She walked backwards.

“I have to go. I got to go. Stay right here”, Carmen stated, frantically, showing her palms to Shane, “Don’t go anywhere. Stay right here”.

***

Inside the room 333, Dante Bizzarri was coughing and kicking frantically into his bed, surrounded by his panicking wife and two nurses that were frankly unable to stop him. The oxygen mask on his face was all steamed up and his eyes were bloodshot.

Carmen ran toward the bed, flipping a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Get the tube out!”, she ordered, “Get the tube out!”.

“He can’t breathe!”, Alice – Dante’s wife – exclaimed in panic.

Carmen didn’t turn around.

“It’s because the tube is blocked”, she said, extracting it from Dante’s throat carefully.

He stopped kicking and coughed, repeatedly, sitting up, tears falling freely from his eyes and falling on the sheets, his whole body shaking.

Carmen massaged his back until he calmed down.

“How are you feeling?”, she asked then, concerned.

Dante looked up, his green eyes mischievous in spite of all.

“Ready to hit the waves”, he said, croakily.

Carmen chuckled.

“I’m afraid your bodysurfing days are over, Mr. Bizzarri…”.

She placed her hand on his forearm, checking the I.V. and noticing a large tattoo.

“You got a mean tattoo going there”, she joked, “What does your wife think of that?”.

Dante smiled.

“That is my wife”, he explained, winking at Alice, who put her arms around his neck and kissed his temple.

“Can I get you anything, baby?”, Alice asked.

“I’d like to have a smoke, but Dr. Morales would kill me. Can you please get me some fresh water, bunny?”, he replied.

“Sure. Sure. I’ll be right back”.

Carmen stepped back, watching them with a half-smile, then turned to the nurses.

“Check his vitals every 20 minutes…”, she said, before leaving the room followed by Alice.

Dante heard their muffled steps along the corridor. He closed his eyes and took a long sigh.

“I can’t see you, but I know you’re there…”, he mumbled with a sly smile, “…Go back and tell them that I’m not going. Not yet”.

Beside the bed, Shane jerked.

”…Take away my sadness
Fill my life with gladness
Ease my troubles thats what you do
Fill my life with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles that’s what you do.”*

***
SOUNDTRACK:
* “Have I Told You Lately” (Van Morrison)