“You made it!”  Maria was beaming at the sight of them. They found their place at the table and soon after the introductions began. Their heads started spinning with the thought of remembering everyone’s name. They feared forgetting who was who to whom.

“Mama, these are Luigi’s friends Bette Porter and Tina Kinard from America,” Anthony said to his mother. She rattled off something in Italian.

“Buona sera, Piacere!  Sei Bellissima!  She said, and placed her small fragile hand on Tina face and stroked her hair, saying l’oro I capelli.

Neither Tina or Bette understood what she had said, but smiled at her all the same. “Good evening, it’s nice to meet you, you’re beautiful and she thinks Tina has gold hair,” he explained. Anthony had become his mother’s interpreter.

“We are happy to meet her as well,” Tina smiled graciously. Through all of the talking, Maria and her family began filling the table with dish after dish of delicious food. By the time the table was full, there was enough to feed a small army. Bette and Tina were filled with delight to be a part of this wonderful meal and even more, a part of this family.

The small talk continued until just after nine that evening. Tina and Bette we both starting to feel a little jet lag, and finally had to excuse themselves.

“It was so nice having you here tonight,” Anthony and Maria assured them.

“We have enjoyed ourselves, thank you so much for such a wonderful dinner. You all have been so very kind to us, Tina expressed graciously.

“You’re very welcome.  You just go now and get some needed rest. Tomorrow is a big day and you’ll want to visit many places.

“Yes, we are really looking forward to it, the girls said in an agreeing tone.  Good night everyone!”

“Buona notte!

When Bette and Tina walked into their room, all they could think of at that moment was getting into bed and sleeping. It’s a shame how excited you are, but also how tired you feel after a long flight. And if that wasn’t enough to weight them down, eating the meal Maria had prepared had really done them in. They each slipped into their night clothes and crawled into bed. The cool softness of the sheets next to their skin made it easy to fall asleep quickly.