venerdì 13 giugno 2008

Emergency!

There’s obviously not enough drama going on at the moment, what with the new house, the bank, work etc. I think we need some more. Last night, hanging out at Luca’s bar, just as they were preparing to close for the day, I hear an ear-splitting, blood-curdling scream like something from a horror film from the courtyard out the back. And then another – literally as if someone had been murdered, followed by shrieks of “AIUTO!! AIUTO!!”. Adrenaline shooting through my body, I run through the kitchen, followed closely by Luca and his colleague Paolo, to find Luca’s sister-in-law, Patrizia, clutching baby Maddalena to her, with a blood-soaked sponge pressed to Maddi’s forehead. Still screaming, she removes it to reveal a deep cut, pouring with blood and mixing with Maddi’s tears to produce a bloody puddle on the courtyard floor. I freeze, Luca grabs some paper towels, and Patrizia stands there, screeching like a murder victim. Hearing the chaos, Luca’s mum races through the kitchen (in my mind in slow motion), shrieking “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”, grabs the baby and hurtles out of the gate and up the road, in the direction of the nearby hospital, with Patrizia chasing alongside, wailing like a banshee and dragging three year-old Carolina behind her – also wailing. At that moment, there is a huge clap of thunder, and the skies open as if someone had turned on a tap.
The whole scene lasted no more than 5 seconds.
It took half an hour and two-and-a-half proseccos just for my heart-rate to return to normal. 45 minutes later, Luca’s mum, brother and little Carolina stroll back into the bar as if nothing had happened, Carolina stating quite matter-of-factly that “Maddi had a bobo because she wanted her Koala and slipped all on her own”. Everyone goes back to work, and I am left pale and light-headed, wondering just how they do it.
And that was Thursday.

2 commenti:

Kataroma ha detto...

Hmmm...P sounds like a real drama queen. I have a Puerto Rican friend like that. She sobs inconsolably at the drop of a hat. The first few times I thought she'd split with her husband or something but it's usually something like "I chipped a nail" or "husband hasn't returned my phone call yet and it's been 10 minutes."

My Dutch friend who has had 4 kids (med free) in Rome tells me that I definiely need to bring headphones to the hospital for my upcoming birth. Apparently the Italian women scream dramatically with every contraction even during early labour and it's very distracting. She said her doctor was amazed that she didn't scream during her births - she just concentrated on breathing and getting through each contraction.

Emmina ha detto...

I can't even imagine the casino they must make in labour. The thought scares me and I'm not even pregnant! Headphones sound like a good idea...