“You know, you guys, we could just find something to eat along the way,” Christy suggested. “The raccoons would be happy if we left the fish for them.”
“Along the way where?” Katie asked.
“Along the way to wherever we’re going to stay tonight.”
Christy’s three friends stopped what they were doing and looked at her. She scanned their expressions and said, “Or were you guys thinking we would stay here another night?”
“Of course,” Antonio said decidedly. “I don’t have to be to work until Saturday. We will stay here four more nights.”
When neither Katie nor Todd balked at the possibility of spending the rest of the week here, Christy kept her mouth shut, more from shock than anything else. She remained quiet the whole time they ate their fish. Todd let her borrow his navy blue hooded sweat shirt. She sat huddled next to him by the fire with the hood up, hiding her face from him and only halfheartedly joining in the singing with the others. She couldn’t imagine spending five more days of their three-week vacation here with the masked midnight prowlers dining on fish guts while she tossed and turned on the hard ground, shivering like crazy.
Christy went to bed wearing Todd’s sweat shirt pulled over her head, which at least helped to keep some of her body heat in. But without the smelly knit sweater, the hard ground poked her and chilled her more miserably than the night before.
Christy listened to Katie’s steady breathing. Then a band of scavenging cats got into a fight with the raccoons over their midnight helping of fish guts. Christy cried tiny, silent tears. This wasn’t the vacation she had dreamed of with her friends. How could she say anything to them, when obviously she was the only one who thought continuing to camp was a bad idea?
Christy shifted uncomfortably on the tent’s floor and rubbed her stockinged feet together. I’m not much of a nature woman after all, am I?
A wind picked up, and the canvas tent’s sides began to billow. With the wind came a sudden downpour of rain. A leak in the tent’s corner next to Christy’s head caused the rain to come flying in with the wild wind. Within a few minutes, the sweat shirt’s hood was soaked.
“That does it!” Christy shouted, jumping up and vigorously unzipping the tent.
“What’s going on?” Katie mumbled. “Can’t you just ignore the raccoons tonight?”
“Katie, it’s pouring rain! I’m soaked. I’m sleeping in the van.”
Running through the downpour, Christy yanked open the side door of the minivan and climbed in. She pulled the door shut and settled herself onto the back bench seat. Why didn’t I think of this last night? It’s much warmer in here.
The rain pelted the van’s roof, but Christy was safe, dry, and almost warm. She pulled her scratchy blanket up to her chin and thought she might actually get some sleep now.
Just then the van’s door slid open. “Make room, I’m coming in! Our tent is flooding.” Katie sprang inside, accidentally smashing Christy’s index finger against the seat’s underside metal frame.
“Ouch!” Christy yelled.
“What happened?”
Before Christy could answer, the van’s side door opened again, and Todd hopped in. “Guess you two had the same idea.”
Antonio stood right behind him in the pouring rain and shouted, “Hey, come on! Make some room!”
“You guys are all wet,” Katie said.
Todd held a flashlight and turned it toward Christy. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pressed her lips together and held her smashed finger tightly.
“You okay?” he asked.
Christy shook her head but couldn’t speak. Todd motioned with a chin-up gesture and said, “Did you hurt your hand?”
She nodded, and he reached for her hand, shining the flashlight on it. Antonio moved in, and all four of them peered at Christy’s finger. It throbbed like crazy, but there was nothing to see. It wasn’t swollen, cut, or black-and-blue. It just hurt like everything. The way her three friends looked up at her made Christy feel again like a failed nature woman.
“It’ll be all right,” Christy said quietly, pulling her hand out of the light.
“Well, then, since we are all together,” Antonio said, “what should we do?”
Christy leaned back on the bench seat and tried hard to keep from crying over her throbbing finger. Todd made himself comfortable on the van’s floor, leaning against her legs. At that moment she didn’t want anyone to touch her or to press against her. Not even Todd. The tight quarters were beginning to smell like wet wool socks and mildewed boots. She knew if she popped open one of the windows, the wind would bring in the rain.
“We could tell detective stories,” Katie said. “Or play chess. Have you ever played chess in teams? Guys against the girls. What do you think, Christy?”
Christy didn’t feel like playing any kind of game. She didn’t view this as the impromptu slumber party everyone else seemed to think it was.
“I have another flashlight somewhere,” Antonio said, fumbling through the cupboards.
Todd turned around and said to Christy, “Listen to the sound of that rain. Isn’t it amazing? What does it remind you of?”
When Christy didn’t answer, Todd added, “I’ll give you a hint. Think of an open jeep and a sudden downpour.”
Antonio turned on a large flashlight, illuminating the enclosed area. Todd appeared surprised when he saw the expression on Christy’s face in the light. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” Christy said, trying to change her aggravated expression.
“Then, what’s wrong?” Todd looped his arm across her knees and looked at her with concern.
“It’s nothing.”
“Oh, come on, Christy, it’s obviously something,” Katie said. “We all know you too well for you to try to hide whatever it is. Just tell us.”
Christy hesitated. She hated the way she felt right now. Holding her still-screaming finger, she spouted, “I’m not particularly enjoying this downpour the way you guys are, and to be honest with you . . . I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Do what?” Katie prodded.
“This!”
“Camping?” Antonio ventured.
“Yes, camping and all this. I mean, you guys love the adventure of roughing it, but this is the first time in my life I’ve ever been tent camping, and I hate to be the big baby of this group, but this is hard! I’m cold, wet, and hungry, but you guys all think this is great and want to live this way for the rest of the week. Or for the rest of your lives, for all I know!”
They all stared at her.
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I had in mind when we said we were going to travel around Europe.”
Looking at Todd again, she decided she had better keep going while she was at full speed. “You guys, we only have three weeks to see everything in Europe. Three weeks! And if you want to spend the first week sitting here in the rain, eating fish, I guess that’s okay, but I have to tell you, it’s not as easy for me as it is for you.”
Christy felt hot tears coming to her eyes. She forced them to back off. “I’m sorry I’m being like this, but I feel as if the three of you would have a much better time without me. I mean, you took off and went hiking without me. You could have just done this whole Italy camping thing without me, and I could have caught up with you on your way to Norway or something.”
“Is that what you want?” Katie asked. “You want to go to Norway?”
“I don’t care about Norway. I thought you wanted to go to Norway.” Christy raised her voice. “Weren’t you the one who sent the email about seeing a fjord and the country your great-grandmother came from?”
“Sure, I want to get to Norway eventually,” Katie said. “No rush.”
“But that’s what you don’t understand. You don’t just say, ‘Oh, let’s go to Norway today’ and arrive in time for lunch. You have to find out when the trains are scheduled. Some trains require reservations. And what if we want to stop and see so
mething else along the way? We need to have a plan. Why can’t we have a plan?”
“We can,” Todd said. “We can make a plan.”
“Three weeks isn’t as long as you guys think,” Christy said, calming down.
“So what’s your plan?” Katie asked. “Give us a plan.”
“I don’t have a plan.”
“Neither do we,” Katie said defensively. “That’s why we were just letting things happen as they came along. This camping trip with Antonio is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“No.” Antonio held up his hand and shook his head. “Christy is right. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is more than this camp, this lake, these trees. You must see the Sistine Chapel and the Eiffel Tower. Europe has much to offer you. More than what you are seeing here. Five days is too long in one place when there is so much to see. We will go in the morning, okay?”
“Antonio,” Christy said quickly, “I didn’t mean we had to leave right away. I was just trying to say we need a plan. That’s all. We need to work together as a team.”
All four of them were quiet for a moment. The sound of the pounding rain on the van’s roof made Christy realize how loud her voice had been as she had tried to make her point.
“Where would you like to go next?” Todd asked Christy.
“I don’t really care.”
“Oh, come on, Christy,” Katie said. “You can’t give us a big pep talk like that and not have something in mind.”
“Well, okay. If it were up to me, I’d like to see other parts of Italy,” she said cautiously.
“So would I,” Todd said.
“It’s settled.” Antonio clapped his hands. “As soon as the rain stops, we take down our tents, and you go see more of Italy. Mi Italia. You will love it all.”
The others seemed to agree with Antonio, which made Christy feel better.
However, the rain didn’t stop when the morning came. In a miserable group effort, the four tired and hungry campers took down their soaked tents in the rain, tied them to the van’s roof, and lugged the wooden box of camping gear to the back of the van, where they tied it to the bumper. Christy was certain she was soaked all the way to her skin. None of them had anything waterproof to use as a cover-up. Not even a plastic bag. They took turns changing clothes in the van and chugged their way across the muddy gravel road that led to the highway.
“Let’s stop at the first place we come to that has food,” Katie pleaded. “I don’t care what kind of food it is.”
Antonio drove faster when he reached the paved highway. “At my house, my mama will be happy to feed all of us. You will love her.”
“No doubt, Tonio,” Katie said, “but how far is it to your Mama Mia’s Pizzeria?”
“That is very good, Katie. Mama Mia’s Pizzeria. That is funny. It is not a long drive. We will be there within the hour.”
Christy felt the hour was awfully long as they drove past green, rolling hills and huge fields of sunflowers. The rain had settled into a fine mist with a few sun breaks once they left the foothills. She stared out of a corner of a side window, watching the sun pierce through the clouds and send golden spears of light down on the grape fields. The light turned the leaves a vibrant lime green. Somehow, she found comfort in the beauty of the pastoral scene, which helped because she was still feeling twinges of guilt over being so upset and making everyone pack up and leave because of her.
She glanced at her smashed finger and noticed it had turned a deep shade of purple. Her spirit felt bruised to a deep purple, as well.
Todd slept stretched out on the backseat, and Katie slept on the floor. Christy envied their ability to sleep anywhere in any position. She couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard she tried. She noticed that Todd’s arm hung over the side and rested on Katie’s shoulder since she had backed herself up against the bench. They, of course, didn’t mean to be touching in such a cozy manner, but they were. Christy didn’t like seeing Todd and her best friend casually flopped over each other that way. She kept glancing back at them.
When Antonio pulled off the main road and headed into town, Christy asked, “Is this it? Is this where you live?”
“Not far,” he answered. “This is Cremona.”
“It looks so old,” Christy said, gazing at a tall tower that rose above the rooftops.
Antonio pointed to the tower. “That is the Torrazzo. The ‘big tower.’ Built in the thirteenth century.”
“It’s beautiful,” Christy remarked.
“My family is related to the Amatis of Cremona.” He made the statement with great pride, as if it should mean something. When Christy didn’t respond, he added, “You Americanos. You do not know Amati, do you?”
“No, sorry,” Christy said.
“Perhaps you know the apprentice of Amati—Stradivari. He is the one I am named after. Antonio Stradivari.”
“Is he the one who invented violins?” Christy asked. “Stradivarius violins?”
“Si! You have heard of him. But it was my relative, Andrea Amati, who created the violin. Stradivari only perfected it. This is the town where they both lived. Stradivari made violins here more than three hundred years ago. They still make violins in Cremona. Musicians from all over the world come here to buy them.”
For the first time, Christy began to feel excited about being in Italy. This was the kind of intriguing blend of history with the present that she had hoped they would discover and explore.
“You see that street there?” Antonio continued. “I work down there at a restaurant near the cathedral. I tell all the tourists that Antonio Stradivari made by hand 1,200 instruments, and I am named for him. No one believes me.”
“They don’t believe you about the 1,200 instruments or that you’re named for him?”
“Both. They think I am making it all up.”
“Well, I believe you, Tonio. And I think it’s amazing.” She stretched to catch a final glimpse of the cathedral.
With a few more turns on the narrow road, they came to a wide bridge and crossed a large river before Antonio headed down a poorly maintained road. It led them to a modest whitewashed farmhouse with a red tile roof. The place reminded Christy of the Wisconsin farmlands where she grew up.
Antonio honked the minivan’s horn. Katie and Todd stirred from their slumber, and Christy smiled at the woman coming out the side door of the humble house, who was waving and blowing kisses to them.
With a round of warm introductions to Antonio’s “mama,” the filthy, starving campers were welcomed into the small kitchen. Mouth-watering aromas met them as they entered. Tonio and his mother spoke to each other in rapid Italian as she kept motioning for Christy, Todd, and Katie to sit at the table.
Christy liked the woman at once. And she liked the kitchen. The chairs they pulled from under the table had woven straw seats, and the wood was painted a royal blue. On the wall in front of Christy was an ornate wooden plate rack painted the same blue. It held bright white, yellow, and blue pottery dishes with a matching water pitcher.
Antonio continued to speak with his mother in Italian while she scurried around the kitchen gathering ingredients and talking at the same time Tonio was.
Christy felt like laughing. So much commotion for this obviously beloved son and his three weary friends.
“She says you can take a bath if you want while she makes some pasta.” Antonio looked at Christy. “You want me to bring your bag in?”
“Sure. I’d love to take a bath. Are you sure she doesn’t mind?” Christy could tell his mother didn’t mind. If anything, she probably didn’t appreciate these filthy people in her nice, clean kitchen.
“I’ll go first, okay?” Christy said, glancing at Todd and Katie. She knew if she looked anything like the two of them, a bath would be a vast improvement.
Tonio showed Christy to the small bathroom with a tile floor and a strange-looking tub. It was short and deep and had a hose sort of fixture attached, which Christy figured must be the shower. It took her a
few minutes to figure out how to work everything, but once she did, the warm water pouring over her head felt like a dream. She scrubbed up quickly and dressed in one of her last two clean outfits.
Katie was waiting as soon as Christy exited the bathroom. “Todd and I just washed some clothes, and guess where you do it. Outside in a big tub with one of those old-fashioned washboards. Then you hang it on a line strung between two trees. Is this bizarre or what?”
Christy noticed that Katie was all wet.
“Oh, we had a water fight. Todd and me. I won. You should see him. He barely needs a bath anymore.”
Christy left cheery Katie to her bath and went out back to scrub up her clothes. Todd was in the sun, drying off. He and Antonio sat in straight-backed chairs, talking like two old men. Antonio leaned back and commented on how warm and clear it was here compared to the hills where they had camped. Todd acted as if he was completely at home, adding his own comments about the weather.
When Katie’s around, he has water fights. When I come out, he barely notices me and sits there, talking about the weather. I feel like the big, bad meanie. We left the campgrounds because of me. It’s probably nice and sunny there now, too, and we could be washing our clothes in the stream. Have I ruined everything?
Within an hour and a half, they were all cleaned up and seated around the kitchen table, eating a banquet of delicious food. Todd raved about the pasta. Katie kept taking more of the sausage, and Christy especially liked the ravioli. Antonio relayed messages to his mama about how much everyone was enjoying the food. She smiled and motioned for them to eat more, more, more!
Christy was sure she didn’t have room for another bite, and yet loads of food was left over. “Would you please ask your mom if we can help clean up?”
Antonio asked. His mother motioned with hand gestures that they should shoo and leave her alone in her kitchen.
“We can at least do the dishes,” Katie suggested.
That was agreed to, and the four of them set up an assembly line to wash and dry the blue-and-yellow ceramic plates as well as all the pots and pans. It didn’t take much time with all of them crowding around the sink and laughing. Christy had a feeling Antonio’s mom was glad to have them leave her small kitchen in peace.