Bella Notte (15 page)

For the first time I
noticed that his accent only hinted around his words, like soft licks
of flavor.
His
speech is quite sexy.

“
Well.
Thanks.” I let the silence engulf us both. My thoughts kept
circling to what Dominic had said.

I fell asleep to the
hum of the engine and the flashing gray of the scenery going by the
window.

When I awoke, the
car was parked and we were in a small airport with only a few private
planes. My family was gathered around a shiny, silver, private jet.
Wow,
it's beautiful. Do we own it?

My mouth was hanging
open and I was definitely doing the dumb look. I had never been this
close to a plane before and it was scary. I was frightened to think
that I'd be flying all the way to Italy in that mysterious metal
bird.

“
Is this
ours?” I said aloud.

“
Why yes,
Emma. This is how your mother and I take all our business trips. Oh,
before I forget again- here's your passport.” My father handed
me a small blue leather bound notebook with gold lettering on it.
This
is the most words Dad has said to me in awhile.

“
Thanks, Dad.
But didn't you need a picture or my signature or something?” I
flipped the small book open and saw a headshot-like photo of myself
that was probably from my birthday. There was also an exact replica
of my John Hancock.
I
wonder who forged that …?

“
Well, the
photo was easy to obtain, but we needed a friend to get the
signature. We needed this trip to be a secret for you.” He
smiled a true smile that crinkled around his eyes. Any shock or anger
I felt was dissolved by that incredible smile- it was so rare.

Even though I was so
upset when I had first heard about this trip, I was now extremely
excited
.
I'll take lots of pictures and that way I can share the trip with
Mike when I get home
.
I needed something to justify the excitement I was feeling.

Dominic walked
forward and took my hand, he wanted to give me a tour around the
plane. I didn't want to be rude after he had been so thoughtful, so I
let him hold my hand. I felt the slightest dampness that comes from
nerves as he pointed out the wings, engines, landing gear, and
anything else he could think of. He led me inside the plane.

The stairs were
white and creaked as we went up them. It was a little panicking to
climb up into the plane that was so thin. The interior was filled
with white squishy leather chairs. There was even a room with a bed
in it and another with a small kitchen in it.
How
does it all fit in here?

“
I know you're
probably scared and wondering how this tin
uccello
can hold us and all this stuff.” He gestured around the cabin.

“
Well, to be
honest, yes I am.” It felt good to share this fear with someone
else.

“
Don't worry.
I was
pazzo
scared on my first trip. The things that will probably scare you the
most are the take off, the landing, and any turbulence we hit.”
He sounded confident which was comforting, but still didn't stop my
sudden panic attack.

“
What the
devil is
turbulence
?”
Even the word was frightening.

“
Turbulence is
when the plane bumps around a bit. It has something to do with air
pressure, I believe.” His voice was neutral as he stared out
the window at the wings, it was kind of like listening to a teacher.

“
You mean like
the plane is going to be ping-pong balling around in the sky?”
My voice went shrill.

“
Typically
that only happens if you're in a storm. Generally it's more like
riding down a bumpy road.” He looked at me and smiled.
Oh
God, I'm gonna die!

My parents and
grandparents got on the plane then and informed us we'd be leaving
soon, so we should get ourselves situated. I sat down next to a
window and leaned my head against the cool glass. Dominic sat next to
me.

“
Do you mind
if I sit with you,
mia
bella
?”
I could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“
No, please
join me.” I wanted to be next to him, I couldn't explain it to
myself. I felt a sudden rumble and jumped.

“
The engine is
now on. Soon the door will shut and we'll taxi to the runway,”
he explained.

As if on cue, the
door shut and I felt a sudden bump as the plane inched backwards. My
heart was pounding in my chest and I gripped the arm rests with all
my strength. The plane started to move forward.

My Dad had on
headphones and I realized he was listening to the captain. Who
is
this captain? Has he flown to Italy before?
I started to panic. Dominic took my hand very gently as the plane
began to gain speed down the runway. I closed my eyes tightly and
held my breath as it started to lift off from the ground. My stomach
lurched and I clapped down on Dominic's hand.

“
We're gonna
die!” I managed to squeak.

“
Emma, calm
down. Look out the window.” His tone was amused, which
strangely didn't bother me.

I cracked open my
eyes and turned to look out the window. We were still gaining
altitude but it wasn't as steep and it appeared that we were suddenly
in a cloud. When I thought we had somehow gotten lost in the grayness
of the clouds, we broke through into blue skies and a bright sun. The
clouds became the world below and the sky became limitless.

“
It's
beautiful. Thank you for showing me.” I squeezed his hand
affectionately.

“
I'd like to
show you all beautiful things,
mia
bella
.”

I once again saw
that emotion behind his beautiful eyes that I couldn't understand.

I stared out the
window until everything blurred together into a beautiful shade of
gold. My eyes felt heavy and, since I had hours to go until we were
in Italy, I decided to let the sleep come.

I dreamt once more
of that beautiful song. As I sang the song in my dream, I felt strong
arms close around me and hold me tightly to a warm body. I sighed,
felt safe, and light, as though I were moving through the clouds
myself. My dream faded away but the feeling of safety stayed as the
darkness took me.

As sleep began to
fade, I felt as though I was lying upon a cloud. I blinked open my
eyes and realized that I was in the room with the bed in it.
How
did I get here?
I looked around and my answer was sitting in a chair across from me.
Dominic was asleep curled in it.

I knew I couldn't
leave him like that, as I knew he had done this for me, so I climbed
out of the bed and gently shook him.

“
Dom, Dom, you
should take the bed now. Come on, get out of that uncomfortable
chair,” I whispered by his ear, his hair tickled my cheek as I
spoke to him.

“
Ah, Emma, my
love, this is the best dream I've had yet. Stay with me, my dream
woman,” he mumbled through barely open lips.

I shoved him a
little more forcefully. “Dom, wake up and please take the bed.”

“
Huh? Oh. Did
I wake you, Emma? I'm sorry. I told you when you were falling asleep
I wouldn't leave you, and I meant that.” His eyes still held
the sleepy haze of a nap, but his body was more alert.

“
What? I've
been trying to get you to lie down in the bloody bed. You wake me?
Ha. Now, will you please sleep in the dang bed, so I don't worry you
are going to injure yourself?” My tone became terse.

“
I do not want
to leave you. I gave you my word. I will keep it.” He stifled a
yawn.

“
Good grief, I
will lie next to you on the damned thing if you will get some
comfortable sleep.” I sighed.
What
are you doing?

“
But you will
be uncomfortable; yes that is the correct word, very uncomfortable. I
can stay awake for you,
mia
bella
.”
He yawned again, thus causing me to yawn as well.

“
Look you
crawl in under the super fluffy comforter, and I will lay on the
other side on top of the comforter, with a lighter blanket. Deal?”
I yawned back at him again.
Why
am I so tired? Why aren't I thinking all these things through more
thoroughly?

My head ached with
questions I didn't care to answer as I laid down once more. I felt
the bed sink to the left of me as Dominic crawled into the bed. I
pulled the light blanket off the foot of the bed and threw it over
me. I thought he had fallen asleep fully because his breathing had a
slow pattern to it, but, I was wrong.

“
Thank you,
Emma. My Little Emma Bird,” he mumbled on a breeze of sleep.

I fell asleep to the
rhythmic breathing of Dominic and the gentle hum of the plane.

When I awoke, I
didn't know if it was day or night or where we were. The engine was
off so I figured we had landed somewhere,
but
where?

Dominic laid so
close to me that I could see his golden lashes closed gently around
his enchanting green eyes.
Why
is he so different now?

The temptation to
reach out and stroke the soft locks that tumbled around his face was
too much for me. His breath came out in light caresses against my
skin.
How
can he be so sweet and innocent and yet so cruel? How is this the
same man from my birthday?
What happened? My head once again swam with questions that I did not
have any answers to, but the biggest problem was why I wasn't
thinking about Mike. I simply laid there watching Dominic sleep in
the dark room, feeling dreamily safe, and as if it was how everything
was supposed to be.
Something
is seriously wrong in my head- my life is perfect back at home, it
doesn't matter that I don't fit in there. Here I feel like everyone
is like me- it is home.
But
I knew as much as I argued with myself there was something that felt
right when I was with Dominic, and something that pushed Mike further
away from me as a result. It scared me.

The knock at the
door was very gentle, and I knew it was Grandpa.
Tap,
tap
.
The only sounds I had heard besides Dominic's sleeping sounds, and it
somehow felt intrusive.

“
Emma,
darling, we have landed and now we must take a car to the ferry that
will take us the rest of the journey. Please get ready.” His
voice was a small whisper through the door, almost as though he knew
exactly what I was thinking and he was trying as hard as possible not
to interrupt my pocket haven.

“
Thank you,
Grandpa,” I whispered back and I knew he heard me, even though
it was barely audible.

I shifted my weight
and stared at Dominic once again. My stomach twisted into a knot over
the feelings that I didn't understand and what it could mean about
Mike and I. I was so confused.
Well,
best wake the boy up, Emma. You don't want to stay on this plane,
Lord knows where it is. I could only feel myself wonder if that
wasn't true. What if we did get left behind? What would happen?
I reached toward his face.
That
won't be happening!
My hand stopped abruptly. Apparently, I did still have some sense
left in my head.

“
Dominic, wake
up.” I shoved his shoulder. My mind was still whirling from
what had happened.

“
Eh, five more
minutes.” He grabbed me into a bear hug as though I was his
stuffed animal.

“
Dominic, wake
up and let me go before I beat you with your own arm!” I felt
my temper take the place of the confusion I was feeling.
Why
is my temper so close to the surface these days?
He let go. “I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't realize. I would have
never …” He blushed fiercely.
What
is with him?