Luna Tango (38 page)

‘I have already received it.' Tucking the phone in his jacket, he faced her and said, ‘I am now a father.'

‘What?' she gasped and red wine flew up her nose and burnt her nostrils.

‘I should have told you earlier but you were upset about Roberto and we—'

‘Carlos! This is a significant moment in your life. Did the detectives find Cecilia?' He nodded and picked up his cup to skull the last of the wine. She offered him hers. ‘Are you okay?'

He shook his head and swirled the alcohol in the plastic cup, the red liquid spilling onto the tray. ‘Emilio Juan is his name.'

‘Where are they?'

Carlos stared out the window. ‘The detectives found them in Bahía Blanca. They are both healthy. Juan Emilio is one week old.'

This revelation explained his speech about curses. If she'd known about the recent developments with Cecilia and his baby, she wouldn't have given him a hard time. It hurt that he hadn't shared the news with her earlier, but then again, they'd been on rocky ground since Mendoza. Without any idea what to say or do, Dani reached out and placed her hand on his. He withdrew it like she had zapped him with electricity. ‘I'm glad you found out about your boy but I'm sorry it is such a difficult situation. Will you go straight away to meet him?'

‘Cecilia, she has people around her who will not let me near my boy.'

‘He's your son, for god's sake! Surely there is a way around this?'

He lifted his shoulders then let them slump. She bit her lip, a turmoil of emotions crashing inside her. The drone of the plane's engines punctuated the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them in a thick cloud. Flicking through the inflight magazine, Dani desperately wanted to find the right words to console Carlos. Saying she was sorry for his troubles just didn't cut it.

The plane dropped slightly and an announcement came over the PA, advising the passengers of their imminent descent.

How apropos
.

The hotel room looked much like the one she'd stayed in before. Dani liked the familiarity, as it was her one constant from all the twists and turns that had taken place over the past few weeks. Roberto sat on the bed wheezing, his back against the wall. Carlos paced the floor and Dani looked everywhere but at him. Each time she caught his eye, her heart ached and she wanted to curl into a ball of self-pity.

A solid rap on the door announced Iris's arrival and Dani jumped up and ushered her mother into the hall before she spotted the men.

‘You've dyed your hair again,' Dani said.

‘Yes.' Iris fluffed her black tresses. ‘It's still short but I like it better this way. Everyone's heard I'm in town, so no point in hiding my identity, huh? Plus blondes don't have more fun.'

‘Have you seen Diego?'

‘No, he's gone into hiding.' Iris lit a cigarette and waved her hand through the smoke, trying to push it away from Dani. ‘I swear to god, if I ever see him again—'

‘He's here.'

Iris's eyebrows shot up and panic raced across her face.

‘No, not Diego. Roberto,' said Dani.

Iris stared at her hands as she took deep breaths. ‘What's he like?'

‘Why don't you meet him and find out?'

‘I—Dani, I don't think I can,' she said, backing away from the door.

‘Please, come and meet him.' Dani placed her hand on her mother's arm. ‘Just be aware he's frail, okay?'

Iris bit her lip and nodded, her eyes glassy. She butted out the cigarette in the ashtray in the foyer and Dani gently steered her mother into the hotel room. As they entered, Roberto made to get up but his arms couldn't hold him and he collapsed against the wall.

Iris knelt in front of him and held his hands. Dani leant against the wall by the bathroom and sensed Carlos watching her, but she refused to look at him, the hurt too raw. They'd barely spoken a word since their conversation on the plane and when they did speak, it was in measured tones with no discussion of personal topics. She'd expected him to jump off the plane and head to Bahía Blanca to fight to see his son, yet—after making half-a-dozen secretive calls—he'd remained in Buenos Aires.

‘So you are Roberto.' Iris patted his weathered hand.

‘Yes.' His voice had turned as fragile as his body.

‘It's nice to meet you,' she said softly.

Dani studied the pair and marvelled at how alike they seemed. Even though Iris and Stella looked the same, the way Roberto and Iris tilted their heads and blinked rapidly every so often added up to one very big thing: they were most definitely father and daughter, no DNA test required.

‘She is his daughter,' Carlos whispered in her ear.

Dani jumped, unaware he'd snuck up beside her. ‘That's exactly what I was thinking.'

Roberto coughed into his handkerchief and Dani noticed new speckles of blood on the material. He saw her look and shoved the handkerchief under the sheets. Then he gasped and reached for his throat. What little colour he had in his skin and lips disappeared.

‘He's choking! Get an ambulance!' Dani shouted at Carlos, who already had the phone in his hand. He spoke rapidly while she worked with Iris to help calm Roberto. The coughing turned to vomiting blood and the women were quickly covered in the sticky substance.

Carlos raced out the door and into the corridor, returning with paramedics minutes later. They rushed to Roberto, who had stopped coughing but was now grey, his breathing shallow. The two young ambulance men worked on him, taking his pulse, listening to his chest and hooking him up to an IV drip.

‘I'll go with him.' Something in Iris's tone told Dani not to argue.

‘We'll follow.' She looked at Carlos, who hadn't moved since the paramedics had arrived.

They wheeled an unconscious Roberto out of the room with Iris following, struggling to keep up in her heels.

‘Jesus.' Dani grabbed her phone, threw it in her handbag and slung it over her shoulder.

‘I am sorry, Daniela.' Carlos placed his hand in hers, his dark eyes relaying his sadness.

‘I am, too. We were just about to call Stella and tell her the good news.'

‘You still can.'

‘What good news? Roberto's being rushed to hospital and he's dying of cancer!'

‘We must go.' He grabbed his jacket and Roberto's bandoneón case and ushered her to the door.

Dani looked back at the telephone. ‘She needs to know.'

‘Call her from the hospital. Roberto needs you now.'

* * *

It was peak hour, and it took them an hour to reach the hospital. Dani's phone had run flat and Carlos had left his behind at the hotel in their mad dash to leave. The moment they arrived, they raced across the black and white-checked linoleum to the reception desk. Panting, Dani asked for directions. The nurse pointed at the lift and Dani halted.

‘Come.' Carlos held out his hand.

She shook her head. ‘No. The stairs are fine.'

‘But—'

‘Stairs, Carlos.' She dashed up the six flights. Her lungs screamed for air and her leg muscles burned but she pushed on. Arriving at the sixth floor, she hurried to another nurse's station, Carlos following dutifully.

The nurse looked at them over her glasses. ‘Who do you wish to see?'

‘Lucas Villa,' said Dani, praying Iris had enough sense to admit him under his false name.

The nurse peered at the screen. ‘Ah, yes. The doctor says no visitors. You may wait over there.' She pointed to a sad cracked leather sofa down the hallway.

‘Thanks.'

Iris trotted around the corner and burst into tears as soon as she saw Dani. Placing her arm around her mother's shoulder, Dani guided her to the sofa.

‘It was horrible. He regained consciousness in the ambulance then flat lined. When he came to again, he begged the paramedic to call the police as he had something to confess.'

‘What?'

‘The paramedic didn't do it, of course. He was too busy trying to keep him alive.'

‘Do you think the hospital has contacted the police?'

‘I don't know.' Mascara had pooled under Iris's eyes. ‘I told them he had dementia and often had delusions he was other people.'

Dani leant forwards. ‘Did the paramedic buy it?'

‘I have no idea.' Iris sniffed.

‘Look, even if the paramedic did as was asked, who's to say the cops will come straight away?' said Dani. ‘I'm sure they've had their fair share of people confessing to all sorts of stuff on their deathbed even if they haven't done it. Shit. Stella.' Catching the nurse's attention, she asked, ‘Do you have a public phone?

‘Level below, near the public toilets.'

Grabbing her bag, Dani marched downstairs, found the phone and shoved in her credit card. She punched in Stella's number, closing her eyes and praying with each ring of the phone.

‘Hello?'

‘Stella! Where have you been?'

‘By the phone. I've been waiting to hear from you.' She didn't make an effort to hide her annoyance.

‘But Iris had tried calling before.'

‘I was at the doctor getting a medical clearance to fly to Brazil.'

‘We're in Argentina.'

‘Why haven't you left? You promised me, Dani!'

‘It's a long story and I don't have time to explain right now but we found Roberto in Brazil, just where you said he would be. Grandma, listen, please. Roberto's in hospital.' Dani squeezed her eyes tight.

Stella breathed out slowly. ‘How? Why?'

‘He's dying, Grandma. He has lung cancer that's spread and he doesn't have much time left.'

‘But why Argentina? They'll find him and arrest him! I can't return there, I'm a wanted woman!'

Dani had barely processed events in her own mind so she could only imagine how hard it was for Stella. All Dani could do was keep calm and not let her grandma hear her pain and distress.

‘Grandma, the authorities might know where you are but they don't know your name. Luckily Iris had that in her head and not on a stupid sticky note. Roberto wanted to turn himself in before they tried to extradite you.' She hated being the bearer of bad news.

‘But he didn't do it!' Panic laced her voice.

‘He did, Grandma.' Dani allowed the words to sink in.

‘No. Not my Roberto. There is no—'

‘Grandma, it was in self-defence. I've seen his remorse and know him enough to believe he didn't do it on purpose. His ...' She took a breath. ‘His dying wishes are for your name to be cleared and the truth to be known.' Sobs flew down the line and pierced Dani's heart. Sensing there wouldn't be a perfect time for her next question, she pressed on. ‘I'm sorry but I have to ask a question for Iris and Roberto.'

Blowing her nose, Stella sniffled. ‘Yes, of course they're father and daughter. Look at the way she dances. It's Roberto's tango blood that flows through those veins.'

Relief swept over Dani at finally having the answer they'd hoped for.

‘I'm coming to Argentina.' Her grandma's tone told Dani not to argue, but she was sure as hell going to try.

‘You can't. You're a wanted woman.'

‘I'm wanted as Louisa Gilchrist. She doesn't exist. Hasn't for decades. I am an Australian called Stella Kennedy.'

‘Yes, but—'

‘Then problem solved. I'm coming over. You tell Roberto to hang on and I will be on the next flight. No one is going to keep me from him. Not even the Argentine police.'

‘But—'

‘I will be on the next flight.'

Sighing, Dani asked, ‘What shall I call you?'

‘Behind closed doors I am Louisa—Roberto's Louisa.'

* * *

Iris sobbed for three hours after Dani confirmed Roberto was her father. Carlos stayed by their side, a pillar of silent strength as they'd sat on the sofa, waiting for an update that hadn't come. She'd suggested to Carlos that he was free to leave and find his child, but once more, he'd shook his head and pursed his lips. Finally, Carlos had taken a heart-broken Iris to the hotel to convince her to get some rest, as she wasn't doing anyone in the hospital, including herself, any favours. Dani had promised to keep them updated with the smallest news but so far, she'd received nothing other than a sore butt from sitting in the one place.

Dani couldn't get used to Stella being Louisa, even if only in her head. She worried about her grandma being alone and coping with the news then getting on a plane. It was little comfort to know Stella had suffered many traumatic experiences yet had made it through with her sanity intact.

The corridor remained eerily quiet, unlike the busy hospitals she'd been in before. Every so often a nurse would walk by and Dani felt like an exhibit in a museum. A doctor entered Roberto's room and exited ten minutes later. He came over to Dani and sat beside her, the sofa creaking under his weight.

‘You are Daniela McKenna?'

‘Yes.' A lump formed at the back of her throat.

‘Your grandfather would like to see you.'

‘Really?' She stood, hardly believing her ears.

‘You must understand, he is very ill. You can only see him for a few minutes. He must remain calm.'

‘I'll do as you ask, I promise.'

Following the doctor, Dani's excitement quickly turned to apprehension. What condition would he be in? It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dark. Roberto lay silent, his complexion as grey as the sky outside. Tiptoeing over, Dani sat on the chair next to the bed and held his limp hand.

‘I'm here, Roberto,' she whispered. He squeezed her fingers gently and while that act deepened their connection, her heart plummeted. She placed her head on his shoulder. ‘I'm sorry things turned out the way they have.'

‘Child, it is the will of God.' His croaky voice made her sit up with a start.