Elsa
I dress up in a pair of jeans and a white top without any idea where Marcello is taking me this afternoon. We spent the whole morning lazing about in bed, making love and fucking equally till I was too sore to go one. Marcello recovered with a bursting amount of bedroom energy which I love so much about him since I missed him so much when he was still ill. I literally spend nights awake and I don’t regret any of it at all because it is a win-win situation. We way we fuck, I don’t care if sleep is eliminated from my routine…
After a late breakfast, we drive off from the hotel we are staying in. I have never been to Bologna before. Everything about it is breathtaking, and my eyes are glued to the car window as we drive through the streets.
I didn’t realize how Marcello had been intently watching me until he chuckled. I quickly turn to look at him. He looks amused about something. Something which is me.
“You have never been to Bologna, have you?”
“No, I haven’t. It’s beautiful,” I respond and stare again out of the window.
“We can take a tour around after this appointment,” he says. “If you are still up to it.”
Why would I not want to tour after whatever we are going to do?
I have learned that not all questions will need to be answered when it comes to Marcello. I know he has been trying hard to open up to me for the last few days we have been together since he brought up the marriage issue, but he also told me that there will still be things he won’t tell me because he is sure they will hurt me and it is for my safety. I am trying to reason with him, and that’s why I have stopped asking where we are going or what we are going to do there.
I suppose it is a very important business meeting that has to be kept confidential. But why is he taking me with him then? Does he just want to show me around Bologna? I don’t even have the guts to complain because this is much better than him mysteriously disappearing for days without any communication in the name of important business engagements.
Marcello pulls my hand into his and gives it a firm squeeze. It feels like a reassurance. To give me energy. Energy for what?
We pull into the driveway of a hospital. My eyes scan the enormous buildings in front of us.
I turn to give Marcello a confused look but I choose not to ask. Maybe he is going to meet up with a doctor. But why a doctor in Bologna? Maybe his business partner is ill.
Shit! This is driving me nuts!
“A hospital? Why?” I ask, as the driver parks between two cars in the parking lot.
“It’s a surprise. For you,” he responds and then gives me a tight smile.
For me?
Something is off. No good surprises come from a hospital.
I don’t think I am excited to see this surprise.
Marcello doesn’t let go of my arm after he opens the door for me and leads me into the building with a convoy of four armed guards behind us.
Turns out it was not a business meeting after all. Now that I know it is my surprise, my blood pressure doesn’t normalise hearing those words.
After Marcello deals with the formalities at the reception, we enter an elevator with our bodyguards. There is a grave silence in the space that makes me get the crazy feeling that everyone can hear my heart pounding.
Why am I so nervous?
I don’t like this feeling. I don’t like it at all.
“Is it bad?” I find myself asking.
There is a brief moment of silence before Marcello responds, “I don’t know. I think it will be up to you to deem it good or bad.”
If Marcello is not sure, then how am I supposed to feel?
I take in a deep breath and try to have a clear mind.
It seems like forever before the elevator reaches the second last floor. We get out as Marcello leads me by hand and our guards follow behind. It is a very smart floor and it doesn’t take me long to realize that this is a VIP floor. Of course. I don’t expect any less from Marcello Viscuso.
We a led by a nurse to a private room. The smell of sanitiser and all the medicines reminds me of the time I spent in the hospital after Marcello’s shooting. It doesn’t do any good to lift my spirits.
The guards remain behind and the nurse leads us into the wide room. This is the widest hospital room I have ever seen. No wonder it is in the VIP section.
The grasp Marcello has on my hand becomes very firm, I am scared to walk to the bed. Clearly, the person laying in the hospital is alive as per the indications on the life support machines.
I look at Marcello’s face, and it doesn’t give any reassurance.
“Go on,” he beckons me and releases my hand.
This is my surprise after all. I have to go check it out myself.
I walk slowly to the bed.
I nearly faint at the sight. My heart pounds so loudly, I can hear it in my ears.
Papà?
There is no way Papà is alive.
My legs shake, giving up on holding up the weight of my body.
I watch as he slowly sucks in air from the oxygen machine and his chest raising and falling.
“Papà?” my voice croaks, hardly coming out of my throat. Tears flood my eyes, threatening to spew any second from now. I cover my mouth to muffle the sob that comes out and before I know it, hot tears a rolling down my cheeks.
He is alive? But how?
I saw him bleeding on the ground before my own eyes. I saw his lifeless body. We buried him after two days. There is no way he is alive.
Finally my legs give up, and I fall into a hard body. Thankfully Marcello is there to stop me from falling on the floor. I am a sobbing mess, but I don’t stop looking at the pale face of the person I had thought of as dead for the last six months or so.