Antonio - Ashlee Price Page 0,16

I know what an impressive feat it is. Going through school quickly is impressive enough. Going through medical school in - What? Half the time? That's amazing.

I might just be in the company of a genius.

"And you never thought of working at a hospital?" I ask him curiously.

Antonio shakes his head. "This town needs me."

Of course that's what he'd say. Half of me thinks he's being too kind, which is maybe a little stupid. The other half understands him well. It must feel good to be needed.

"So you're the only doctor here?" I ask.

He nods.

"What if there's more than one person having a medical emergency?"

"There's a hospital about forty minutes away," Antonio explains. "St. Mary's. If you step on the gas, you can get there in half the time."

Twenty minutes? That's still a long time.

"If it's an emergency, we call the hospital and I do what I can to keep the patient alive until the ambulance arrives. I haven't had a case of there being two emergencies at the same time, but if there is, I'll just have to do my best to keep them both alive."

He's not a saint. He's a superhero.

"Once, there were two babies that had to be delivered nearly at the same time," Antonio goes on. "There was only supposed to be one, but the other woman's water broke ahead of time. She wasn't dilated so I had to deliver her baby via C-section while giving instructions to the other woman's husband over the phone to help her give birth. Both women were taken to the hospital afterwards, but they both made it. Both their babies turned out fine, too."

I nod. "That's good."

Antonio meets my gaze. "How did you give birth? Was it C-section or vaginal?"

Vaginal? Somehow, that word makes me blush.

I look away. "The... latter."

That should mean fewer questions, right?

"How long were you in labor?" Antonio asks next.

Okay. Maybe not.

"Um..."

I try to remember what I've seen on TV about women giving birth, but all I can recall is images of them lying on hospital beds with their legs spread, screaming.

"About... three hours?"

Antonio's eyebrows go up. "That's quick."

It is? Shit. Did I just mess up?

He glances at the bassinet. "I'm guessing Lara's full term?"

I'm not even sure I know what that means. What do I do? Lie again?

"Yeah," I give the shortest answer I can think of.

Better to stick to short statements when you're lying, right? Still, I don't know how much more of this I can do.

"I'm sorry," I tell Antonio. "I don't really remember much about... when I gave birth."

"It's fine," he says. "A lot of women find it a blur, mostly because of all the pain and exhaustion. But there's a moment they find crystal clear - when it's all over and they see their baby for the first time. Do you remember that?"

"Of course," I answer with a fake smile.

I've already made the choice to tell this one big lie. I can't turn back now. All I can do is play my role and not get caught, which means I have to be as convincing as possible.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

I close my eyes and draw a deep breath. "I remember the first time I looked into those beautiful blue tear-filled eyes..."

"Tears?" Antonio asks me in a surprised tone that immediately lets me know I've said something I shouldn't have. "Newborn babies don't have tears."

Shit.

"Right," I quickly agree with him as I meet his gaze. "What I meant was that my eyes were filled with tears of joy as I looked at him... her."

Stay calm, Triss.

To my relief, Antonio gives a nod of satisfaction. "I'm sure they were."

He falls silent. Thank goodness he seems to have run out of questions. For now.

Now what? Do I end this conversation before I make any more mistakes? That seems like the sensible thing to do. I'm tired, and now that Lara seems to have settled in for the night, I should do the same. And yet I don't want Antonio to go. I never knew how good it was to have company until now.

I decide to change the topic instead.

"You said the cops here are your friends?" I ask Antonio.

He nods. "The deputy chief, in particular, Ned, is a buddy of mine, ever since I saved his sister from drowning in the river years ago."

I look at him with wide eyes. "Wow. You really are a hero."

He doesn't seem to have heard me. "He's a good man, but be careful around him.