All the Way to Heaven

Chapter 21

"Ani," Madalina broke the awkward silence. "Paulo has something wonderful for you today. It is in the car. We will get it for you, okay?" She stood and clutched at Paulo's elbow, bringing him up with her, not giving him any opportunity to object. "Do not go anywhere, both of you," she quipped, waving a red-tipped finger back and forth between us.

I could hear their low murmurs even after they disappeared around the house. If they weren't arguing, they were having a very passionate discussion about something.

Cosimo slid a hand up under my skirt and cupped my calf the way he'd done last night. A shiver coursed through me but the man in front of me couldn't displace all thoughts of the brooding Paulo and his saucy Elvgren pin-up girl.

"Are you tired, bellisima? Do you need to rest? Do you want me to help you to your bed?" His voice was low, soothing, and I smiled encouragingly at him.

"No, Cosimo. I'm happy right where I am."

"That is what I like to hear." His hand drifted up to the crook of my knee and I flinched.

"Remember I'm ticklish there."

"Oh? I thought you were only saying that so I would stop touching you last night." He winked at me and I laughed out loud, lifting my face to the cool breeze sweeping up the hillside as he fingers gently massaged my calf muscles.

"Is this how you treat all your patients, Dr. Lazzaro? Breakfast on the terrace and foot massages?" The question sounded more sensual than I'd intended, and he responded in a similar tone.

"Only the ones I like very much. Ani. Especially the plump little sparrows."

The sun was high in the sky, warming me to my bones. I sat in silence, taking it all in, the light filtering through the intertwined branches laced through the trellising overhead, Cosimo's hand solid against my flesh. I was looking the other way, out toward the pool, when Paulo and Madalina came back around the corner of the house, their voices growing louder as they drew nearer. I wasn't in the mood for more of Mr. Rude Guy's scowls.

But Cosimo's fingers tightened around my leg reflexively, and I turned to look.

Madalina sat, her shapely legs crossed elegantly, in a wheelchair, a brilliant smile on her face. A real live wheelchair, complete with footrests. For me? I might actually be able to get around without bashing into walls and rolling over the toes of my good foot with that thing.

Once again, Paulo Durante had surprised me. And once again, I had no idea how to react.

"Princess Grace, your ride awaits!" When Paulo brought the chair to a stop at the edge of the terrace, Madalina hopped up and stepped aside, posing like a car show model. "Do you like it? It is perfect, no? Paulo is your hero!" Then she reached over, grabbed him by the ears, and kissed him loudly on the mouth. "There. I kiss him for you since your doctor is sitting beside you." She stepped up onto the terrace and leaned close, speaking from the corner of her mouth, but loudly enough for both men to hear. "You do not know what you are missing, Princess Grace. Paulo's kisses. Muah!" She touched her lips with bunched fingers, made a kissing sound, and fanned her face dramatically. With a wink at Cosimo, she beckoned to me. "Come. You must try it. We can take you spinning. If it is okay with your doctor, of course."

Flushed with embarrassment at her brazen comments, I kept my mouth shut. I was not a 'make-a-scene' type girl. Clearly, though, Madalina liked nothing better. I could see something stirring under the cool exterior of Cosimo's expression as Paulo maneuvered the chair up the steps and over close to me. Not waiting for me to pivot on my own, Cosimo bent low in front of me, told me to put my hands on his shoulders, then all but lifted me out of my seat and turned me to sit in the wheelchair. Crouching beside me and speaking in low tones that seemed intentionally intimate, he demonstrated how to raise the footrest to elevate my leg, and how to release it slowly so my foot wouldn't free-fall. He showed me where to place my hands to wheel myself around and how to use the brake lever, and reminded me several times to keep my hands up on the armrests whenever anyone else was pushing me.

He rose and stepped back, hands low on his hips, sizing up me and my new ride. He didn't look happy, but I thought it had more to do with the giver than the gift.

Paulo stood behind me, gripping the handles at my back. I could feel the chair quiver slightly whenever he shifted his weight, and I thought perhaps he was dodging the daggers Cosimo kept tossing his way. I wondered if Paulo knew all the stuff Cosimo had just taught me about the chair, and had simply had to bite his tongue and let the doctor do his thing, since we were in Lazzaro territory, and I was his guest, not to mention his patient. If so, then this lesson in wheelchair safety must have been like rubbing salt in a wound. This was Paulo's gift to me, not Cosimo's.

In fact, the question suddenly occurred to me; why hadn't Cosimo sent me home in a wheelchair? Was it because I didn't have the money to pay for it? Did he not have a loaner in his office? It seemed like something any clinic should come equipped with.

I had to say something, and since Cosimo had yet to acknowledge the gift, it was clearly up to me. "This is amazing, Paulo." I glanced up at him over my shoulder, but the sun was high in the sky, casting his features in shadow. I couldn't even tell if he was looking at me or not. "Thank you. Where on earth did you find it?" It wasn't new, but it was clean and in good working order, and best of all, it was compact, not like a hospital-issue chair.

Paulo replied in a somber voice. "I borrowed it from a friend. His wife passed away last month. She no longer needs it."

Madalina, who'd smiled with pleasure throughout Cosimo's lesson, looked aghast at Paulo's words. "Wheesht! Sometimes you should not speak, Mr. Durante." She stepped up beside Cosimo, slid her arm through his, and turned him toward the gravel path leading around to the front of the house. "Come, Doctor. We lead the way. Paulo," she called over her shoulder, "stay silent and push."

Paulo reached down on either side of me and released the brakes, keeping his face averted. I folded my hands in my lap and kept my own gaze fixed on the ground in front of me. I held my breath until he was out of olfactory range so I wouldn't embarrass myself.

"You must lean back while I take you down the steps," he commanded from above my head. "You will have to trust me." And with that briefest of warnings, he tipped the chair onto its back wheels, grinned mischievously down at me, and started pushing me toward the three steps. I let out a startled squawk and held on, hoping my skirt would stay put. It did, and he handled the stairs with amazing finesse, barely a bump to be felt, easing me back down onto four wheels as gently as he would a tiny baby.

Cosimo, for some odd reason, hadn't even turned around at my cry of alarm, but seemed completely absorbed in whatever nonsense was spilling out of Madalina's mouth. She gazed up into his face adoringly and I had an overwhelming desire to pull her hair. Hard.

I couldn't tell who was playing on what team, and I was a little ticked. Maybe Cosimo had a good understanding of the levers and knobs and gadgets on this thing, and maybe Paulo knew how to work one like a pro, but I didn't. This was my first experience in one of these puppies, and I had no clue what to expect, especially after rolling around on my office chair the last few days, my biggest fear being that of tipping over backwards. Whatever macho thing these two had to prove to each other, I didn't like being in the middle of it.

We rolled along in silence behind Cosimo and Madalina, who sashayed becomingly, the hemline of her skirt swishing back and forth just below the crease of her knees. It was rather hypnotic and I wondered if Paulo was watching the movement, too.

As we neared the front of the house, my earspicked up the sound of car wheels on the gravel drive. Ahead of us, Madalinawaved, released Cosimo's arm, and hurried forward to greet whoever had pulledin. I assumed it was the rest of the family and I breathed a sigh of relief.