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What was only a few seconds of silence seemed to be like minutes to Ella as she waited for the nurse to speak. She drummed her fingers on her leg as she awaited to hear the condition of her grandfather. Her mind was swirling with endless possibilities of what could've happened to him thus resulting in Ella becoming dizzy. She snapped out of her daze as the nurse began to speak. "I'm going to be straight with you okay? Your grandfather suffered a heart attack, however he is in a stable condition as of now. We're going to keep him here for a few days to monitor him just to be one hundred percent sure that he's okay. He seems to be responding well to all of our tests which is a good sign. We've set him up in a private room where he'll be staying for a few days. Your grandmother is in there with him. Would you like me to take you to him?"
Ella sat there stunned. She wanted to answer the nurse but she couldn't find the proper words. How could he have suffered a heart attack? She had seen him only a few hours ago at work and he seemed to be completely fine. Giovanni was one of the healthiest people she ever knew which is why none of this was making sense to her. She looked up at Marlene and gave her a nod before standing up to follow her.
After walking down a few hallways and making a few turns here and there Marlene came to an abrupt stop. Ella looked up from her shoes and saw that they had arrived at Giovanni's room. Hesitantly Ella pushed open the door and turned to look over at the ill man lying down on the hospital bed. Tears quickly began to pool at the edge of her eyes, threatening to spill, as she approached him.
He opened his eyes at the sound of the door and turned to look over at Ella who had now made her to his bedside. He weakly reached out in an attempt to grab her hand as Ella latched onto his hand gently, interlocking her fingers with his. She smiled down at him sadly before sitting down on the chair behind her. "Nonno, what happened? I saw you a few hours ago and you were perfectly fine"
"I don't know. One minute I was closing up the restaurant and the next thing I know I'm on the floor. I felt this pain inside me like nothing I've ever felt before"
"And how do you feel now? Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?"
"Ella! Calm down my principessa. I'm okay. A little uncomfortable but I'm okay. Thank god for your Nonna!" Ella laughed as he gestured to a sleeping Doris. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I'm in a little bit of pain but I'll be fine" Giovanni said slowly. Ella didn't really believe him though. His face was awfully pale and he seemed to be in more pain than he admitted he was in. Giovanni looked up at Ella and gave her a reassuring smile as he placed a gentle kiss on her hand. "Why don't you go wake up your Nonna and go and get some coffee?"
"I think we're fine right here Nonno-"
"Sweetheart just go. Your Nonna has been here for a while and I'm sure she's hungry. She wouldn't leave my side. Take her out for a bit okay?"
"Okay fine. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure! I'll be okay principessa" he placed a kiss on her forehead before looking up at her once more. "I love you more than anything in this world, you know that right?"
"I love you too Nonno. You mean the world to me". Ella walked over to Doris and shook her awake before telling her they'd go get some coffee. Doris was reluctant at first but after a few debates between herself and Giovanni she agreed. "I love you Dorothea. Ti voglio tanto bene amore mio. Sei la mia vita" (translation: I love you so much my love. You are my life)
Doris smiled at her husband as they shared a loving kiss together. She whispered an I love you in his ear before grabbing Ella's hand and walking out the door. The girls finally made it to the cafeteria and ordered two coffees for themselves before making the long journey back to Giovanni's room.
Ella was the first one to enter his room. The sight before her was something Ella couldn't describe. A scream erupted from her petite body as the coffee cup in her hand was long forgotten and spilled all over the ceramic floor. Tears made their way down her face faster than a waterfall as she ran towards Giovanni's bed. The constant sound of a flatline etched in her brain as she was quick to jump on top of his bed and begin CPR.
Doris had ran out of the room in a desperate attempt to get a doctor or even a nurse into the room to help her husband. A doctor came running towards her and into the room as he gently pushed Ella off the bed and began to assess him. More medical staff began to poor into the room as Ella stood frozen, watching the scene before her unfold.
Five minutes had passed when the doctors called it. "Time of death—9:49pm—". A sob escaped Ella's lips as she collapsed to the floor. She began to hyperventilate as she looked at her grandfather. Yet again she had lost a part of her family. Now all she had left was Doris and that scared her. Ella couldn't believe that Giovanni was gone and she wished she could've done more. If she didn't go and get coffee maybe he would still be alive. If she would've arrived a few seconds earlier maybe she could've saved him.
Doris however seemed to be handling the situation much better than Ella. A few tears escaped her eyes as she looked at her husband, wishing nothing more than to see his beautiful smile again or hear his wonderful laugh. She walked over to Ella and crouched down as she ran a hand through Ella's hair. "Shhh Ella. Nonno wouldn't want you to be like this. He's resting now" she soothed her. Ella shook tremendously in Doris' arms, unable to speak. Ella sat there in Doris' arms for a good hour before she had fallen asleep due to the exhaustion of her crying. The last father figure she had in her life was gone and it hurt her more than anything.
She had lost one of the two people who took her in after her father died and for some reason, Ella felt like she had failed them. These two people who were once strangers had become her only family. They gave her as much as they possibly could over the years and Ella felt as though she had failed to repay them. But she was wrong. Doris knew that Ella would blame herself and that she'd be in hysterics for a while, so she called the one person she knew that could help her grandaughter; Chris.
