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by It was simply incredible to be back in Italy. Finally! Alessandra had missed Naples so much, it almost felt strange to be here again. The sights, the scents, the atmosphere... the sea... Vesuvius' familiar shape towering in the background. She'd been here three days and her heart was still swelling as she took everything in. By the gods, she had even missed the pickpockets!
"Ale'! Collazione!"
The voice of her mother pulled her from her thoughts. She turned from the open window and ran down the stairs, still in her PJs. The breakfast table was set outside on the terrace overlooking the sea. A gentle breeze came from the horizon, rustling through the pine trees in the lower garden, wafting sea salt through the air. Alessandra sat down in a comfortable chair and poured out a round of coffee. Gods, this smell... There was no coffee in the whole United States like this one here. Her roommates in college kept making fun of her for bringing her caffettiera everywhere with her but it was so worth it. Zeus knows how she would've survived without it.
"Here," her mother said in English, passing her a small basket of pastries.
If you've never had an Italian breakfast, you're missing out. Unlike American or English breakfasts, there are no fried eggs or sausages, nothing savoury. Just velvety pastries that melt on your tongue like clouds of sugar and sweetness. Alessandra dug in: there were cornetti, sfolgiatelle, brioches, and a giant fruit platter laden with white figs, flat peaches, and crispy sweet grapes.
"Mi è mancato questo, Ma'," she sighed after a few minutes, her mouth full.
She had been so busy during the pandemic, of course unable to travel back to be with her family. And after Covid came the Triumvirate. There was always another danger on the horizon when you were a demigod. The daughter of Apollo hadn't had a proper second to herself in the last three years. But now that the apocalypse-happy Roman emperors had been dealt with, she had jumped on the first plane home.
"Your friends will come by later," her mother said after breakfast, "I have to work today so don't do any cazzate while I'm gone, okay?"
"Usually it's the cazzate that find me, Ma'," she said. It had been bad enough in Naples when she was a teenager but now that she was in her 20s... Everyone knew that monsters were more present in the Mediterranean basin than the USA. This would not be a peaceful stay.
Her mother's shoulders slumped and she felt bad for making her worry. "It's okay, I promise the house will be intact when you come back!"
"It's not the house I'm worried about," she answered and hugged her daughter. "If anything happens, call me. Okay?" She held her shoulders. "Call me."
"Of course."
With one last hug, her mother was out the door. Alessandra grabbed a fig and ran up to her room - her friends would be here soon and she needed to change. Gods she was so excited! She hadn't seen them in so long... Manuela, Silvia, Edoardo.
She was just pulling on a shirt when the doorbell rang. Alessandra checked her watch with a frown - they were quite a bit early.
"Ale'! Collazione!"
The voice of her mother pulled her from her thoughts. She turned from the open window and ran down the stairs, still in her PJs. The breakfast table was set outside on the terrace overlooking the sea. A gentle breeze came from the horizon, rustling through the pine trees in the lower garden, wafting sea salt through the air. Alessandra sat down in a comfortable chair and poured out a round of coffee. Gods, this smell... There was no coffee in the whole United States like this one here. Her roommates in college kept making fun of her for bringing her caffettiera everywhere with her but it was so worth it. Zeus knows how she would've survived without it.
"Here," her mother said in English, passing her a small basket of pastries.
If you've never had an Italian breakfast, you're missing out. Unlike American or English breakfasts, there are no fried eggs or sausages, nothing savoury. Just velvety pastries that melt on your tongue like clouds of sugar and sweetness. Alessandra dug in: there were cornetti, sfolgiatelle, brioches, and a giant fruit platter laden with white figs, flat peaches, and crispy sweet grapes.
"Mi è mancato questo, Ma'," she sighed after a few minutes, her mouth full.
She had been so busy during the pandemic, of course unable to travel back to be with her family. And after Covid came the Triumvirate. There was always another danger on the horizon when you were a demigod. The daughter of Apollo hadn't had a proper second to herself in the last three years. But now that the apocalypse-happy Roman emperors had been dealt with, she had jumped on the first plane home.
"Your friends will come by later," her mother said after breakfast, "I have to work today so don't do any cazzate while I'm gone, okay?"
"Usually it's the cazzate that find me, Ma'," she said. It had been bad enough in Naples when she was a teenager but now that she was in her 20s... Everyone knew that monsters were more present in the Mediterranean basin than the USA. This would not be a peaceful stay.
Her mother's shoulders slumped and she felt bad for making her worry. "It's okay, I promise the house will be intact when you come back!"
"It's not the house I'm worried about," she answered and hugged her daughter. "If anything happens, call me. Okay?" She held her shoulders. "Call me."
"Of course."
With one last hug, her mother was out the door. Alessandra grabbed a fig and ran up to her room - her friends would be here soon and she needed to change. Gods she was so excited! She hadn't seen them in so long... Manuela, Silvia, Edoardo.
She was just pulling on a shirt when the doorbell rang. Alessandra checked her watch with a frown - they were quite a bit early.
Last edited by Morgan Landry on 12/20/2023, 9:42 am; edited 1 time in total
