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Ignoring Ryan’s irritated state, I stepped towards the room’s door, but stopped. There was no way my dad would let me back in. It was better if I waited until Ariel and I could have a moment alone. However, I couldn’t leave without speaking to her. An idea hit me and before I knew it, I was in the minister’s office scribbling out a note. Sealing it with a strip of scotch tape, I rushed it back to where Ariel slept like Sleeping Beauty and quickly handed it to Lou.
“I thought I said to stay out!” My dad roared with a whisper. Glancing at him, I told him that I’d only be a second.
“Make sure she gets this when she wakes up. It’s important.” I asserted and had no doubt that Lou would do just that.
“Will do,” Lou promised before I left the room, my irritated dad’s eyes burning a hole in my back.
Heading back outside, I looked to Ryan who was already in motion.
“Come on, dude. I’ve got the keys. Let’s blow this joint. I don’t know about you, but I want out of this goddamned itchy suit and get a drink at the bar. You look like you’re gonna need one too.”
“I’m definitely going to need one. Maybe two,” I said as we exited the front door and walked like bosses to the black Escalade that he’d rented. “Don’t let me get drunk though. I need to keep a clear head. My life has been put back to right and I don’t want to mess any of this up.”
“Don’t worry, dude. I’ll make sure that you’re in tip top shape for when you see your girl again. I won’t let anything happen.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here.”
With my words still lingering in the air, Ryan and I climbed into the SUV and tore out of the parking lot, leaving everything that I’d dreaded behind and looking towards a bright future.
three
Ariel
Rome- Two Years Ago
Rome.
After years of dreaming, fantasizing, working my fingers to the bone, scrimping and saving, I was finally here! And it was everything that Marjorie, my stepmother, said it would be. A city of dripping with history, a rich language, and a culture that you could easily lose yourself in. And food. So many tantalizing, tastebud-teasing culinary delights that you could spend your life eating and never get enough. What she didn’t tell me was that romance lurked around every corner. It was too bad because romance was the last thing that I was looking for.
I’d come to Rome to escape the pain of a broken heart. Two weeks ago, Philip, my boyfriend since high school and now my former fiancé, decided to confess to cheating on me and break off our engagement.
Phil: Ari, I know this is sudden, but it’s over. Our relationship is done. I won’t be marrying you because I’ve met someone else. Someone exciting. Someone who GETS me. A volcano that I can’t get enough of. I won’t give her up either so there’s no use in begging me to change my mind. I’d hate myself if I didn’t pursue this. She’s… this woman is just everything that I’ve ever wanted. I’m sure you understand. I hope you have a nice life and well… shit happens.
That is what the douchebag had the nerve to say. That he was sure I’d understand. Oh, I understood alright. I understood that Philip was a bottom-shelf, motherfucking insensitive, philandering slimeball who was led by his prick instead of his brain. I also understood that if he’d loved me as he professed to, he would have never done this to me. I would have been his everything, but apparently I wasn’t. In all the years and all the times that we’d been together, he never described me as a volcano. In fact, over the past year, he’d frequently complained that I’d ‘lacked in the sack’, and if I’m going to be honest, that hurt worse than receiving the text message from out of the blue. Beyond that, Phil didn’t even say that he was sorry or at least try to apologize. Instead, he callously said ‘shit happens’ and severed the cord between us, ending our decade-plus relationship as easy as changing out a pair of cruddy underwear.
Pig.
Douchebag!
Asshole!
Motherfucker!
“Don’t think about that right now,” I reminded myself after devouring a plate of spaghetti alla carbonara. Wiping my mouth, I leaned back in my chair and released a frustrated sigh. I wouldn’t think about that right now. Not if I wanted to remain dry-eyed and wanted to be able to breathe through my nose. I had to push it from my mind and let the beauty of this city and all it offered entertain me.
After paying my bill and thanking my server in my broken Italian, I headed out to further explore the city. So far, I’d seen my hotel, which was conveniently located not too far from the Trevi Fountain. Of course, I’d seen the fountain, albeit distantly and from my hotel window. But now that I was out, I wanted to see it up close. After all, I’d been waiting years for this moment. Leaving the small restaurant, I made my way through the growing crowd until I reached my destination.
As I stood gazing at Oceanus, admiring his Tritons and seahorses, I was awed. The fountain was breathtaking. Since I first learned of the famous fountain in fourth grade, I had been aching to see it. To fulfill my dream of standing here, gazing at its grand beauty, and ready to toss a coin in.
Reaching into my pocket to fish out a coin, I happily prepared to cross this particular line item off of my bucket list.
“Are you looking to just return to Rome or are you looking for more?” A short, hunchbacked woman said as she stepped towards me and placed a soft, gentle hand upon my wrist stopping me in mid-search.
″Scusi?” I asked curiously.
“The fountain.” The woman pointed towards Oceanus in the center. “Do you only wish to return to Rome or do you wish for more?” Her warm, tender brown eyes peered into mine, instantly making me feel comfortable and letting me know that I could trust her.
“I only want to return,” I said with no thought. “I don’t want the other stuff right now. I don’t think I can handle it. You don’t know this, but my heart was recently shredded to pieces by someone I trusted. And I don’t think I’m ready to move on yet. I’m just… not ready for the other stuff.”
