November Sun, page 11
“Don’t rush back on my account.”
If she stayed here any longer, her mother would start to feel sorry for herself.
“Okay.” Gina hesitated at the door. “Maybe one day Christian could come over? He’s often asked me about your knee operation, and how you are.” Her mother peered at her. “Why?” Her mother asked suspiciously. “He should mind his own business.”
“He’s curious, Mama. He means well.” She moved towards the door, eager to disappear before they both ended up in another conversation. “Goodnight, Mama.”
The next morning she awoke with a jolt and then slumped back in relief when she saw that it was only 7am. She still had time. She flew out of bed, rushed to shower, and was dressed hurriedly, eager to get everything done. There was a lot to be done after the kind of day she’d had yesterday, and she was desperate to get back to Christian.
She hovered over the landing, wondering whether to leave her mother a note but as she started to go down stairs she heard a coughing sound come from her mother’s bedroom. She paused outside the door and waited for more noise, inching her ear closer to the door. Her mother sniffled again and blew her nose. Gina opened the door to find her mother sitting upright in bed, her pallid face illuminated by the spidery glow of the table-lamp. A flurry of white tissues, like enlarged snowflakes, lay strewn all over the bed.
Alarmed, she rushed to her mother’s side. “Mama. You don’t look well. Why are you sitting up in bed?” She reached for her mother’s hand, but her mother flinched as if in pain.
“I was waiting for you to leave.”
“Did that hurt?”
Her mother grimaced. Gina raised her hand to her mother’s forehead. It was warm. Overheated. “Why didn’t you call for me?”
“For what?”
For what? Trust her mother to be difficult at every conceivable opportunity. “Are you having trouble breathing?” Her mother seemed short of breath, and upon closer inspection, her face looked shiny, as if she had been sweating.
“Mama?” she asked, alarm bells going off in her head.
“It's this silly cold,” her mother insisted, blowing her nose again. Her breathing seemed wheezy. Had it been this bad last night? Had she failed to notice it because she’d been too tired, or had it turned worse now? “I’m calling the doctor, Mama.”
“Tell him to come quickly.”
She had been expecting her mother to be her usual stubborn self, and her response surprised her. She was temporarily paralyzed by a fear of the unknown. In the past it had been bones mainly, knees, or her shins, aches and slow pains slow in her body which Gina often put down to her mother not being mobile, not getting up and doing things, not doing anything to get her body moving, something she had tried to get her mother to change.
There was no way she was going to work today and there was no way she was listening to her mother. She rushed downstairs and called the doctor only to find out that surgery was closed. She stamped up the stairs with determination. “Come on, Mama. You need to get dressed. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
They checked her mother in, assigned her a cubicle and proceeded to run tests. She was being examined, and questioned, and then they took blood. And then more re-examination, more questions.
All of this for a cold?
An hour later, she was still patiently waiting outside the room while doctors were taking care of her mother, and in her mind she ran through all the millions of things she had yet to do. There was no point calling Christian yet; it would be far better to let him start the race without offloading her worries onto him. Once the doctors had prescribed her the correct medicine, she would take her home, settle her in and then decide what to do next.
Right now she didn’t know if she was going back to the Casa Adriana to finish off her work, or drive to Brescia in the hope of making it to the race by noon.
It was impossible to think straight until she knew more about her mother’s condition. Peering through the small glass window of the room in which her mother had been taken, Gina saw nothing but the turned backs of the doctors. All she could do was wait.
Chapter 19
“We’re running some more blood tests,” the doctor told her. The news startled Gina. Still?
“Why? What’s wrong?” She had expected to leave the hospital with her mother and with medication and an order to rest.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Will she be able to come home today?” But even as she posed the question, she already knew the answer.
“No.”
Her heart began to thud, and her worries about work and Christian, melted away. “So, uh,” she gesticulated with her hands, trying to frame the question, but not wanting to know the answer. “What exactly are we talking about?” And before he could give her an answer, “Is it serious?”
“We think she has a virus and we’re trying to establish that. Don’t worry,” the doctor said, doing her best to reassure her. “Your mother is in good hands.”
But worry she did.
She couldn’t sit still after that and got up to walk around the corridors, stealing a glance at patients and medical staff, growing restless by the minute. She had been expecting to take her mother home. She’d had it all planned out—as if life were that simple. Take her mother home, check. Make her comfortable, check. Pray for Mimi to come over, check. Rush to Brescia, check. Meet Christian, check. And somewhere in all of this she was still determined to run Nico’s reports.
Her mind reeled with a myriad of thoughts, all screaming and vying for her attention.
But she couldn’t focus now.
Couldn’t think.
The race. Christian would be at the race and he would be looking out for her. If she left now, she could still make it, but it no longer seemed important, compared to this. She looked around the pristine hospital, at the plastic chairs and the shiny linoleum floor, and knew she could not yet leave.
Christian would understand, wouldn’t he? Or he would once she explained the situation to him. Sometimes he couldn’t understand her worry, but that was because, although she had never met them, she knew his parents were younger, they were both still alive, they had one another. Her mother was a widow, and older, and not in too great a shape. Granted, a lot of the time she was seeking attention, but this, this was something serious. This wasn’t one of her pretenses.
Don’t worry. That’s what the doctor had told her. What if she rushed to Brescia, spent a few hours there, then came back to the hospital? Her mother was in good hands here and she was just waiting around. She could ask Mimi to come and take over. Who knew how long it would take them to analyze the bloodwork? What if she ended up spending the whole day here just waiting around? Wouldn’t it be better to get Mimi over to cover for a few hours at least?
She called her sister. “Mama’s in the hospital.”
“Why? What happened?”
“What do you think? She’s not been feeling very well lately. I thought you might have noticed on your visits.”
“She seemed a bit flu-ey,” said Mimi, “but she’s always coughing and sniffling.”
“Didn’t it ever occur to you to take her to the doctor’s?”
“It's a good thing you’ve taken her.” Mimi shot back. “I don’t have as much time as you do.”
Gina was in no mood to list an hour by hour account of her day, to prove to Mimi that she was as busy, even though she didn’t have a child. “Can you get here?”
“Uh—now?”
“Yes. Now. As in the next half hour.”
“I can’t. Not that soon. I’m helping at Kiana’s party—you remember, Pia’s best friend? It’s this afternoon, midday actually, and I told her mother I’d help her set things out.”
“What?” Was she for real? “Can’t you explain that your mother’s in the hospital and you need to be with her? Surely the woman would understand you have a family emergency?”
“Is it an emergency?”
“What?” Gina fought to remain calm.
“She’s not dying is she?” Mimi shot back.
Gina wanted to slap her sister. “Would that make you come?” She could feel the muscles tightening at the back of her neck. “It would help if you were here with Mama and I’m sure if you asked Kiana’s mother to find another friend to help out, I don’t think she would mind.”
Mimi made noises to express her exasperation. “I can’t just drop everything.”
“I’ve got things I need to do, and I’m going to try to do them all. I’ll be back later this afternoon but I can’t be in three places at once.”
“Me neither,” said her sister. “If Mama’s in the hospital, she’s hardly in any immediate danger. I’ll come over as soon as I can.”
Gina persisted. “I’d rather someone was here to see what the doctors have to say.” Mimi groaned at the other end, as if Gina had asked her to lend her a kidney. “I’ll see what I can do.” Mimi said wearily. “But I have to tell you that this is just another example of you making a big deal out of something that needn’t be. If you have things to do, why can’t you go and do them without making yourself sound like a martyr? Mama can’t expect us to be glued to her hip 24/7.”
“As if you are.” Gina hung up completely disgruntled. She couldn’t rely on Mimi, and she had to face facts. Maybe it wasn’t as easy for Mimi to come to her mother’s aid? It wasn’t even aid, it was being supportive, being there for her. Not wanting her to be alone when the doctors made their diagnosis.
Maybe Mimi’s reluctance to come running was steeped in their family history? Her parents had made things difficult for Mimi in the past and her father had never liked Marco. He didn’t think the boy could support himself, and at that time, with no qualifications or job in hand, and having gotten Mimi pregnant, they hadn’t taken to the boy at all. They had more or less given Mimi an ultimatum, and she had picked Marco.
Whatever her reason, Mimi wasn’t coming over any time soon to take over and Gina had no intention of leaving her mother alone in the hospital.
She wouldn’t be able to make the mad dash to the race and back and decided to wait until the race was over before she called Christian to tell him.
~~
2 hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds. Christian wasn’t happy about his timing, even if this was his first time in the race. Leon must have done it a lot sooner. He’d raced past him right from the start and Christian hadn’t been able to catch up with him since.
The air was charged with a carnival-like atmosphere on this sunny, yet cold September day. He looked around the field scouting for a glimpse of Gina but it was hard to laser in on her in the crowds that had gathered near the finish line.
Gina would take the edge off his disappointment. She had a way of soothing his overly bruised ego and putting things into perspective. If only he could have shaved even ten minutes off his finish time, he might have had something to feel good about.
He was just about to call her when he saw Leon up ahead. He rode towards him, to the area where the cyclists were dismounting from their bikes, and got off his bike, placing it into one of the slots for parking cycles. The moment he stepped off, his thighs and butt felt like as if they had been rubbed raw. Wincing as he slowly stood up straight, he watched a triumphant and smiling Leon walking towards him.
“I could have run a 5km race in the time I was waiting for you,” his friend said. Christian prepared himself for the ribbing.
“Go on,” he said. “How long?”
“1 hour and 57 minutes.” Leon high-fived him. “You?”
Christian voiced his disappointing result. It was a clear 26 minutes slower. “It was bad,” said Christian. “Admit it.”
“No,” said Leon, clapping him on the back. “Not bad for a first try. Not bad at all. You did great, dude, and you’ve qualified for the 100km.”
“Yeah,” said Christian slowly, as it dawned on him. That was something to be grateful for. He looked around the crowd of spectators again, his gaze running from one end to the next, a blur of color, but there was still no sign of Gina.
“It’s still a few months away. We can start training after Emilio’s party.”
“I’m not even sure I can do it now,” said Christian. “Gina’s going to be moving in at some point and I’m in Geneva for a while.”
“She’s still moving in?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
Leon winked at him. “If you’re not careful, dude, you’ll be doing midnight runs for diapers before you know it.”
“Not yet. I don’t move that fast.”
“Not yet? Notice how you didn’t say ‘never’?”
“Like I said, she’s only moving in until she finds her own place.” Of course, he hoped Gina would soon forget about that nonsense, but he wasn’t about to tell Leon that.
“Where is she?” Leon asked.
“Here, somewhere.” His heart was pumping, and sweat had seeped along his back and his neck as he searched the crowds eager to find Gina. He was getting anxious that she hadn’t shown up yet. He pulled his cell phone out of his cycling pouch to see if he had any missed calls from her. He didn’t, and he took that as proof that she was here.
“Did you see that girl with the gold cycling pants?” Leon asked.
Christian glanced up. “Which girl?”
“She’s here somewhere.” Leon looked around while Christian called Gina. It went straight to voicemail.
“Found her!” Leon pointed in the distance, near the stalls of refreshments. “Hard to miss in those pants.” He started to walk off. “Coming?”
“I’ll be over in a minute.” Christian contemplated leaving a message, then thought better of it, but just as he was about to put his cell phone away, it vibrated. It was Gina, and he answered on the first ring. “Hey, where are you?” He looked around as if she would magically appear.
“I’m…I’m.”
He couldn’t hear. “Speak up, it’s noisy here.” He walked over to find a quieter place, away from the crowds, but it was still noisy wherever he went. “Gina? Where are you?”
“I’m still here.”
“Where?” He looked around again. “I can’t see you. Wave at me.”
“I didn’t make it to the race, Christian, I’m sorry. My mother isn’t feeling well and I’ve brought her to –”
He moved the phone away from his ear, a mixture of annoyance and irritation curdling together into something nauseous.
Her mother, again?
He scrubbed his chin and took a deep breath, not wanting to hear any more. He was done with that woman’s emotional blackmail, and sick of Gina running to her like a child seeking approval. In the distance he caught sight of the woman in the golden cycling pants, and then saw Leon beside her. They were laughing and talking.
He put the cell phone back to his ear. “So that’s where I am,” said Gina.
“Why don’t you stay there.” He was pissed off, and didn’t hide it.
“I might have to,” Gina replied, clearly missing the tone of his voice. “I’m sorry, Christian. I promise to make it up to you.”
“You have to do what you have to do.” He raised his hand at Leon who was beckoning for him to come over.
“And I still have Nico’s work to do so—”
He pinched the corners of his eyes, near the bridge of his nose, the ball of anger simmering hot and heavy inside his stomach. Nico’s work? That’s all she was worried about?
“It’s best if you stay with your mother.” He hung up and walked towards Leon.
“Cherie, meet Christian.”
They exchanged greetings and Christian was amused that Leon could pick up a girl even on a bike race.
“We’re going out to celebrate later.” Leon put his arm around Christian’s shoulders. “And Christian’s bringing his girlfriend. Would you like to join us?”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Cherie flashed a provocative smile.
“It’s up to you. It can just be drinks with friends, or,” Leon eyed her up and down like a hungry wolf, “A date. You decide.”
Christian lowered his head in embarrassment. Surely Leon could come up with better lines than that? He cringed inwardly and decided that he wasn’t up to celebrating. He was in no mood to be surrounded by a couple who so obviously wanted to jump straight into bed without even a getting-to-know-you drink beforehand. He was pissed off with Gina. This was typical of her and he hoped she spent the rest of her weekend in Verona because frankly, he was in no mood to see her this weekend.
“I’m out,” said Christian, shaking Leon’s arm away.
“What do you mean you’re out?”
“Gina can’t make it.”
“You said she was here.” Leon winked at Cherie.
“She’s not. She couldn’t make it, so I’m going home. Sorry.” He raised his hands in a hell-if-I-care gesture. Food, drink and conversation were the last thing he wanted. What he needed was to sit in a bath filled with hot water and Epsom salts and stay in there for hours.
“You two have fun.”
He was certain they would.
Chapter 20
She hung up feeling disappointed by his response, but told herself that it wasn’t Christian’s fault. It had sounded noisy at his end, and—oh my goodness! She winced at the realization: she hadn’t even asked him about his race.
She was about to call him again when a doctor approached her. “Your mother has pneumonia.”
“Pneumonia?” Impossible. “But I don't understand,” Gina murmured as a wave of guilt washed over her.
They were slipping into autumn here, and they never experienced Arctic conditions. How had her mother caught pneumonia?
“Has she recently had a cold or influenza?” the doctor asked.
Gina’s cheeks burned with guilt. How long had it been since her mother had walked home that time in the rain, soaked all the way through? Had that been the start of it? Was that the reason why she had somehow contracted this bacteria into her body and which now made her ill?
