Summer, 1983 (I'll call you by mine)

Waiting

The steady beeping of the heart monitor is all Oliver could focus on watching Elios chest rise and fall with every breath. Annella was outside answering questions that the authorities were asking her. She had lied to the nurse and told them Oliver was her son. Oliver gave her a sideways glance.
"What? You are my son I just left in-law out. She doesn't need to know that."
He sat holding Elios hand. The doctors were going to slowly down his medication they thought that's what's possibly keeping him asleep. It was a waiting game now, Oliver didn't know how much of this he could take. He needed a cigarette, walking out of the room he saw Annella walking toward him.
"Anything?" He asked her.
"No, they are going to talk to the girl that was at the front desk of the hotel. She's the one who got help." Annella wrapped her arms around Oliver's waist, he knew what she was feeling was worse than his own. Elio was her only child, she had already lost a husband and she was close to losing Elio once before. "I know he's going to wake up, Oliver. I know he's going to my piccino is strong."
"I know Momma. Listen I can't take it in here I need to get out of my head for a minute I'm going to take a smoke do you need one too?"
"I can't leave him, I'll stay here and when you are done I will go out."
Annella walked into the room sitting down next to Elio, grabbing his hand she kissed his knuckles. She spoke just above a whisper.
"Piccino my sweet boy, who did this to you? Oliver is beside himself, and the boys keep calling to see if you've woken up. Elio wake up sweetheart." She pushed back the curls on his forehead and ran her thumb between his eyebrows. Annella smiled for a moment she used to do this to Elio as a baby, it was the only way to get him to go to sleep.
Doctors checked on Elio all hours of the day and night. Oliver had gotten a room for the night across from the hospital. After making sure Annella was settled he promised he would call if Elio woke up. He laid in bed next to Elio, they had spent two nights apart and tonight wasn't going to be another one.
"I shouldn't have told you to come, I'm sorry." Oliver kisses Elios forehead. Soon sleep overtook him, he was woken up by a prodding sensation in his stomach. Opening his eyes he was meet with the gorgeous welcoming pools of green.
"You're hogging the bed." Elios voice was rough and strained. Oliver quickly got up off the bed, he kissed Elio. His lips, forehead, cheeks, neck.
"Why are you crying?" Elio asked, placing his hand on top of Olivers who's hand was cupping his face. "Oliver?"
"I nearly saw my life without you and it terrified me."
"I'm not going anywhere," Elio spoke softly, the gruffness was fading from his voice.

They laid in the bed, the sounds from the hospital fading into the background. Oliver asked all the right questions, but Elio was resistant.
"I already know, so just tell me the truth. Was it him?"
"Oliver, I told you I don't want to talk about it I just want to go home and be done with this ok?"
"Alright, I promise I won't bring it up again."

Later that night.

"Babe I'm going to go to the hotel and rest for a little while calling the boys and tell them how you are doing ok?"
Elio nodded, he had been struggling to stay awake for the last few hours they all needed rest. He went to the room and called the house. Elio was scheduled to be released in the morning and they would be on the first train out.

Oliver sat in the theater when a few of the members of the orchestra had come to visit they had invited Oliver that night. So that he could take his mind off of things. Lights dimming as the fleet of members walked onto the stage. Seeing Giovanni, his fists clenched he wasn't sure he could do this. But once the young man on the piano started playing Oliver eased. Anyone who could play the piano was an angel in Oliver's eyes. His heart filled with joy as he closed his eyes remembering seeing Elio in this very theater ten years ago. During the summer Oliver and a few professors had an opportunity to speak at the University in Rome.
They had heard of the beautiful music the orchestra created and they were all invited. Oliver always knew where Elio was, Mr. Perlman kept Oliver informed only when he asked. They had sat in a box seat, Oliver could see Elio perfectly but Elio never saw him. The rest of the members could have been naked and Oliver would have never looked away from Elio. From the time he walked on stage to the time he walked off Oliver only focused on him. Oliver went back to his hotel that night and wrote a letter to his wife. It was the only time in their marriage that he had thought of leaving her. He wrote it, read it and tossed it in the trash. He could leave his wife but he could never leave his children.
Oliver was brought back to reality when the lights came up and the standing ovation occurred. Looking around Oliver didn't see anyone staring at him, he was sure that if anyone saw him they probably thought he'd fallen asleep. He tried to quickly leave the theater, he needed to walk but he didn't make it far. Too many people were trying to leave, he decided to leave out of a side door.
"Oliver!" He heard his name from the stage, looking up he saw one of the girls that had come to visit. She waved at him to follow her, he knew he couldn't be rude and run. Oliver followed her to the stage door exit.
"How's Elio?" She had a very thick Italian accent, he almost didn't understand her.
"He's good, he finally woke up."
"Oh perfecto, I come and see him before you leave."
"We will be leaving early tomorrow to go back home."
Walking down the long hall, Oliver's heart was beating out of his chest. He didn't want to be back here. She opened a door that leads to a room full of people, all turning to stare at him.
"Everyone this is Elio's fiancee Oliver."
He was greeted by everyone, asking how was Elio, wanting to know if they could come visit us when we got home.
"Yeah you all are welcome when you get a chance, we don't usually leave to go back to New York until the first week of August so you have plenty of time."
"Do they know who attacked Elio?"
Oliver caught site of Giovanni walking in the back of the room, Oliver stepped toward him.
"I don't know that's something that you'd have to ask Giovanni, he was with Elio when it happened."
Giovanni stopped in his tracks looking at Oliver as everyone turned to look at him.
"What is he taking about Gi?" A younger man asked.
"I don't know, I think you are confused, Oliver."
"No, I'm not confused, not at all. Elio and I stay at the same hotel whenever we come to Rome. The girl at the front desk very well, so when she saw Elio leave she noticed who he left with. So when he stumbled back into the lobby a half hour later beat up and bloody she remembered he left with you. I also see that your knuckles look pretty rough you look like you hit someone." Oliver began to walk toward Gi as he spoke.
"No no, I would never hurt Elio."
"Really? Has anyone ever asked you why Elio left when he did? Or why Elio nearly died?"
Oliver was only inches away from Gi now.
"It's because of you, you took advantage of a broken-hearted Elio and fed him anything that would make him dependent on you. You gave him drug after drug until you almost killed him. Then in a moment of panic when he was laying on a bathroom floor, you left him there to die!" Oliver jabbed Gi with two fingers forcing him to step back. "Then when you ask him to take you back he turns you down he tells you the truth and you didn't like his answer so you attacked him. If you ever loved someone the way I love Elio you would be running for your fucking life." Oliver reals back knocking Giovanni off of his feet. When Oliver's fist made contact with Giovanni's face the cracking sound it made left everyone in the room still.
Two men that had been standing at the door walked towards Oliver, taping him on the shoulder. One took out handcuffs bending down to cuff the unconscious Giovanni.
"We've got it from here Mr. Adler." The taller officer spoke.
Oliver nodded. "When he wakes up tell him to stay the hell away from my family."
"You won't have to worry about that for a long time Mr. Adler, he's wanted for quite a bit of things we could just never prove that he did it."
"Good"
"Tell Mrs. Perlman we will come out and visit her soon, we miss the intellectual chats."
"I will, it was nice to meet you. Please come see us anytime."
Oliver smiled at the two men, it helps when the two arresting officers in the case are the former students of your fiancee's father. The officers gave Annella a hug when they went to question her. They explained they had known Annella from their youth when they attended the University.

The following morning Oliver helped Elio into the taxi, Annella slide in the front seat.
"Do the boys know we are on our way home?" Elio asked
"Yes dear, I called them. We will be home soon."

Driving up the driveway, Elio saw Christopher, Jona, Jude and a young woman standing in the drive. As they pulled up Elio's door was flung open, Christopher helped him out of the car and he was immediately surrounded by the three boys.
"I missed you. You're not allowed to leave us again." Jona said as he wrapped his arms around Elio.
"Mr. P if I was there I'd knocked him on his ass," Jude grunted out.
"Well Mr. A already did that." Elio looked at Oliver winking at him.
"What are you talking about?" Oliver acted innocently.
"I know what you did Oliver, momma told me when you went to the bathroom while we were on the plane."
"Annella that was supposed to be between us."
"When they came to visit he was going to find out eventually. Besides I love you even more for doing it, I would have slipped up sometime."
Oliver helped Elio up the stairs laying him on the bed. Curling up next to him, Oliver had to confess.
"Elio?"
"Mm?"
"I have never been more terrified in my life than when I heard your mother scream, it was the longest 24 hours of my life."
"I know and when I was laying there all I could think of was you and the boys. I didn't realize how hard he hit me until I couldn't breathe anymore."
"Promise me something?"
"Anything."
"Promise that we will go together?"
"What do you mean?" Elio looked at Oliver as he was laying on his chest. Oliver looked up at him.
"If you go before me I will die of a broken heart. So promise me when our bodies are old and tired we curl up in this bed, say I love you and fall sleep eternally into each other's arms."
A tear fell from Elios cheek. Bending down to kiss Oliver he whispered.
"I promise."