by Ava May
Emma showered and dressed quickly before grabbing her bags and heading down the stairs. Her cab was to arrive at 6 AM and that could not come soon enough for her.
“What are you doing,” Emma asked her mother as she walked into the kitchen.
“Oh,” her mother replied, “I couldn’t sleep so I thought I would get up and cook you a big breakfast before you leave. I know it is going to be a long time before you get to eat like this again.”
Emma rolled her eyes. ‘Now she is going to try and bribe me with food’, Emma thought to herself. Emma partially blamed her mother for the issues that she had with her weight. Every time Emma had become upset her mother had given her food to comfort her. When Emma wanted to do something that her mother did not approve of then she would give Emma food or even pretend that she was being a good mother by spending time with Emma while baking.
Emma sat down as her other handed her a plate and thought about the time that she wanted to attend a sleep over with several girls from her school. Emma’s mother had decided that would be a great night to spend baking all kinds of sweets with her daughter. Of course Emma had a good time, but she longed to spend time with girls her own age. She felt left out when she went to school the next Monday morning when all of the girls were talking about how much fun they had at the sleepover. Emma remembered crying that night when she got home because the girls had ignored her the entire day at school because she had not attended.
Emma quietly ate her breakfast. She knew it was the least she could do for her mother and she really did not want to leave on bad terms. No matter what her parents put her through she would always love her mother and want to please her.
Emma watched as a tear rolled down her mother’s cheek. She wished that she could do something to change the way her mother felt, but she did not have time. She heard the sound of a car horn in front of her house, pushed her plate away and hurried to the front door.
Her mother followed close behind her. Emma grabbed her bags as she opened the front door and saw her cab waiting for her. She quickly made her way to the cab, placed her bags in the trunk and turned to look at her mother. She could tell that it was all her mother could do to not break down crying and although she felt bad Emma gave her a quick hug and jumped into the cab.
As the cab driver drove off Emma refused to look back at her mother. She knew that if she let her emotions get the best of her, she would tell the driver to turn the cab around and take her back home. She was already wondering if she had made the right decision and feeling bad for leaving her parents for a year.
She told herself that they would have to get used to her being gone anyway because she would be going to college the next year. Her parents would have to get used to her not being at home with them.
After about 15 minutes into the ride Emma sat back in the seat and began to relax. She imagined a place where she would finally be happy, a place where she could choose to be anyone.
Before Emma knew it, they were pulling up to the airport. As soon as the cab stop, she paid the driver, grabbed her bags out of the trunk and headed into the airport. From there everything was a blur until Emma was sitting comfortably on the airplane.
Her journey was going to begin in Italy and she could not have been more excited. Not only did she love the Italian culture, she had a bit of a thing for the men. When she was younger, she used to sit and dream about the man she would marry. She imagined him to be Italian, dark hair and eyes, a beautiful man. Emma could not wait to see what opportunities Italy had for her.
Of course she could not wait to see popular attractions such as Vatican City, The Colosseum, The Sun Palace and The Eiffel Tower, but she was more excited about being away from her parents in a place where no one could control her.
Although her flight seemed as it would never end the plane finally landed. Emma quickly exited the plane, found her luggage and headed out of the airport. It had taken 7 and a half hours for her to get to Italy and she was glad that she had booked a cheap hotel for the night. She was glad that she was finally in Italy, but she was not ready to stay in a room with a bunch of strangers.
Emma checked into her hotel and decided to change her clothes. She had been wearing sweats and a t-shirt on her flight, she was hungry and did not want to go out anywhere in Italy looking the way she did.
She carefully did her makeup and made sure that her hair looked perfect. She slipped into a short black dress and black flats then headed out the door.
She did not have to go far before finding a cute little restaurant. She sat in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant and watched as more people entered. There were men and women from all around the world, smiling, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It was not until then that Emma really understood how lonely she was.
As she scanned her menu she thought about how she had never gotten to go on a date and how different her life would be if she had a boyfriend. She wondered if she would even be in Italy or maybe she wouldn’t be alone.
Emma wondered what it would be like to have a man’s arms around her and to be held close to his chest. What it would feel like to have a man kiss her and caress her body.
The waitress walked up interrupting Emma’s thoughts and she quickly ordered her meal. Just as the waitress was walking away Emma’s cell phone beeped. It was a text message from her mother stating that she had deposited extra money into Emma’s bank account so that she could stay at a real hotel instead of at hostels.
Emma smiled at her phone as she thought of her mother frantically pacing around the house, imagining that Emma was taking part in orgies in the hostels. She was grateful for the extra money though. She did plan on staying in a few hostels even though her mother had sent the extra money it was part of the experience, but knowing that she did not have to made her feel a bit better.
She text her mother a quick thank you and went back to watching the couples as they filled the tiny restaurant. Emma’s meal arrived and she ate it in silence. She felt sadness weighing down on her. She knew she had her entire life ahead of her, but she wanted so badly to be loved like the other women in the restaurant. She could see a sparkle in their eyes when they looked at the men they were with and she wanted to know what made them look that way.
Emma paid her bill and walked back to her hotel. Loneliness filled her and she wondered if she would be able to stay away from her parents as long as she had planned. They were her entire life, the only thing that kept her from feeling lonely. It hurt her to admit it, but she was already missing them.
Once she arrived back at the hotel she undressed and made her way to the shower. She tried her best not to be afraid, but it was the first time she had ever been in a strange place by herself. All of her fears began to surface as she showered. She tried to calm herself but was not successful; she decided to quickly get out of the shower and dress as fear began to take her over.
Emma walked to the television and turned it on. She thought a nice show would get her mind off of the fact that she was completely alone. She also found that the hotel had left a few packs of tea next to the coffee pot and thought that might help her relax.
Emma made her tea and climbed into her bed and began watching television. She was glad that they had some of the shows she was used to seeing back home and that they offered them in English. She had spent a bit of time learning enough Italian to get her by but not enough to understand an entire television show.
That night was one of the worst nights of Emma’s life thus far. Just after falling asleep, she jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Everything that she had eaten at the restaurant came back up. Her stomach reeled in pain as she sat on the bathroom floor clinching it.
Sweat broke out on her forehead and she shook all over. Emma had never felt this way in her life and she thought that she was dying.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it before laying on the bathroom floor and falling asleep.
The rest of the night continued in much the same w
ay. Emma would wake up, heave until her stomach had nothing left to give, then fall back asleep.
When Emma woke up the next morning she barely had any strength left in her. She pulled herself up to the sink and looked into the mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair stuck to her face from the sweat. Her complexion was pale and her lips almost white.
Emma looked over to the bathtub knowing that she could not go anywhere looking the way she did, but also knowing she had to find a doctor and quickly.
She stumbled over to the tub, placed the plug in the drain and began filling it. She pulled her pajamas off and let them fall to the floor. She carefully climbed into the bathtub and leaned back into the hot water.
Her heart began to pound and her head began to ache, Emma’s vision blurred and she closed her eyes grabbing onto the side of the tub.
She took a deep breath and pulled herself out of the tub. She had not been able to relax or wash the way she had intended, but she knew she needed to see a doctor immediately.
Emma grabbed the towel that lay on the bathroom floor and felt her way back to her bed. She knew she would have to relax before she could call a doctor.
Everything quickly went black for Emma and the next thing she knew she was waking up lying on the hotel bed feeling as if she were going to die. She rolled over and reached for the phone.
“Front desk,” she heard a voice say.
“Please connect me to a local doctor,” Emma’s voice was weak.
“Right away, ma’am,” the voice said.
Emma waited as the front desk quickly connected her with a doctor that was only a few blocks away.
“Dr. Silvio Nicolella’s office,” a voice quickly answered.
“Hello,” Emma began, “My name is Emma and I am on vacation. I need to see the doctor as soon as possible I am very sick.”
The receptionist asked Emma what her symptoms were and Emma struggled to put the words together to answer her, but soon was told that although the doctor was canceling all of his appointments for the day due to the air conditioning system going out he agreed that Emma could come in right away and see him.
Emma hung up the phone, then called the front desk again. She told them to charge her card for another night knowing that she was not going to be traveling that day.
Emma groaned. My first day away from my parents and I am sick. What a great way to start my year,’ she thought to herself. She pulled herself out of bed slowly and began to dress. She slipped on a pair of yoga pants, a T-shirt and tied her hair up on the top of her head. She knew that she looked bad, but she felt bad and did not care about anything but going to the doctor.
Emma had the front desk call her a cab. Even though the doctor’s office was only a few blocks away from the hotel she did not want to chance walking there and passing out on the way.
Emma climbed into the cab when it arrived and the driver took her to Dr. Nicolella’s office. Emma quickly paid the driver and headed into the building. As she walked through the door, she was hit with a blast of heat that made her feel as if she had stepped onto the sun.
The doctor quickly opened the side door for her allowing her to access the examination rooms.
“Uh, I sorry for hot,” the doctor said.
Emma looked up at him, he was a beautiful man obviously just starting his career. He had dark skin, dark hair and the most beautiful brown eyes Emma had ever seen. She could tell by his physique that he worked out. He was everything that any woman would dream of and Emma quickly became aware of her appearance.
The doctor led her to a room where he told her to put on a gown. She smiled at his broken English and nodded her head. She wished that she had met him under better circumstances and when she was looking better. Emma sighed as she changed into the examination gown and sat on the table.
The doctor came back into the room just minutes after he had left her.
“I am Dr. Silvio Nicolella,” he began. “You call me Silvio.” He smiled at Emma as he spoke putting her at ease.
“I’m Emma,” she replied.
“Emma,” the doctor said, pausing as if he were thinking about her name, “You are sick no?
Emma put her hand on her stomach and nodded her head yes. The doctor began to examine her by taking her temperature, looking in her mouth and pushing on her stomach.
Emma thought she was going to throw up on him right there when he pressed on her stomach and winced in pain.
“Hmm,” the doctor said as he looked at Emma, “you eat?”
“Yes,” Emma began not sure what he was asking her, “well not today.”
“What did you eat,” he asked.
“Last night at, Serenade. Agghiotta di lumache,” Emma did her best to pronounce the words correctly. The waitress had to tell Emma how to say it when she pointed to it on the menu. She had no idea what she was ordering, but wanted a true Italian experience.
The doctor laughed loud and looked at Emma, “Snail,” he said, trying to hold back his laughter, “food poisoning,” he said.
“I have food poisoning,” Emma gasped.
The doctor shook his head and gave her a bottle of medicine that he had in the cabinet.
“Help your stomach,” he said, placing one hand on his stomach.
The embarrassment that Emma felt as overpowering. One day away from home and she was in a doctor's office suffering from food poisoning. The doctor handed her a piece of paper.
“Write hotel name. Room,” he said.
Emma had no idea why he wanted the name of the hotel or her room number, but she was not going to argue with him. She wanted to get back to her hotel take her medicine and relax. She wrote down the information that he requested along with her name.
“Rest,” he said as he took the paper from her. He walked out of the room and Emma began to get dressed. It took everything she had not to break down crying right there. She knew that it was a mistake to leave home. She decided that she should just wait until she was feeling better and go back to her parents where she knew she would be protected. A tear streamed down her cheek as she thought about what a complete failure she was.
Once she was dressed, she wiped her face with her hand and headed out the door. The doctor was waiting for her along with a cab driver. The driver explained that the doctor had called for him to drive her back to her hotel. Emma assumed that was why he wanted her hotel name. She smiled at the doctor as he walked her to her cab and made sure she was comfortable.
“Rest,” he repeated before shutting the door.
Emma leaned back against the seat and watched the people walking along, enjoying their life as hers was falling apart. It only took a few minutes before the cab arrived back at the hotel, Emma paid and made her way back to her room.
She thought about the doctor telling her that she had eaten snails and was not surprised that her body had reacted the way that it did. She probably would have thrown up in the restaurant if she had known what she was eating.
Emma laughed at herself as she made a mental note to always ask what was in the food that she was eating. Once she walked into her hotel room, she quickly grabbed a cup of water and took the medicine he had given her. She climbed into bed and watched television as she thought about the gorgeous man.
She fell asleep thinking about him and wondering what type of man he was. Little did she know he was thinking about her as well.
When Emma awoke it was already dark outside. She was feeling much better and decided it was time for her to get cleaned up. She called the front desk asking for clean sheets and picked out a comfortable pair of pajamas to wear. She knew that she should get some food but did not feel like leaving her room. Delivery pizza would have to do for the night.
Emma took her time in the shower as she could hear the maids cleaning her room. She wanted to make sure they were gone before she made her way back out and ordered food. She was glad that she was feeling hungry and prayed that she would be able to hold the food down.
Once
she finished her shower, she took her time getting dressed, brushing her hair and teeth then ordered her dinner. Within a few minutes there was a knock at her door and Emma was amazed that her food had been delivered so quickly.
She jumped out of her bed and opened the door. Emma gasped in surprise because standing right in front of her was Mr. Sexy himself, Dr. Silvio.
“Ciao,” he said gently.
“Hello, Dr. Silvio,” Emma said obviously surprised. She stepped away from the door and let him into the room. Once Emma had shut the door behind him, he turned to look at her.
“Feeling better,” he asked with a big smile.
“Molto,” Emma replied. She was feeling much better and it was because the doctor had known exactly what was wrong with her.
He looked around her room, “American,” he asked her. Emma blushed as she looked around her room. It was the cheapest hotel she could find and imagined that the doctor was not used to being in a place like it. The walls were bare, one bed sat in the center of the room, one chair sat in the corner and a television sat on the dresser at the end of the bed.
The sink was not in the bathroom, but outside of it and it was about the same size as her bedroom at home. “Yes,” Emma replied. “Parla Ingles.”
“Piccolo,” the doctor replied.
Emma did not know enough Italian to have a conversation and the doctor only knew a small amount of English. Emma wondered how she was supposed to talk to him and what he was doing in her hotel room.
There was a loud knock at the door and Emma jumped, causing the doctor to laugh at her. She turned, opened the door and found the pizza delivery service. Emma quickly paid, grabbed her dinner and sat it down on the table next to her bed.
“Dinner,” the doctor asked.
Emma blushed knowing that it was not a great dinner and suddenly realizing that she was still in her pajamas.
“Dinner,” Emma replied, offering the doctor a piece. He did not hesitate to take one, which made Emma feel better. She poured the two of them a glass of coke and sat on her bed. Dr. Silvio sat beside her as they enjoyed the pizza.