They both slept for a while after that, and then he watched a movie, and she read. They had another meal, and then they finally arrived. Her office had arranged a car and driver for them. They dropped their bags at the hotel, and left for the hospital immediately after they got directions, and found Dash’s room.
He was stunned when his mother walked into his room, she hadn’t told him she was coming, and his face broke into a broad smile. He looked like a little kid, and she hugged him. Boden was hovering in the doorway, not wanting to intrude, and Dash told him to come in and seemed happy to see him too. He remembered him from their talk on Thanksgiving. Dash had a cast on one leg from thigh to toe. He had broken it in two places.
“I got chased by a hippo,” he told Boden.
“It’s one of the most dangerous animals in Africa,” Boden told him, and Dash nodded. “And they’re fast as hell.”
“I’ll know next time,” Dash said sheepishly. “It almost ran me over. We had a guide who knocked me out of the way.” He could easily have been killed, and Antonia was grateful he hadn’t been. She couldn’t have borne losing him too.
“How long do you have to stay here?” Boden asked him.
“Five days or a week, I think. The food is disgusting. I want to go home. I’m not sure yet if I’ll go back to Davis for the rest of the semester or stay in Connecticut. But I can come back here next semester. I want to do that. I want to work with some of the big cats.”
“I see sleepless nights in my future,” Antonia said, “worrying about you when you’re here.” It was the nature of motherhood she knew well.
“It’s all really well set up, Mom. No one ever gets hurt.” She pointed at his leg and they all laughed. “Well, almost never. I wasn’t being careful enough. I didn’t know hippos could run like that.”
They stayed with him for two hours, and he looked better when they left and went to their hotel to clean up and get something to eat. Antonia agreed to meet Boden in the bar in an hour. She looked fresh and crisp when she appeared in a white linen dress and sandals. As Boden watched her, he thought that she went from seeming like a little girl to being an elegant woman at the drop of a hat. He liked that about her, she could wear many hats. He had to force himself not to stare at her at times, she was so beautiful. He had loved her movies, the ones she acted in, and had seen all of them. She had distinctive looks and was a real star, no matter how much she denied it.
Over drinks, he asked her if she thought she would do any more acting. And she was definite about it.
“I just did it to please my husband. Once he was gone, I was done. I’ll never go back to acting. Directing and writing are what I love.”
“You were so good at acting. It’s a shame to stop. But you’re gifted at what you do now too.”
“There has to be evolution, progress, like in anything,” she said seriously. “If it all just sits there forever, it turns to stone. Or you turn to stone, which is worse. You have to use the talent you’ve been given.” It was obvious to him that she hadn’t turned to stone. She was warm and interesting and connected, and a wonderful mother, from what he could see. Coming on this trip with her was a rare gift, and gave him great insight into her. He was inside the palace walls, and she kept high walls around her. She was famous for that.
They spent an hour at the bar, just talking, and then they went to see Dash again, and had promised to bring him food. They brought him some kind of barbecued meat he’d asked for. He was delighted and devoured it. He said he was starving.
They kept him company while he ate, and then went back to the hotel. Antonia said she was going to her room. She was too tired to eat after the long day, and the trip. But she was less worried about Dash now that she’d seen him.
Boden walked her to her room and made sure she got in all right. She smiled sleepily at him as she closed the door, and minutes later she was in her bed and asleep. And he didn’t take much longer when he got to his room. He was thinking about Antonia as he drifted off, and how remarkable she was.
The next day, Boden went to explore the city, and Antonia went to the hospital to sit with Dash for a few hours again, and have some time alone with him.
“That was nice of Boden to come with you,” Dash said casually.
“Yes, it was. I didn’t think of it, but he volunteered. This is probably a fairly dangerous city,” she said, and Dash nodded.
“I think he was happy to do it, Mom.” He grinned at her, and she made a sound that dismissed it. “I think he likes you,” Dash insisted with a knowing smile at his mother, which she ignored.