Chapter Seven
A/N: Now, I posted this on my profile, but I'm sure not many of you check that. I know I don't. My reasoning for not posting for a while is kind of lengthy, but I think it's probably a decent reason. I know I'm rather infrequent with my updates, and regularly, it can be up to a month to a month and a half between them, but this break has been largely due to the events going on around me. An explanation is on my profile.
Yumi looked toward the sky, fanning herself with a clipboard. She had two fans in her room but it just didn't cut it. The Ishiyama family's air conditioning had broken yesterday, and the temperature had just spiked to a sweltering 92° and Yumi didn't think she would make it another day. The sky was cloudless and there wasn't a trace of wind. It would be a perfect day if it was cooler.
She flopped down on her bed and let out a greatly exaggerated sigh. She'd give anything for the conditioned school classrooms. As she reached to the fan to try and force the power knob passed the top number, her phone vibrated. She jumped and rushed to her desk to pick it up. A familiar picture popped onto her phone.
"Ulrich!" She practically shouted it into the receiver.
"Geeze, Yumi, you don't have to scream. I can hear you." Ulrich was laughing, despite his trying to sound irritated. Yumi could hear Odd's voice in the background, though she couldn't make out what he'd said. Ulrich shushed him and started talking again. "I just called to see how things are going. We got to Odd's house yesterday evening, but I haven't had time to call anyone. It's been crazy."
"Oh, you wouldn't believe it." She twirled a chunk of hair around her finger. "Our air conditioner broke before you left yesterday and now we're sitting in this ridiculous heat while someone is fixing the stupid machine. Apparently there's something wrong with a belt or the fan or both. I don't know."
"That sounds horrible," Odd chimed in. "Why don't you go to the pool?" Ulrich must have put her on speaker.
"I tried this morning, but can you imagine just how crowded it is? And the pool must be boiling in this heat anyway."
"That really sucks, Yumi." Ulrich sounded distracted. She wished she was with them so she could see what Odd was doing right now to catch Ulrich's attention.
"Yeah. But I do have something good to pass on." A smile broke out on her face. "Aelita and Jeremie went to the amusement park earlier today. The pictures are adorable. It's good to see them both so happy."
"Wow, you have to send us a picture or two. And we'll send some back. We'll have a few." Odd was getting quieter; he must have moved away from the phone.
"You should. I want to see Odd's sisters. I don't even know what they look like." It was true. Despite the occasional reference towards his siblings, Odd had never described or shown pictures of his sisters. She wondered if they looked just like him, or if they looked like his mother. His mother . . .
"By the way, how is Odd's mom? Any news?" This was where the conversation started to get slow.
"Her condition hasn't worsened." Ulrich said vaguely. Odd was uncharacteristically quiet. "But they still haven't managed to wake her. She . . . The doctor says that, based on past experience and her vitals, she may wake up within the next month. But that's all speculation."
"So, did you see her? How is everyone taking it?"
"No, we were going to go today, but Odd's dad said we should take our first day and have fun with it. He doesn't want us getting down before my visit has really even started. They're taking it in stride. I suppose." There was murmuring in the background and Yumi noticed she was no longer on speaker.
"I hope she does get better . . ."
"Yeah, so do I."
There was a silence on both ends as the two teens tried to find something to fill the void. When nothing came to mind for a minute or two, they simply said their goodbyes and hung up. Yumi held the phone to her chest and let out a sigh. It was always good to hear from her friends, particularly Ulrich.
She escaped the heat into her imagination and thought about how Ulrich would be when he returned. Would he have gotten tan? She always knew he was toned, but could definitely use a bit of color. Then again, Odd was from Italy and was quite pale himself. Yumi yawned and scratched her knee subconsciously. As she was stretching, there was a sudden grinding noise followed by the sound of rushing air. She had never wanted to kiss a repair man so much.
Ulrich pushed the end button on his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. Odd had left the room, presumably to go downstairs. With a sigh, Ulrich followed, closing the door behind him and heading down the wide staircase. He almost expected to find the blond sitting quietly on the couch, or staring out at the ocean from the terrace, but instead almost ran into him as he was headed toward the back door. Odd had a blue popsicle hanging out of his mouth and another in his hand. The extra, a red one, he handed to Ulrich with a strange attempt at a smile around the frozen treat.
Grinning, Ulrich took the Popsicle from his friend and opened it. It was cold in Odd's house, but a Popsicle was always a great snack. Odd pulled his from his mouth with a pop and leaned against the breakfast bar. "So, do you want to go for a walk around town today? I've got a few places I've been meaning to visit."
"That sounds great. All I've seen of this place is what I saw through the car window."
"Awesome. Change into shorts and lose the sleeves and we'll get going." Odd, who was used to his home, was already wearing bright yellow shorts and a white sleeveless tee. Ulrich did as he was told and retraced his steps up to the room he and Odd shared. It was somewhat difficult maneuvering his clothes around the Popsicle in his mouth, but he managed with minimal mess. He all but ran down the steps again and met Odd in the foyer. Odd smiled again and opened the door with a flourish. "After you, mio amico."
Ulrich took the invitation and left the cool house for the sweltering heat of the outside world. Odd shouted something in Italian through the house. There were a few responses. Ulrich could only assume he'd said something along the lines of "we're going out" or "we'll be back" or both. They walked through the garden and down the winding wooden stairs to the road. In an area like this, Ulrich was completely unsure which way the town was. Both directions were wooded, and to Ulrich, looked exactly the same. Odd, however, turned to the left with little to no thought. With a glance backwards, Ulrich followed.
"Where are we going to go first?" Ulrich asked curiously.
"Well, you see, there's this place called Colombe Gemelli, which is a sort of cafe slash hang out. Later in the evening it's more of a romantic hotspot, but around noon, like now, it's filled with teens. Most of it is outdoors, and there's a great view. Besides, their lunch menu is to die for."
Ulrich kept up with Odd's skip-like gait as they went up the hill towards town. It was over ten minutes later when they saw another person. Four other people, in fact. There were three girls and a guy, and they were headed towards the beach. Odd waved amiably, and the four waved back. As they passed, Ulrich put them at about seventeen or thereabouts. "Do you know them?" His eyes darted back to them as they shrank into the distance.
"Nope. Never seen 'em before, but what's wrong with being friendly? They seem nice already." Odd kept his eyes foreward. They'd been worth no more than a fleeting glance from him. It was somewhat strange, since the girls were all quite good looking, and definitely Odd's type, despite the age difference.
The thought was thrust from his mind as they emerged from the wooded road. A small town opened up in front of them, and Ulrich found himself lost for words. By the time they'd reached this part of their journey, Ulrich had dozed off a little in the car, so he'd missed the local area. And boy was he sorry. They passed several beautiful houses and so many wonderful looking stores. Ulrich was instantly regretful that he was not part owl and couldn't turn his head to see everything around him. He couldn't read any of the signs, but could easily guess what the buildings housed.
As people walked by, they either waved or smiled with a quick "Buon pomeriggio!". Odd responded in kind and Ulrich simply nodded. He had been staring ahead of them at a small building that was painted a bright sea foam green when Odd spoke.
"Ulrich, your back pocket may not be the best place for your wallet."
Ulrich turned towards his friend and impulsively reached for the leather wallet. "Why?" The answer was made known when he didn't find his wallet in the pocket. He stopped walking. "Where did it go?"
Odd didn't look upset at all as Ulrich frantically checked his remaining pockets. Then he held the wallet up in his hand. "Someone might steal it."
Ulrich let out a breath and took his wallet from Odd. He almost put it back in his rear pocket before he caught himself and put it in his front. "You could have just said something. You didn't have to scare the living crap out of me." His heart was still racing.
"You know that shock tactics are something I use and value highly." Besides, you would have just brushed it off if I hadn't demonstrated. Italians are practically born knowing how to pick a pocket." The pride in his voice seemed misplaced.
"You're something alright." Ulrich wasn't sure if he was really angry or not. It was hard to be upset when there wasn't actually any problem at all. Odd had meant the best, even though he was being a total dork about it.
"That's where we want to be right now." Odd was pointing to a decent sized building with a huge patio and garden filled with small, umbrella topped tables. A few of the tables outside were occupied by groups of teens, most upwards of seventeen. Ulrich felt a bit out of place, but Odd clearly wasn't bothered. He led the way to a table by a small, decorative iron gate. Beyond it was the ocean, and a wonderful view of some cliffs in the distance. These cliffs must be the ones Odd was talking about last night. Conero or something.
"Monte Conero." Odd said suddenly. "I just love the view from up here. Could sit here all day without a care in the world." Ulrich grinned and followed his friend's gaze to the tall cliffs and the ocean beyond. A few moments later, he heard footsteps approaching and turned to see a young man in a white polo and khaki shorts. He wore a name tag that Ulrich couldn't read for a bright glare on the plastic. The man smiled in a professional fashion and handed them menus in a practiced, graceful movement.
"Benvenuti al Doves Gemelle. Cosa vuole da bere?" He said with a friendly look on his face. He clasped his hands behind his back and waited for an answer.
Ulrich was silent. He looked to Odd for help, and the blond, through barely suppressed giggles, answered in Italian. The waiter nodded and turned to be on his way. Odd laughed openly. "It's just so weird knowing that you have no idea what's going on right now."
"Gee, I'm glad you get enjoyment out of my confusion. Did he ask for drinks or something?"
"Yeah. I got you a soda. Standard procedure, no? 'Sides, all they have here otherwise is wine, tea or really strong coffee. I figured you weren't the drinking type, and caffeine doesn't seem like something you'd enjoy. And tea is gross."
Ulrich laughed. "Maybe you should just start translating for me. I like knowing what people are saying to me." As he was talking, the waiter came up once more with their drinks and said something more. Though Ulrich hadn't gained the ability to understand the language in the past few seconds, he figured he could wager a guess as to what the waiter had asked. Odd said something and waved him off.
"Take a look at the menu and let me know what catches your eye. And don't worry about asking what it is. I'll let you know if I think you'll like it or not."
Ulrich took the advice and began scanning the menu. Even though it was just a lunch menu, there were a billion different choices, and everything came with two or more courses. The items were pricy, and Ulrich was a little worried about what he should order. Ulrich pointed out one meal that was on the cheaper end, and sounded at least familiar. When Odd looked it over, he nodded.
"Yeah, that's one of the foods that Italian restaurants often carry over to other countries. It's really simple, so it isn't hard to reproduce. You'll probably like it, though it'll surely be different than the same meal in France." He took the menus and stacked them together, laying them on the edge of the table.
Their waiter came back with a basket of breadsticks. Odd relayed their orders to him and he was off once again.
Ulrich took a bread stick from the basket and tore a chunk off to taste. It was savory, with a hint of garlic and a bunch of salt. The two continued to talk about whatever came to mind as Ulrich continued to nibble on his bread stick and watch the ocean below them. It took a while for their food to be finished, so they got a good way into their conversation.
When their food came, Ulrich was taken with the smell and started eating as soon as the waiter left. It was absolutely delicious. The menu had called it "Chicken Parmasiana", and it was certainly a lot of chicken. It came with pasta and sauce on the side. Ulrich was eating noodles with some white sauce, probably alfredo, and a baked potato on the side. Odd ate slower than he normally would, but Ulrich wasn't really expecting to see the appetite that he was so used to.
"So what are we going to do after this?" Ulrich asked between mouthfuls of his chicken.
"I was thinking we could just walk around town." Odd set his fork down and pulled his feet up to rest on his chair seat. "Or we could also go look around at the views. We'll save the bigger trips for when Dad or Liz can take us. We could also go swimming again, or just walk the beach."
"I think a beach side walk would be awesome. It was getting dark when we went last time, and I haven't properly been to the beach since I was little."
Odd grinned and flagged the waiter down. "Posso avere il conto, per favore?" The waiter left and came back moments later with the receipt. Odd threw some Euros down and let the waiter bring back his change. They left and took a nearby stairway down to the ocean. The stairs were crowded, but not unbearably so.
"Sirolo isn't really as busy as most of the other tourist destinations in this area. Most people go to Ancona if they stray from the capital at all. So we don't see tourists very often here. That's why it isn't as busy as other places this time of year."
"How the heck do you answer the questions I haven't even asked yet?" Ulrich asked, genuinely curious.
"I can totally read your mind." Odd giggled when Ulrich gave him a look that screamed 'bullshit'. "I just assumed you were wondering, since you were looking at the people we were passing and stuff. Besides, it's really just an interesting fact."
Ulrich took the explanation at face value and nearly slid on an unexpectedly wet step. He caught himself deftly though, recovering his balance easily. He may not be a cat (like Odd), but he was hard to push over.
They stepped onto the beach, and Ulrich experienced the strange feel of sand beneath sneakers again. It was a strange sensation that he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to. Odd barreled across the sandy stretch to a band of darker ground. As Ulrich approached, he saw that it was covered in shells. There where twisted shells and scallop shells, mussel shells and others he couldn't even name. Odd was looking through them with great interest, before he started digging in a spot surrounded by small, twisted cone shells. After a bit of excavating, he dragged up a shell that was at least three inches long and more conch like than the others.
"I'll let you have this." He put the shell in Ulrich's hand. "This shell is your first day. We'll see what you get on your second."
A/N:
My Italian is all taken from a "common phrases" website, so I'm sorry if it doesn't flow like I want it to. Feel free to correct me, as I would like to be as close as possible with the proper grammar and such.
mio amico: My friend
Buon pomeriggio: Good Afternoon
Benvenuti al Doves Gemelle. Cosa vuole da bere: Welcome to the Twin Doves. What would you like to drink?
I would really like to have someone who can speak Italian to email back and forth for this story. That way, I can get REAL Italian phrases that people use all the time. I just don't like working off of stupid phrases websites.
To whoever asked me in the reviews (I can't remember who you are and I don't have the internet up at the moment), no I am not of Italian descent. In fact, I have not a drop of Italian blood in me. I'm pure Irish, through and through. :D
And Odd is not being lewd at the end . . . unless you really want to think of it that way.
