Surprisingly European doctors are not as obsessed with medical testing the way American ones are and it’s nice, for me, as a patient. My only job the next 24 hours is to get better, eat soup, and try to get my vocal cords back in action.
My first night “awake” I actually can’t and do not want to sleep, for fear I might slip back into another coma. No one tells me this, it’s just a fear I have inside and after days of either floating around or trapped in my body I am HAPPY to be awake. To see what’s going on and I start doing little exercises with my toes and legs which feel like they have been in some state of hibernation. If my brain were an iPhone it would need a software update.
Vivian works on her laptop while I watch movies in bed until the late hours at night. Eventually Vivian nods off, looking peaceful. For her this might be the first real sleep she has had since coming to be my guardian angel. I stay up through the night, giving thumbs up or smiles whenever a nurse walks by the room to check on me. All the medical staff are very nonchalant for the fact that I just un-coma’d myself although the casualness of it puts me at ease.
In the morning the nurses bring two food trays. One with broth and yogurt for me and another with extra snacks and items for Vivian. If the Italian stereotype of a “Nonna” was a hospital, this hospital would be it.
5 Star Concierge
After having our breakfast snacks Vivian calls the hotel to look into getting my luggage. She seems to have also befriended them as well, as she is on the first name basis of one of the guys
Vivian: Hello, finally, Gianni?!
Gianni: Yes Madame, how is it going any updates?
Vivian: Actually YES! Ella is awake finally and tonight we are taking the train back to Zurich
Gianni: WOW really?!?!? And she is…. okay?
Vivian: mostly from what I can tell, for having a chunk of your head crushed. yes.
Gianni: this is so exciting! May I come and visit you both?
Vivian: Yes but, before you get here. Can you do me a favor? Two favors?
Gianni: anything signora, tell me
Vivian: Do you happen to have Ella’s luggage at the hotel? We have her purse here but her luggage with clothes etc its not here. Can you check please?
Gianni: Sure thing! It would be my pleasure. If I remember correctly housekeeping packed up any leftover items and put it in Ms. Taylors bag. It should be in our luggage storage. And the second thing?
Vivian: a hat? You wouldn’t happen to have a hat of some kind? I think Ella is feeling a bit weird you know, her head and hair and all….
Gianni makes a chuckle
Gianni: Easy one. My hotel shift is over at 3pm so how about I come over after that?
Vivian: thanks Gianni! That would be excellent! See you then
Up until this moment I realize I do not deserve the compassion that Vivian has showed me. I mainly know her from Luca and well, still shocked at her intuitive nature to protect me. She’s also not talking about it but I can see in her down moments she’s running scripts and reviewing old reports… she wants to solve this Swiss money going to Los Hellas problem without stressing me. I’m able to walk myself to the toilet and no longer require needles or IV’s so myself feeling more ready to fight and get back at it even if my energy is low.
A little before 4pm Gianni enters our hospital room as a visitor holding two bags: one is my small luggage and another is a plastic gift bag from his hotel gift shop
Gianni: hello beautiful ladies! I come here as your servant!
Vivian runs to him and gives him a hug. She leans into him deeply unlike what I have seen before, this is the only time I think Vivian might cry but she does not. Gianni excited to show us the treasures he has brought unload the gift bag
Gianni: Priority #1… biscotti! It’s the best in all of Italy so please take with you to Zurich and think of me. There is also 2 free mugs, on the house and…
Gianni pulls something out of the plastic bag and holds it behind his back like a surprise and looks at me.
Gianni: Viola!
Gianni shows me a golf hat branded of the Italian hotel I was formerly staying at
Gianni: a hat for Ms. Taylor! It’s actually an employee hat for those who work nearby at the golf course. Consider it VIP and very limited edition
Gianni winks at me. The hat will do, I can’t wait to put on some of my real clothes though in the luggage he brought over.
Gianni: Ms. Taylor I am sure you have a lot to do and can’t really speak. I wanted to say its been my pleasure to help you and if you need ANYTHING ever, please do not hesitate to reach me
He looks at Vivian “you too”
And now, my sincerest apologies as I have to pick my son up from sports, I will leave you two beautiful women to enter your next journey. I will pray for you both.
Gianni bows and then leaves the hospital room. He is definitely fucking one of the nurses, just a feeling.
Girls Night In
Back in Zurich Chelsea finishes up her boring tech conference which ironically has dozens of Los Hellas techies at it despite being in Switzerland. She grabs food and gets ready to meet Vivian and I at the main Zurich train station.
Changing into my own clothes, leaving the hospital and the three hour train ride back to Switzerland is all a blur. I can talk, it’s just scratchy so I try to minimize my words for now. Vivian gave me my cell phone - however I am not ready to address all the emails and messages from the last week so I keep it mainly in my bags. Not my monkey, not my circus.
Our train arrives and as we walk off into the center of the station as a meeting point I see Chelsea standing there, black hacker backpack on holding two bags of food. Not sure what I was expecting as both girls seem to be holding anxiety. Chelsea hands me a food bag to carry and takes my small luggage, she laughs at me.
Chelsea: YOU, freaking Ella. We will get to you later
Vivian and Chelsea walk ahead of me since I live close to the station. They debrief each other in fast speaking American English. I hold my one food bag like a child and follow, they speak as if I cannot hear them
Chelsea: Ok. So what was this thing related to Los Hellas you wanted to tell me?
Vivian: honestly its a lot to unwrap lets maybe get back to Ella’s first?
Chelsea: fair enough. Did you see Nicolas?
Vivian: briefly, he is weird. He left the hospital as soon as I came so I don’t know what’s up with that
Chelsea: typical Nicolas. you know he has a longterm boyfriend that his lives with right? For like five years now…
Vivian: huh? No I don’t know him. Ella has never mentioned him
Chelsea: probably because he’s a total waste of time!
<Chelsea glares at Ella>
Chelsea: how was Italy though, besides the Ella almost dying thing?
<Chelsea looks at Ella’s hotel golf hat>
Vivian: honestly, everyone was very nice to us and Ella too. She should probably see a doctor here soon.
Chelsea: makes sense
We get to my apartment and I grab my keys from my red purse to let us in. We all three walk up two flights of stairs to avoid using the elevator. Seeing and smelling my clean apartment like a time capsule pre-Italy gives me some relief, although it no longer feels like “home”
We plop everyone’s bags down in the entry way and everyone takes off their shoes. We setup food on the dinning room table unwrapping the various goodies. I’m very hungry. The idea of non-hospital food that smells and has flavor excite me. I immediately get to work on my soup and motion for some of Chelsea’s French fries. She pours a bunch onto a paper napkin to share.
Ella: good to see you
I manage to get out for Chelsea, my voice is not yet my voice its a combo of quiet and funky. Chelsea makes note looking at me with a face of humor and disdain
Chelsea: I can’t believe you fucked Nicolas! In Italy! What were you thinking Ella?
I shrug.
Vivian: Ok. So Ella months ago had us looking at Swiss venture capital data and none of it was being used for startups. Odd right? So we kept digging and digging until we found a correlation to a couple powerful people including some family called the Poros?
Chelsea: Poros?! Like the Los Hellas prominent real estate family bitch leader, Mary Poros?
Vivian: Yes, but I do not know much about Los Hellas or where Poros’ were based. When Ella woke up from being fake dead, she said the data, or rather the monies being listed for Switzerland was actually going to Los Hellas.
This is what I don’t understand
Chelsea: I don’t either. So Swiss money is going to Los Hellas, then what?
Vivian: I don’t know the why, just that it is
Chelsea looks at me, I lift my arms and shrug I don’t know because the truth is I don’t really know or understand myself. I THINK it’s going to fund politicians there but even I do not know the why or motivation. It’s obviously something important because Nicolas was in communication with Mary Poros right before I slipped and split my head open in the Italian hotel bathroom. I find a pen and note pad and draw
Nicolas ——> Mary Poros
I show the girls. We all three keep eating our food, thinking, marinating.
Chelsea: give me a second
Chelsea pulls out her cell phone and snaps a selfie with me as I just stuffed my face with more French fries. She texts Nicolas “Nice try fucker. Ella: 1, Nicolas 0.”
Chelsea: Nicolas and I are on the same discord and I have his number
Nicolas immediately starts calling Chelsea’s cell phone over and over. She sends to voicemail. He tries to FaceTime, she declines and sets her phone upside down on the dining table where we are eating.
Chelsea: I don’t know what’s going on here but we will figure it out
Vivian: me either. They are calling what happened to Ella an accident… I dunno this is all so weird and not what I’m used to
Chelsea: I’m sure it all links to some American-corruption-machine bullshit
Nicolas keeps calling Chelsea, she finally picks up quickly “Listen here you dim-witted trustafarian real estate fuck. I will handle you next week” then hangs up
Chelsea: I think we need to get Ella back to Los Hellas. It’s obviously the epicenter of whatever is going on. There’s more protection and help for her there.
What did the doctors say about airplanes?
<Vivian looks at her calendar on her phone>
Vivian: They said she can probably fly on airplanes in 2-3 weeks. She still needs to see a local doctor first
Chelsea: alright. Well I got back tomorrow. I have a guest room for Ella to start, we should probably to help her pack up a little bit in the morning. Did you want to come out to Los Hellas?
Vivian: I’d love to however around that time I have my university exams. Maybe later or after the exams?
Ella: Shower
I motion for the girls I want to shower. I still can’t wash my hair but some fresh water on my body with soap sounds amazing so both girls follow me, assisting me to get into the shower while both hang out in the bathroom outside the shower, mostly comparing notes with each other on this Los Hellas debacle. The head busting worked because at the moment I could care less about this political shit.
After my shower the girls help me out of it then clean up from our meal and make a set of nighttime tea.
Tea Party for Three
Back in Los Hellas Nicolas calls Mary Poros, its still daytime there
Mary Poros: yes darling
Nicolas: She’s alive. Ella is alive no thanks to you
Mary Poros: awwww, bummer, I am sorry to hear that
Nicolas: Mary, I swear to…
Mary Poros: Calm down Nicolas. You’re good. We’re fine. You do you and I will do me. If you start becoming too much of a pain though I will make a call to the city and oopsie your daddy will lose all his permits for those fancy new buildings he’s developing in Los Hellas…
Nicolas: I just wanted to let you know you are not an accomplice for murder. For this one.
Nicolas hangs up on Mary Poros.
Snug as a Bug in the Rug
As the girls and I sit around as a team and settle in for a bit, I pull out blankets for them to sleep on in various rooms. Vivian for the guest bed and Chelsea the couch which is perfect for her hacker soul.
Feeling impatient I unpack my small luggage from Italy pulling out dirty clothes (which smell of Nicolas’ cologne) and various items until I realize something major is missing… my laptop?
I search again. No laptop.
I search my purse, no laptop.
Ella: Hey!
I point to my bags and all around
Ella: Laptop?
Both girls are shocked, how bizarre, where would Ella’s laptop be?
Vivian: there wasn’t a laptop in her purse because I picked it up. Then Gianni from the hotel brought her luggage. Gianni wouldn’t steal Ella’s laptop?
Chelsea: Ok, that is strange. I KNOW Ella brings her laptop everywhere! Let me text Nicolas real quick
Chelsea texts Nicolas “Did you take Ella’s laptop"? Are you a loser AND a thief"?”
Nicolas tries to call but Chelsea declines, he finally texts back “No, I don’t have her laptop why would I take that?”
The three of us girls - all exhausted and alarmed- look at the clock to see it’s midnight.
Vivian: WAIT! I know how to hack Ellas’ tracking. Sorry Ella
Vivian then opens her mobile app and pings for Ella’s laptop. Zero signal. Something is up.
Now even I am getting concerned… where could my laptop be and who could have taken it besides Nicolas?