Hope - Levy, Marc (web ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Maybe you need vitamins. Magnesium, or iron, or something. Why don’t we go and see a doctor?”

“Don’t be stupid. My dad’s a doctor.”

“So talk to him about it. He could prescribe drugs to help you sleep.”

“No way!” Hope shook her head. “When it comes to my health, my dad loses all sense of reason. I think I’ve had more tetanus shots than any other kid in the world. The slightest scrape or cut, he had me examined.”

“Okay, so let’s go to the university hospital. Run a few blood tests, and you’ll know what the problem is.”

“I hate needles!”

“Okay. Let me see if I can grab Luke’s car. We’ll spend a weekend at the seaside. You can get some rest, and when we come back, you won’t feel so shitty.”

“What do you like about me?” Hope asked him. “Apart from my amazing boobs?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Maybe I should draw eyebrows on them. That way it will almost be like you’re gazing into my eyes.”

“Hope, I’m looking at your boobs because you’re naked.”

“So is my face!”

“Of course I’m going to be interested when you’re not wearing any clothes.”

“You didn’t answer my question. What does a man like you like about a woman like me?”

Josh snatched up an apron and threw it to her.

“Sometimes, it’s impossible to explain what you like about someone. But you know that the person is someone who can take you places you’ve never been before.”

“And where had you never been until you met me, Josh Kepler?”

“That’s the first time you’ve used my last name.” He smiled.

“Maybe because it’s the first time you’ve ever said anything that romantic.”

“I’d never been close to you. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in my life. And just to prove that I really mean that, let me also say that you have the most amazing boobs I’ve ever seen. Just please don’t draw eyebrows on them.”

Josh called Luke to tell him he wouldn’t be able to make it until later that night and that they should meet at the entrance to the hospital morgue.

When he hung up, Hope’s spirits seemed to have lifted. They sat down at the table and ate breakfast together.

Later that morning, they caught a bus to the river and spent an hour walking along the banks, basking in the sunshine that had been so scarce of late. Hope had managed to drag Josh to an independent movie theater to see The Great Beauty, and as the afternoon drew to an end, they shared their impressions of the movie over cake and coffee. Hope was convinced she’d seen Josh’s eyes shining in the dark as the film had ended, but Josh denied it.

“Why can’t you just admit that you were moved?”

“I’m not saying I wasn’t, but did I cry? No.”

“Joshy, men are allowed to cry, too, you know. I want you to promise me something.”

“Not until I know what it is.”

“No, that’s exactly it. You have to. To love someone is never to doubt them.”

Josh reflected on that as he pushed the last bit of cake around on his plate, and nodded.

“In the spring, you need to introduce me to your dad. We’ll visit him.”

Josh began to cough and spat out his mouthful of cake.

They were running late, and when they arrived, they found Luke pacing in front of the morgue. Ducking into the corridor, they rushed through the darkness to where the scanner awaited.

Luke slipped behind the desk, inserted his USB key into the console, and transferred the data he had collected at the Center, while Josh settled himself inside the machine. They started to run the tests, but after twenty minutes or so, Luke pulled back from the screen and turned to Hope. She had been immersed in her study guide since they arrived, showing only a passing interest in the tests.

“Your turn,” Luke said, pulling her book out of her hands.

“You want me to go inside that tube? No way. I have claustrophobia.”

“The cylinder is open on both sides. There’s nothing scary about it.”

“Nothing scary about an elevator, either, but I still always prefer to take the stairs.”

“Oh, come on, Hope,” Luke urged her. “It’s not like you’ve helped out much the past few weeks, so please, just make an effort.”

“But why do you need me to?”

“I already explained this last time. So I can cross-check the data. We need more than just the results from our two brains. Josh can stay with you, and if you really start losing it, I promise to stop.”

Hope hesitated. She knew she had let her partners down, preferring instead to focus on her research with Kasuko. Luke pointed through the glass to the scanner, and Josh’s smile finally convinced her. She put her glasses down on the console and patted down her pockets, checking for anything metallic.

Luke asked her to step inside a booth to remove her clothes and put on the hospital gown she’d find hanging from a hook. Hope shrugged and did as he asked.

Josh helped her get comfortable in the tube, placing two foam cushions on either side of her head and promising he wouldn’t be far. She slid inside the cylinder.

A ring began turning overhead, and Hope closed her eyes.

Luke stared unblinkingly at the control screen. When the first images flashed up, he drew in a sharp breath and bit his lip as the rest of the testing flew by.

Twenty minutes later, he glanced at his watch. Their time was almost up. He copied the data over to his USB key, pulled the tube out of the machine, and hit the mic button to tell Hope she could get dressed.

“Get everything you need?” Josh asked as he joined his friend in the booth.

“Yeah. We need to hurry. We should get out of here before the maintenance team arrives. I’ll switch off the screens and meet you in the hall.”

They left the hospital, piling into the Camaro with Hope in the back and Josh up