by Grace Kagni
“I feel like a truck hit me and I can’t move.” His eyes were red from the fever and the shivers stopped although he still felt cold.
“The tablets will take a little while to make the fever go down. I asked Filomena to make a vegetable soup for dinner. You should have a little before going to sleep,” Milania said, holding his limp hand.
“I don’t think I can eat anything. It just comes back up,” he said.
“Well, even if you keep it down for half an hour it will give you a little nourishment which your body needs. I’ll have a quick shower and change before getting us some soup.” She started to undress to have a shower and walked into the bathroom to wash.
Liam watched as Milania took off her clothing and walked to the bathroom. His body was too weak to move but he enjoyed the sight of her and was grateful she was home with him. He’d never been sick a day in his life and he suddenly was hit by the flu. It was a terrible feeling so he was extremely appreciative to have Milania by his side.
She put on a pair of leggings and one of Liam’s t-shirts that was like a short dress for her before going to the kitchen to get some dinner. Filomena had made vegetable soup and chicken cutlets, which were Milania’s favorite. She poured two plates of soup and placed them on a tray along with a couple of pieces of the cutlets with cooked vegetables. She didn’t know if Liam would eat anything but she had to try to get something in him. She smiled when she thought how he was like a child – needing to be fed and told when to take medication. Men were like children when they were sick.
She walked into the bedroom and placed the tray on the desk. Then she helped him sit up in bed, propping pillows behind his back so he felt comfortable and then went to get his bowl of soup. She held it up for him while he took a couple of spoonfuls before saying he couldn’t have any more. Milania then proceeded to feed him a few more spoonfuls before cutting the cutlet into tiny pieces for him. This too, she needed to feed him a piece at a time as he insisted he couldn’t have any more.
“Amore, a couple of more pieces and then I’ll let you rest.”
He grumbled but had two more pieces of meat. Then he wanted to lie down but she told him to sit up, allowing his body to digest the food.
She sat beside him eating her soup and then chicken with vegetables. She was pleased she managed to get him to eat more than she thought he would and hoped he’d keep the food down.
When he slid down onto his side and fell asleep, she felt his forehead was cool again and was relieved enough to leave him on his own while she worked on some things she needed to do before leaving for their trip. She worked in his study and was typing on the computer when she heard him at the door. “Hey, what are you doing up?”
“I feel better and wanted to thank you for taking care of me,” he walked to her side. “I’ve never felt like that before and it sort of scared me.”
She took his hand and walked with him back to the bedroom. “You shouldn’t be out of bed. You feel fine now because the fever has dropped but it will most probably rise again when the medicine has worn off.” She lifted the bedcover to wait for him to get into bed. “Come on. Get back into bed.”
He grinned at her and knew she was his guardian angel so he got back into bed. “It’s kind of lonely on my own here.”
She looked at him and saw the little boy in him so she grinned and told him she’d get the laptop to work in bed. When she returned, he was already asleep. She smiled as she got into bed and continued to work until she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Milania turned off the light and went to sleep.
During the night, she was awoken by the sound of moaning and when she turned on the light, she saw Liam sweating as he groaned. His eyes were open but he wasn’t talking.
“Amore, you’re fever has gone up again. You need to take the tablets,” she said, reaching over on his nightstand for the medicine. As soon as she had two tablets in her hand, she grabbed the glass of water and held his head up to pop the tablets and water into his mouth. “You need to swallow these.”
He was cold and felt like throwing up. The moment he felt the water in his mouth, he found the energy to jump out of bed and crawl to the bathroom to throw up.
Milania followed Liam into the bathroom and placed a wet facecloth on the back of his neck as he threw up the food from dinner. “It’s okay. Let it all out,” she whispered as she stroked his back.
When nothing more came out, he sat back and let Milania wipe his face with the wet facecloth. He took her hand and kissed it. “Thank you.”
“Okay, let’s get you back to bed,” she said, helping him stand. Then she got him back into bed and gave him two more tablets with some water. “You need to take these for the fever.”
As he swallowed the pills, they felt like sandpaper in his throat. He thought he was over it but it hit him harder now than earlier. He turned onto his side again and closed his eyes, waiting for the terrible feeling to pass. Then he felt Milania get into bed and his body relaxed from the warmth of her body.
Milania spooned him, hoping her body would keep him warm and when she heard him doze off, she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.
When they awoke Saturday morning, Liam’s fever was lower although he was still warm. She told him he needed to stay in bed the rest of the day and when he didn’t have the energy to argue with her, he agreed to stay in bed the morning and have a nap in the afternoon.
He slept most of the morning while Milania worked on the laptop in bed and by lunchtime, he was feeling better and got out of bed to have more soup for lunch.
Milania warmed two bowls of soup in the kitchen and they sat at the breakfast bar to eat.
He ate the entire bowl and was sleepy soon after so he went back to bed to sleep off the tiredness.
She gave him two more tablets and went to work in his study while he slept. It was nearly dinnertime when she realized she hadn’t seen him all afternoon so she went to see how he was and found him sitting up in bed. “Hey, you’re looking much better. How do you feel?” she asked, testing his temperature with the thermometer. It was down to normal again.
“I feel run down but much better,” he smiled. “Hopefully after a good night sleep, I’ll be back to normal and ready to leave on Monday.”
“It’s good to see you feeling better,” she said, sitting on the bed. “How about I make us some pasta for dinner? I’ll make a light tomato and basil sauce.”
“It sounds great,” he said, caressing her face. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“That is what wives do,” she smiled. “You’ve done more for me than I’ve done for you so I’m happy I was here to take care of you when you needed it.”
She went to the kitchen to make the pasta sauce while Liam went to have a shower and shave.
When he was done, he walked into the kitchen and smelled the delicious aroma of the pasta sauce. “It smells wonderful.”
“I hope you’re hungry,” she commented.
“I’m famished. I feel like I haven’t eaten in days,” he smirked. He watched as she prepared the pasta and while he watched her, he knew he couldn’t live without her. He needed her by his side – always. It was destiny they happened together but now that she was his wife, it all made sense. She was the power within him that gave him a purpose and the more he watched her, the more his love for her was evident.
She saw Liam watching her and noticed he was pensive. The fever seemed to have knocked him over and it was like he had needed comforting but now he was almost back to normal. It was strange to see a grown man of his stature and power to be weakened by the flu but she was happy to have been there to make him better.
Liam got up and walked around to where Milania was cooking and wrapped his arms around her from the back. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there for me.” He kissed the back of her neck.
“I’m happy to see you are feeling better. This doesn’t mean you should be running or tiring yourself out the next few days but please pro
mise me you’ll take it easy.” She turned to look into his beautiful blue eyes and saw he wasn’t one hundred percent back to normal. He had dark circles under his eyes, which meant he still needed rest.
They had dinner out on the patio and the warm sea air did Liam good. Halfway through the dinner, he started to yawn and said he needed to go to bed early so as soon as they had finished eating and the dishes were in the dishwasher, Liam went to lie down for a good night sleep.
He woke up Sunday morning feeling back to normal so he went for a run on the beach and when he came back, he found Milania cooking lunch.
“It smells good. What are you making?” he asked, looking inside the pots on the stove.
“You’ll like this. My mother used to make it all the time. It’s a pasta sauce with fish and then a Mediterranean fish dish as the main course,” she said, stirring the sauce.
“I can’t wait to try everything. I’m going to have a shower and then I’ll help.” He leaned down to kiss her on the neck.
“No, have your shower and then relax. Today is Sunday and it’ll be the only day you can rest so why don’t you sit out on the patio while I finish in the kitchen. We can have lunch as we listen to the waves,” she smiled, knowing he would agree.
He went to shower and when he came back, he was dressed in a pair of bermuda shorts and a polo shirt, looking every bit the gorgeous rich American man he was. He offered to prepare the table but she told him she’d already done it so he was told to sit outside in the sunshine until the food was ready.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the patio while they talked about their trip. Milania was relieved Liam was feeling much better since they would be flying to Italy the next day.
Chapter Eleven
Their flight to Rome was uneventful. They travelled at night, arriving Monday afternoon in Rome so they spent nearly the entire time in bed. When they arrived in Rome, Dalton and Rachael who looked very much a couple greeted them.
Liam and Milania gave each other a look of acknowledgement before they joined the other two. The porter pushed their bags on an airport trolley as they hugged each other.
“It’s so good to see you both,” Rachael said, hugging Milania. “You look great and you don’t look like you’ve been a day away from Italy.”
Milania had the air of an Italian in every sense of the word and it was what Liam loved the best about her. She maintained her culture and attitude toward life as an Italian while she was in the US. “Well, I am Italian so you can take me to another country but I’ll still be an Italian anywhere I go.” She shrugged and smiled.
“You on the other hand, look like Italy’s been good to you,” Liam said to Dalton. “You certainly don’t look like a tourist.”
“I have Rachael to thank for that,” he said, wrapping his arm around Rachael’s shoulders.
“So you two are dating?” Milania had to know.
“Well, I guess we are. We haven’t officially said we are but we’ve been spending a lot of time together, especially recently with the Foundation underway.
“I’m happy for you both. You make a good looking couple,” Milania said.
“Okay, let’s get going. James and Serena are waiting for us for dinner. The entire Conti family will be there to say hello so let’s go,” Dalton said.
“I can’t wait to see Serena and James’ new house. It’s apparently massive and has all the comforts of a hotel,” Milania said.
“Yes, the Miller men enjoy comforts of a luxury hotel at home. Why not if we can have it?” Dalton confirmed.
“It must be nice to feel like you’re in a hotel,” Rachael whispered to Milania, knowing she would be the only one who’d understand her.
“They’re really nice people when you really get to know them and if things work out with Dalton, you’ll soon see for yourself. So, tell me how are things between the two of you?” Milania asked as they walked together to the car. The men walked a few paces behind, talking in hushed tones so Milania suspected they were talking about the same thing.
“He’s been really nice. Wonderful really and I don’t know how long it will last. We’ve been spending a lot of time together but as friends and nothing more so don’t think anything more will come out of it. We’re certainly not a couple.” Rachael shrugged her shoulders.
“Would you want to become a couple?” Milania had a notion that her friend may not be interested in Dalton.
“Well, look at him. He’s rich, gorgeous, caring and trustworthy. Who wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with him?” Rachael whispered, turning to look at her friend.
“But?” Milania suspected there was more.
“But, I’m really not looking for a relationship. I know he thinks we’re going toward that but I really don’t feel like I could dedicate my time to anybody. It’s not Dalton, it’s me.”
Milania felt sorry for her friend because she knew that if Dalton was anything like his brothers, he wouldn’t give up that easily so Rachael would find out soon enough that the Miller men have a way of creeping into a woman’s life and not letting go no matter what she wants.
They talked about their week ahead during the drive to James and Serena’s house. Excitement filled the car with their plans and the moment they drove through ‘James and Serena’s Place’ as it said on the gate, all eyes were on the extensive garden, pond and huge house. There were lots of Ohs and Ahs as they got out of the car.
Serena and James came out and as Milania flew into Serena’s arms, she took a step back to look at her belly. She was huge but Milania could see she was happy.
“You must be tired after the trip,” Serena said, walking with Milania and Rachael up the steps into their house.
“Actually, we slept on the plane so we feel fine. Liam had the flu over the weekend but he’s better now so we’re all ready for our trip to Vernazza.” Milania responded when they walked through the front door. “Oh my! Serena, this house is absolutely spectacular.”
“It really is like being in a hotel, isn’t it?” Rachael asked, understanding Dalton’s comment. She too was amazed by the luxury of the house. It wasn’t about elegance but what the house wasn’t missing. It had everything imaginable and it was really well designed. The ground floor was a large open plan space with a central living area boasting a circular fireplace with sofas. A kitchen and family dining area were designed on one side of the living area and a large play area for the kids on the other side.
The men went off to get beers from the refrigerator while the women opened a bottle of red wine. Then they all gathered around in the living area on the large sofas.
“So, what do you all have planned this week?” James asked, curious to know what his siblings have been up to. He knew about the Foundation and was thrilled by the idea when they told him so he wanted to know what they’d done up to now.
Dalton and Rachael told everyone they had scheduled a town hall meeting to discuss what the Foundation could do for the town. They’d set up times where they could meet individually with local businesses to understand what they needed and to make a financial plan for them. That was where Rachael would guide them formulating individual business plans to pick up their business. Milania would prepare brochures to post on the Internet to help push the business forward. Dalton would help with the businesses getting their financial plan operational and Liam would oversee the global marketing strategies to boost the town as a whole. Each one had a huge job ahead and it was a one of a kind operation that would work by putting together different minds. They were really proud of what they started and once the first plan takes off with Vernazza, the Foundation will become a name in every household.
“It sounds like you have everything worked out,” James exclaimed.
“Yes and it appears we have a good coordination team with Dalton and Rachael working together.” Liam winked, knowing his younger brother had the hots for Rachael. It was plastered all over his face and it was only a matter of time before he announced they were datin
g. The Foundation would give them the opportunity to work together without complications.
They enjoyed the rest of the time catching up with family business and when it was dinnertime, they barbecued in the back garden on the massive grill. The women sat around on the comfortable sofas while the brothers sipped on beer near the grill.
The next morning the four of them drove to Vernazza for the town hall meeting planned the following morning. As soon as they drove into Vernazza, the girls remained silent as they watched with shock the state of their beautiful town still struggling to rebuild. There was nothing but rubbish where a beautiful park with trees, children’s games and seating used to stand and as they looked around, they noticed there was much of the same where the town used to thrive.
“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Milania whispered.
“I’ve been back only once after the flood and it looks about the same. I didn’t expect it to be still in this state of disarray. It’s like the flood hit only a month ago. Why do you suppose?” Rachael looked out the window at the deserted town.
“It looks like the town doesn’t have the funding to clean up and dispose of all the rubbish the flood brought in. I think we need to assess the town before the meeting tomorrow to lay down some urgent services that need to be handled before we can start. Is it possible the town doesn’t have any funding to clean up?” Liam asked, struck by the state of affairs in the town. He’d seen much of the same overseas in the army but that was caused by war. This is a town in Italy so what could be the reason for this?
“Unfortunately, when funding is given to benefit the rebuild of a town in Italy, much of the money is taken by corrupt people so the town doesn’t know how to cope with what is received and what little funding they are given disappears in very little time,” Rachael explains, knowing very well how the Italian system works.