The One Who Always Stood Behind

One Monday morning, I had a business flight to Zurich to meet a partner for the family company.

Alessandro offered to drive me to Malpensa Airport himself, and I was happy — moments alone with him had become rare.

We were on the highway, about forty minutes from the airport, when his phone rang.

I glanced over and saw Valentina’s name on the screen.

He picked up, his voice instantly shifting, tense: “What happened? Are you okay?”

I could faintly hear Valentina’s voice on the other end, half-sobbing: “I… I cut my hand slicing fruit, it’s bleeding a lot, Mom’s out, I’m scared…”

“Press a clean towel on it, I’m coming right now,” Alessandro said, his voice trembling with a kind of worry I’d never once seen him show for me in four years together.

He hung up, swerved onto the emergency lane, and flipped on the hazard lights.

“Chiara, I’m sorry, I have to go back right now,” he said, words tumbling out.

“Valentina’s cut sounds serious, no one else is home.”

“What about my flight?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Can you call a cab? I don’t have time to drive you to the airport and get back home in time.” He’d already pulled over and unlocked my door.

“I really am sorry. You understand, a deep cut can be dangerous.”

I sat frozen in the car for a few seconds, unable to believe he’d just asked me to get out on the shoulder of a highway, more than thirty kilometers from the airport, over a small cut on Valentina’s hand — something I’d later learn was nothing more than a shallow scratch that didn’t even need a bandage.

“Are you serious right now?” I asked.

“Chiara, don’t blow this out of proportion,” he said, an edge of irritation creeping into his voice.

“You always do this — anything involving Valentina and suddenly you’re making a scene.”

I got out of the car in my work suit, dragging my small suitcase, standing on the shoulder of the highway as the wind from passing cars whipped cold against my face.

Alessandro drove off without once glancing in the rearview mirror.

I had to call a cab from the shoulder, paying triple the normal fare because the driver had to get clearance from traffic police just to pick up a passenger on the highway, and I nearly missed my flight.