The knock on the door awakened him rudely. Or so he thought. He wondered
if this could be a false awakening; after a scant three-hours sleep, he still
felt exhausted. Once again, he heard a knock at the door and the sound of
the door being unlocked. This was no bad dream. He sat up at up with a start;
the maid seemed equally surprised. As quickly as the words could escape her lips,
she apologized for disturbing him.

The white walls of his room in the old monastery seemed especially bright.
His heart was racing. How would he ever be able fall back to sleep? Yet today was
meant to be a day of relaxation. He looked at his travel clock– 9 am! Then the idea
struck him. He called out to the maid, “Quindici minuti, signora, prego.” One could
sleep just as easily at the beach, in fact, even better.