St Piran’s: Italian Surgeon, Forbidden Bride

The kittens would miss Gio almost as much as she would, she reflected sadly. He’d been so good with them. She choked back the emotion as she recalled the way he had lain on the floor, chuckling as the two growing kittens had romped over him. And the time she’d come in late one Friday night after her session of volunteering at the Samaritans to find Gio lying asleep on the sofa, the kittens curled up on his chest in a tangle.

‘I wish I had her courage. She faced death with the same warmth, bravery, humour and gentleness of spirit with which she embraced life. I was at her side every second of her brief but futile fight, and I was holding her hand when she took her final breath.’

Maybe it was time to tell her about Sofia. If he wanted Jessica to trust him and share the secrets that held her back from relationships with people, then he had to trust her, too. Which meant placing his broken heart in her hands. He cleared his throat, the emotion building before he even begun to speak.
‘Lori was my wife’s nickname,’ he began, hit by a wave of memories. ‘In Italy it is common to shorten someone’s surname to use as a derivative. Sofia’s maiden name was Loriani.to friends she was Lori. At school everyone called us “Lori and Cori”.’ A smile came unbidden. ‘We used the names for each other into adulthood.’

Gently, he slid a palm under each warm, rounded little body, lifting them close for a better view, seeing the similarities and differences in what were clearly siblings’ faces. He loved animals, and would have surrounded himself with them, but Sofia had been allergic to several kinds of animals, making pets impossible. Thinking of his beloved wife, taken from him so dev-astatingly five years before, brought the familiar pain and he closed his eyes, rubbing his face against the two fluffy animals, feeling the dual purrs vibrating against his hands.

‘I would rather not have returned to Theatre for that poor girl tonight,’ he’d admitted, and she had seen the lines of tiredness around his eyes.

‘Rita asked Gio if his wife would be joining him here.’ Brianna paused, and Jess steeled herself for what her friend would reveal next. ‘Gio said,“Unfortunately not,” and you could see the speculation in Rita’s eyes until Gio added, after a deliberate pause,“She’s dead.” It was just awful. I felt terrible for him. He looked so sad. Even Rita was embarrassed, and that’s saying something.’