Tutti Italia: A Novel (2 page)

Chapter 2

It was early Friday morning, and
Rachel had been awake for hours.  She had a knot of nerves in her stomach. She
was leaving today for her new job and she wouldn’t just be moving to another
town. Today, she was getting on a plane for Italy. It was exciting and nerve
wracking at the same time. She knew her parents and Molly must still be
sleeping because there was utter silence in the house.
Great, pick today to
sleep in, pooch. I could have used some early morning kisses today.

She’d woken up in the middle of the night and checked
through all of her bags one more time.  She was as quiet as possible because
she didn’t want to wake her parents up. The ticket information and the
itinerary had come in the mail yesterday so all she had to do was get her
boarding pass at the check in counter. She was thinking that it was a good
thing that she had a passport or this would never have happened. She’d gotten
it four years ago when she’d gone on a senior year vacation to Mexico with her
parents. She’d loved Mexico and she was hoping that Italy would be the same
way.

Her eyes adjusted in the gloom, and she checked her watch. 
It was eight in the morning.  She wouldn't fly out until about six in the
afternoon, but she was just too anxious to be lying in bed trying to fall back
asleep.

Rachel got up and made a round of her room just to make
sure that there was nothing she had missed. She was in the process of checking
every nook and cranny when her bedroom door opened.  Molly had nudged it with her
nose until she could get in. Rachel turned around on hands and knees and got a
face full of doggy kisses. She smiled and picked the hyperactive puppy up into
her lap.

“Good morning to you, too. I was wondering if you had
overslept.” She cuddled the puppy to her chest. She was really going to miss
her. Puppy kisses were a much nicer alarm clock than the ones that made
irritating sounds in an effort to wake you up. “Now, Molly, you have to promise
to be a good girl for Mom and Dad, ok? I’m not going to be here to play with
you all the time so make sure you give them love and play with them, too, ok?”
Molly woofed happily. Rachel took that as a yes and put the puppy down.

She went back to rifling through her bottom desk drawer to
make sure she hadn’t overlooked anything crucial that she might want or need. 
Molly sniffed the drawer then jumped up on her back paws and started to snoop
in the drawer, too.  Rachel laughed. “I appreciate the help, little one, but
there’s nothing worth taking in there.”  She gave Molly a gentle push away from
the drawer, and she dropped back to all fours. “Go wake up Mom and Dad.”

Molly ran in a circle and woofed before she sprinted out of
Rachel’s door and down the hallway.  Her pitter patter was louder the faster
she ran. Rachel was nose deep in her closet when her parents leaned in her door
to see what she was up to.

“If you want to pack the monster from your closet he left a
long time ago,” her dad teased her.  Rachel laughed.

“Nope, just making a last run to see if there was anything
I didn’t pack that I might want to.”

“Well, I’m going to start some breakfast, but if you’re not
done by the time the food is I’ll call you.”

“Thanks, mom.”  Rachel went back to snooping through her
things, and her parents retired to the kitchen to make breakfast. About fifteen
minutes later, Rachel decided she had made the right choices as to what she’d
stuffed into her bags and stood up to crack her back.  She was just finishing a
twist when her dad poked his head in the door.

“Ready to eat?”

“Yup, on my way.” She went into the kitchen and got the
plates, forks, knives, and glasses to set the table.  By the time she finished,
her mom announced that the food was ready so she started to bring the plates
over to be filled. Her dad was grabbing milk, orange juice and lemonade out of
the refrigerator. Molly was underfoot with everyone, hoping something would
fall off of a plate. Once everyone was sitting at the dining room table, she
stationed herself under Rachel’s chair. She knew who the sucker was for her sad
puppy dog eyes.

“So, are you nervous about your trip?” her dad asked
between bites. Rachel took a swig of orange juice before she answered.

“Yes, but I’m excited, too. It’s all so mixed up that I don’t
really know how to feel. Does that make sense at all?” She looked to her
parents for answers. Her dad had just taken a big bite of sausage, but he
nodded his understanding.

“It’s ok, honey.  Everything will be scary and new the
first time around, but then you get into a routine and a schedule and
everything falls into place. I was so nervous when I came here. Your dad was
gone doing his drilling and I didn’t know anyone when we were stationed in
Washington. But I had to manage.” Rachel’s dad had put twenty-two years in for
the army. He’d been stationed in Germany, where he’d met and married her mom. He’d
stayed there for as long as he could, but then the Army had sent him to
Washington. From there on, it was back to Germany where they’d had Rachel. Then,
he finished his last two years in Michigan. 

“But you at least knew how to speak English. I don’t know a
word of Italian except
ciao
.  Somehow I don’t think that’s going to help
me much.” Rachel frowned at her eggs as if they could magically teach her
Italian in a few seconds.

“You’ll pick it up really quick. I learned enough German
when I was stationed over there to get around. I’ve forgotten most of it
because I hardly ever use it, but while I was there I was doing ok, and you
will too.” Rachel wanted to believe that, but she also wanted to be prepared
for every worst case scenario that life threw her way. After breakfast, she
helped her mom clear the table while her dad did the dishes.

This was the kind of family life she would want if she were
to ever start a family of her own. She shook her head and got that thought
right out of her mind. She knew better than to think about things like that. Looking
back over the course of her relationships, she’d sworn off dating for a while
because so far, it had only ever ended badly for her. There was no point in
trying to make long term plans this early in life especially since she was
single. 

“Hey, Rach. I unlocked the car for you if you want to go
ahead and load up your bags.  I know we still have time before we have to
leave, but it’s one less thing to do later.”

“Ok, dad. Be right down.” She went back into her room and
picked up one of the two suitcases that were taking up the majority of the
floor space. She lugged it down to the car and stuffed it in the back of her
dad’s Ford Escape. One down, three to go. She decided that she was going to put
the two suitcases in the back and her backpack for her carryon was going to go
in the back seat with her. She put all of her ticket information and itinerary
in her fanny pack and brought that down as well. She look like a dork for wearing
one, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to take the chance of getting robbed
and being stuck at an airport with no way to get to where she needed to go.

She slammed the back closed and went back into the house. 
She’d already laid out her outfit for today. So she grabbed a quick shower,
brushed her teeth, actually blow dried her long hair for once, and then got
dressed. It was now ten in the morning. In order to get to the airport two
hours early like her airline required they had to leave the house at around two
thirty. Detroit was a long way off from her little town and her dad had
calculated not only the time it would take to get there but also some leeway
for traffic just in case. 

“Is there any last minute shopping that you need to do?”
her dad asked her.

“Nope, I think I’m ok.”  Rachel’s mom came up from the
office and handed her a red, leather bound journal. 

“Don’t open it now, read it when you’re on the plane, ok?” 
Rachel promised she would.  “Ok, let’s take Molly for a quick walk. Then we can
hit the road and grab lunch where ever the fancy strikes us.”

They were at the park, making the mile long loop that was
provided, and just spending some good quality family time together as their
time got short. Molly was having a blast. She was chasing squirrels and geese
along the edge of the pond, and running around with her ears flapping in the
breeze. Rachel was walking between her parents and an overwhelming feeling of
love struck her. They had taken such good care of her all of her life. Now it
was time to leave the nest and make it on her own. She hoped that she would be
able to make them proud of her. After all, they deserved it.

Once they finished the loop, Molly was completely worn out,
and they all bundled back into the car. Molly jumped right on her mom’s lap and
fell asleep. They drove in the direction of the airport at a leisurely pace.
There was a sign for a Ground Round about a half an hour into the drive and
Rachel requested that they go there for lunch. It struck her that this was the
last family meal she would have for a long time.  Maybe even for a few years. It
brought a tear to her eye that she dashed away hastily but she didn’t want her
parents to see her crying.  She was twenty years old!

They left Molly in the car for the little while it would
take them to eat, and she promptly curled up on her blanket and went back to
sleep. All that running around must have really tired her out.  Once they’d
gotten seated and ordered, it was a quiet meal. No one really wanted to say
anything about the upcoming goodbyes that would have to be said.  They ate
their food, packed up a little doggy bag for Molly and went back to the car. The
airport was only another twenty minutes or so away, and even with heavy
traffic, they still had plenty of time. Rachel’s dad dropped her and her mom
off at the front door for her airline and went to find a parking spot.

“Go ahead and get in line, I’m going to wait for your dad
so he knows where we are.” Rachel did as she was told, and she made it almost
all the way up to the counter by the time her mom and dad came over to her. She
got her boarding pass and put it in her fanny pack. They all headed over to
security where Rachel hugged them both fiercely, and let her tears show. She
was on her own now.

Chapter 3

Rachel made it through the security station without a
hitch.  She turned around to see her parents waving at her one last time.  She
waved back, knowing they would stand there until she was out of sight.  She
shouldn’t be as torn up about leaving as if she were five and this was her
first day at school, but she’d been living with her parents for twenty years,
and now she was leaving to be on her own for the first time.  She wouldn’t have
them there to hold her when life went wrong.  She looked down at her boarding
pass and found the gate she needed to get to.  There was a large map of the
terminal in front of her, and she walked over to it to match up where she was and
where she needed to go.  The boarding pass told her that boarding started at
five fifteen.  She checked her watch.  It was only four.  She had plenty of
time to look in the little stores that lined both sides of the walkway.  She
noticed a Barnes and Noble first, and wiped away the last of her tears as she
went in.  She had to be tough now.  Her parents would expect that of her. 
They’d raised her right, and now it was up to her. 

Rachel lost herself in the unique little stores, but she
didn’t buy anything.  The prices on some of those items were absolutely
ridiculous!  There was no way she would pay five dollars for a candy bar.  The
only store that actually had decent prices was the book store.  She chuckled to
herself, and that was only because the prices were on the books themselves. 
There was no way that they could make the price tag say whatever they wanted. 
It was now five, and she had to hurry to her gate.  She made it just in time. 
She watched as one of the flight attendants went behind the check in counter
and spoke into the microphone for the PA system. 

“Now boarding Flight 357 from Detroit to Treviso.  We are
now boarding handicapped passengers and passengers with small children.”  That
meant she would have about fifteen minutes or so until her section was called,
so she decided to make good use of her time and use the bathroom one last
time.  It was about a nine hour flight, and she didn’t want to fight for the
bathroom on the plane if she didn’t have to.  Once she was finished, she hurried
back to the gate only to find that they had just begun boarding the section
ahead of her.  She looked out of the window at the machine that was going to
take her away from everything and everyone she knew to an area she had never
been to, and was excited and yet nervous of being in.  Her section was called,
and she got in line.  When she got to the counter, the lady looked at her
boarding pass and her passport, matched the picture to her face and scanned it.

“Have a nice flight.”  The woman smiled at her as she
handed her everything back.

“Thank you.”  Rachel returned the smile, took a deep breath
and entered the gangway.  She set foot on the plane, and another flight
attendant asked what her seat number was.  Rachel told her and the woman
pointed her in the direction she needed.  She had a window seat, and the plane
didn’t really seem too crowded, so maybe she would have the other seat to
herself.  She looked out of the window and watched as a man drove a little
train of carts over to the loading area at the foot of the conveyor belt
leading into the plane.  He was putting luggage on the belt, one suitcase at a
time, and she made a little game out of it to see if she could find her
suitcase, or if it had already been loaded.  She watched for about ten minutes,
as the man emptied his train and went back for more.  Even as riveted on his
actions as she was, she didn’t see her own bags.  Oh well, they must have been
a train load or two ahead of the first one she’d watched.  She looked up and
noticed that there was no longer an influx of passengers, just a lonely one
here and there.  The seat next to her was still empty, so she might get her
wish.  She heard the metallic ping that signaled the PA system coming on.