The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

XLIX: de Vincenzo II

☣︎

"ADELE, MY LOVE, YOU won't believe this, but we were invited to attend a party downtown!" Francesco excitedly says when he barges inside the dining room where the others are having their lunch.

     "A party? Who on earth would invite you to such a thing?" Adele asks, chuckling at how excited her husband looks over something like a party.

     "And didn't you go downtown to look for a job?" His father—Fortunato, who was now in a wheelchair—then asks before taking a bite of his food.

     Francesco removes the hat that he is wearing and then approaches his wife so he can give her a kiss on the head. He then sat on the chair beside her before explaining, "Oh, I found a job at a clinic. William, the doctor who runs the place, accepted me and mentioned the party. It would be too rude of me if we didn't attend it."

     "We?"

     "Yes, dear. He told me to bring you with me."

     Adele was about to say something, but Fortunato immediately put his fork and knife down to look at his son. "Francesco, you know that the safety of the people in this manor is our top priority, correct? Throughout all the years I have lived here, I have kept the people safe."

     "And we will keep doing that," Francesco replies with no hint of hesitation. "I didn't tell him that I live here like what you instructed. I won't put anyone's life in danger."

     "Son—"

     "If I may, father," Adele quickly interrupts, and Francesco looks in her direction and nods his head.

     "Francesco has been fighting in the war for years. I believe this is the only time he'll be able to enjoy his life with people who can give him the little fun that he was not able to experience in the past. Please allow him to go, father," Adele explains, and Fortunato massages his temple and looks back at his son.

     "You have brought home an excellent wife, Francesco," Fortunato simply says, and a smile instantly appears on the couple's face. "I will allow you to attend that party."

     "Thank you, father!"

     "But," Fortunato quickly adds. "You must remember that there are things that we cannot control, son. You will one day realize that these people live in a world that is different from ours. There aren't always good in people."

     "I know, father. I know," Francesco answers.

     Despite his father's doubts and fears, Francesco was excited to attend the party. But unlike his father, Francesco's mother—who was now bedridden because of an unknown sickness—was happy to know that his son gets to meet the people in the town they had lived in for years. In fact, she was so excited that she let Adele borrow some of her expensive dresses.

     "It's beautiful, mother," Adele says, staring at the dress that was given to her before sitting on the edge of the bed where her mother-in-law lay.

     "You must wear the most beautiful dresses before the bump becomes visible," she explains, and Adele touches her stomach before looking back at her in-law. "Are you happy that you were able to live this kind of life, mother?"

     The old yet beautiful woman stares at the ceiling before reaching out to grab Adele's hand. "I grew up in a rich family. My father was an architect, and we lived in the biggest house and attended the grandest parties. It should have made me happy, but it didn't. It was a noisy lifestyle that I got tired of, so when I met Fortunato, I was finally able to enjoy a quiet life. Darling, a quiet life is a privilege. Remember this."