“This Dr. Jankowski, she’s a skilled practitioner?” I murmur.

“She’s the head of our department, actually,” he says, turning to me. “Our very best.”

I shrink back against the wall. Damn it. At the mention of my mother, I forgot I was supposed to be blending in.

Dr. Kohler cocks his head. “Have we met before?”

“No!” If I press my head any farther back against this wall, I’m going to give myself a concussion. “Absolutely not.”

“You look familiar.” He takes a step closer. “I swear it was just recently…”

Behind us, Luca moans loudly and thrashes around on the bed. I brush past Dr. Kohler and hurry to Luca’s side. “Can we please get Dr. Jankowski in here?” I keep my back to the doctor, reaching down to fluff Luca’s pillow so I have something to do with my hands. “My friend is in a lot of pain.”

Behind me, Dr. Kohler hesitates, and I know his eyes are on me. I hold my breath. Finally, he says, “Of course. She’ll be right in.” He heads out of the room, pulling the curtain behind him.

I turn to Luca. “This was a terrible idea.” Pushing away from the hospital bed, I thread my hands in my hair, pacing across the room to the sink. “What were we thinking coming back to this hospital? What if Dr. Kohler puts it together that I was the one in the elevator impersonating a doctor?” I traipse back and forth. “What if my mother has us arrested for faking your illness?”

“Don’t worry.” Luca shrugs. “Uncle Vito will bail us out.”

I stop pacing and look at him. “I suppose Uncle Vito has a powerhouse defense attorney, too?”

Luca nods. “My cousin Bianca.”

“Oh my God, how is this my life?”

“Listen,” Luca says, grabbing my hand the next time I pace past the bed and tugging me to a stop. “You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to. Fabrizio can send someone to break into your mom’s place and steal your birth certificate back. Just say the word.”

I admit the idea is appealing, which just goes to show how utterly off the rails my life has gone. But I can’t. My mother is down the hall, and after thirty years, this is my chance. “Thanks.” I shake my head. “But if I do that, I’ll never meet my mom. And I’ll always wonder who I really am.”

Luca looks at me sideways. “You don’t need your mother to tell you who you really are.”

At that moment, the curtain rustles, and I turn around to find a middle-aged white woman in a doctor’s coat walking into the room.

Dr. Melanie Jankowski.

My mother.