It tickled my funny-bone whenever they rolled their eyes at the tourists passing them by.
People pulled out their cameras and took pictures of everything. People posed for all sorts of group pictures as I peeked down at my laptop. My student still hadn’t logged in yet. She had ten more minutes to sign on before the freelance website charged her for the session anyway. I liked that tutoring policy. Twenty-four hours to cancel. But if a student missed a session without cancelling, the tutor still got the full amount for the missed session.
I’d made half my traveling money that way.
I drew in a deep breath as the café brewed more espresso. I basked in the afternoon sunshine two thousand miles from home. I closed my eyes, taking it all in. And as I leaned back into my chair, I heard my laptop ding.
Signaling that my tutoring session had ended.
“Guess we have the rest of our day to ourselves.”
I smiled as I opened my eyes. I looked over and saw Clint close my laptop. He sat down across the rounded table from me and smiled, holding his own cappuccino in his palms. Then a plate sat down in front of me from one of the baristas behind the counter.
Holding, just for me, a buttery croissant with drizzled chocolate on top.
“For you, beautiful,” Clint said.
I grinned. “My hero.”
He sipped his drink. “So, what do you want to get up to today? You don’t have any more tutoring scheduled, right?”
I shook my head. “Nope, that was my last session. I hope they’re all right.”
“That happens pretty often, doesn’t it?”
I shrugged. “As long as I get paid, I guess.”
He smiled. “I really think we should try that restaurant we saw on the other side of town. We don’t have too many more nights here before we pack up again.”
“We need reservations for it. You think they’ll take us on such short notice?”
“I’m sure it couldn't hurt to place a call. I’d like to try and get a table up on that rooftop. The locals tell me we can see all of Rome from up there.”
I smiled. “That sounds fabulous. Can you give them a call?”
“Sure thing. You know, after I chow down this croissant.”
I giggled as he picked his up and shoved it into his mouth. I shook my head as I sipped my drink, watching him lick his fingers. A week and a half in Rome didn’t feel like enough time. But I couldn't wait for our next stop. Naples, Italy. Where I had booked us a tour of Pompeii and a place to stay in a quaint Air B&B with a view of the ocean.
Half price, since someone cancelled last minute.
My eyes fell back out the window as Clint pulled out his phone. I heard him talking to the restaurant as I relaxed into the back of my mind. In my own thoughts. Convincing Clint to travel with me hadn’t been as hard as I expected it to be. And with his stepmother already on my side of things, swaying him took almost no effort. Mom wasn’t happy, of course. But I was working on letting things with her slide. As Clint kept reminding me, my mother wasn’t my child. It wasn’t my responsibility to take care of her.
And if she couldn’t support what I needed to be happy, then she didn’t deserve the same courtesy.
“Good news, beautiful. The restaurant has an opening up on their rooftop tomorrow evening.”
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Which
leaves our evening tonight open for our enjoyment.”
I grinned. “Mmm, sounds delightful.”
“Rae.”
I slowly looked over at him. “Yeah?”