Tutti Italia: A Novel

by Jordan, Deena

  “Good morning, everyone! I hope everyone has gotten a chance to get used to the time difference.” A portly older man with glasses walked in from the back of the room. He had on a tweed vest with khakis, and sensible shoes. He looked like someone’s kindly old grandpa. Rachel smiled at him. He opened his briefcase and started to gather his materials for the class. As he did so, he handed a stack of papers to the young man that was sitting closest to him and asked him to pass them out. He warned them that today was going to be the worst day of the week, and that was why they were doing it first. Today was all the forms and paperwork needed to be filled out for their paychecks and a map so they could get around, to include some local area things that might be necessary; i.e. schools, car rental places, restaurants, etc. Rachel was doing her best to keep listening to him while she was browsing her own copy of the list. It didn’t sound like these places hated Americans. It even mentioned at the top that these places all spoke English as well. The day was indeed tedious, but at least now the boring part was finished, and the next day would begin with the culture learning. Rachel packed up her pens and pencils, tucked her notebook back under her arm, and walked across the street again to her room.

  She didn’t really know what else to do, and she was still a little too shy to try to mix with people that happened to be passing by. She determined to stay in her room and read. She pushed her pillows up against the headboard and got comfortable. She had a few hours to kill before she went to bed. She still wasn’t quite accustomed to the time difference, so she was still going to bed early, and waking up early to get herself on time. The food court closed at nine, so around eight thirty she went over and got herself something from the Taco Bell. She sat down in the food court instead of going back to her room right away. If there was something that Rachel enjoyed, it was people watching. You could tell so much about a person just by the way they spoke or acted. She finished her taco salad and took her tray over to the trash cans. As she did, she passed a group of young army guys that were laughing and joking. They were getting up, leaving their trays and mess on the table behind them. A busboy came over and started to clean up after them. Rachel could tell that they weren’t supposed to leave their trays on the table, and she could see how embarrassed this young man was to have to clean up after grown men. She felt bad for him. She vowed that she would always make sure to leave her table as clean as possible. The working class didn’t deserve snubs from the military class. It wasn’t right. She put her tray away and turned to go. She caught the young boy’s eye as he watched her leave and smiled at him. He smiled back and went back to cleaning the table.

  When she was back in her room, she put on her pajama pants and t-shirt, and got herself comfortable again. She set an alarm to make her go to bed. She usually had to, because she loved to read, and she would get so buried in those stories that she would be wide awake for hours reading, if she didn’t make herself go to bed.

  Tuesday morning dawned cold but clear as she put on a thicker pair of pants and a knit sweater for her class. The wind whipped her loose hair around until it resembled a bird’s nest, and tears ran from her eyes as the sharp wind cut across her cheeks. She made it into the door, but had to fight to get it closed after she stepped in. The woman behind the counter smiled at her disheveled state, and let her walk back to the classroom. Rachel was, again, one of the very first to arrive, so she took the time to try to arrange herself in the most presentable way possible without a hairbrush, makeup or a lint roller. Today’s briefer was a woman with long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and Rachel could tell that her hair was all over the place, too. She sat back and listened to the lectures and took notes. Today was really about an intro to the culture and the language. Rachel was amazed at how much more family oriented the Italians were than Americans. The men didn’t even move out of their parents’ house until they were married. In some cases, they were more than forty years old before that happened! Rachel vowed that that would never happen to her son. He could stay as long as he went to school, had a job, and paid rent. Then he was gone after college. Forty years old was just ridiculous.

  The afternoon portion was spent trying to learn short phrases in Italian that would help them out in the most basic of situations. She made sure she paid extra close attention to it because she wanted to learn as much as possible. She’d been sitting in her seat, practicing her Italian, when she got the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked surreptitiously around the classroom, and saw that a young soldier was looking at her shyly. When their eyes met, he looked away quickly and blushed. Rachel blushed herself. He was pretty cute. She put the boy out of her mind and went back to work on one of the simpler phrases. She couldn’t help but think about that boy when she was safe at home in her room. He was cute, and he didn’t seem to be a complete and total jerk like the ones she’d seen at the food court. She was going to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she realized quickly that it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t see him again after this week, anyway. She built her tower of pillows and cuddled into it with her kindle. Reading for a couple hours actually made her tired, so she turned off the light early and fell asleep.

  Thursday was the day for the Italian restaurant trip. The class was supposed to take a charter bus to a local restaurant, the students would get to test their Italian, and they would be submitted to an Italian feast like the locals enjoyed every day. Rachel had stayed up a little later the night before, practicing her pronunciations. She yawned as she got in line for the bus. When she chose her seat near the back, there were plenty of empty seats left, but a few minutes after she sat down, the cute boy that had been looking at her in class, stood by her wondering if the seat was taken. She smiled shyly at him.

  “No, it’s not taken. Let me just grab my purse.” Rachel’s face was burning in embarrassment. She never knew what to say to boys. It was part of her curse for being so shy.

  “I’m really looking forward to this trip. I’ve been told that they serve us seven courses at the restaurant.” Rachel’s eyes bulged.

  “Really? Oh, wow. I don’t think I could make it through half as many courses. I usually don’t eat much.” She clamped her mouth shut. She sounded stupid. Why would he care how much she ate? Was she trying to prove to him that she was desirable by pointing out that she wasn’t overweight? Her subconscious was really going to get her into trouble one of these days.

  “I’m with you on that one, but I’ll at least try everything. Can’t say it wasn’t good if you don’t try it,” he joked.

  Chapter 7

  Rachel felt flattered that his young soldier was making an effort to talk to her. Back home, she really kept to herself because she was shy, and she didn’t really consider herself attractive. It made her live the lone wolf lifestyle, but she was used to it by now. The soldier sat next to her, and at first there was a shy silence between them.

  “My name is Jason. I have to admit, I was having a terrible time trying to learn the language yesterday. I plan on keeping my mouth shut the whole trip.” Rachel laughed good-naturedly at him.

  “If you don’t try you’ll never know if you could do it or not. And I think that they will really appreciate the effort, instead of perfect pronunciation.” They continued to make small talk as the bus twisted and turned down the road, showing them quaint little towns, sparkling lakes, and of course, the snowcapped mountains that spanned the vast expanse behind the base. They took the time to appreciate it all, but a good portion of the trip was also spent stealing glances at one another, when they thought the other one wasn’t looking. An outsider to the situation would say that there was some puppy love going on between the two. As their chaperone got to her feet, everyone’s eyes swiveled over to her.

  “Listen up, everybody! We’ve arrived, and in a minute we’ll be getting of the bus. If you would find a partner that you will stick close to for the rest of the day, we can make everything easier when it comes to accountability.” Jason looked over at Rachel shyly.

&
nbsp; “Do you…want to be my partner?” Rachel blushed. That was exactly what she wanted, but she didn’t want to sound too eager.

  “Sure. I know you a little better now than I know anyone else on the bus, so why not?” She smiled at him. It was hard for her not to smile when she looked at him. It was almost magnetic. Everyone got to their feet and made their way off of the bus. In front of them was a quaint little restaurant that looked more like a cottage than a place to eat. Rachel couldn’t help but feel her heart soar. This might turn out a little like a fairy tale after all. She loved the moss growing on the roof, the garden of flowers surrounding the building, and the stone pathway that led up to the front door. Rachel was a self-proclaimed, hopeless romantic. She couldn’t wait to see the inside. Jason came up behind her.

  “Don’t tell me you’re trying to leave me already,” he joked. Rachel was mortified. She turned to Jason with her mouth hanging open and her eyes bulging.

  “I’m so sorry! Sometimes I get carried away when it comes to going new places. I didn’t mean to leave you behind at all!” He just shrugged it off.

  “Don’t worry about it, I was only joking anyway. I can’t wait to get in there and see what kind of food they have. I’m starving.” Rachel felt a little better, but she was still embarrassed. Even if it had been a joke, he’d still called her out on it. She made a mental note not to leave his side again. She started to keep him in front of her so he was always in her sight. The group went in, and an older woman came forward, chattering on in Italian. Their chaperone kept a rapid banter going with her for a few minutes, before the older woman switched to English.

  “Welcome! We have a room ready for you and we have the menus waiting. There are two choices for each course, and you can practice your Italian when you order. Follow me please!” She breezed through a hallway to what had to be the banquet room. There was a long table in the shape of a horse shoe, and the chairs were ringing the outside. The waiters were in the middle of the horseshoe, little pads of paper ready with pens poised above them. Rachel felt like a princess. There was an entire wait staff here for their small group of maybe twelve people. There was definitely something to be said for Italian hospitality. Jason sat next to her, and the two perused their menus.

  “What if we each order a different meal for each course? That way we can try everything.” Rachel brightened. That was an excellent idea. She had to give Jason some credit for his bright idea. She was just thinking that she was going to be missing out on half of the food and was sad about it.

  “That is the best idea ever! Ok, so we’ll order, eat half, and switch plates. Sound good?” Jason thought about it for a second and grinned, giving Rachel a thumbs up. That was all she needed to dive into the menu. Like Jason, she was very hungry, and she wanted to know what was coming to her. The menu was in both English and Italian so she could read it. The courses were laid out in a lot of detail and they quickly decided that Rachel would order all the first choices, and Jason would order all the second options. They gave their order to the waiter, and true to his word, Jason didn’t even bother trying to order in Italian, he just pointed. Rachel could see that the waiter was a little miffed with him because of it. She wracked her brains for all the Italian she’d taught herself out of the Italian/English dictionary that her parents had given her as a going away present, and apologized for him before putting her order in. The waiter smiled at her and struck up a conversation…in English. When the waiter left to put their orders in to the kitchen, Jason stared at her until she looked back at him.

  “What? You’re looking at me like I have a second head or something.” She looked back at him with a half-smile. He shook his head.

  “No, it’s not that. I just didn’t know that you spoke Italian. I should have just let you order for me, too.” Rachel blushed a little at the praise, and modestly denied it.

  “I don’t speak Italian, I just studied the dictionary that my parents gave me.” He gave her an odd look. “What?” He looked like he was trying to come up with a delicate way of putting into words what he wanted to say.

  “You…lived with your parents before you came here? How old are you?” Rachel could tell that he viewed her as being a mama’s girl or something for living with her parents. She immediately went on the defensive.

  “I lived at home because I went to community college. It happened to be literally five minutes up the road from our subdivision. I went to school fulltime and I worked fulltime. Yes, I was living at home because it was cheaper and convenient. Is there something wrong with that?” Her eyes were hard and shiny like pieces of flint, and her chin was raised in defiance. She was challenging him to say something to her, demean her in some way because she lived at home until she was twenty. Rachel decided not to mention how old she was. He didn’t need to know that if he was going to be an ignoramus about other ways of life. He threw his hands up in a defense.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wasn’t raised that way and it’s different than what I’ve known, that’s all. I’m sorry if you took offense to it, I didn’t mean anything by it.” She raised her eyebrow ant him, not knowing if she should believe him or if he was just covering up his opinions because he now knew that she was irritated with him for what he’d said. Rachel had to stop herself. She didn’t know Jason very well, so she should give him the benefit of the doubt. He hadn’t done anything to make her think that he was a bad guy, so maybe her paranoid tendencies were creeping up on her. She decided to let it slide. The wait staff came back, each one with two plates in his or her hand. Their waiter came and set the first course down in front of Rachel and Jason. Rachel looked up at the man’s nametag. It said, ‘Stefano’. She smiled up at him as he put her first plate in front of her.

  “Grazi mille, Stefano.” He gave a little mock bow, and joined the other waiters and waitresses as they stood in the back of the room watching the Americans have their first taste of real Italian food. Rachel sniffed appreciatively at her plate. There was what looked like a game fowl of some kind, smothered in a lemon sauce, with sautéed vegetables and orange slices. Her mouth watered all on its own. She didn’t even want to look over at Jason’s plate. She wanted to dive in to her own meal. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him carefully dividing up the things on his plate, making sure that both halves were as close to even as he could get them. She felt a little guilty about not doing that right off the bat herself, but she quickly remedied the situation. The rest of the courses were tastier than the last, and Rachel was starting to feel like she needed a nap. Her belly was filling, and there was no end in sight. Their chaperone got up, and walked into the middle of the horseshoe.

  “Can I get everyone to pay attention up here for just a second?” She waited until everyone was watching her before she continued on. “So, we’re about half way through the courses, and I want to ask if anyone is starting to feel a little sleepy?” She waited, and one by one, everyone’s hand went up. She smiled. “That’s why Italians take an afternoon nap. They love their food, and they take their time eating it. They’ll sit and talk for hours and keep eating little by little, until they can’t stay awake anymore, then it’s time for an afternoon nap. You’ll notice that most of the stores around here are closed for a few hours in the afternoon. The only ones that aren’t, are the ones that try to cater to Americans. Just remember that if you plan on going to the mall or somewhere to shop or get groceries.” She went back to her seat, and the wait staff came by to pick up the empty plates.

  “They’re not kidding. I feel like I could fall into bed right now and not get up till tomorrow morning.” Jason stretched and let out an enormous yawn. Rachel was in the middle of yawning, herself, so she had to wait to answer him.

  “I know what you mean. But I don’t want to go back yet. This food is absolutely amazing, and I don’t want to miss any of it.” She rearranged herself on her chair, and was seriously contemplating opening the button on her jeans so the waistband wouldn’t be so tight on her. After all, the
y still had a few courses to go…not to mention, dessert. Rachel and Jason stuck to their plan of ordering food and switching plates half way through. In that sense, the two of them were getting double the courses that everyone else was. The funny thing was they were the only ones that sent back empty plates every time. Another thing that was different here in Italy was that the Italians didn’t believe in doggy bags for food. A few of the restaurants near the base had started the habit, but not this place. Rachel wasn’t going to miss out on anything. She could digest later.

  Chapter 8

  Rachel dozed on the bus ride home. She felt so fat she was surprised that her pants hadn’t split yet. She woke up just before the bus went through the gate of the base. She could make out Jason in the seat next to her, snoring softly, with his head thrown back against the head rest of the seat, mouth wide open. She smiled to herself. She knew he was young, in his twenties, but the way he looked when he was relaxed made him look twelve. The bus went over the speed bumps, and it jerked Jason awake. His eyes were wide open now, and he was staring around like he was looking for someone to jump him. She laughed lightly and he blushed.

  “Sorry, I’m just used to looking around me for trouble any time I haven’t been paying attention to my surroundings. It’s a habit.”

  “It’s ok. I’m sure I would be the same way if I went through military training.” He still looked a little sheepish, but he smiled back. Once the bus came to a stop in the parking lot of the mini mall, he got up and let her out. She thanked him and made her way to the door. She didn’t really think anything about whether or not he wanted to stick around and talk to her. She just crossed the street and disappeared up the stairs to her room. She was tired, and she wanted to get a shower before she went to bed. The next day they were going to be going wine tasting. She wanted a good night’s sleep. When she got in the front door of her room, she came face to face with her roommate.