radicalducati 124. Galway Girl
124. Galway Girl
IAN's POV :
- - - Two Days Later - - -
"She's really leaving tomorrow, is she?" Sergio asked me as he peeked into my canvas. We were standing next to each other in his studio, each in front of our own canvases. I liked painting side by side with Sergio. It was like a challenge to see who could make art better and faster.
"Yeah..." I replied without taking my eyes from my canvas. My hands were busy with my brush.
"You almost got her to stay longer,"
"Almost..."
Sergio turned his head back to his canvas and continued painting. "So, tonight will be your last night together. How are you feeling?"
"Like crap," I laughed.
"Understandable," he nodded, pausing for a beat before saying, "Did I ever tell you, Teresa and I used to do long distance for about four years?"
"You did?" he got my full attention this time, my head whipped instinctively to see him.
"Oh, yes," he said as he continued painting, his gaze was fixed on the canvas in front of him. "Her parents hated me, and for good reason. I was a nobody and she was, well, her. They sent her away to England for university and I was staying in Milan, working and studying. That was in the 80s too, we didn't have phones or social media, things that we have now. I didn't have a car. I had a Vespa. There was no way to get to her,"
"So, what did you do?"
"Nothing. I did absolutely nothing," he shrugged. "Well, I wrote letters to her. But they were more of a friendly gesture than they were romantic. I wanted to allow her the opportunity to find someone better than me,"
"Did she?"
"I'm sure she did. At one point, she was even promised to an Irish duke. But the weird thing is, she didn't want anyone other than me. Even if they were clearly better," he smiled a knowing smile, pausing for a beat before continuing again. "So after four years, she came back to Italy. She told her parents that she was marrying me no matter what they say. And she did,"
"How did her parents react?"
"They were furious, naturally. They cut her out of the family. And even though she acted strong, I knew she was breaking down on the inside. Christmases became a sad holiday in the early years of our marriage. She appeared to me like everything was fine, but I knew she was missing her brothers and sisters. Family is a big deal in Italy, as you can tell. La famiglia è la patria del cuore, or family is where the heart is,"
Nodding my head in agreement, I asked him, "Did her family ever come around in the end?"
Sergio let out a sigh and dropped his paintbrush in the jar of water. Grabbing a cloth, he wiped his fingers with his hand and said, "Yes, but about twelve years after we got married. We had three of our children by then,"
"It took that long?"
"Yes. And you know what brought us together?"
"What?"
"A funeral. Her father's funeral, to be exact. They finally called her to come home after he died. Teresa was terribly heartbroken, she couldn't see him before he passed. She would have liked to. She wanted to say sorry and all these things. But after that funeral, we all got together with her family and Teresa's mom saw her grandchildren for the first time ever. And the rest was history,"
I never realized that Sergio and Teresa's story was a lot like Emma and I's. It gave me hope to see how happy they were together, that maybe someday Emma and I would end up just like that. But the fact that it took them so long to get to where they were, that was a little disheartening.
Does somebody have to die before our families would accept Emma and me together?
As if he could read my mind, Sergio stifled a laugh and said, "I'm not saying you'll find the same ending as I did. Everyone's stories are different. I'm just saying... some love stories are worth fighting and sacrificing for. One can't be a prideful man and in love,"
Cocking my head to the side, I waited for Sergio to expand on what he just said. But instead of an explanation, he smiled triumphantly at me and said, "Soprattutto, abbiate amore intenso gli uni per gli altri, perché l'amore copre moltitudine di peccati,"
Which in my very broken Italian would mean, love one another deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
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EMMA's POV :
I hate packing.
I hated it even more because I was packing to be away from Ian. I was leaving my dream life in Italy tomorrow to go back to reality. I've delayed packing for as long as I could, but there was no delaying it today. All dreams had to end someday and mine was ending today.
In just twenty four hours, I would be back in New York City and in that office again. Diana laughed at my email when she read it. She thought it was hilarious. Then she passive aggressively told me to come back on Monday or never come back at all. Sure, it was an enticing thought to quit my job and move to Italy, but that was also drunk Emma talking. In reality, my life was always supposed to be in New York City with Ian. The fact that we have to be apart for two months shouldn't affect it.
It's just two months apart. After that, we'll be together again.
Oh, right. Even after all that, we still had to deal with our families. This was probably what I dreaded the most. Coming back to New York would mean facing our families again. Somehow, facing our families and their judgmental eyes was scarier to me than Diana times a hundred.
Now that's saying a lot.
I was in the middle of mindlessly packing my things, when I heard a knock on the door. I whipped my head up instinctively, and I might have done it too fast because I suddenly felt dizzy.
"Emma?" Teresa peered inside. "Is it okay if I come in?"
"Sure, Teresa," I nodded and rubbed my head with my hand. "What's up?"
"Since you are leaving tomorrow, Maria and I went to the market earlier and we got you some things that you might like for when you go back," Teresa smiled brightly and handed a basket of gifts and souvenirs for me. There was everything from cheese to pasta to olive oil and handmade soaps.
I took the basket from her and admired everything inside it. "This is so thoughtful and sweet, Teresa. Thank you so much. I love them..."
But before I could finish my sentence, I suddenly felt wobbly and a flash of darkness hit my eyes.
"Emma? Are you okay?" Teresa quickly grabbed me before I fell.
"I'm feeling... dizzy..." I managed to muster out before the darkness took me over.
"Emma? Emma!" I heard her screams, but I couldn't move or say anything else. Everything was dark and I was completely immobile. "Oh, dear!"
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I didn't know how long I was out for. I was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Maria! Maria, call the doctor again, ask him where he is! Hurry!" I heard Teresa's voice in the darkness.
"...Ian..." I croaked with every inch of strength I had in me.
I was laying down on something soft, most likely the bed. I couldn't open my eyes still, or even lift a finger. I felt so weak and feeble.
"Ian?" I heard Teresa's voice again. "Darling, something has happened with Emma. I think you need to come home now,"
"...Ian..." I croaked again. But by now I realized that I wasn't actually speaking out loud. I was only speaking in my head.
Why can't I speak?
"Darling, she fell. She passed out. I've called the doctor and he is on his way. But you should come home too. I'm scared for her..."
I tried my hardest to open my eyes or to just move a finger, but I couldn't. I felt the bed dipped and Teresa's hand gently squeezing my arm. I could feel and hear things, but I couldn't respond.
Teresa leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Emma, darling, he's coming, hang in there okay, sweetie..."
"...Ian..."
And that was the last thing I remembered before everything went completely dark again.
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IAN's POV :
Sergio and I were in the middle of a painting battle when his phone's ringing suddenly broke our concentration.
* RING * RING * RING *
"I'm sorry," he groaned and picked up the phone. He checked the screen and said, "It's Teresa. It's okay, I'll call her back,"
"No, it's okay," I said quickly. "You can take the call,"
Sergio gave me an appreciative smile before answering the call, "Si, cara?"
The smile on his face subsided a little as he handed the phone to me and said, "It's for you,"
That's odd. What would Teresa want with me?
I took the phone from him with a questioning look and answered, "Hello?"
"Ian?" I heard Teresa's trembling voice over the phone. "Darling, something has happened with Emma. I think you need to come home now,"
"What?" I gaped.
"Darling, she fell. She passed out. I've called the doctor and he is on his way. But you should come home too. I'm scared for her-"
"I'll be right there!" I jolted from the stool and dropped everything on the ground.
Sergio turned to me and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"No, Emma- she fell- Sergio, I have to go!" I stammered, my brain and my motor skills were losing control.
Sergio dropped everything in an instant and grabbed his car key. "Let's go,"
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I hadn't been this anxious since those years ago when I heard Emma was in a car accident. My stomach was sinking into a pit and my heart was scrunched in pain with every breath I took.
Emma had been feeling a little off lately, especially after her birthday where she drank too much. She got such bad headaches that lasted for days. I thought it was probably the stress of leaving that was getting to her. When I left the house this morning, she did look a little pale. Damn, I should've noticed something was wrong. I shouldn't have left her!
Oh, god, I hope she's okay. Please let her be okay.
Chanting those words in my head like a mantra, we finally arrived back at the house in record time. Sergio was breaking all kinds of speed limit to get me home as fast as he could. The car didn't even fully stop when I jumped out of my seat and raced into the house.
I couldn't take not knowing. I couldn't take another second away from her.
"Emma?" I shouted and panted as I burst into the door of our bedroom.
Emma was lying on the bed and an older male doctor was sitting on a chair next to her. Teresa stood next to the bed and she was conversing with the doctor in Italian. My feet shook and trembled as I neared the bed and watched Emma's stiff pale face and her chest rising and falling with every breath she took.
Teresa and the doctor noticed me coming in, but they were too engrossed in their conversation.
"...Cosa succede adesso, dottore?" she asked him.
"Ha solo bisogno di riposare. lei starà bene," he replied.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" I demanded, grabbing their attention back to me.
"Ian, I think you should sit down," Teresa said calmly.
"What's wrong with her?" I demanded again.
"She's okay, but..." Teresa looked like she was at loss for words. The anticipation was making me more anxious and upset.
"But what?" I interjected. "Tell me!"
The doctor suddenly stood up and faced me. He paused for a moment as if to think of the words to say before he started speaking. "Feeling dizzy... or a fainting... is very common during pregnancy. It generally does not mean something is wrong. It's most common during the first trimester,"
"What?" I gaped at him.
Continuing his explanation in a thick Italian accent, he said, "Usually, dizziness and fainting are often caused by a drop in blood pressure. This is from the hormones released during pregnancy that relax the body's blood vessels. Too little blood is then pumped up to the brain. When this happens, you may lose consciousness. But fainting itself is not dangerous, so no need to worry,"
"What?!" I shouted even louder.
"Ian, darling," Teresa approached me and took my hand, speaking clearly into my ears as she said, "Emma is pregnant,"
What did she just say?
"She is about five weeks pregnant,"
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- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -