Taste of Italy

C H A P T E R t w o

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They were finally off the plane.

Exhausted, but excited, they made their way to the exit. When they saw the doors, Iris saw Kelly's eyes beam with happiness as she ran to the electric doors with her large suitcase dragging behind her, hitting the heels of her feet. The duffel bag she carried across her shoulder bounced off her body.

When the two sisters caught up to Kelly, Iris gave a large sigh. "And we're here," she said, feeling too tired from the flight.

The airplane was packed and the seats weren't pleasing; Iris felt like everyone squished together, maybe even on purpose to make it awkward. It didn't help as the stranger next to her fell asleep on her shoulder. She remembered Jane laughing at her as drool would drip down of the stranger's mouth.

What a horrifying experience.

But it was over now.

Iris wanted to focus all her strength and energy on getting to the hotel. That became the new problem to solve.

As the sisters stood outside for a few moments, Iris wondered what they were doing or waiting for. No one spoke, so she allowed not only the silence to continue but the mystery of it. From the corner of her eye, Jane put her phone into her back pocket. She wasn't paying attention to her sister, but it seemed that Jane was texting someone?

"So what now?" Kelly questioned. Relief hit Iris as she thought she became crazy for not knowing what was happening.

Jane kept silent.

At this point, Iris considered that her sisters might not have a plan. While fidgeting with her fingers,

Iris noticed her sister examining the airport. Kelly became preoccupied with everything around her; she was taking everything in and observing everything like Rome was a whole new world to her. This all made Iris confused as she thought the airport wasn't so exciting.

"You do realize that we haven't gotten to the good part, right?"

"I know." Kelly smiled while Iris giggled, but she didn't blame her. Italy was a beautiful and an amazing country. Even though all they saw was the airport, being in the country, at last, was an accomplishment in their lives.

The only sister that wasn't focused on much, saw Jane looking at a man walking over to them from across the street where the parking lot was.

"Who is that?" Iris whispered to her sibling, hoping that Jane wouldn't ignore her.

She pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail. "That, Iris, is our ride." Jane waved as she walked to the stranger; the person waved at them. He wore a muscle shirt and jeans; his arms were large and covered in tattoos.

It came as a surprise to Iris that Jane knew someone like him as she was a bit judgmental—okay, maybe a bit too judgmental. But Iris knew that Jane couldn't help it. It was part of her "nature." That, of course, she hated.

"Ciao. Welcome to Rome," the man said, hugging Jane. His Italian accent was present, but it wasn't extremely thick like she would have thought. Iris liked it thin because if it was too thick, she may not have been able to hear exactly what he said.

She remembered going to the south one time, to Louisiana, and it was hard for either of them to understand a word that came out of anyone's mouth. They talked too fast, low, and the accents were thicker than anything.