Italian Liaisons

Take Off! A groggy Melina was gently roused from her sleep by Ari’s young, soothing, high-pitched, and sexy voice. As she opened her eyes, the events of the previous day came rushing back. Ari had come to tell her she loved her, and she was going to be her wife in Italy! Melina sat up, and Ari gathered her into her arms for a hug. She cooed lovingly to her in Italian. Then Nara walked by at one point and said, “Hey there, hun, sleep okay?” Melina nodded. “Yeah, I eventually fell asleep. Did you two sleep well?” “Oh, yeah. We were exhausted, so we were really out cold.” They used the bathroom, brushed their teeth, dressed, and checked out an hour later. Then they headed to the diner for breakfast. This time, Melina only had a bagel and some orange juice, while Ari had pancakes and Nara had bacon and eggs. At the airport, Melina had fun running across the moving sidewalk. They bought some things at the gift shop to occupy their time in the air. Ari and Nara bought paperback books, while Melina got a word-find puzzle book, a notepad, and some colorful pens. Once they were waiting for their flight on the concourse, Melina noticed that Ari now seemed nervous. She asked what was wrong in Italian, and Ari told her she hated flying. “Yeah, she hates flying,” Nara confirmed in English. “This is her first time, and so far, she’s not at all thrilled with the experience.” Melina laughed and hugged Ari, who asked her how she liked flying. “I love to fly,” Melina answered in Italian. When it finally came time to board the plane, the finality of it all set in. “I can’t believe this is it,” Melina said. “I’m actually leaving the States and moving to Europe. I want a window seat!” Nara laughed and translated for Ari, who was more than happy to let Melina have the seat by the window. They sat in the middle of the plane, with Ari in the middle seat and Nara on the aisle. When they’d leveled off in the air, they could remove their seat belts. Ari reached to pull down the cover on the window, but it was stuck. Melina and Nara laughed. “Do you hate flying, too?” Melina asked Nara. “I don’t mind either way,” she said. Melina brought out her pad and colorful pens, and the others got out their paperbacks. “Oh, shoot,” said Nara. “As professors, we should’ve thought to ask for your school records. You never know if they may come in handy—unless you don’t have copies at home.” “I don’t have copies anywhere,” said Melina. Nara looked confused. “Well, where did you go to school?” “I didn’t.” “You didn’t? Why’s that?” “There wasn’t any need to.” Nara eyed her with a mixture of surprise and disapproval. As a teacher, obviously she believed in the importance of formal schooling. “My mom taught me all I needed to know. And besides, I knew all I wanted to do was sing, and that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing on and off since I was three.” “Well, you must be some singer, then,” Nara said, translating for Ari, who was growing curious by the minute as to what they were talking about. Ari gave a half-chuckle, half-snort. “If you can read, write, add, and subtract, that’s really all you need to know,” declared Melina. Nara smiled, keeping her eyes on the book she was about to read, and said, “And multiplying and division don’t matter?” “No, it helps to know that, too.” Nara’s smile broadened, and she translated to Ari. Ari smiled with amusement, shook her head, and put an arm around Melina. Melina nudged against her affectionately and placed a kiss on her cheek. Ari kissed her back and kept her arm around her while she read and Melina wrote. About ten minutes later, Melina showed Ari what she’d written. Ari looked at it with absolutely no understanding evident in her eyes. “Wow, you really don’t understand,” she said in English. “No, she really doesn’t know English, hun. She’s not faking it.” Nara said with a smile. “Cosa stai scrivendo?” “I’m writing my journal. È il mio giornale.” “Oh,” Ari said with a nod. “How come you never learned English?” Melina asked in Italian. “I don’t need to know English.” Dinner eventually arrived, and Ari and Nara each gave Melina some of their vegetables so she would have extra. “We’ll get you healthy and put some meat on your bones soon enough,” Nara said. Melina smiled and said, “I could afford to be healthier, but I don’t think I need much more meat on my bones. For once, I’m not at a bad weight.” “You look awfully thin to us,” said Nara. “Do I?” “Yeah, Ari and I were both surprised at how much you’ve lost since being back in the States.” “The recession definitely hasn’t helped.” Nara went to open a packet of ketchup and got squirted in the face. Melina roared with laughter, and Ari and Nara, who also laughed, quickly put a finger to their lips to quiet Melina, who had drawn some curious stares. Nara wiped the ketchup off her nose and chest while Melina laughed hard, hand covering her face, body shaking uncontrollably. They were halfway across the country when Melina felt sleepy. She nestled down against Ari and wrapped her long braid around Ari’s forearm, drawing amused smiles from both Ari and Nara. “Is that for insurance or something?” asked Nara. Melina simply smiled, yawned, and then closed her eyes as she lay her head upon Ari’s shoulder. She awoke a half hour later to find Ari and Nara engrossed in their books. A memory suddenly hit her, and she said, “Oh, my God, the note! Whatever happened with the note?” Both women eyed her curiously, and Nara asked, “What note, sweetheart?” “This note that Cindy and I swapped in school. It was rather explicit.” Nara smiled broadly. “I interpreted the note for her.” Melina laughed. “You did?” Nara nodded, still smiling, but once again focusing on her book. “Che?” asked Ari. “La nota che abbiamo scritto a scuola.” Ari’s curious expression quickly turned to one of humor. “Oh,” she said with a giggle. “Che è stata una nota,” Ari said. They transferred planes at the hub in Atlanta, then began crossing the ocean, something Ari wasn’t too thrilled to do. She was glad to be closer to home but liked the idea of flying over water a lot less than flying over land. Eventually, Melina decided to take another nap, this time wrapping her braid around Ari’s upper arm. Again, Ari smiled as a woman across the aisle from Nara asked why Melina had wrapped her braid around Ari before hunkering down for a nap. “I don’t know,” Nara said. “I assume that, should Ariella get up while she’s asleep, she would like to know it.” When they finally arrived in Italy, Melina’s heart beat in excited and nervous anticipation of what was to come.