𝟐. 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚, 𝐂𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨
Serena sat motionless in her seat, ocean blue eyes fixated themselves on the harvest of grapevines and olive trees that blanketed the surrounding hills as the train glided along the tracks. The young teen kept reminding herself that this trip was only for a week and a half and then she was out of there. All she had to do was try to stay away from the ocean — easier said than done.
The small isolated town of Portorosso nestled itself between the cliffs and coastline of the Italian Riviera which had a long history as a fishing village.
It also didn't help that Serena's family owned a small but very popular restaurant called 'Il Ristorante Cavalluccio' that was situated right next to the marina. It had been managed by her family for the last fifty years and it was renowned for its seafood delicacies.
Unfortunately, Serena found seafood to be absolutely disgusting. She felt that she was the minority when it came to this opinion because just about everyone she knew loved seafood. This included her parents; they first pressured her into trying seafood at a young age, she found that it tasted like it had been soaked in a pool of wastewater that littered the floor of a seafood market. After spitting the food out she stubbornly refused to try anymore; Serena developed an extreme love of pasta after that.
It was an hour and fifty-one minute train ride to Portorosso but it felt like an eternity for Serena.
Serena had the window open beside her the whole train ride, the air that whipped about the carriage provided her and her fellow passengers some relief from the blazing heat. Not that Serena really needed it, she was fairly insensitive to warm weather but was quite sensitive to colder weather. This was one of the many reasons why summer was her favourite time of year.
"Okay Serena," the brunette whispered to herself quietly, "You can do this. You are strong and capable. Just remember what your therapist told you; breathe."
Serena closed her eyes and started to breathe in slowly through your nose before exhaling slowly through slightly pursed lips. She went to inhale through her nose again but the scent of salt water and sea breeze invaded her nostrils. Every muscle in her body tensed. Portorosso was only a few hundred meters away.
Serena's eyes snapped open before her world went dark.
The young teen panicked for a second, only for her to relax slightly when she realised that the train had entered a tunnel. She knew that on the other side of this tunnel she'd be arriving in Portorosso. The smell of the ocean became stronger and the roaring of waves echoed throughout the tunnel. After a minute of complete darkness the train emerged from the tunnel, Serena squinted her eyes against the sudden onslaught of light. She immediately flung her hand over her face, trying to protect her eyes from the unforgiving Mediterranean sun.
After a few seconds she moved her hand back down, blinking blearily as her surroundings slowly came into focus. As her vision recovered, the first thing to grab Serena's attention was a tiny island that sat in the middle of the vast ocean about three miles off the coast of Portorosso, a tall cylindrical stone tower perched itself on the highest hill.
The salty wind whipped through her curly mousy brown locks, her bangs bouncing as she moved closer to the window to get a better look. Serena recalled the island was named Isola del Mare; nonno had told her and Guido many legends and stories about ferocious sea monsters that lurked beneath the ocean, and were warned not to go to that island as it was believed to be the epicentre for sea monster sightings. The both of them promised never to go there. Guido wasn't afraid of the stories but Serena on the other hand was terrified of them.
Before she could dwell on the thought of sea monsters she was interrupted by the sound of the overhead speaker, the loud static noise filled the carriage followed by a robotic voice.
"Signore e signori, we have reached our next stop…Portorosso."
Serena drew a deep breath in; there was no turning back now.
Hastily rising from her seat, she stretched out her arms, arching her back as she did so; it felt good to stand up after such a long train ride. Serena bent down to pick her large brown leather travel case which contained a few clothes, bathroom essentials, sketchbooks and a photograph of her, mama and papà. She couldn't store the case in the overhead compartment because she was too short to reach it, so she had to place it down in front of her legs the whole trip.
Soon the train groaned and hissed as it pulled to a stop, the doors flung open. Serena adjusted her travel case in her hands before she placed both feet onto the platform; she was the only person to step off the train.
"Serena!" a familiar voice rang through the empty train station.
Turning her head, Serena saw the person she had missed dearly since last summer — Guido was a slim boy of fifteen, tanned skin, brown eyes and had his chestnut brown hair combed over to the left. He wore a red and orange striped shirt with brown shorts held up with a black belt and light blue sneakers. He was jogging towards her before he broke into a sprint.
Letting her travel case fall to the floor, Serena outstretched her arms ready to embrace him. In his excitement, he almost caused the two of them to topple to the floor when he jumped into her arms. Serena managed to keep her feet firmly on the ground.
"I've missed you so much piccolo cugina!" Guido exclaimed, squeezing her tightly.
"Anch'io!" Serena squeezed him back even tighter before she let go, moving backwards.
"You grew a few inches since we last saw each other," Serena teased the older boy, ruffling his brown comb-over.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure you just grew shorter," Guido let out a chuckle, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. Serena giggled at her cousin's response while watching him smooth his hair to the side once again.
"I can't believe you're really here. I was thinking that you were going to chicken out…" Guido trailer off, his hand moved down from his hair to rub the back of his neck.
"Wouldn't miss the chance to see my favourite cousin in the entire world!" Serena boasted, making a move to pick up her case she had dropped on the floor moments ago.
"No no, don't worry, I got it!" Guido demurred, lifting Serena's heavy travel case like it was nothing and the both of them started to make their way towards the exit. "And you didn't come all this way just to see me. Mama, papà and nonno are so glad you're going to be staying for the summer! It'll be like old times."
Serena looked up at his joyous face and felt a pang of guilt. She had just gotten here three minutes ago and already she couldn't get the thought of leaving Portorosso out of her head. However she couldn't help but smile at the way Guido was behaving; he was so excited to have her here that this made Serena second guess if she should go through with her plan.
"I bet it feels weird to be back in Portorosso after so many years," Guido remarked.
"More like anxious and a little terrified," Serena admitted. "I just don't know when my tiggers will pop up, they come on so suddenly."
Guido nodded in understanding and Serena felt herself relax. She knew that she could count on Gudio to not make things into a big deal. That's one of the reasons why she felt like she could tell Guido anything.
The cousins made it out of the train station and out onto the narrow cobblestoned streets of Portorosso. Even though it had been years since Serena and her parents left their old lives behind, the town hadn't changed one bit.
Portorosso was tiny compared to a bustling city like Genova. The town had no car traffic and was strictly a pedestrian only town, with the exception of piaggio apes, bikes and scooters which were perfect for the narrow alleys of Portorosso. The tall and slender terraces, painted in an array of warm pastels, were cemented into the natural topographical hills that were blanketed with cactus, grapevines and olive groves, and lead all the way down towards the ocean.
The piazza was buzzing with commotion as people went about their daily lives. Serena walked out into the crowd, immediately eyeing the marina that led out towards the ocean. She briskly swerved her gaze to focus on the active townspeople of Portorosso.
Serena saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, others she had idea who they were. The piazza was lined with restaurants, bars, grocery stores and gelato shops. A group of elderly men were playing a game of scopa, children sat down to enjoy some gelato and watermelon in hopes that it would cool them down from the heat. Little old ladies hung their washing out on clotheslines located high above the piazza so that they would dry up in the hot summer sun.
Serena's eyes eventually trailed over towards the ocean before she froze in fear; you couldn't miss it. Portorosso had a natural marina with an amphitheatre shape that led all the way out towards the Mediterranean ocean. Serena couldn't move as the events of that traumatic day replayed in her mind, that is until Guido's voice snapped her out of her silent panic. Her head swiveled in his direction.
"You alright?" Guido asked, his voice held concern.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright," Serena confirmed with a stutter.
Guido eyed his cousin suspiciously although he decided not to question her. "Come on, we better get home. You know how my mama gets, she'll have a whole search party looking for us if she doesn't expect us soon."
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Il Ristorante Cavalluccio was a large restaurant that was situated right next to the marina and was built into the rock cliffs that overlooked the Ligurian coast. Before Serena moved away to Genova, she and her parents lived in the apartments with Guido and his family which was also located next to the restaurant.
Serena had so many fond childhood memories from when she used to reside in the restaurant and the house. When she and Guido were younger, they would often help out around the restaurant by folding napkins, washing and stacking dishes, setting the menus and dining ware onto the tables and unload groceries and supplies from the delivery trucks.
It wasn't all work though. They would often get to try and taste the dishes their family whipped up and would always get free dessert every single night.
Before Serena knew it, she was already scaling up the flight of stairs that lead up to the restaurant. Serena assumed that the family were preparing the restaurant to open for lunch time, and she was right. The two cousins stepped into the restaurant to find a few employees whizzing past them, as they tried to get everything in order before customers started to come in droves.
Serena's gaze swept over her surroundings; the restaurant hadn't changed at all just like the rest of the town. Everything was exactly the way it was when she had left all those years ago. The young teens' eyes spotted Zio Giovanni behind the bar polishing wine glasses while Zia Francesca was sitting on a bar stool, filling out some paperwork.
The Cavalluccio's had a strange tradition where all male relatives had names starting with the letter 'G'. It got even more confusing when Serena's zio and her papà had the same initials and were also twins.
Zio Giovanni was the youngest twin; he was identical to her papà in every way physically apart from possessing a stubble beard, fishing themed tattoos along his tanned arms and donned a brown cap over his brown scruffy hair. He wasn't the quiet type like his brother, he was rather outspoken and was a social butterfly.
Zia Francesa was in her early thirties, she was tanned, tall and slim. She had hazel eyes that compliment her short black hair that was cut shaggy, tousled with deep waves that framed her forehead and cheeks. She always wore red lipstick, no matter the occasion. Serena always thought that she would make a great pin up girl and would be quite the catch.
"Siamo a casa!" Guido announced happily.
Zio Giovanni and Zia Francesca looked up from the bar, their calm expressions turned into ones of pure joy.
"Bentornata nostra cara nipote!" Zio Giovanni greeted boisterously with a smile.
Zia Francesca let out an excited shriek, leaping off the bar stool and ran over to Serena with her arms outstretched. "Oh! La mia bellissima nipote. We've missed you so much!"
As soon as Zia Francesca reached her dear niece, she cupped both sides of Serena's face and kissed her right cheek and then her left before pulling her into a hug.
"I've missed you all so much too!" Serena exclaimed as she hugged her zia back with the same amount of enthusiasm. "We hope your journey was pleasant."
"It was a nice change of scenery that's for sure," Serena managed to say through a fake smile.
That was a total lie. Serena was in a constant state of panic the whole train ride and was more focused on trying to control her anxiety rather than enjoying the scenery.
The brunette untangled herself from the hug and took a double take around the restaurant. Someone was missing, "Where is nonno?"
"You know your nonno Giuseppe," Zio Giovanni shook his head as he continued polishing a wine glass to perfection, "Always fishing down by the marina. Lately he's been going down there with Tommaso every morning and sometimes doesn't come back until late afternoon."
"Oh zitto," Zia Francesca scolded her husband, "He's enjoying his retirement."
"Retirement?" Serena raised an eyebrow.
"Your nonno retired about a month ago and passed down the restaurant to your Zio Gio," Zia Francesca explained before her voice dropped an octave, "Your uncle has been a bit upset since he can't go off and fish whenever he pleases now that he's working full time as the restaurant's owner."
Serena felt somewhat guilty. She couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that she burdened her uncle with the responsibility of taking over the restaurant. Her papà was the eldest brother and he should've taken over the family business but he had moved away for her well-being.
"I'm not upset," Zio Giovanni grumbled, having heard what his wife said. "I may miss fishing as often as I used to but I've got a family business to run now. I am perfectly happy."
Serena breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that her uncle didn't hold a grudge over who was supposed to take over the restaurant, he was just happy that it was still in the family.
"Congratulazioni, I'm so happy for you zio Gio!" Serena cheered happily.
"Grazie, mia cara nipote," Giovanni nodded with a smile, "And don't worry, your papà and I talked about who would take over the restaurant a very long time ago and we came to an agreement that it was going to be me."
He then winked as if he read her mind. This made Serena's shocked expression turn into one of joy and relief.
"Now, why don't you get settled then, hm?" Zia Francesca suggested.
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Serena reached the top of the stairs with her heavy travel case in hand. Her old room was located in the attic so it took some time to make it all the way up those flights of stairs. The girl approached a familiar door, twisting the handle and pushed the door open. Stepping inside and peering around the room, Serena was hit with a wave of nostalgia; a lot of memories in this room.
Serena heaved up her travel case with both hands before letting it bounce onto her once freshly made bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, opening up her case and started to unpack her belongings.
After putting away most of her clothes, she felt a slight draft through her hair and on her face. Looking up, Serena hadn't noticed that the doors that lead towards her small balcony were open. The soft breeze moved the curtains gently, as the sound waves crashed against the rocks of the marina below.
Serena could feel her panic rising from just the sound of the ocean. Squeezing her eyes shut, she bolted over to the balcony slamming the doors shut and closed the curtains. She gripped the curtains tightly in her hands, trying to regulate her breathing just as her therapist instructed her to do. After a few moments of deep controlled breathing, Serena took a last deep breath in and out before moving over to the other side of the room where there was a smaller window.
"How am I going to stay here for a week and a half without having a panic attack every five minutes?" Serena whined to herself out loud as she overlooked the vineyards.
A sudden knock at the door pulled Serena out of her thoughts as she turned around to find Guido poking his head around the door.
"Mama wants me to grab a few things from the store and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."
"Are you sure zio and zia wouldn't want some help with the restaurant?" Serena questioned.
"Nah, they've got it covered for now," Guido shook his head, "So are you coming?"
Even though she didn't really want to be here, Serena didn't want to miss out on spending quality time with her cousin.
"Sure, I'll be down in a couple of minutes," Serena informed with a smile.
With a nod, Guido walked out of her room and closed the door behind him.
Serena rushed over to her closet and changed into something more equipped for the hot and smouldering afternoon it was turning into. After putting on fresh clothes, Serena stepped in front of her vanity's mirror so that she could take in her appearance.
She took her hair out of it's ponytail, letting her mousey brown curls cascade down to her mid back. Picking up her hairbrush, she started to comb the few tangles out for a few seconds before pushing her curls back with a soft orange peach kerchief headband, her bangs stuck out from underneath the kerchief.
Serena smoothed out her white sleeveless blouse that had a knot where the buttons stopped, before fixing it's peter pan collar. Her outfit was completed with light blue jeans that reached her mid thigh and white sneakers.
Now she looked like a Portorossan!
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Serena and Guido had gotten what they needed from the corner shop and had also bought a few treats for themselves from the money that was left over.
"I can't believe that Signora Lombardi is still in charge of the corner store, after all this time!" Serena marvelled, adjusting her grip on the shopping bag in her hand.
"It's sad that her husband passed away a few years ago though. He was such a nice man," Guido said solemnly.
Serena nodded, "Yeah, you'd think that she'd retire by now to mourn his loss, but I guess she doesn't want to give up the store because it's a good distraction for her."
As the two cousins had walked down the main street and out into the piazza, Guido stopped and became transfixed on a group of children playing soccer. The children had completely disregarded the sign that had a big red stop signal painted over a picture of a ball which was nailed to a nearby stone archway.
The two stood and watched for a couple of minutes before Guido wondered out loud, "Do you think I could be good at professional soccer?"
Serena's gaze shifted from the children towards Guido. "You could be, assolutamente!" Serena chirped, "You're really good, one of the best soccer players I've ever seen."
Guido beamed proudly and was about to say something when the roar of an engine could be heard coming from behind them. The children stopped playing and all froze in their place.
Guido's confidence deflated in a matter of seconds as he turned around and saw his best friend approach the both of them on his cherry red vespa, Ciccio running behind Ercole. He looked like he was about to pass out from the amount of running he had endured.
"Ah, eccoti qui, Guido! I've been looking everywhere for you," Ercole glowered, looking very unimpressed that he had to go out of his way to find him.
Ercole hopped off his vespa; Ciccio immediately took the handle of the vespa and kicked the stand in place so that it would stay upright. He stood next to the vespa like a soldier, waiting for Ercole's next order.
"I-I um…uh," Guido stuttered trying to think of a response as Ercole drew closer.
Serena was speechless as she stared at the older boy in disbelief. Here she was, face to face with the boy who was mostly responsible for her trauma.
"E-Ercole Visconti," Serena finally managed to speak, although with a slight waver in her voice.
Ercole's hazel eyes flickered to meet her blue ones. His eyes widened as his brows arched in surprise, completely ignoring Guido who was still trying to find the words to explain himself. "Serena Cavalluccio, sei tu?"
"Sì, it's me," Serena confirmed with a nervous laugh.
"Oh my, I haven't seen you in forever, you've grown so much," Ercole fussed. Serena watched his eyes sweep over her form, "I must say…you look bellissima."
Serena was taken aback by Ercole's compliment so much that she immediately felt her cheeks grow hot. Not from flattery but from pure embarrassment. From the corner of her eye she saw Guido, who had stopped fumbling, gawking at Ercole quizzically.
"Uh, grazie Ercole. You look…" Serena now being the one who was fumbling for words.
She felt her own eyes sweep over this form and let's just say that puberty was not kind to him.
At the age of sixteen, he had matured quite awkwardly. Tall, thin and lanky; he was physically older than he looked. A big round nose that stuck out like a parrot's beak took up half his face. An overbite with crooked teeth, and to top it all off he had a pencil-thin moustache growing on the top of his upper lip. His dark brown hair was slicked back.
He didn't look like a local as his clothes were no doubt a luxurious label brand. He seemed to be the only one in town to own a cherry red vespa, and liked to parade it around as a symbol of his wealth. He was a spoiled brat through and through.
"Bello," Ercole finished her thought for her with a gloating smile, "I know, you've never been in the presence of such perfezione before."
Serena couldn't help but roll her eyes; he was still the same person he was back when they were children. A pompous windbag who arrogantly thought he was better than everyone else. As Ercole was busy admiring himself in his vespa mirror Serena thought that this was the best time to change the subject.
"How have you and your parents been, Ercole?"
"My parents are doing well. They're in Milan for the summer enjoying a well deserved break from their mayoral duties. Padre left me in charge while they're gone; I thought this summer was going to be like all the others — boring," Ercole explained with a bored tone before moving his gaze away from his reflection to look at Serena, "Until you came along."
Ercole's father was the Mayor of Portorosso. Back when they were younger, Ercole would use the 'son of the mayor' card to control others and would often proclaim that he was the golden child of Portorosso; he saw Portorosso as 'his' town.
"How long will you be in Portorosso?" Ercole questioned.
"I'll only be here for a short —"
"She's staying for the whole summer!" Guido piped up, interrupting his younger cousin. Serena gave Guido a look of dismay, but the boy didn't notice.
"È magnifico!" Ercole slicked his hair back smoothly before flashing a charming grin, "What do you say to a vespa ride with me tomorrow morning? It'll give us a chance to reconcile and to get yourself familiar with the town once again."
Guido finally caught onto what Ercole was implying as he gave his cousin a frantic look. Serena looked in between a frantic Guido and Ercole who was waiting for her answer with a smug grin.
"I...I'd love to, Ercole," Serena began to say, "But I—"
"Perfetto! I shall pick you up at the fountain, tomorrow mid morning," Ercole insisted and turned around to hop onto his vespa, not even giving Serena a chance to speak. "Ci vediamo domani, mia perla!"
Ercole started up his vespa, pulled the throttle back before taking off up the main street. Ciccio was already struggling to catch up with him.
Serena blinked; did that really just happen?
"I'm pretty sure Ercole just asked you out on a date...why didn't you say something? Like maybe 'no'?" Guido gawked.
Serena turned to face her cousin. "First of all, I'd barely call that a date and second, I was going to lie and say I was busy helping out at the restaurant!" the brunette defended before mumbling to herself, "But I guess the only person who's worth listening to is Ercole himself."
"No, you need to go and tell him that you'll be busy tomorrow morning right now!" Guido pressed before he grabbed her arm and began to drag her up the street where Ercole had disappeared to.
"Guido, no, stop," Serena demanded, pulling her arm out of his grip, "You know as well as I do that Ercole won't take no for an answer. Besides, I don't want to hurt his feelings. He looked so happy to see me..."
Now wasn't the best time to start feeling guilty but Serena couldn't help it. She didn't want to upset anyone, not after she just arrived.
Serena watched as she saw a look of disappointment flash across Guido's face before he let out a sigh, his shoulders slumped, "Come on, let's go."
Serena looked confused for a moment as Guido walked off in a hurry. She let out a deep sigh and thought about nothing more than going back home.
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Words: 4,481
I may have gone overboard with this chapter but one thing you need to know about me is that I love putting in as much detail in my stories as possible. I hope that's ok!
I also hope I got Ercole's character right. I'm excited to write more scenes with him in the future. Guido didn't have much of a personality in the movie, so I am also excited that I could build him a personality! I love him more than Ciccio.
I'll try to keep the filler/non important chapters short and sweet, but when a chapter is important to the plot they will most likely be longer — like this one for example. This chapter was important as it sets up a lot of things in the story later on.
Reviews, follows and favourites are greatly appreciated