My Italian Doctor

I slumped down onto the pastel green bench seat. I couldn't help but let the tears flow freely. My best friend was having the worst moment of her life and I couldn’t even be by her side. The idea of her, me and Jellybean against the world was already a deep-rooted thought. I was afraid Jellybean was in trouble and it sent pulsating fear through my whole body. The two of them had come into my life just when I needed purpose and I couldn’t lose either of them, let alone both. Helping Rylie through her drama helped me forget about my own mundane problems. Watching the pain she went through at the prospect of losing Luca and then him treating her so badly put everything into perspective. I hadn’t even told her about my parents. I was a grown woman, so what if my perfect happy family was falling apart around my ears? We had always been so close, the idea of them no longer being a single, united unit felt terrifying. Well, it had, until Rylie had come along. We had known each other for a while but had only gotten close recently. I threw myself into being there for her and avoiding my own problems and my parent’s. They were calling me constantly, trying to make me go around and talk about what would happen next. I already knew the future; I didn’t need them to lay it out for me. It would be full of splitting my time between them, each of them competing for my attention. That was why I had agreed to go to Italy with Rylie. She thought it was some great sacrifice I was making for her, but really, it was my ticket to peace and quiet. I didn’t even know how I would start to tell Rylie about my parents. Her family was practically non-existent, and I knew that what I had was still a sight lot better than her situation. “Are you all right, Miss?” I lifted my head slightly at the sound of the deep masculine voice. His deep piercing brown eyes were filled with concern and care, and I was lost. “Are you hurt?” I struggled to even find enough brain cells to process his words, never mind responding to them. “I’m fine, my friend is…” I had no idea how to even put Rylie’s position into words. After I had spent so much time hiding her pregnancy from everyone around us that telling someone seemed wrong. I watched as he stood up and took his white-coated self into the room where they had taken Rylie. It was right opposite the bench I was occupying, but still, it felt inaccessible to me, anyway. I had no idea how long I had even been sitting there waiting. It could have been anything from minutes to hours. I had been too consumed by my own thoughts to keep track. I paid more attention to him as he strolled back out towards me. His hair was jet black and formed curtains around his face, almost reminding me of a 90s boyband star. His face was stern and strong, with high cheekbones and a dimple in his chin. Those eyes of his seemed to soften everything else about him. They were almost angelic. His dark blue scrubs hung from him and hid everything beneath. His skin glowed like a warm fire on a winter’s day against the stark white of his coat. The more I looked at him, the more of an effect he had on me. Despite everything else going on, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes from him or stop my brain from speculating on what he was like under those scrubs. It was odd he almost reminded me of George Clooney from his days on ER. He laid a hand on mine in a supportive gesture, but it was enough to make me feel like I was going to burn up like a phoenix then and there. “She’s doing ok, they will be releasing her soon. Mother and baby are both doing fine.” Gratitude was probably the only thing that could have outweighed the awe that I felt when I looked at him. “Thank you. She’s my best friend. It’s scary her being poorly while we are so far from home.” “English right?” “Yeah, although you are most definitely not Italian.” I smiled for the first time in so long. Not realising the tension that had been building up over the last couple of months. “I am actually. American Italian anyway. I was brought up in the States, but my grandparents were born and bred right here in Verona.” I felt the silent whimper as his hand moved from mine and he moved away slightly. “Why don’t you come and grab a coffee with me? I will get them to page me when she is ready. There’s not much you can do from the corridor, anyway.” I nodded. He must have really felt sorry for me. I could only imagine the state I must have looked. Nothing like my usual put-together self, but then since arriving at the vineyard, my usual preoccupation with my image had seemed pointless. Working with Aroura meant that I was often covered in dust from the fields or cobwebs from the warehouse. Although the trip had meant to be a vacation of sorts to attend Luca’s wedding, I had felt something pulling me to the vineyard. Not to just be there, but to be part of something bigger. Aurora had such big plans for the future, it was hard not to be swept away with her. I had never really been part of something before, I hadn’t needed to be. My dad was big in banking, and I had never really wanted for anything. I had only started working at the restaurant because I was sick of being bored all the time. I had loved working, throwing myself into something, anything. The vineyard was different, it wasn’t just a way for me to waste a few hours. I knew our visit was only temporary, but somehow, I couldn’t imagine going back to the dreary days in England. Everything in Italy seemed to shine. The fields, the grapes, and apparently even the men. I followed him into the café and as we reached the table; he pulled a chair out for me. It was odd. I was sure it was the first time anyone had done that simple gentlemanly gesture for me. I suddenly realised I was sitting waiting to order coffee with a man, and I didn’t even know his name. “I should probably introduce myself. I’m Emily, but everyone calls me Em.” “Why would anyone feel the need to shorten such a beautiful name, I’m George.” It felt beyond ironic that I had earlier been comparing him to George Clooney and then his name turned out to be George, it was like all my teenage dreams had come true. I felt like I was blushing constantly, which was odd because I was usually much more confident and forthright. If Rylie could see me, she would be gobsmacked. I could happily take on Luca when he was behaving like a moron, but that man paid me a compliment and pulled my chair out for me, and I was a gibbering mess. “So, why are you in Italy if you're from America?” I just wanted to move the conversation on and hopefully compose myself a little before I made a complete fool out of myself. “About a year ago my grandmother died, and she wanted to be buried here. Afterwards, I couldn’t seem to leave again.” “I’m so sorry. Italy does seem to have a way of calling to people, I must admit I know exactly what you mean. I can’t even fathom going back to England at the moment.” Right at that moment his beeper sounded, and I knew it was to let him know Rylie was done and I cursed her for not taking a little longer. It was stupid and I felt guilty, but could she not have waited another five minutes? “Come on, I’ll walk you down to the exit so you can wait for your friend.” He stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and stood, but I wanted to throw myself on the ground like a toddler would. It wouldn’t be very ladylike, though. It wasn’t even far to get to the exit, and we stepped outside into the carpark. I felt as he pulled at my arm and moved me into a small section behind a bus shelter. As he lifted his hand up to my face and took my chin in between his thumb and finger, I felt like I was in some odd alternate universe. Things like that just didn’t happen in real life. “Emily, I want to see you again. Will you meet me for dinner one night?” I wanted to scream my affirmation at him, but restrained myself. “That would be lovely, but I have no idea when I will be free. It depends on if Rylie needs me.” He started looking through his pockets and pulled out a worn dog-eared business card. “Sorry I don’t use them often. Ring, text, email even. Just let me know when you are free and I will make sure I am too.” It couldn’t be that easy for him to be free for dinner on a whim, he was a doctor. He sighed as his beeper sounded again. “I’ve got to go, I’m sorry. Let me know as soon as you can.” “I will. Go, don’t worry about me. I’m sure they will be out in a minute.” I watched as he dashed into the hospital and knew I must have looked like a lovesick puppy as I stared after him. It was just so ridiculous, he just had a way of making me act like a foolish teenager and I didn’t even know him. I turned around to head towards the car and found Aurora standing, giggling to herself. She had clearly seen the whole interaction. “Not a word out of you and you don’t tell Rylie anything. She has enough going on right now. She doesn’t need to be concerning herself with my love life.” The giggling stopped and she gave me an odd look. “Why, what’s wrong with Rylie?” “I don’t know I haven’t seen her yet.” “But you just said… if you didn’t mean about her being in the hospital, what did you mean? What had she got going on that I am unaware of?” “Nothing, I just … er you know it’s just something you say. It’s a saying in England.” She looked at me dubiously, but she let it drop, but I knew there and then that I had said too much. I had already realised Aurora was like a dog with a bone, once she sniffed something juicy, she wasn’t going to stop till she found out exactly what it was.