The Day Before You Came

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The day of Benny's spinal cord operation had arrived. That morning he had gotten up very early, actually he hadn't been able to sleep well, his emotion was too great, but there was something else in his being; fear. He was afraid that the surgery wouldn't turn out and all his expectations would plummet. That night, unlike many others, he had decided to sleep in his own house, he needed to be alone, Frida's company did him good and motivated him, but he needed a space exclusively for himself. If everything went well and at the end of the day he could stand up then he would go on with his life as he had planned for the past few weeks, but if something went wrong then he wouldn't know what to do. He didn't want Frida to carry the weight on her shoulders from having to deal with a paralytic, he wanted to be complete for her  and his child, for his new family.

Benny checked his phone for the umpteenth time, it was 6:15 a.m. They had to be at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. to be hospitalized, his mother was supposed to have arrived five minutes ago but no one knocked on the door yet, not even Frida. The wait was torturing him, he wanted to get out of his house as soon as possible. It was snowing outside, which was making him more anxious. Suddenly someone rang the bell and he hurried to open the door. It was his mother and the driver.

"Good morning son," Laura went directly to hug Benny, "How are you feeling today? Are you ready?"

"Hello mother. I've been ready since an hour ago, we'll be late," Benny muttered.

"Good morning, Mr. Andersson," Edmund, the driver, greeted cordially.

"Good morning Edmund,"

"Could I know where your suitcase is? so I can get it into the car."

"Sure, it's in my room, please come in,"

"Is everything ready or do you need me to help you pack something else?" Laura asked softly.

"Everything is ready, can we go?" Benny asked impatiently.

"Sure. Let's go to the car, we'll wait for Frida there."

"Did you see her yet?"

"Yes, I stopped by her house just now, I thought you would be there," Laura frowned at him. "Is everything okay between you two?"

"Yes, I just wanted to be alone, I'm too anxious and I didn't want to worry her,"

"Everything will be fine son. I have to confess that I am also anxious but I have faith that everything will go wonderfully," Laura said in a hopeful voice.

Edmund came out of the bedroom with the suitcase and both Laura and Benny went after him. Benny got into the truck and from inside he saw Frida approaching them in a hurry. Edmund took her bag and put it in the trunk. Then Frida got into the truck and sat next to Benny, it was there that he realized how much he needed her, her mere presence relaxed him.

"Hello," he greeted her as he took her hand.

"Hey," she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "how are you? are you ready?"

Benny frowned, his mother had asked him the same thing and that only increased his anxiety. "I guess."

Frida gently squeezed his hand to encourage him, "Everything will be fine, honey."

Very soon they met on the long road that led them to Stockholm, despite the snow it wasn't an inconvenience and traffic was light. There was a feeling of anticipation and nervousness inside the truck, no one mentioned a single word on the entire ride. When they arrived at the hospital they went directly to the neurology area where were already waiting for them. Dr. Larsson received them with that kindness that characterized him, as a good doctor he always tried to make his patients feel comfortable and confident. Benny was quickly assigned a room and both Laura and Frida were with him the entire time.