Her breath on my neck as she hugs me tightly and then she looks at me, again. Are you ready, she asks. And I nod slowly. I brush her shoulder. I take her hand. I kiss her palm and I think that we need a room and a bed. I feel relieved and I’m in love and I feel safe and my life, our life, is starting again.

I knock at the door and Dante says come in. His voice sounds friendly, relaxed. Serene. Carmen’s palm on the small of my back as I turn the doorknob and I smile when I see Dante’s face.

”This is more than I wanted,
Take me out of the dark, I roam there,
Cold and black, you’re out of touch, yeah,
Lightly falling through a whisper, you’re scared…”

He lays in his bed, his burly chest naked. His right shoulder bandaged. A huge cotton lint on his left hip. Stitches on his eyebrow. He looks pretty beaten, beyond a doubt. But the room is painted with the reddish sunlight, and I am sure he was staring at the landscape outside the window. On his lap, there is an open book. And, incredibly, Dante is wearing specs and looks a bit like a mischievous teacher.

“Hey!”, he exclaims happily and it’s like an invisible hand is removing a ton of rocks from my shoulders. I exhale a long breath.

“Hey there, buddy”, I say, and his smile widens.

Carmen lets go of my hand and reaches for him. He takes his face and kisses his forehead.

Dante grabs her hand and kisses its back.

Italian. Very effusive people.

“Hi Carm”.

“How are you feeling?”, she asks him, sweetly.

He shrugs and then winces a little.

“I’m feeling great”. He stretches out his sane arm toward me and I take his hand. It is warm and dry and strong.

“I’m happy to see you, Shane. How are you?”, he asks, glancing at me with that half smile that always makes me wonder what he’s thinking exactly.

He asks me how I am and I feel like crying. I don’t know why. He shouldn’t be asking how I am. I should.

“We are very good, Dante”, Carmen replies seeing my discomfort. Dante’s eyes are still staring at me.