Read Tutti Italia: A Novel Online
Authors: Deena Jordan
Rachel was floating on air all day, and when the day was
over, she could feel her stomach fluttering with a million butterflies. He’d
told her to be ready at six, and she was. She was nervous. She’d actually
assumed he’d meant what he said right off the bat instead of second guessing
his intentions.
There was a text on her phone, letting her know that he
was here. She had no idea what kind of car he had or anything, but when she
got closer, she could hear the radio in one of the cars blaring, and when she
found which one it was, she saw him sitting in the driver’s seat. She wasn’t
sure if she was supposed to just get in or if he wanted to say something to her
first. He didn’t move, however, so she just grabbed the handle and climbed
in.
“Hey. Thanks for picking me up.” Rachel thought it might
be safe to start a conversation.
“Yeah, not a problem. Have you ever been to the Western
House?” He seemed to be a little nervous, and that was understandable. She
felt the same way.
“No, I haven’t been there before. What kind of restaurant
is it?” She was sticking to small talk.
“It’s a steak house, but they have other food, too.” Well,
that was one question exhausted apparently. Rachel was wracking her brain for
more small talk when Erik pulled up in the parking lot of a restaurant. It
looked like most American restaurants that she’d gone to back home. He led her
to the front door, and held it open for her. That made her smile because no
one had done that for her in a long time, except her father. They met the
hostess, who promptly seated them, and brought them menus. Since Rachel had
never been there, it took her a little longer to look but she finally decided
on what she wanted. Once they’d given their order to the waitress, they fell
silent for a few minutes.
“Well, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. And I’m
surprised that your text wasn’t for me to help you control Anna.” Rachel was
teasing, of course, but it seemed like he was going to treat
that
one as
a little bit more serious.
“There is no way that I would invite her to go to any more
places with me. The only reason that she was on
that
trip to begin with
was because Ryan was trying to get in her pants.” Well, at least he was being
honest. It was a little crude, but it was better than lying.
“I’m guessing that he could find easier prey?” Erik
laughed.
“He’s not looking for prey, he wanted a girlfriend. It
just happens that he was barking up the wrong tree with that one. She’s one of
those religious, wait till marriage type of girls.” Rachel had one friend back
in the States that was like that, and she took slight offense to the way Erik
was talking about another girl like her so offhandedly.
“So, does that mean he won’t try? Does he want someone
easier?” Erik laughed without humor, and explained.
“No, he doesn’t want someone easier, he just realized that
she was too much to handle. She acts like a child and a spoiled rotten one,
too. I wouldn’t put up with someone like that, and I’m proud of him for not
doing it either. He deserves someone better, someone that’s mature enough to
handle life.” Erik was right. That was the kind of person that she was
looking for, too. She liked to consider that she was like that, but she would
wait until someone confirmed it before she bragged about it.
“Well, after seeing her for just one day, I have to say
that I agree with him. He should go for someone else. I don’t know very many
people here, but I can keep an eye out for him if it’ll help.” She smiled at
him.
“You do that. Let me know if you find someone. If you
find two, let me know right away.” She raised her eyebrow at him.
“He would date two women at once? That’s not very fair,
now is it?” Erik shook his head.
“No, Ryan wouldn’t do that, but the second woman would be
for me.” Rachel’s heart sank. She’d thought that maybe she could be with
him. Then she snapped herself out of it. Why would she want to be with
someone after what the last guy had done to her?
“Yeah, sure, not a problem. I’ll let you know if I find
anything.” She turned her attention back to the food on her plate. It had
lost some of its flavor somehow…
The rest of the dinner was full of small talk and jokes,
and Rachel couldn’t wait to get home. She’d been so excited to spend time with
him, and now it seemed like he didn’t even care. She’d gotten taken advantage
of again. She paid for her dinner, and he brought her home. She went straight
upstairs, showered all of her makeup and perfume off, then put her pajamas on
and picked up her crafts. She’d spent maybe an hour on it, before her phone
buzzed. She picked it up curiously, not knowing who would want to talk to
her. The only people that had her number she wasn’t talking to, or it could
have been Erik. He had her number and she wasn’t exactly giving him the silent
treatment, but she was very disappointed in how things were going for the two
of them. She picked up her phone and flipped it open. It
was
Erik. He
was asking her if she would like to go white water river rafting next weekend
with him and Ryan. She was at a loss. Did he maybe think that today was a
date and that it had turned out well? Because nothing could be farther from
the truth. On the one hand, she didn’t want to be around him and Erik was making
that difficult by talking to her and asking her to hang out with him and his
friend. On the other hand, she wanted to be with him and open him up. He had
walls up too, and she could see the barbed wire across the top only too well.
It was a tough decision for her, and while she was
thinking, another text came from him. He told her that they had an extra
ticket, and that it was supposed to have been for Anna, but neither one of them
wanted her to go. Apparently, she was turning out to be one of the boys. They
wanted her along instead of turning in the ticket for a refund? Or maybe, they
couldn’t turn it in for a refund. Maybe
that
was why they were asking
her to go with them. Fine. They wanted to use her? She could use them, too.
She wanted to go river rafting, and if they already had a ticket, then she
might as well go. She wrote back telling him that she would be happy to go.
Then she put the phone on silent and went back to crafting. She could get the
details from them later. She wanted nothing to do with them for the moment.
She sewed late into the night, being too agitated to go to
sleep. When she finally couldn’t see the symbols on the pattern anymore, she
put it away and went to sleep. She was a little sluggish the next morning, but
she was able to make it through the day just fine. Her kids were happy, and
they seemed to be having as much fun as usual. She went through today’s lesson
plan of reading stories and playing a few rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose. When
the day was over, Rachel drove herself to the restaurant that Elena had taken
her to. They had excellent food, and even though the last memory of it wasn’t
a fond one, it was still her favorite place to eat, and she had a craving for
their lemon basted chicken. She saw the same waiter when she got there that
had seated her and Elena the last time. He smiled at her and brought her to a
table.
“You are alone, tonight?” he asked.
“Yes. But it’s ok. I like to be alone.” He nodded,
understanding, then asked what she would like. Rachel ordered, then sat back
and enjoyed the heat from the fireplace at her back. Her food came, and she
ate it happily. When everything was cleared, and she was ready to get up and
pay her check at the front, when the waiter came over and brought her a shot.
She wasn’t used to having gifts given to her, but she smiled at him and thanked
him. He smiled back and went to take care of another table. She took the
shot, thinking that a little liquid courage wouldn’t hurt her. It was Friday
and she was allowed. She got up and paid her check, then drove home slowly.
She was tired, and the alcohol wasn’t helping her any. She hadn’t bothered to
look at her phone since half way through yesterday when she’d turned it on
silent. Once she was back in her room, she checked to see if there had been
any activity. There was a phone call that she’d missed from Erik, and then a
lengthy text message explaining that he had tried to call her with no success,
and that he would see her Saturday morning at seven, and that she should bring
her swimsuit with her and a change of clothes. She packed what he’d told her
to, and then went about her business. She decided to take a quick shower, then
put on a movie. She fell asleep half way through it, without setting her
alarm.
Rachel woke up early the next day, and realized that it was
still dark out. That meant she was awake,
way
too early. She checked
her phone. It was only five. She realized that the alarm wasn’t set, so she
set it for six thirty and went back to sleep. When her alarm ripped her out of
her dreams again, she had to remember why the alarm was set. Then it hit her.
River rafting. She got dressed, making sure that she had her swim suit on
under her clothes. She drove herself over to the Outdoor Recreation office,
not wanting to wait for them or be in a tightly enclosed space with him. She
still had a major crush on him, and she didn’t need him to know about it if he
had her trolling for women for him.
When she got there, she saw a lot of people in various
states of wakefulness. She was glad that she was one of the ones on the more
awake side of the spectrum. Erik’s car pulled up, and he and Ryan clamored out
of the doors. She hid a smirk. They looked hung over. They must have been
out drinking last night. She was debating if she should be mean and flaunt her
wakefulness in front of them. After a short period of time to think about it,
she thought that she should.
“Good morning, boys! Thank you so much for inviting me.
I’m very excited about this. Did you bring your cameras?” They both had a
little trouble focusing on her. She quickly went towards the building so she
could get a good seat for the safety briefing that they were holding before
they loaded up in the vans to go. She flipped her hair as she left, and she
missed the look of jealously on their faces that they weren’t able to be as
upbeat as she was. After the briefing, everyone piled into the two vans, and
she saw that Erik and Ryan went to sleep almost immediately. It would be a few
hours before they reached the river, because they were going to Slovania.
Rachel was excited when she heard that news, because that was one more country
that she hadn’t been in yet that she could cross off of her list. She decided
to take a little nap, too.
When the van came to a stop, Rachel thought that she was
in an enchanted forest. What she could see from her window was pine trees, and
a river with a large waterfall. The smell of the fresh earth mixed with the
spray of water coming from the waterfall. She got out of the van and stood in
awe. She heard her name being called behind her, and when she turned around,
her heart sank. There was the city. The concrete and the smog. This wasn’t
an enchanted forest after all. Just the little part that humans hadn’t
destroyed. She joined the group. Their guide was getting everything taken
care of financially, and the members of the small group were taking turns using
the bathroom before they left. Rachel got in line at the women’s restroom. It
moved slowly, and it allowed her to hear the announcement that he made.
“Welcome everyone. When you’re finished with the restroom,
make sure that you come back here and find the right size life vest and
helmet. Then we’ll have a safety briefing, before splitting up into groups and
carrying the rafts down to the river. So make sure that you have one that fits
comfortably before we leave.” That made sense. She hurried into the bathroom
and then went into the storage area in the back to get her vest and helmet.
She didn’t think that they made her look attractive in any way. She went
outside for the safety brief, and stood next to Erik and Ryan. Even though she
knew she would be in the same raft with them, she was still hurt about the date
that wasn’t a date the other night. She shook it off like it was nothing to
her. The briefing wasn’t very long, and soon they were hoisting their rafts on
to their shoulders and heading down to the river. Rachel felt a little awkward
in her wet suit, but it was a necessity. Once they made it down to the start
of their trip, the guide had them get into their rafts, and he showed them how
to do the maneuvering that would be required on the river. Twenty minutes of
that, and the raft was in the water.
At first, the river just pulled them along, and there were
no obstacles in sight. Their guide had them go from one side of the river to
the other, practicing what was to come. The river became a little choppier,
and rocks started to appear in their path. That was when the fun really
began. They bobbed and wove through the water, and they could see the other
two rafts behind them, having less success than they were. The guides were in
competition apparently, because they called out to each other in their own
language. There was a frightened shout behind them, and as one, everyone in
their raft turned around to see what had happened. The raft behind them had
hit a rock pretty hard, and one of the girls had fallen out. It was comical at
first, but then Rachel thought about how it would feel to fall out of the raft
in front of all of those people, and she stopped laughing. The whole trip took
about three hours, and by the time they came to the end, it was a very hot
day. Once the raft was pulled out, they were given the option of going
swimming. No one chose to go except Rachel. Even though it was October and
the weather was a little chilly, she loved swimming so much that she would go
anywhere. She jumped in, and splashed around until the other two rafts made
it. From there, they all had lunch at the pavilion. Apparently, it had been
driven down there for them while they were battling the river. The rest of the
day was going to be dedicated to a nature walk, and Rachel couldn’t wait for
that. She changed her clothes out for her dry ones, and then put the wet ones
in her bag, back into the van that had followed them down here. So far, she
hadn’t had to talk to the boys too much, and during the hike, she knew that she
wouldn’t be able to either. It was the perfect kind of activity.