Tabby took a deep breath and when she realized that her father was almost there, she put her bag on the ground and took a hesitant step back. He lowered his arms to his sides in disappointment and stopped, but he still smiled at her.
"Welcome to our place, I didn't expect you so early today. But that doesn't matter at all, you can wait here for me for now. There's juice in the fridge, there's a bowl of cookies on the table and maybe I'll turn on the TV. I still have something important to arrange in the operating room and we'll be going to my house in about an hour and a half. Or you can take a look around our hospital and get to know it a little bit, so you know a little bit what to expect."
Tabby was slightly ashamed of her previous reaction, she smiled awkwardly at the memory of her first and uncomfortable moments here and answered.
"Thanks, but I'd rather stay here, I think I've gotten to know her too much by now..."
Dr. Harris looked at her incomprehensibly at first, but then he smiled again and, despite her hesitation, approached her. This time she remained standing still and looked at him in dismay. He reached out his hand to her and hesitantly stroked her raven curls.
"You're a very pretty girl, all the mother I knew her back then...poor Sandra..." He said in a sad, veiled voice and his eyes gleamed slightly. A worm of doubt gnawed at Tabby's head about what she had always heard from her mother. Apparently he still kept them both in his memory and heart, with an unmistakable tenderness, which surprised her. It stung in her eyes.
...Damn it, what's happening to me today? This isn't me!...she thought in alarm. But then tears rolled down her cheeks like little pearls. Suddenly something broke inside her and to his surprise she fell around his neck and cried loudly. The accumulated longing finally found its way, like a stream in the mountains.
"Don't cry, child, I know it hurts terribly, but you can't do anything about it. We have to accept what life throws at us...perhaps you'll forgive me for all this someday, I'm aware that it's actually my fault in a way..." He said quietly and gently hugged her to him.
It was a strange feeling, she never wanted to admit the thought that had sometimes crept into her consciousness in the past despite her resistance, namely what it would be like if she could hide in her father's arms. But his answer brought her back to her senses. She pulled away a little and whispered.
"Don't say that! You're not responsible for Mom's death! Grandma Claudia always told me that nothing in the world ever happens without a purpose, everything is the work of fate. And that we can't change a bad past, but we need to perceive a better present."
"Your grandmother was a wise woman, I remember her. She never really liked me, but I forgave her a long time ago." He pointed out, took a neatly folded clean handkerchief from his coat pocket and handed it to Tabby. Finally she smiled a little and wiped her tears and nose with it.
"Yeah, you're right, she was great. But you still have work to do and I'm just holding you up. So you better go, I'm fine, really."
"Okay, but don't run away from me, my little blue-eyed princess!" He threatened her with a laugh.
She looked at him in amazement. The huge wall that had grown between them over the years miraculously began to crumble into a pile of rubble. She was surprised, she felt as if those twenty years without him suddenly didn't exist. She smiled and replied.
"Don't worry, I'm terribly thirsty and my legs hurt. And don't keep me waiting long, my blue-eyed daddy king!" And she winked at him mischievously.
That really got him. Steve Harris laughed out loud and shook his head.
He hadn't expected to have such easy access to her heart, he was pleasantly surprised by her behavior. The ice had been broken, it seemed, and he was still a little worried about whether Tabby would catch his eye with his now-wife Nicole.
Without wanting it, as he was closing the door, a thought flashed through his mind about the young man who was in his office today, David. He cared a lot about him, he didn't understand why, he always forbade himself from forming a friendly bond with his patients, especially in such hopeless cases. He froze inside at the thought
that
his daughter might be in his place… ... The Pyramids of Giza…The Valley of the Kings…The Taj Mahal…Jaipur… He sighed briefly and lit a cigarette. What was the point of all this? No point. He devoted all his free time to it, with the generous help of his best friend from school, Aaron. He didn't even have time to find a girl. He slowly blew out a puff of gray smoke and remembered that special meeting at the bus stop by the train station. As if that winged treasure had deliberately led him to her. She flashed through his life like a sparkling flash. And where was she now? Who knows, maybe she had already returned home. In fact, he didn't even know where she had come from. Her amazing eyes, looking at him in amazement from the flood of black hair, and the funny coffee stain on the T-shirt, tightly hugging her tempting-looking bust, tenderly merging into an incredibly thin waist, stuck in his memory. He was overcome by the urge to reach out and touch her velvety skin for at least a split second. It kept coming back to him, even several times a day, with a slight chill down his spine. But what could he offer her? Him? He was certainly right not to get closer to her, it was so much better…To hell with illnesses! Human life is one big fraud…he growled and put out his cigarette. Then his cell phone rang. It was Aaron.
"Hey man, what's wrong with you? You said you'd call me as soon as you got back from the hospital."
"Sure, sorry, you can stop by, I'm home now."
"And…have you told your mom everything?" Aaron asked cautiously. There was a moment of silence and then David answered.
"Not yet, she'd be worried, you know her. She'd make me lie in bed and I'd have to watch her be miserable, It's better this way, even Dad said so. So come and let's discuss our trip to the Himalayas. He was going to leave in about a month."
"Do you really want to go there? Can you do it? It's a terrible distance," came the uncertain voice from the phone.
"And why not? I'm not made of paper. Enough of unnecessary talk, I'm waiting for you." He growled angrily at his friend and ended the call. Still, to be pitied and miss out on an opportunity that his grandfather had longed for his whole life! And which also generously offered an extraordinary adventure with an irresistible flavor of mystery and danger. After the radiation, David felt a little better. Although he was troubled by increased fatigue, the headaches were gone. Four more times and he was done. At least for now. He saw no reason why he should limit himself in any way and give up everything. He got up and went to take a shower. After about half an hour, the red, bristling head of his friend Aaron appeared in the doorway.
"Well, finally, let's get started!" David declared, preparing his hookah. Then he opened two cans of Guinness and spread out old maps on the table. But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he felt as if a pair of forget-me-not blue eyes were staring at him from every centimeter of yellowed, sometimes charred paper…