Betty's First Trip to Rome the Prequel - Chapter 12 – Listening
Hilda and Daniel talked on the phone for several hours. Hilda asked Daniel to pick her up in his town car in the morning. Then they would pick up Gio. The three of them needed to get together first thing in the morning.
Hilda had discovered an important piece of information from her long session with Betty and they needed to formulate a plan. When they had made a plan they would immediately have to start carrying it out. There was no time to waste. She could not predict how long it might take to work, assuming it would even work at all.
The next morning when the three of them were in the car Daniel asked the driver to take them to a park and drive around it. The car drove slowly. The car circled and re-circled the park's roads.
Hilda explained in general terms to Gio about her session with Betty. She encouraged him to feel optimistic. She refrained from telling him any details though. She did not reveal to him what the central problem was. She was holding that back from him.
Gio was still a bit traumatized from his session with her yesterday. Hilda worked to relax Gio. They made small talk. Hilda and Daniel acted confident. They acted more confident than they felt. Once Gio was relaxed and comfortable Hilda signaled to Daniel.
Daniel asked the driver to stop the car at a quiet parking lot in the middle of the park. Daniel and driver got out of the car. They stood beside the car on the side that Gio was sitting on. Hilda had told Daniel that she did not want Gio to leave the car.
Hilda and Gio were alone in the car sitting beside each other on the seat. Hilda and Gio sat in silence for some minutes. Gio was waiting for Hilda to start. He didn't know what she would start, only that she would start something.
Finally Hilda said that she would be leading Gio though an exercise in empathy. Hilda would tell him a story and Gio would respond. The rules were that Gio would respond by telling her the name of the emotion felt by the character he was assigned to. Gio was relaxed. He thought that he would be good at this exercise.
In the car ride they had been listening to music. The last song they heard was a love song. The male singer's voice was low and smooth. He was singing his innermost feelings for his true love. Hilda asked Gio what emotion the singer was expressing. Gio answered easily: love.
Hilda said that the exercise was like that only longer. She would assign his character and tell a story. She would pause and he would say the name of an emotion. That was the whole of the instructions.
The first story Hilda would tell would be about a cat and a mouse. In this story Gio was to tell her the emotions of the mouse as if the mouse had human emotions. Hilda started to tell the story.
"The mouse is in a quiet meadow. The sun is shining. The mouse is eating tasty food." Hilda paused. Gio said "contentment".
"The mouse detected the scent of a cat." Hilda paused. Gio said "nervousness".
"The mouse saw the cat. The cat circled around the mouse keeping his eyes fixed on him." Hilda paused. Gio said "fear".
"The cat pounced and grabbed the mouse firmly in its paws." Hilda paused. Gio said "panic".
"The mouse struggled to free itself." Hilda paused. Gio said "fear and panic".
"The mouse escaped the grip of the cat and ran away." Hilda paused. Gio said "relief".
Hilda told Gio that he did well. He was very empathetic to the mouse. He could describe what the mouse was feeling well. Gio was happy but he was a little puzzled about why he was doing this empathy exercise. It was easy though and he readily agreed to another story.
The second story was about a deer in a forest. Gio was to name the emotions the deer was feeling. Hilda told the story.
"The deer is eating delicious leaves from a tree." Hilda paused. Gio said "happy and contented".
"The deer heard a sound and looked up to see a familiar male deer, a buck, approaching. The buck came to eat from the same tree." Hilda paused. Gio said "happy and friendly".
"The buck suddenly turned into a cougar. The cougar looked at the deer with hunger in his eyes." Hilda paused. Gio said "surprise and fear".
"The cougar chased the deer and it caught the deer's hoof in its teeth." Hilda paused. Gio said "panic".
"The deer struggled to free itself and then ran away to a secluded glade." Hilda paused. Gio said "relief".
"The cougar chased the deer but it had changed back into the buck by the time it caught up to it." Hilda paused. Gio said "confusion and relief" giving the words a tentative inflection.
Again, Hilda told Gio that he did well. He was very empathetic to the deer. He could describe what the deer was feeling very well
Hilda started on a third story. Gio was feeling confident and relaxed. In the third story Gio was a girl.
"The girl is sitting on a park bench and she is thinking about her friend's baby who is sick." Hilda paused. Gio said "sad".
"Sitting beside the girl is her favorite uncle. The uncle had his arm around her and he was stroking her hair." Hilda paused. Gio said "comforted".
"The girl was thinking about something she needed to say to her uncle that she knew he would not like to hear." Hilda paused. Gio said "apprehensive".
"The uncle touched the girl with his hand." Hilda said where the uncle touched the girl. It was the same place that Gio had touched Betty before their fight. Hilda paused. Gio looked at Hilda with alarm. Gio said "shocked".
"The girl wanted her uncle to stop touching her but she was so shocked that she couldn't say it." Hilda paused. Gio kept his eyes on Hilda's face. Gio whispered "powerless".
"The girl finally told the uncle to stop and he did. But his arms were still wrapped tightly around her." Hilda paused. Gio looked stricken. Gio felt nauseous. Gio said "trapped".
"The girl shouted 'Get off of me!'" Hilda paused. Gio clenched his fists in his lap. He said "anger".
"The uncle said 'What do you mean?'" Hilda paused. Gio said "Good god. No, no, no. Stop! I didn't know. I didn't think. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
Gio was frantic. Gio realized that he had been describing Betty's feelings. All three stories were about Betty. He now understood what Betty was feeling during their fight. Her words were no longer a mystery.
And he had puzzled over why she had run from him at the dance. Now he knew why she did. He'd agonized over why she'd slapped him in the deli. Now he knew why. Now he knew he deserved it.
He realized that Betty sometimes felt fear and panic when he was near and relief when she ran away from him. He never wanted her to feel that way about him. He needed time to think.
Gio wanted to get out of the car. He wanted to get away from Hilda. Hilda told him that Daniel would not let him out of the car so he stopped trying. Gio looked sickened. He stared out the window. His hands were clenched into fists on his lap.
He couldn't get away. He couldn't get away from the guilt and shame of what he'd done to Betty. He felt embarrassed. He felt despair. He felt hopeless He felt terrible that he had made her feel that way. He was repulsed and disgusted by himself. There was no doubt in his mind that his ill conceived actions had frightened the woman he loved, his dear sweet shy Betty. He had assaulted her. It was nothing short of that. And he had done it more than once. He was devastated by the revelation.
Tears pricked at Gio's eyes. He turned away from Hilda and covered his face with his hands. Gio started to cry. Hilda put her arm around him comfortingly. She didn't say anything. She let Gio cry as long as he needed.
After a while Gio's tears subsided. He wiped his face with the back of his hand. He looked morose. He sat still. He wanted go to Betty. He wanted to apologize to her and to beg her for forgiveness. He wanted to see her but he wouldn't blame her if she refused to see him. Gio looked down at his hands. He quietly whispered a word to Hilda. Gio whispered the word "Help."
Hilda signaled to Daniel. Daniel slid into the back seat on the other side of Gio. The three of them were seated side by side. The driver got back into the car and Daniel asked him to drive around the park some more.
Hilda held Gio's hand and Daniel put his arm around Gio's shoulders. They were silent. They continued this way for some time. Gio had a lot to think about and they were letting him think. Gio was recalling past events and reinterpreting them. His old memories were starting to mean different things to him now than they did before. It took time for him to go through the memories and process the changes. He came to see that what he had been doing to try to encourage the passionate woman inside her to come out was instead driving Betty away. Gio was amazed that Daniel and Hilda were sympathetic to him. He was not. He felt unworthy. She was innocent and he was guilty.
Gio and Betty had many things in common. They were good friends because they liked and cared about similar things. They both liked to read books. They both had goals. They both imagined better things for themselves. They both loved food. They both liked to look on the bright side. They both expected to work hard in life but have fun too. They both liked the simple pleasures in life. They both came from happy families. They both treasured their families. They both loved kids.
They had so many compatible traits that their friends including Daniel and Hilda thought they would make an ideal couple. Some of their friends had wondered why they weren't already a couple.
But Betty and Gio had one thing between them that was incompatible. A lot of couples will have one or two or more things that are incompatible and still get along well. But this wasn't that kind of thing. This thing had to be compatible or the couple could never be together. It was a deal breaker.
Gio and Betty were very different people in this one trait. In this trait Gio was brash, open and confident. In this trait Betty was shy, timid and modest. It was a trait that no one outside of the couple would ever see because it was something that was displayed only in private.
Because of this difference Betty was sometimes scared of Gio.
Some people might not be surprised to hear she was scared by Gio. They might think she was scared of him because he pushed her to achieve. Gio made her face challenges. But Betty liked challenges. Gio did push and challenge Betty but this was not what scared her.
Some people might think Betty was scared by Gio because he asked for a commitment she wasn't willing or able to give. But this was not true. If Betty found the man she wanted she would have no hesitation making a commitment. She thought the age she was, twenty-four, was a perfectly reasonable age to get married. She thought she was mature enough to get married. The commitment of marriage did not scare her.
No, Betty wasn't scared of Gio for either of those reasons.
Betty was scared of Gio because of the passion she aroused in him.
Betty wasn't the kind of girl that would flirt with and tease a man and enjoy it when they showed interest. There are lots of girls like that but Betty wasn't one of them. Betty was not pleased to see a man joke and tease about certain things. And Gio joked and teased about exactly those kinds of things she was most uncomfortable about.
As Gio and Betty grew closer she saw more and more often the effect that she had on him. More and more often she was alarmed by the effect. She was afraid of the sudden change in his manner.
Gio's manner could change quickly from a friendly one to an amorous one. This is what scared Betty. Betty could not tell when it would happen. It was sudden and unexpected. There was no warning. It was unwelcome. Being surprised by the amorous behavior of Gio was not something Betty could handle. It made her run away.
But despite causing Betty to run away Gio did not realize that displaying his passion for her was unwelcome. He didn't figure it out. He had misinterpreted what she was feeling. He realized now that he had scared her and that he had scared her repeatedly.
Betty decided she had to get away from Gio. Betty could not go to Rome with Gio. She thought she would never feel comfortable when she was alone with him.
And she thought she could never be relaxed when he may turn up around the next corner at work. That is why she planned to quit her job. She had to get away from Gio. She thought it was the only way she would feel safe again.
Gio and Betty were on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to the way they would display affection to a lover. They were polar opposites. In private Gio would be passionate and openly amorous but Betty would be cool and reserved.
In short, in the bedroom Gio was a hot red-blooded Italian stallion and Betty was a shy pink my little pony.
It was just the way they were. Hilda knew this now. But Hilda also knew they could change. Hilda was determined to make them change.
Hilda had a plan.
The plan had many parts. And each one had to succeed. Each one had to succeed quickly. It would be a challenge. It was a big challenge.
The next part of the plan would take place at the Meade building. Daniel was going to go to his office and talk to Betty. Hilda had worked out a script for Daniel overnight. Now it was time for him to play his part. Daniel went into the building while Hilda and Gio sat in the car parked in front of the deli. Hilda and Gio still had things to talk about.
Daniel greeted Betty at her desk in front of his office. Betty's desk was tidied. Her shelves were tidied. She was prepared to move out. Daniel greeted Betty and she smiled at him. But Betty's smile was a fake. Her expression looked more like a grimace than a smile.
Betty followed Daniel into his office. She shut and locked the door. Daniel saw her lock the door and looked at her questioningly.
Betty had a fierce look. She said accusingly to Daniel "Why did I find out from Christina that you gave a dress to Hilda two days ago?"
Daniel was alarmed. He stared at Betty. This was definitely not in his script.