Italian Liaisons

The Proposal Melina, Marnie, and Annabelle had planned to spend the entire summer at the home of Annabelle’s aunt and uncle in Italy. Since Annabelle’s uncle was the president at a nearby university, the girls had been able to take advantage of the school’s sophisticated language learning system, even if it meant having to quietly study in the corner of whatever classroom had one available. For Melina, it was Ariella’s classroom. Ariella, whom most people called Ari, wasn’t part of the plan, but life wasn’t usually what one planned it to be anyway, right? And so Melina was surprised when she realized she had fallen in love with the Italian literature teacher, and even more surprised to learn the feeling was mutual. So far in her young life, her only “crushes” were on straights or celebrities. Life threw Melina another curveball when Italian laws modified their passport policies, restricting how long a foreigner could visit before needing to either return to their own country or apply for citizenship. But applying for citizenship—and waiting to see if it would be accepted or rejected—would take money Melina didn’t have. She’d barely had enough to live on over the summer as it was. Melina’s family wasn’t well-off, and there had been so little work available to her back in the States with the economy being as bad as it was. It had taken her and her friends years to save for the trip. If it hadn’t been for Uncle Don, they probably never would’ve been able to go at all if they’d had to pay for a place to stay, since they all agreed a youth hostel wasn’t at all safe or private. So, when it became obvious that the three girls would have to return home, Melina was in tears. The other girls didn’t mind. They were actually starting to miss home. It wasn’t that Melina didn’t miss her folks and the dry, hot desert she’d grown up in; she just wasn’t ready to leave Ari. The thought of never seeing her again devastated her. Her friends had comforted her and tried to console and assure her that she’d one day get over the sexy teacher who’d taught her what Italian she’d learned so far, but Melina couldn’t see how or when that would ever be possible. Yet Melina had no choice. She had to leave Rome. However, she wasn’t about to leave without telling Ari her true feelings, no matter how much of a scene she had to make in doing so. She didn’t care if she felt foolish. She didn’t care that it was hardly the place to tell someone you loved them. She was bound and determined to tell Ari of her love just the same. It was 8 p.m., and the girls were set to fly home the following day at noon. Melina’s plan was to catch Ari before her first class. After a night of tossing and turning through restless dreams, morning finally came. “Good luck,” Annabelle said at the breakfast table when Melina rose to leave with Don. “Thanks, but I don’t think luck is involved here. I’m simply going to tell her how I feel. Then I’ll go home—heartbroken—but with her knowing how I feel.” Serena, Don’s wife, spoke up. “You know I’ve never had anything against same-sex relations, but I fail to see the point. How will it help the teacher to know how you feel?” “It isn’t to help her, it’s to help me,” Melina explained. “I don’t know why telling her how I feel seems like the right thing to do, or why I think it will make me feel better. That one I can’t explain. I can only explain how I feel, but not why I feel it.” “Sure you can get back to the house alright?” Don asked as they pulled into the university’s parking lot a few minutes later. “Yes. I’ll walk, and I’ll be fine. At least in that sense.” They entered the building, and Melina raced through the corridors, surprised at how many students were already beginning to trickle in. Heart pounding in anticipation, she rounded the corner to find Ari speaking with Brooke, tears now streaming down her face, knowing she’d never again see the lovely teacher. The teacher’s expression turned to one of alarm and concern, and Brooke’s to curiosity. “Oh, Brooke!” Melina exclaimed, out of breath. “Thank God you’re here. I need you to translate for me. Can you do that?” “Sure thing. What’s up, Melina?” Melina explained the new passport and citizenship policies and why she had to leave the country that afternoon. Brooke interpreted. “But I couldn’t leave without telling you that I love you,” Melina said, crying harder now. Ari’s eyes began to water. “I don’t know how or why it happened so fast. I know we barely know each other and that we come from very different worlds, but I know how I feel. I really, really do love you, and I’ll never, ever forget you.” Melina threw her arms around Ari, and Ari held her tightly, as if she might fly away if she didn’t. “Ti amo, ti amo.” Melina was sobbing hard when she finally pulled back from Ari, who now had tears of her own streaming down her cheeks. Ari quickly spoke to Brooke. Melina observed with curiosity. “Yes. I’ll take over for today,” Brooke replied in Italian. Ari turned to her and asked if she was sure of her feelings. “Sì,” she said. Then she added in English, “There’s no doubt about it.” Brooke translated. Ari gently took Melina’s hands and said in Italian, “I love you too, my sweet Melina. But you are nine years younger than me.” “I don’t care.” Brooke translated again. “So, it's okay?” Melina nodded. Ari spoke, and then Brooke translated: “I believe you can learn my language and that we would be wonderful and happy together. Would you marry me and become my wife and have my babies through artificial insemination or adoption?” A stunned Melina said, “I would definitely marry you! But I would only want one child—and not for a few years. I’d like to learn the language better first.” Brooke interpreted for Ari, and then again for Melina when Ari asked if she would always remain faithful and honest. Melina eagerly assured her she would, and Ari began to lead her down the corridor. “What are we going to do?” Melina asked. Ari spoke in Italian, and Brooke said, “The only thing we can do to stop the deportation.” Ari and Melina flew through the corridors hand in hand. When they passed Don by the main entrance, he looked surprised. “Going somewhere?” “Yes!” exclaimed a grinning Melina. “Tell Annabelle and Marnie I love them, but I won’t be going home with them! Oh, and Brooke’s taken over Ari’s class.” Giggling along with Ari, they headed outside. A light rain had begun to fall, but they were oblivious to it as they headed for Ari’s car. It was a nice, comfortable midsize car. In slow Italian, Ari began to speak as they pulled their seatbelts across their chests and backed out of the parking spot. When Melina realized Ari was asking her to direct her to Don’s house for her birth certificate and other forms of ID, she directed the sexy teacher. “Vai avanti per un isolato e poi gira a sinistra.” “E poi?” asked Ari after she’d gone straight for a block and turned left a moment later. “Gira a destra.” Ari turned right. “This is the house. Questa è la casa,” Melina said. They pulled into the driveway, and Melina could see that at least Serena was still at home. Melina hurried into the house with Ari, then left her with a surprised Serena as she raced upstairs to fetch her meager belongings. She could hear the two women speaking in Italian down below as she gathered her papers, clothes, laptop, and the few other personal items she had. Melina ran back downstairs, arms full, and jogged up to a slack-jawed Serena. She kissed her cheek and said, “Thanks for everything. Grazie per tutti!” “What about your parents?” asked Serena. “I’ll call them as soon as I can.” “Don’t you think they’ll have a heart attack at the idea of you marrying in such haste?” “Yes, but many heart attack victims have been known to recover quite nicely. Give Don and the girls my love.” Giggling, she tugged at Ari. “Come on!” In Italian, Serena told Ari to see to it that Melina called her parents as soon as possible and she assured her with a smile that she would. “I can’t believe you’re eloping,” Serena said, shaking her head. “You can’t elope if you’re already gone from home.” Serena waved the dishtowel she’d been holding and said, “Go on. Do what you gotta do. Just stay together for more than five minutes, you hear?” “Sure do. Come on, Ari!” “Arrivederci!” Ari called back over her shoulder. Back in the car, they kissed passionately, then had to tear themselves apart to focus on the next task ahead. They wound through the wet streets and stopped at a jewelry store to pick out rings. After browsing the selections through a display case, Melina pointed with excitement at a set of matching gold bands with a cut design that gave them a fancy look while keeping them simple. Ari said something in Italian that Melina didn’t understand. “She’s asking if you’re sure you don’t want anything with diamonds,” said the saleslady. “Oh, thanks,” Melina said, grateful for the translation. “I’m happy with just the bands if you are. That way, there are no stones to worry about falling out.” The saleslady interpreted, and Ari happily agreed. With the rings bought, they next headed to the courthouse. After having to wait till someone less bigoted was willing to marry them, they had a quick ceremony, then left the courthouse laughing and crying in the now-pouring rain. “Our parents are never going to believe this,” Melina said in English, since she didn’t know how to say it fast enough in Italian yet. She fumbled, but eventually got her point across. “My father is dead, but my mother will be shocked,” Ari told her in Italian. “Oh, I’m sorry about your father,” Melina replied, also in Italian. Ari shrugged, then said, “You are officially an Italian now,” as they wove through the city streets once again. Melina laughed heartily, and then they headed to Ari’s house. “Wow!” Melina said with delight as they pulled up alongside it. The house wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was quaint and inviting-looking. The houses in the area appeared to be in good condition, and the yards were well-maintained. Colorful flowers were abloom in most of the yards, including Ari’s. The houses were close-set—just a single driveway’s width apart—yet the neighborhood wasn’t filled with the traffic and barking dogs you would find in the congested areas of the States. Ari’s driveway only ran alongside the length of her house and not her backyard, and part of the neighbor’s backyard was actually right in front of Ari’s car. Melina exited the car with a smile. “Molto bella!” Ari smiled at the pleasure Melina expressed. The peach-colored house looked freshly painted, as did its white trim. Since the side door was close to the back, Melina caught a quick glance of the backyard and saw that most of the backyards had chain-link fences around them. Both the front and backyards were small, though the backyards were bigger. Next door even had a pool in the area in front of Ari’s car. The inside of the house looked just as well-kept. It was furnished simply, yet nicely. The rooms sort of ran in a straight line. From back to front was the kitchen, living room, two small bedrooms, and then the bathroom, which was sandwiched between the master bedroom and the living room. The front door was located at the end of a tiny hallway. Ari opened it, stepped out onto a screened porch, and gathered the mail that had been slipped just inside the screen door. Then, without even looking at it, she threw it aside. Next, she had Melina drop her stuff on the couch, and then she led her into the bedroom where they made love for over an hour. It was Melina’s first time, and the feeling of being in love, along with the physical sensations she shared with her new wife, was incredibly awesome. It was definitely one way they could communicate quite well together without knowing the same language. When it finally came time to call their families, they got the reaction they expected, but were given their blessings just the same. They spent the rest of the day eating and making love.