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.“Would you mind turning down the air-conditioning?” he said.“It’s awfully cold.”“Of course.” In silence they rode the rest of the way, turning at last into a flower-bordered drive that led to a gleaming bronze door set into an expanse of dark brown glass.“The bluebird of happiness must lie on the other side,” he said.Ann smiled and checked her watch.“We’re right on time,” she said.“Ben will be waiting for you.” He opened the car door, leaned back in to kiss her cheek.It tasted salty.Then, holding his bag in front of himself like a shield, he got out, slammed the door, and went into the hospital.17Ben was there, waiting for him.“It’s been a long time, Henry,” he said.None of the usual amenities friends observe when they haven’t seen one another for some time applied here.“Did you have a comfortable flight?” Ben led him through the waiting room, which was empty.A nurse seated behind the desk rose, smiling welcome.“This is Henry Hollander, Nancy.An old friend from Connecticut,” Ben said by way of introduction.“Henry, this is my right-hand man, Nancy Adams.” They shook hands.“If it’s possible, Nancy, we’d like a few minutes alone.See if you can arrange that, would you?”“I appreciate your fitting me in, Ben,” he said as they went into Ben’s office.“I know you have a very busy schedule.”“Never too busy for you, Henry.” Ben waited, his eyes listening for what Henry would tell him.“As I said over the phone, I wanted another opinion.” He found that if he crushed the fingers of his left hand by squeezing them hard with his right, it helped him to maintain his composure.“The doctor, Dr.Hall, the one who took over your practice, said it would be a good idea.I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself, but I’m getting somewhat addled in my declining years.” He tried for a smile and didn’t make it.“He said I shouldn’t waste any time.Time is of the essence, I believe.So, of course, I thought of you.I shouldn’t have wasted any time with him in the first place, should have come straight out here to see you.But, you see, it all came as a shock.I was only feeling tired, you see.Not quite myself, but nothing really serious, nothing really wrong, I thought.I thought it might be my gallbladder.My brother, Ed, had just had his taken out and I thought … well, anyway, I had a complete physical last year.Remember? Everything was okay then.Clean bill of health, for what that’s worth.Now it seems I have some sort of mass in my stomach.The X-rays showed it.And he seems to feel my liver is damaged.That hepatitis thing, I suppose, although that was a long time ago.Ten years, maybe more.” He stopped, exhausted.“I’m glad you came, Henry.We’ll do the best we can for you.Put you through the standard tests, blood sample, everything.Then we’ll do a biopsy.”“How long will that take?” He leaned forward.“The biopsy, I mean.”“We’ll rush it through.A couple of hours, maybe.” A buzzer sounded.Ben answered.“Yes.All right.I’ll be right down.”Ben got up.“I have to leave you now, Henry.Mrs.Adams will look after you.If you need anything, ask her.I’ll be back as soon as I can.”“Ben.Just one thing.I want you to promise me you’ll give me the straight goods.I don’t want any half truths.What I mean is, I trust you, Ben.I’ll believe whatever you tell me.Just don’t hold anything back.”“Have I ever?” Ben said.Alone, he prowled Ben’s office, checking the pictures of the children and Ann, lined up in a tidy row on the desk.They were a good-looking bunch.That was what he wanted, wasn’t it.The truth.“Can I get you anything, Mr.Hollander?” Mrs.Adams’s seemingly disembodied head peered around the doorjamb.He started to say no, thanks, then reconsidered.“If you wouldn’t mind, a couple of aspirin would be a help.And do you have anything to settle the stomach? I had lunch on the plane.” They exchanged a smile of mutual understanding about airline food.She brought him two aspirin tablets in a paper cup and some pink, syrupy liquid for his stomach.She handed him a spoon and said, “One tablespoon should do it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]