Chapter 4 Noah (Past)
We Are Family ~Sister Sledge
“Remind me never to do that ever again.” I groaned after twelve hours on a very crowded fight.
Being stupid, fanciful collegians, Marni, Sylvia and I caught the red-eye from Los Angeles to Rome. No amount of warning would have prepared us for the god-awful ninety-degree sleeping position. As expected, we only fell asleep the last two hours or so after desperately trying to get comfortable. What made our situation worse was the crowd of junior high schoolers traveling to Rome for a singing competition. They sat all around us and sang for a part of the trip, and messed around for the rest of it. There were too many of them to control. The three of us sucked it up and left the plane looking and feeling haggard.
“I hope the chaperone is planning on taking us straight to our dorms. I don’t think I can take much more of this fatigue.” Sylvia was dead on her feet.
Marni didn’t look any better but sounded much happier. “Do you think we’ll get a tour of Rome, today? Will we eat pasta? Pizza? Gelato?”
“Let’s go, Marni Montgomery. The baggage claim area is calling us.” I pulled her along.
Since there were only three of us from our school, from the West Coast in fact, we bonded like family. If it were possible, I would have moved in with the two ladies as their third roommate.
“What are we up to this weekend?” I asked during breakfast on Friday.
“How about we take a day trip to Venice?” Marni spoke. “You promised me an unbelievable scenery on the city that floats.” I loved it when she had that flirtatious smile.
“I say we start in Florence right after classes today. It’s only a ninety-minute train ride. Let’s stay there until midday tomorrow, and then take the train to Venice. We can knock off both cities in one weekend,” Sylvia suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll check on the train schedule.” I told the ladies.
“We’ll look into rooms at hostels.” Marni promised.
I went to my morning class and called Mom while waiting for Marni and Sylvia to get out of their class.
“Hey Mom.”
“How’s my son doing in the Eternal City? Is it as magical as the last time I saw it?”
“Even more so, Mom.”
She laughed. “Are you telling me you’re having a better time in Rome with that girl friend of yours than you did with your mother?” Now, she tried to sound affronted.
“Yes, Mother. That’s exactly what I’m telling you. It’s a blast to be here with Marni.”
“When do we get to meet her? You won’t ever bring her home. At this rate, I’m thinking I may see her at the wedding rehearsal.”
It was my turn to laugh. “We’re not exactly there, yet, Mom. We’re still friends.”
“What do you mean? How could this girl not have fallen for my son from day one? Does she need glasses? Did you forget to turn on the Bergstrom charm?”
“You’re just a regular comedian today, Mom. How’s Carson treating you?”
“He’s as precious as always. In his quiet way, he adores me.”
“Good to hear, Mom. You found your dream man in Carson.”
“Your father is a dream man in his own right, too. He just couldn’t let go of the fame.” Mom sighed often when she spoke of my father. Though the two separated when I was young, their divorce only finalized two years ago when Mom chose to marry Carson. “You, too, have it in you to be a dream man.”
“I’m trying, Mom. Marni, Sylvia, and I are headed to Florence for a night, and then we’re off to Venice for another night.”
“Oh to be young and in love,” Mom sang. “It must be nice to travel through Europe.”
“This is our first adventure outside of Rome. We’ll see how this one goes.”
“Have a wonderful time and call your mother often with updates.”
“Will do.”
Figuring the girls were done with class, I walked over to their room with our printed tickets in hand and backpack on my shoulder.
“We’re ready!” Sylvia walked out with a gigantic suitcase.
“What the hell is that, Syl? Are you moving?”
“Aren’t we going away for the weekend?”
“Are you taking this entire floor with you? That’s an awful lot of clothes for two nights, three days—considering you’re wearing today’s outfit, already.”
“Shut up and lead the way,” Sylvia harped to Marni’s giggles.
The train ride flew by with the three of us talking about all the sights we wanted to see in Florence. As soon as we arrived, we dropped off our belongings and started at the Galleria dell’Accademia. The ladies stared at the statue of David while I roamed the rest of the museum.
“You both are still staring at David’s penis?”
“Yep,” they answered in a trance. “Isn’t he perfect?” Sylvia barely kept the drool in her mouth.
“I still can’t get over how Michelangelo took a block of marble and turned it into something so lifelike.”
“You’ve got the most anatomically perfect man in front of you and all you can wonder is how Michelangelo created this?”
“Let’s go, Ladies!” I was annoyed at the love this lifeless man was receiving.
“The Uffizi, next?”
“How about gelato next?” I knew Marni would go for that suggestion. “I was talking to my mom earlier and she told me about this gelato place around the corner from here. Let’s go check it out.”
“Sounds good,” she answered.
We lost Sylvia to the shops on Ponte Vecchio. Marni and I sat on a bench eating our gelatos.
“What do you think?” I casually pointed to our surroundings. “You haven’t said much.”
“It’s gorgeous here. I’m in awe of the splendors around me.”
“Is that all? You appear preoccupied.”
Marni didn’t share until her gelato cup was empty. “Ben emailed to say he’d be in Rome soon and he’d like for us to hang out.”
“Is your sister coming?”
“I don’t know. From the email, I couldn’t tell.”
“You want me to be there with you when they come? We can go out as a foursome.”
She looked surprised at my proposal. “You’d do that for me?”
“Yeah, I’d do that for you. I know it’s been hard for you since they got engaged. I’m here as your friend, or as someone who’d like to be more than your friend.”
She gave no effusive answer of love and commitment. She did, however, put her head on my shoulder and dig into my gelato cup.
I’d take that sign of affection, for now.