Getting Over Matt

33 - "That's the spirit, Bella."

Chapter 33 - "That's the spirit, Bella."

We walked through Rome, hand in hand, with the hot sun beating down on our backs. The tall, elegant buildings on either side of the street towered over us, but provided little shade. In my spare hand, I held an ice-cream that I was trying to eat quickly yet neatly, before it melted in the sunshine.

Nathan had ordered the ice-creams, in fluent Italian. He may claim he wasn't fluent, but I'd been learning Spanish for seven years, and I still wouldn't be able to communicate as well as he did in Italian. There were no pauses while he translated the Italian into English and then back into Italian. He didn't even look at the woman while she replied—something I always had to do in order to understand properly. He spoke quickly, probably in slang, and efficiently. I stood there in awe, but didn't question him on it. For some strange reason, I had a feeling that Nathan was shy about his Italian-speaking abilities; otherwise I was certain he'd have shown it off more.  

"Got any euro coins on you?" Nathan asked me.  

"I might have a few cents, yeah," I replied. "Why?" 

We rounded a corner and were suddenly in a square full of people. Nathan clutched my hand tighter and we weaved between the crowds until I caught sight of the huge Trevi Fountain. It really was impressive and incredibly beautiful.  

"They say that if you throw a coin into the fountain, then you're guaranteed to return to Rome," Nathan answered.  

I smiled. "I'll get out my purse." 

"Good girl." 

I laughed softly and pulled out my spare change. 

"If I throw in three coins does it mean that I'll return three times?" I asked Nathan with a coy smile.  

"I don't think it works like that, Bella." 

I closed my eyes, but then felt Nathan's hands on my shoulders, twisting me around so that I was facing away from the fountain.  

"You're supposed to have your back to the fountain and then toss it over your shoulder," he explained.  

I made my wish and then tossed the coin towards the fountain, over my shoulder. Twisting around quickly, I opened my eyes just to see it make contact with the water and then trickle towards the bottom of the fountain.  

"It's estimated that three thousand coins are thrown into this fountain each day," Nathan told me.  

"Really?" I asked, impressed. "That's quite a lot." 

"I know." 

"Tell me something interesting about it, then." 

"It was finally finished in 1762," Nathan said, without pausing to think. "Although that's boring history stuff." 

"I find history interesting." 

He shrugged slightly. Obviously he found it interesting, too, else he wouldn't know all these facts.  

"The water at the bottom of the fountain represents the sea," he added.  

"Really? How come?" 

He paused. "Um, not entirely sure...but the figures, the ones that are carved into the stone?" he clarified, pointing them both out in case I hadn't noticed them.

"I see them." They were eye-catching, and one of the main features of the fountain.  

"Well, they represent things to do with the sea," he explained. "The central figure is Neptune, God of the Sea, and he's taming the sea horses. One horse is calm whereas the other is wild, and that's meant to represent how the sea can be calm or rough."