The Mystery, page 4
“Mi scusi, senora, penso che la mia figlia sia stata ammesa per la chirurgia d’emergenza stasera potresti cotrollarmi per mi? Il suo nome e Francesca De Luca. (Excuse me signora, I think my daughter has been admitted for emergency surgery tonight. Could you check for me? Her name is Francesca De Luca.)”
“Sì, naturalmente,” the receptionist replied. “Controllero I record per te, un momento per favore. (Yes, of course, I will check the records for you. One moment, please.)”
The receptionist typed Francesca’s name into the computer, it took only a few seconds for her name and details to be displayed on the monitor screen.
“Sì, sì lei è qui. Lei è in teatro al momento. Posso darti il numero di cellulare dei suoi mariti, se lo desideri. (Yes, yes, she is here. She is in theatre at the moment. I can give you the cell number of her husband, if you wish.)”
“Oh sì, por favore, lo chiamero adesso, grazie. (Oh yes please, I’ll call him now.)” replied Valentina.
The receptionist wrote down the number and passed it over. James took his phone from his pocket and handed it to Valentina.
She was clearly shaken. Her hands began to tremble as she attempted to use the phone.
“Valentina, you’ve had quite an ordeal tonight, you are absolutely fraught with exhaustion. Allow me to prescribe a sedative for you,” James suggested.
Valentina, more interested in speaking to Antonio, ignored his suggestion.
She awaited Antonio to answer her call but to no avail. So she left a voicemail for him to let him know she had arrived at the hospital and was in reception.
It felt like a lifetime to her before her call was answered but Antonio had received her voicemail and quickly responded.
“Oh dear Valentina, you are here. The doctors have just spoken to me. Francesca is in recovery at the moment. I will come to reception and explain what has happened,” Antonio explained.
“Is she OK, Antonio?” enquired Valentina.
“Yes,” he replied.
A very anxious Valentina and a cool, calm, collected James waited in reception for Antonio to arrive. As he walked through the door Valentina rushed to him, where they both hugged and greeted each other with a kiss on both cheeks. James stood still as he watched her son-in-law holding an anxious Valentina for support.
She then released herself from Antonio’s arms and turned to James. “Antonio, this is my dear friend, Dr James Wainwright from London.”
“James,” she continued, “My son-in-law, Dr Antonio De Luca.”
The two doctors shook hands then Antonio led James and Valentina into a small room off the reception area where he explained to Valentina exactly what had happened to her daughter.
“Well, Valentina,” he commenced. “You know they found she had an ectopic pregnancy.”
He continued, “When they operated they found that the right fallopian tube had ruptured causing loss of blood. Unfortunately, they have of course removed the tube and infused her with four units of blood. The good news is she is now out of danger and is still able to conceive more children. She should be back on the ward quite soon now.”
Valentina sighed a breath of relief then burst into tears. James put his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to console her. She then quickly composed herself, drying her eyes on a silk monogrammed handkerchief that he took from his pocket. His initials, J. J. W. stood out in blue stitching. Valentina held on to his handkerchief as a comfort blanket as Antonio led her up to the ward in the hope she would see her daughter. James decided he would wait in reception for Valentina in order for the visit to be private between the three of them.
“Take as much time as you like, Valentina, I’ll be here waiting for you, when you come back.”
She kissed the back of his hand and smiled, then left the reception area with Antonio.
As they proceeded down the corridor out of sight of reception, Antonio could not curb his curiosity.
“Valentina, forgive me for asking, but isn’t that the doctor who treated you at The Nightingale?”
Valentina gave a sigh.
“Yes, it is.” She paused. “I, I, I don’t know what has happened, but he arrived at The San Rocco Hotel the same day I arrived, by coincidence, of course. Look, Antonio, it’s a long story I can’t explain now, all I can tell you at this point is that he is a charming man and a very good friend.”
“Yes but, Valentina,” interrupted Antonio.
“I know, what you are about to say,” Valentina gasped. “Let’s just concentrate on the welfare of Francesca now. Oh by the way,” she continued, “I believe you told Jean Claude I was staying at The San Rocco. He telephoned me inviting me to dinner.”
“Yes,” replied Antonio. “He was in Orta for a seminar and was staying at the same hotel as you, I happened to mention to him you were there on vacation for a week.”
There was then silence between them as they approached the ward. Antonio asked the night nurse if Francesca had returned from recovery and explained her mother had arrived to see her.
“Si, dottore de Luca, signora de Luca e in camera sette. Sta dormendo na confortevole, (Yes, Dr De Luca, Mrs De Luca is in room seven. She is sleeping but comfortable,)” the nurse replied.
“Possiamo entrare? (May we go in?)” Valentina asked.
“Sì, naturalmente, (Yes, of course,)” replied the nurse as she led them both into room seven.
Francesca was of course sound asleep, recovering from the anaesthetic and surgery in a single-bedded private room. She looked peaceful and pain-free. The blood transfusions had been replaced with a saline drip. On seeing her daughter, Valentina again broke down in tears.
“Valentina,” said Antonio.
“Valentina,” he repeated, “I can assure you, Francesca is going to be fine. She is now out of danger and is on her way to recovery. It’s just the shock of seeing her like this, but I assure you in a few days she will be almost herself again, believe me, Valentina, believe me.”
Valentina drew closer to the bed and gave a gentle stroke across Francesca’s forehead, she bent over and gently kissed her on the cheek, then whispered in her ear, “Get well soon, my beautiful darling, I love you, I’ll be here when you awake.”
Antonia took Francesca’s hand and gently held it in both of his, kissing and caressing each of her fingers at which point Francesca became slightly aroused, slowly opening her eyes. She could see Antonio and Valentina by her bed. She gave them both a gentle smile then went back to sleep.
“Oh darling,” whispered Valentina, “You will be OK, I know you will, thank God, Antonio, thank God.”
“I think you should get some rest now, Valentina,” commented Antonio, “Don’t worry, I will be here when Francesca wakes up. You really need to try and sleep, and after all, you have your dear friend waiting for you at the reception.”
“Oh, James. Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about him. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sleep tonight but you are right, of course. It would be most uncivil of me to keep him waiting at the reception all night. Please call me as soon as Francesca awakes and please, give her my love. I need to charge my phone as well.”
“Of course,” replied Antonio, “I’ll escort you back to reception.”
“No, no, I’ll be fine,” Valentina replied. “I can find my own way back and Francesca may wake up while you are not here. Please stay, I’ll be OK.”
“Very well, I’ll call you in the morning, now stop worrying and get some rest.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Valentina smiled. They gave each other a hug and kissed each other on both cheeks.
“Ciao, bella madre, (Bye, beautiful mother,)” he whispered.
“Ciao, figlio mio, (Bye, my son,)” Valentina responded. She gently kissed Francesca on the cheek before leaving the room to go back to meet James in reception. Walking down the long corridor, she felt emotional and exhausted. James was asleep in the chair when she returned. She hesitated for a moment while she stood looking down as he gently breathed. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she bent down to kiss him as he woke with a start.
James woke up a little disoriented.
“Oh Valentina, you are here, sorry, I must have drifted off to sleep, how is your daughter?” he yawned.
“I think she will be OK, James, eventually. She seems quite out of it at the moment. But she awoke for a moment and gave us a smile, that means she will be fine, won’t she, James?” Valentina asked looking for his assurance.
“Of course, I’m sure she will, she is in safe hands and I assume Antonio is with her now?”
“Oh yes, of course, he thought it wise for me to get some rest and of course, you too. He is going to call me in the morning, which reminds me…, I need to charge my phone.”
Valentina looked at her wristwatch.
“Oh my goodness,” she gasped. “Can you believe it’s almost 2:30 in the morning? We better leave now James and go back to mine; it’s not too far from here, just about 8 or 9 kilometres.”
“Yes, of course,” replied James, “but before we leave I better have some coffee so I can keep awake for the drive back.”
“Good idea,” Valentina replied. “I’ll have some too.”
They each had a coffee from the vending machine in reception. It was not the best in taste but the caffeine helped them both to stay awake, at least for the journey back to Valentina’s home.
On the journey back, she began to reflect on the day she moved into her beautiful villa and the thought of James joining her there one day.
How strange life is, she philosophised in her head. I wanted James to be back in my life but how it has happened is so weird, so coincidental to the point that it has taken my daughter to have life-threatening emergency surgery for him to actually be coming to my home.
“What are you thinking, Valentina?” James inquired. “You look profoundly in thought.”
“Yes, yes, I am. I was just thinking about the day I moved to Como and how lucky I am to be near my daughter and her family in such a beautiful setting. I’m sure you will like it here, James, once you get to see it in the light of day.”
“I’m sure I will, Valentina,” James replied. “So you are very happy here, not missing London at all?”
“Yes, very happy, and no, I don’t miss London whatsoever, except…” she hesitated.
“Except what?” he quickly asked. Valentina remained silent. James asked again.
“Except what?” he repeated.
“Oh it doesn’t matter, after all, you are here now,” she whispered to herself in a low-key tone.
“What did you say, I couldn’t quite hear you,” James continued.
Valentina quickly changed the subject matter.
“We’re almost there, take the second turning on the left then straight up the hill. My villa is just on the right,” she instructed.
James followed her directions. They arrived at the villa approaching 3:15 am. As James switched off the engine, there was silence. They gently turned to one another and leaned across to kiss.
“Thank you, darling,” Valentina said.
“For what?” James asked.
“For everything, for being here for me, for taking me to see my daughter, for waiting for me, for bringing me home, for being you. Just thank you.”
“Valentina,” he replied, “I’d like to think I am everything to you. Your friend, your confidant, your lover and much much more.”
They kissed again then got out of the car. Both pretty exhausted.
They entered the villa which was pretty charming to James. He loved the way she had furnished it with modern Italian furniture. White leather sofas and Italian marble tables, Italian marble flooring, large lamps and beautiful paintings mostly scenery of the Italian lakes.
The windows were floor to ceiling with wooden shutters attached and from the lounge, a balcony opened up to reveal spectacular views across the lake. Although they were both pretty exhausted, they both displayed an air of excitement in one another.
“Oh, James, I must charge my phone before I forget, would you like a nightcap before we retire, darling? Come, I’ll show you the bedroom and charge my phone.” The bedrooms to the villa were on the lower level, a marble spiral staircase led down to them. There were three in all. Valentina’s was the largest of the three and had another balcony with again great views. Placing her bag on the bed, she took out her charger to connect it to her phone and plugged it in the mains.
“I feel better for that,” she said. “I’ll just wait until it comes to life then I’ll text Antonio, see if Francesca has awoken yet.”
“Valentina, it’s almost four in the morning, Antonio is probably sleeping himself. We both need to rest and wait until dawn.”
“I suppose you are right,” Valentina replied.
They both lay down on the bed still fully dressed before long they were both in a deep sleep. The day had taken its toll on both of them.
It was 9:15 am the following morning when Valentina woke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. As she began to wake from a deep sleep, she still felt tired. She slowly got up from the bed to answer when it stopped ringing.
James was still asleep.
Oh my goodness, thought Valentina, we fell asleep fully dressed.
She checked her phone and saw the missed call from Antonio. There was no message or voicemail so she called him back.
Antonio answered with an upbeat tone.
“Antonio, is she awake? I’m sorry I was asleep when you rang.”
“Yes, Francesca is awake. She is comfortable and recovering nicely. I’m sure you are exhausted, Valentina, get some rest and you can visit later. The visiting times are between 2 and 4 pm and 7 till 8 pm. I will be leaving the hospital shortly now I know Francesca is in safe hands to go home to shower and see my bambino, Isabella.”
“OK,” replied Valentina.
“Well, can I talk to Francesca now?” she asked.
Antonio held the phone against his wife’s ear for her to hear her mother’s voice.
“Ciao, Mamma,” Francesca whispered in a low-key voice.
“Oh darling,” her mother answered. “I’m so sorry you’ve been through this terrible ordeal. I know you will be better soon, I’ll see you later this afternoon, darling. I love you.”
“Love you too, Mamma. Thank you. Ciao, Mamma.” Antonio retrieved his phone to finish the conversation. It was arranged that Antonio would collect Valentina from home at approximately 1:20 pm to take her to the hospital for 2:00 pm. In the meantime, she went to the kitchen to make some coffee. There was no food in as she had gone on vacation so there wasn’t much chance of having breakfast on the balcony. However, just around the corner from Valentina’s villa stood a very nice deli which looked out over the lake.
We can start with a coffee here, then we can go to the deli for breakfast, she thought. She made a pot of coffee which she carried back down to the bedroom on a large tray.
James began to stir.
“Good morning, darling,” she smiled. “Francesca is awake; I’ve just spoken to her briefly and also Antonio. Are you awake? I’ve just made some coffee.”
James began to wake up slowly lying on the bed, he too realised they had fallen asleep fully dressed.
“Coffee sounds good,” he replied in a tired voice.
“We can sit out on the balcony, darling. It’s such a lovely morning and you can take in the view, while we plan our day ahead.”
James rose slowly from the bed and looked around the room. The shutters were half closed on the balcony window but he could see the beams of sunlight peeping through the gap.
Valentina had placed the tray on a table in the room while she had gone to the bathroom.
James noticed the bed was also upholstered in Italian white leather and was adorned with white cotton bedding piped around the edges with light blue satin ribbon. The pictures in the bedroom replaced scenes of Italian lakes with portraits of French ballerinas, all painted in pastel hues.
He thought it was delightful and very feminine, very Valentina.
Valentina returned to the bedroom wearing a long white silk robe, edged in satin. She attempted to pick up the tray.
“No, darling, I’ll carry that,” James insisted. Valentina opened the shutters fully to the company of the morning sun. She opened the French doors out onto the balcony as James carried the tray and laid it on the balcony wrought iron filigree table where two matching chairs stood.
“I’ll fetch the chair cushions,” Valentina announced. “One moment.”
She went back into the bedroom and from the wardrobe took out two blue velvet cushions and placed them on the chair seats. They both sat down simultaneously and smiled at each other.
James looked around and took in the view while Valentina poured the coffee.
“Well, darling,” she chirped. “What do you think of the view? Not bad is it?”
“Mm, breath-taking, absolutely breath-taking. I can see why you have settled here and have no interest in returning to London,” he replied.
“Yes, darling, it’s wonderful, I just can’t see myself ever going back there. After all, what is there to go back to? I’m happy here with my family nearby and I’ve also made some acquaintances along the way.”
“Oh yes,” retorted James. “Including Jean Claude?”
“James, please stop! I refuse to have this conversation regarding Jean Claude again. I have already told you he is merely, yes, an acquaintance and nothing more. I have no interest in the man whatsoever apart from the fact he is a friend and work colleague of Antonio’s. Now drink your coffee, it is getting cold.”
James took a swig of his coffee while Valentina sipped hers.
“There is quite a nice deli just around the corner we could go to for brunch; it’s situated by the lake so the views are still stunning. What do you think?”
“Sounds pretty good to me, it feels like we haven’t eaten for days as we didn’t get chance to finish or even start our dinner last night.”
"Yes, I’m fully aware of what happened at dinner, let’s just forget about it now and start afresh.
“Antonio is going to collect me and take me to visit Francesca for 2:00 pm. You can take a shower or bath and just chill if you wish while I’m gone. Or explore the lake. I should be back home before five.”
