60 A Sick Mother's Wish

Justyna showed up at the hospital as quickly as if she had arrived on a private jet rather than waiting for a cruise connection. As she ran to him down the hospital corridor, Damian felt his heart grow lighter for a moment. But when the young woman threw herself into his arms assuring him of her devotion, love and concern for his mother's health, Radosz felt as if he had just been led to torture.

“How is your mother?”

The question was full of sincere concern and anxiety, as if asked not by a future daughter-in-law, but by a native daughter. Justyna's voice and her embrace were warm and healing, and Damian again felt a peace sweep over him.

Justyna is the woman he loves. She is his fiancée. What Radosz did that night was a stupid mistake that he will never repeat again. Justyna is the person he will spend the rest of his life with and he will be happy with her.

“It will be okay," he reassured his fiancée. “Thank you for worrying.”

“Are you kidding? Of course I was worried! She's my second mother!”

Not mother-in-law, mother. Damian couldn't help but appreciate that the reason Justyna treats his mother like that is because she loves her son. She could have cut herself off from her future mother-in-law, as many young women do, but she didn't. Damian's mother was too important to him.

Justyna really thought seriously about him and a relationship with him. She really loved him, meanwhile he had acted so stupidly, so irresponsibly and immaturely.

Damian hugged his fiancée tighter. He was so grateful to her for her love and support. He was so immensely grateful to her that he put all thoughts of last night out of his head.

It was just a mistake. His hesitation this morning was also just a mistake. Justyna is the person Damian wants to share his life and his future with.

What happened that night didn't matter at all.

“Justyna, I'm really grateful that you came. You have no idea how much your presence is a solace to me.”

“I do. That's why I'm here. I remember how hard it was for you before. And even before that. We're a couple, and that's why I always want to be there for you in the good times and the bad. I love you.”

“ I love you too, Justyna” answered Damian without letting her go, but when he said those words he felt that something was wrong.

The door from the ICU opened and a nurse came out into the hallway. She looked around and said in a loud voice.

“Mrs. Radosz's family!”

Damian immediately turned towards her feeling both hope and fear at the same time.

“Mrs. Radosz woke up. You can visit her.”

The relief that Damian felt was indescribable. He smiled as if he could finally breathe. He thanked the nurse and, taking Justyna by the hand, entered the room where it was noisy from the equipment monitoring the patients.

Damian's mom had oxygen tubes inserted into her nose and an IV stuck in her forearm. She was already awake, but her eyes were cloudy. She was probably still under some influence of the anaesthetic from the operation or other drugs administered through the drip.

The woman held out her hand to her son. Damian immediately took it in his hand.

“You had come?” she asked in a weak voice.

“Yes, Mum” he answered. “I came as soon as I heard what happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier...”

The woman's half-conscious eyes rolled around the room and came across Justyna. Her pale lips smiled warmly at the person who was to be her daughter-in-law.

“Get married," Damian's mother suddenly asked. “Before I die, I want to see you at the altar.”

There was nothing wrong with that request. Justyna and Damian had been engaged long enough to talk about getting married, and everyone seemed to think that it was only a matter of time before they would actually get married. Both families, more or less eagerly, had been waiting for that day.

And yet, at that moment, at the thought of getting married, Radosz felt resistance. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Justyna, he knew he could not find a better wife for him, but...

“We still have a lot of time," said Damian, sounding almost desperate. “The operation was successful and you will live for a very long time.”

“You have always taken care of me. Now someone should... take care of you.”

His mother's voice grew weaker and her eyes even more cloudy. Although Radosz, experienced in hospital matters, knew that his mother was very weak after the operation and still under a trace of anesthesia, he felt an uneasiness in his heart.

His mother was weak. Her body was already practically exhausted. It was a miracle that she survived the surgery. If there was another incident...

The woman's eyelids grew heavy, but the machines connected to her did not start beeping warningly. Damian's mother smiled pale and simply fell asleep.

Radosz felt a warm, supportive hand on his shoulder.

“I understand your mother” Justyna announced “and I think it's a good idea. I know you are very busy with the production of the TV series and the plans for the animated series, but if I were in mother's position, I would also like to see my son's wedding.”

“If the wedding is rushed, it won't be as beautiful as you dreamed. You know how hard it is to hire a hall, a band, even book a church service in a short time...”

“ I'd rather have a modest wedding with mom than a rich one without her.”

But Damian didn't want to get married at that moment. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Justyna, but he wasn't ready for the sacramental 'I do' at that moment. You also have to be ready to be a husband, and Damian was not. But he understood his mother's desire and appreciated the sacrifices Justyna was making.

“Can we talk about this later?” he asked. “I'm sorry, but I can't think about getting married seeing my mother like this.”

He did not sense that Justyna was angry. On the contrary, he felt that the warmth coming from her was even more intense.

“You look very tired. Mom will sleep now, so you should rest too.”

Radosz turned to her and smiled gratefully as he took her hand.

“You have had a tiring flight. I should be the one worrying about you.”

“Don't worry, the flight was short and I did not have to wait long for the check-in.”

Damian took a deep breath. The sensation was not pleasant, as the smell of disinfectants so typical of a hospital was a smell he really disliked.

The flight from Milan had actually only taken about two hours, which was less even than he had spent in the car to get to the hospital from another city, but after all, Justyna had also had to travel more than a hundred kilometers by car to be where she was now. His fiancée was strong, but the hardships of the journey were evident.

“Mom will sleep now," said Damian, forgetting that Justyna had just said the same thing. “Shall we go get something to eat?”

“Let's go.”

Contrary to what you see in many foreign films, the families of patients did not spend much time in hospitals. The patient admitted to the ward was placed under the complete care of the hospital and the trust in the health service was such that no one looked at their hands and the patient's family sitting for hours at their bedside was only a nuisance for the other patients, for the person visited who needed rest, and for the hospital staff.

The hospital was always noisy and the nurses were always around the patients, there was always someone admitted or discharged, so there was no place for boredom or even loneliness. Damian looked over at his sleeping mother feeling no remorse for leaving her hospital bed. He knew she was safe under the hospital's care.

As soon as they stepped out into the corridor, Justyna took Damian's hand. She intertwined her fingers with his.

“Let's go,” she said with a smile. “You have a lot to tell me about the film set and the whole production. I'm sure a lot of very interesting things happened there.

Damian knew that Justyna was trying to take his mind off his worries about his mother's health. The Fifth Capital was not only an important but beloved project for him, one that he cared about and enjoyed. Normally he would have been delighted to tell her about the events surrounding the production, but today, after what Damian had committed last night, The Fifth Capital was not a topic he wanted to talk about.

After all, the most interesting events related to the series were something Damian had to keep quiet about, as if it were his greatest shame.