Every Sunday, same time, same table, same two people. They once were young , heart to heart. They grew old together. 12 and 13 to 27 and 28 to now 72 and 73 .They were bound. Those tiny streets of Italy engraved their footprints, and left their trail of love there always .You might be wondering who “they” is.. Or you might not care at all. But, you should know the story of Roman and Rosalie .
12 and 13 ( and 16 and 17)
One empty house, fresh and new was now not just filled with a family, but a home. Roman’s parents had just recently passed away and he and his grandparents needed not just to turn the page of their life, but to change their book.
The first day in the house was quiet.. Though the neighborhood was anything but quiet, no one stopped by. Boxes shuffled through the house as the wind blew through the wind chimes. Hours passed slowly but the next day approached swiftly. Day two was different, Roman and his grandparents were woken by laughter, singing, and the welcoming smell of baked goods. Roman was a curious boy, so his own imagination swept up his two feet to go explore. There was some sort of party or festival going on, hosted by his next door neighbor’s family. As he was walking through the intricate stoned walkway below him , he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned abruptly then suddenly, he was face to face with a recognizable girl. Roman didn’t know her but he knew the universe brought her there for a reason. Two strangers, who would never be strangers again after this moment. The mysterious girl was true to be Rosalie .. She introduced herself with a soft smile, “Hi , I saw that you moved in next door to my family!”, the girl exclaimed. Rosalie extended her hand waiting for a shake back, but Roman stood in his own diffidence. But finally, his smile grew and his hand met hers, “ Hi .. um, I’m Roman.” Continuous hours passed, and they talked and talked and talked. “The girl” took Roman around town on her bike and showed him where he would be attending school. Rosalie was 9 months older than Roman, but still in the same grade so they would still have glances of each other through classes.
After this day the two were inseparable, “Bestfriends” they said. Though just a saying never proved that they didn’t feel something more between each other. Their love for eachother was conspicuous but was never admitted to one another. Though their love was proved at 16 and 17, when they became each other’s dates for junior prom. Roman wore an all white suit with a pale green bouquet corsage. His white suit complemented her snowy covered dress. But even so, that wasn’t the only beautiful white dress she’d pick out in the next ten years.
27 and 28
It was a euphoric day, smiles lead through the crowd of family and friends. White, sage, and gold decorations were spread throughout the venue. Rosalie was wearing a long white gown with lace and gleam green flowers on it. Roman was dressed in a tidy white suit with a softly colored green flower sticking out on his left shoulder. However they were no longer two strangers. But, something told them that they were no longer 12 and 13. The lovely white veil covered woman stood peering at the suited man, just three feet away from him. The crowd was agog for the upcoming moment. It was difficult to believe that the two small children that would deliver mail through the neighborhood were now standing under a wedding arch together. Even though at 16 and 17, Roman and Rosalie never lasted as “boyfriend and girlfriend”.. At 27 and 28, April 18, 1978, they were pronounced as husband and wife.
72 and 73
Warm tea filled their cold, old throats. Once again, like every Sunday, Roman and Rosalie’s souls met once again at that same table, in “Giovannis”, where they had their first date 56 years ago. Something always brought them back there, maybe it was the killer chicken alfredo or it was love that kept them there. Even as they got older they never became belligerent or placated towards each other. The two of them owned a home together, still in that same neighborhood that they grew up in. It was a perfect house, but way too big for just the two of them. Roman used to tell his daughter Josephine, if anything happened to him while he was out for work reasons , she could have the house. “Josephine, I love you.. Okay and if anything happens…” Josephine never liked to hear that. Roman forever feared losing his daughter and Rosalie because it was all he ever had.
Everyday went by on repeat.. Roman woke up early everyday to feed the baby pig and walk over to the butcher to get meat for dinner the following night. Meanwhile Rosalie would either sleep in or bake her famous butterscotch cookies. Today was different. Roman awakened at 6
am, as usual and started his daily routine. He went into the kitchen and to his surprise he found Rosalie sitting by the counter. “Good morning sweetheart, I’m off to the butcher!”, he said, leaning in for a kiss. Her body was still. It was almost like she was numb. His head tilted back and his feet moved with him. “Rosalie, are you feeling okay ..?”, Roman said with worry shivering across his voice projection. She couldn’t speak. The words were there but they couldn’t come out. Her words and voice sounded like a scrambled alphabet. Roman had seen this before, the odd gestures reminded him of how his father died. The telephone appeared in Roman’s hand as quick as lightning and he dialed the numbers “911”. Minutes slipped away then red and blue lights filled the early, dark outdoors. The EMT came in to see what the affliction was. They immediately noticed the symptoms and brought her into the ambulance on a stretcher. Roman’s hand clutched Rosalie’s soft wrinkly hand. He hadn’t felt that frightened in years. The ambulance ride was long, the rain drops made a thumping sound on the window that helped him keep notice of Rosalie’s heartbeat. What was just 10 minutes felt like forever. Finally, they approached the hospital and Roman knew how this would go. The smell of the hospital ran chills down his body. That same old,antiseptic smell. Roman came to a sweat ,the thrill of being at the hospital shook anxious waves through his body. Uneasiness spread a gut wrenching feeling in his stomach faster than black ink bleeds through paper. The doctor wheeled Rosalie in on the stretcher and moved her through doorways as quickly as they could. Doctors filled the halls, and following behind was Roman. Soon, they were rushed into a small white room, with a bed and medical equipment attached to it. Softly, the nurses lifted her slim,enervated body onto the firm hospital bed. While Rosalie was being latched to the appliances, Roman sat in his own silence. The doctor’s didn’t make a pithy. “Roman, can you please leave the room, we need to run some tests.”, the tall doctor said. Roman wanted to stay, but he knew he couldn’t argue. Roman stepped outside and called his daughter, Josephine. The other side of the phone a voice echoed through the speaker, “Dad, is everything okay.. Hello?”. Roman took a deep shaky breath before he replied back, “Your mothers in the hospital come NOW, I’m not sure if I have time to storytell.” Minutes turned into a little over an hour.. He waited but halfway through the hour, Josephine appeared in the seat next to him. Subsequently, the doorknob made a clicking sound and the door flew open. “I’m not sure if she’s going to survive, what happened this morning was a stroke and she just had a second one.”,the man said. “You can come in now, her heartbeat keeps skipping. “Josephine was already crying and Roman’s eyes swelled. The two of them stepped into the room, quickly but quietly. There she was,laying there, her body was still. Roman felt like her soul was drifting away from his. The tears that he was shielding back finally broke through the barrier. Roman stepped aside Rosalie’s body. His heart fell into his hands. The cacophony of on and off beeping noises on the pulse oximeter got faster. Roman leaned in, and finished the kiss that he didn’t finish from when he found her that morning. Letting out his last words to her almost corpse, “Until next time Rosalie, Sunday, 6:30,Giovannis.. Wait for me, I’ll be there as fast as God allows me.Ti amerò sempre non importa cosa.” (I’ll always love you no matter what.)
