When they arrived at the
hospital they stopped in to see Beth and Dante first, bearing half of the
gifts, wrapped in bright paper, labeled, to everyone's amusement, with
Christmas stickers.
"Because *someone*
forgot to buy the right tags!" Terri complained with a smile.
"Yes *you* did, and
aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Carmie replied.
That even got a little
smile from Beth Ann who up til then had laid in her bed, looking wan and sad.
"Here
sweetie," Terri said with a smile, handing Beth the first present,
"We bought you some nice things for when the babies come home."
Tears welled in Beth's
eyes and she covered her face, "But what if they don't..." she
stopped that thought, sobbing.
Dante immediately and
gently pulled his wife forward, sat behind her on the bed and held her in his
arms. "Shhhh, Bethie Bean," he said quietly,
"remember what the Zia Julia said? Just because the doctor
said it doesn't mean it'll happen, and if it does then he'll be fine because
Petey will find him and take care of him." he said, hugging his
crying wife to his chest.
"It's all my
fault." she cried, the sound painful to everyone's ears,
"It's all my fault. I did something wrong. I did
something wrong."
"Bethie, sweetheart,
do you love Dante?" Natie asked gently, taking the younger woman's
cold hand in hers and holding it gently in her warmer ones.
"Yes!"
the distraught young woman reassured her.
"Then you did
nothing wrong." There's only one race to worry about, she thought
angrily. The human race, and some people are just more human than others.
"Your babies are blessings, not punishments. I truly believe
that God doesn't give you more than you can handle, honey. This little baby,
our Nathan, is a blessing every bit as much as Mara and Olivia. Do you
understand me? He has wonderful things to teach us, sweetheart."
"But..."
Beth began.
"No buts honey.
No matter how long we have him for, he's ours, and he's our blessing, and
we've had him now hours longer than the doctors said we would.
Just then Julia came in
with an armload of what looked like linens, to see 'her little dove' crying.
She walked over to the other side of the bed and smoothed back the
younger woman's hair with a fond glance toward Natie and Dante, who was still
on the bed with her, holding her as though to keep her from floating away.
She put the items down
on the bed and announced, "The nurses are going to bring Nathan in to
visit, il mia colomba. Everyone has to put on these gowns and masks and
then they'll bring him for a visit.
"Will I get to hold
him?" Bethie asked anxiously. She hadn't been allowed to touch
him yet and it broke her heart that she couldn't hold her own son.
"Yes, and whomever
else you wish to hold him may as well, but just for a little while.
Alright?"
Bethie would have agreed
to give up her legs for a chance to hold her son and quickly agreed. The
Rossi's suited up quickly, putting on the masks and mob caps they'd been given
after they had scrubbed their hands til they glowed.
"We don't need
gloves?" 'Deo asked, hoping the answer would be no.
"No," replied
Mrs. Di Marco quietly. "I was finally allowed in to see him.
He'd been crying non stop. His cry was high and monotone and was
painful to hear. It reminded me of Petey, and I asked to be allowed to touch
his hand only. They wrapped me up in one of these get ups and made me
scrub til I thought the skin would come off," she joked, " but
they let me in, and as soon as I touched his hand, he calmed down. That's
how I convinced them that he needed his mamma, and his sisters. So
they're bringing in the babies. Nathan first, and then the girls.
OK?"
Bethie sat up in bed
with help from her husband. Mrs. Rossi cranked up the head of the bed,
and Beth got up to use the rest room and wash up before putting the gown on,
hands shaking at the prospect of holding her son.
The nurses bustled in
first to make sure that everyone's gowns were secure, the masks and mob caps in
place and hands and nails clean. Another nurse, as wrapped up in gowns and
other accoutrements as the family, rolled the little bassinet which held Nathan
into the room. She took off the lid and gently handed the crying baby to
his mother.
At first Beth looked as
though she were going to cry with the baby who seemed to be inconsolable, until
Mrs. Di Marco gently took the baby's hand and brought the young woman's pointer
finger where it latched on with unexpected strength.
Mrs. Di Marco began
singing softly, and as she sang, the baby's wails became less and less until he
was silent and appeared contented.
'Fa la ninna, fa la
nanna,
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma.
Fa la ninna bel bambin,
Fa la nanna bambin bel,
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma.'
Beth looked down at his
little face. It was perfect other than the fine hairs on the sides of his face.
He was wrapped up in a blanket and smelled as though he'd just been
changed, smelling faintly of baby powder. She lifted him higher in her
arms and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. The baby made a little
sound like a mouse. Bethie put him back down quickly for fear she'd hurt
him, but instead, the baby seemed to be looking at her expectantly, little
mouth open and working.
"He's hungry, Mrs.
Rossi. We brought a bottle along, unless you'd prefer to feed him
yourself?" the nurse asked, smiling.
"May I?"
she asked.
"Of course.
Your auntie here convinced us that a baby who has been in close quarters
with his sisters for nine months must be missing not only them but the first
heartbeat he ever heard, and the first voice he ever loved. We can only
leave him with you for about an hour, then we're going to put him in a larger
bassinet with his sisters and see if his health improves, provided that that's
alright with you?" she said, looking back and forth between Dante
and Bethie.
"Of course!
Anything for him! And if... if... if this is all the time they have
together... at least they get that." she said, trying once again to
control her tears.
"We can't tell you
that everything is going to be all right, Mrs. Rossi, we wish we could,"
the head nurse said to Bethie, "But we can make what time he has here as
comfortable as possible." She hoped beyond hope that their 'Zia'
Julia, who was as much the grandmother's sister as she was, was right, and
being with his mother and sisters would strengthen him.
After feeding him, Beth
Ann reluctantly handed the baby over to his father, who held him much as he'd
done his wife, treating the tiny figure as though it were made of finest
crystal, gently touching the little face, finding little hand, tiny fingers
wrapping once again with amazing strength around as much of his father's much
larger finger as he could.
Johnny and Natie shared
the little bundle between them, arms creating an impenetrable cradle through
which the baby could not fall nor be harmed in any way by the monsters that
lurked under the beds or in the closets.
Mrs. Rossi began to
softly sing:
Vento sottile, vento del
mattino,
Vento che scuoti la cima
del mio pino.
At which point Mr. Rossi
began to sing from the beginning, the family recognized the round from when
they were little.
Vento che danzi che
balli,
La gioia tu mi porti
vento sottile.
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
La, la, la, la, la, la,
la,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, vento sottile.
Mrs. Di Marco, who loved
to sing, jumped in on the third round, patting Bethie's hands as they all sang,
enjoying the delighted smile on the younger woman's face, and the looks of
remembering on the faces of the children.
They all finished
singing, everyone in the room was smiling, when the baby made little noises
that sounded like lalalalalalala. He stopped, then repeated his noise.
"Lalalalalalala."
Surprised, the
grandparent's sang the song again, accompanying with a coordinated swaying of
their bodies. The baby immediately settled down again and seemed to
listen closely to the words and music, even though there was no way he could
understand either. When they finished the baby made another squeaking
sound and began to fuss.
The elder Rossi's handed
him to his mother, who allowed the baby to wrap his hand around her finger
again. His eyes began to flutter closed, and his little mouth opened in a
wide, toothless yawn.
Mrs. Di Marco sat beside
the bed and began to sing once more;
"Fa la ninna, fa la
nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma
Fa la ninna bel bambin,
Fa la nanna bambin bel,
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma."
The infant was asleep
before she'd finished singing. "Zia Julia, you have to teach that
song to me, please?" Bethie asked with a watery smile.
"Of course
mia colomba." She smiled, "And look, just in time for his
sisters." she said happily.
Everyone ooh'ed and
aaah'ed at the babies, trying to be as quiet as possibly in deference to the
sleeping baby boy. The girls, who were both healthy, were passed from Dan
to Bethie, to grand parent to grand parent to aunt to uncle to parent's again.
It was their feeding time now, and there was no shortage of people
willing to help feed them. The aunts and uncles groaned when the parent's
decided that they wanted the job for themselves, but everyone understood and
were happy with the promise that they could be next.
When the girls were fed
and burped, the nurses came in and changed the babies, reattaching tubes to
Nathan that had been removed before his visit.
Bethie began to cry
again as they put the babies into the same bassinet. "Do you have to
take them so soon? What are those tubes? What happens if one of
them comes lose? Will they be safe?"
She would have asked
more questions but the nurse, Ms. Esmae, shushed her gently and gave her a shot
of a mild sedative. The young lady was doing much better now but was
still allowing stress and worry to keep her awake at night.
"Yes, Mrs. Rossi, it's
time for the babies to get back to the nursery now." she smiled as
she wheeled the bassinet out of the room and back toward the nursery.
"What if... what
if... what if..." Bethie asked, unable to make the words come out of
her mouth voluntarily.
Ms. Esmae had no problem
understanding what the young mother meant, "Mrs. Rossi, if that
happens, then that'll be just a little extra time he had with his sisters
before God took him home. It'll be alright. We'll keep a close eye
on all of them. All right?" she asked kindly. "Now
when all you all are ready to leave just take those togs off and put them in
that hamper in the hallway, OK?"
"Thank you."
Bethie said, yawning despite her desire to stay awake and visit with her
family.
"I think it's time
we got going." Natie said, bending down to give her daughter in law
a sound kiss and a hug. She turned to her son and gave him a much harder
hug and kiss. "You did good, honey. Those babies are beautiful
little angels. You and Bethie did good work." she smiled.
Dan suddenly felt the
need to be close to his mother and hugged her especially hard if only quickly.
"Thanks mamma." he whispered before releasing her.
Johnny wasn't half as
reserved, shaking his son's hand, clapping him on the back hard enough to cause
the younger man to cough and then pulled him into a bear hug. "Proud
of you son. SO proud." he said, his voice catching.
The others began to
leave the room with hugs and kisses all around.
Amadeo hung back a
little until the others were further away and went back to his sleepy sister in
law who had begun to cry again, saying softly 'It's my fault. It's my
fault.'
"Bethie," he
asked tentatively, "Were you ever paddled in school when you were a
student?"
"What? What
kind of question is that, Mister Amadeo?" she responded, waking
despite the sedative, and slightly offended that her sixteen year old brother
in law would ask a question like that.
"Well I only ask
because we have this Vice Principal at our school who has a real problem with
people blaming themselves for stuff they couldn't possibly have any control
over."
"Why are you
telling me this?" Beth Ann asked, curiosity overcoming her fatigue.
"'Cause, Mrs. Dante
Rossi, if you don't stop blaming yourself I'm gonna find out where he lives and
ask him if he'd please come visit you here and bring his paddle along.
Believe me, after a few whacks and a talking to from him, you won't be
blaming yourself for stuff anymore." he replied with a little half smile.
He leaned down and gave his sister in law a kiss, then followed the
rest of his family.
Bethie leaned back
against her pillows and began to drift off, her little brother in law's final
words whirling in her head.
******************************************************************************************************
NOTES:
All Italian Lyrics and
Lulabyes found on Mama Lisa's World
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma
Fa la ninna bel bambin,
Fa la nanna bambin bel,
Fa la ninna, fa la nanna
Nella braccia della
mamma.
Go to Sleep, Go to
Sleepy
Go to sleep, go to
sleepy
In the arms of your
mother,
Go to sleep, lovely
child,
Go to sleepy, child so
lovely,
Go to sleep, go to
sleepy
In the arms of your
mother.
Italian/English Lyrics
and Music can be found on Mama Lisa's World
Fa La Ninna, Fa La Nanna
Vento sottile
(Italian) Round
Vento sottile, vento del
mattino,
Vento che scuoti la cima
del mio pino.
Vento che danzi che
balli,
La gioia tu mi porti
vento sottile.
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
La, la, la, la, la, la,
la,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, vento sottile.
Gentle Wind
(English) Round
Gentle wind, morning
wind,
Wind that shakes the top
of my pine tree.
Wind that prances that
dances,
The joy you bring us
gentle wind!
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
La, la, la, la, la, la,
la,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, gentle wind.
No comments:
Post a Comment