Just the Two of Us, My Darling - The Final Chapter

This is the final part of the story “Just the Two of Us, My Darling (Forever)." In the first part, Tommaso and Azzurra, two newlyweds, set off on their honeymoon cruise. It did not end well. Azzurra was attacked by a shark on a deserted island.

In Part 2, “Just the Two of Us, My Darling - The Sequel,” Tommaso fights to keep Azzurra alive. He gets help from the cruise ship doctor. Did he succeed, or did he lose the love of his life and have to face a life without her so soon after they got married?

Read on for the final part, where all is revealed.

“Helicopter has just landed,” said Dr Robinson as he pushed through the door. “We must be quick; she is very weak and has lost a lot of blood. Tomasso, help me get her off this stretcher.”

Tomasso and Dr. Robinson placed Azzurra on the stretcher. Dr Robinson wheeled her to the back of the boat. The helicopter was perched awkwardly, half on and half off the edge.

Tomasso gripped her hand. “We will get through this, my love, hang in there, darling. We will make it, amore mio (my love). Ti amo, ti amo.”

They carefully placed the stretcher in the helicopter. Tomasso climbed in and sat next to her, once again holding her hand. On the other side was a paramedic from the hospital who was fixing a drip and a blood transfusion for her.

“Don’t worry, we will take care of all your things; just get everyone to the hospital. Godspeed."

The helicopter took off with a jolt. Tomasso grabbed onto a rail so that he did not lose his balance. For twenty minutes, it whirred its way through the sky. There was constant chatter between the paramedic and the pilot.

“Hi I am Joe, we are about five minutes away,” said the paramedic, lowering his micro jack. “When we get there, a team is waiting for her. You will have to let them do what they have to do. Do you understand?”

“I am not leaving her,” replied Tomasso.

"She is very weak and needs surgery right away. If you want her to live, you will do as I say.”

Tomasso was a bit taken aback. He looked into Joe's eyes; they said it all. He decided to let it go.

The helicopter landed. Three nurses and a doctor quickly pulled Azzurra out. He felt her cold hand leave his, and he wondered if he would ever get to hold it again. He felt a lump in his throat.

As he got off the helicopter, he lost his footing and crashed to the ground; he felt a sudden pain in his knee.

“Joe, help the man,” commanded the doctor.

Tomasso tried to get up but fell down again. His knee was now throbbing. The paramedic came and grabbed his arm.

“Come on, mate. Let’s get you inside and get someone to look at that knee. She is going to be fine now that we're here.”

Joe sat patiently outside the room where they had placed Azzurra before she went to surgery. It had been four hours, and he was starting to doubt that she had made it. He tried to think about life without her. He sobbed deeply. Why had he been so stupid as to suggest a day on a deserted island?

He put his head in his hands and cried. A nurse approached him and asked if he was all right and put her hand on his shoulder. "Azzurra, is she all right?"

“She is still in surgery but doing well. You need some rest, so we have set up a chair for you to sit in until she comes back. You need to put your knee up to prevent swelling.”

Tomasso fell asleep in the chair. When he woke, he looked across at the bed. It was vacant. He felt his heart drop.

“Nurse, nurse,” he yelled at the top of his voice.

The same nurse who had helped appeared. There was no smile on her face.

“Azzurra, where is Azzurra?” he asked in a shaky voice.

“She had to be moved to intensive care, where there was a complication. She is doing well now, though. Come with me; I will take you to her."

Tomasso had forgotten about his knee, and in his haste to get up, he nearly fell again.

There she was, as beautiful as ever. He didn’t pay attention to the tubes in her nose or the tubes in her arm. It was his beautiful Azzurra, and she was alive.

He hobbled over to the side of her bed and grabbed her hand. It was much warmer than the last time he had held it in the helicopter.

As tears rolled down his cheek, he gently kissed her hand and held it to her cheek. “Ti amo, ti amo, ti amo (I love you). Just the two of us, my darling, (forever)…"

Azzurra slowly opened her eyes, halfway and tried to smile. Then they shut again.

Till next time,

Calvin