Aurora was perched on a pastel-blue sofa that had seen better days, as she anxiously waited for any news from the doctor who'd operated on her husband. It had been over five hours since they arrived and Mariano left her to wait on her own. Not that she was complaining. His presence in the tiny waiting room would've only been a bother, something she didn't need right now.
The antiseptic smell, bright, unforgiving fluorescent light, and morbid oldness that was glued to the walls made her nauseous. She hadn't been in a hospital setting since her parents died in a burning building twelve years ago.
The door adjoining Maximo's recovery room came open and she sprang to her feet. "How's he?" she asked the doctor.
"You must be Mrs. Khomeini," he said.
"Yes, I am." she nodded. "How's he?"
"He's awake and wishes to speak with you. But you should know that his condition is critical. He already lost a lot of blood before he even got here and then there was a little complication while taking out the bullets. He suffered a heart attack." she gasped. He patted her shoulders lightly and continued. "The heart attack itself was minor, but it complicated things since his bullet wound was already infected."
She worked to keep breathing. Everything sounded really bad. "What are his chances of survival? He's going to be okay, right? You'll nurse him back to health, right?"
The doctor looked grim. "I'm afraid the next few hours are uncertain. If you're ready to see him, the nurse would set you up in a sanitary gown, gloves, and a nose mask."
"That's fine. I'm ready." she followed hurriedly behind him and as soon as she was in the proper attire, he lead her into the room.
The place looked like the surgical rooms she'd seen on TV. It was stainless and cold and smelled of disinfectant. Maximo laid on the table, shirtless, with a huge bandage on his shoulder. An IV unit dripped a bag of blood into his arm, and his old eyes were closed.
"Max!" She cried in panic, and his eyes came open slowly.
"I'll leave you both to speak but please make it brief." the doctor said. "He needs all the rest he can get."
"Alright, thanks."
She waited till he vacated the room before moving closer to Maximo on the table.
He was pale.
As pale as death. But that was only because his condition was deteriorating by the minute.
"What's going on, Max? Who did this to you?" she sniffed, reached for his right hand, and covered it with hers. Her diamond wedding band caught a funnel of light and glistened at that moment as if reminding her of who this man was. "Maria is dead, Max. The house was invaded by some strange men who killed her and our cat. What's going on?"
"Come... on, Aurora." his voice was so low she had to strain to hear it. He attempted chuckling but a sharp pain seized the action. He took a deep breath and waited till it passed before struggling to speak again. "We.... we both know that's not really what you...want to... want to ask me. I'm sure the.... the doctor told you how bad I'm doing." he eyed her with the most wicked glint his weak eyes could muster. "You... You must be feeling....desperate, Aurora."
She dropped his hand and took a step from him. "Yes, I'm feeling desperate. I want to know who did this to you, why they did it and why the heck, they're coming after me too. But most importantly, I want to know where you've kept him."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?" she was exasperated. "You're the only person alive who knows where he is. The doctor says the next few hours are uncertain so if anything happens to you--"
"--you'll never see him again, that's correct." he smiled weakly.
She squeezed her eyes together, took a shaky breath, and tried again.
"Maximo," she said softly, and he recognized her trying to reason with him when he knew there was no reason. "Please, tell me where he is. Once you get better, you can get your contacts to change the location. I'll be here with you, I promise not to go after him. I'll be here till you get better."
Her words sparked a short-circuit in his brain. "Why do you think I'll do you any favors just because... I'm dying, Aurora?"
Her mouth opened on a cry, and she snapped it shut, turning her head away, but not quickly enough that he could miss the moisture springing onto her lashes. "Do you love him?" Anger surged in his veins like a flood tide.
She frowned at the question. "Of course, I love him. He's--"
"No!" he silenced her. "Not him..... I'm asking about the man you've been frolicking around with! All these years."
She dropped her face into her hands. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? I told you already, it was only one time, Maximo. And I've apologized, over and over again. I'm sorry. It was childish, it was foolish. I behaved unfairly toward you, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that. But it was just one time. I haven't been with another man since we got married. I'm not lying."
"You gave yourself, cheaply..... to a random stranger." He looked up at her, the electronic vital signs monitor started to beep as his fury rose. "Tell me, did your juices stir when you saw him again today? Mariano is a very fine-looking man, isn't he?"
She glanced at the monitor and took his hand again. "Maximo, you need to calm down."
He snatched his hand free and didn't back down. A cry rent from his lungs, the cry of a beast in agony. "You cheated on me with my own son!"
Aurora staggered backward in shock and shook her head in horror, one hand at her brow, the other over her mouth, and he wanted to growl and shake her. The monitors began to beep wildly. He was dying. She could see it.
"You whore!" he yelled, exerting even more energy. It was so loud that anyone within a fifty-mile radius would've heard.
The doctor and a Spanish-speaking nurse rushed in immediately. "You'll have to leave right away, Mrs. Khomeini." the doctor said, rushing to examine his patient.
She nodded, turning to leave when Maximo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down to him. "What you should do..... right now is pray..... pray nothing happens to me, Aurora." his breathing was painfully labored but it didn't deter him. "If something goes wrong..... you'll never see your bastard child again..... but it's only fair. A son for a son."
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