Giorni in Roma (Days in Rome) - Chapter Eight

"Thanks Charlie, how much will that be?" Greg said once they reached the area near the Fountain.

"Fifteen euros," he looked quite surprised at how cheap the trip was.

Madison noticed his strange behavior and laughed. "You should know, Greg; Charlie always takes only half of what actually has to be paid," she handed him twenty euros instead and waved bye.

"Charlie is really nice Madison, how do you know him again?" Aimee asked as they started walking towards the Fountain.

"Oh, he drove me here from the airport when I first arrived. He is really nice, isn't he?"

Each step they took brought out louder music and more lively people. Madison wasn't sure where Ryan said to meet but at that moment, she didn't pay attention to that. More festivities were seen and people surrounded a half circular water filled tub. When they got closer, they saw a building attached to it with three large statues; one in the center, and two smaller ones on either side. Around the center stature, which appeared to be a spirit of some sort, were two horses and two men. The whole centerpiece was supported by an exquisite canopy that let the water flow down on the sides. The lighting made the area glow in the dark as tourists and even local settlers flipped a coin or two into the shiny water. Madison wondered when she would get the change to make a thoughtful wish.

"Hello!" said a voice behind Madison. Ryan, dressed in yet another button down shirt and shorts held out three very large daisies to her. With Aimee and Greg watching, she shyly accepted and turned her head to hide her pink face.

"I'm Greg, and this is Aimee... she's my - I mean mine and Madison's co worker," he held out his hand which Ryan shook friendly. Madison noticed the awkward silence between Greg and Aimee so she tried to start a conversation.

"So Ryan, why don't you tell them how long you've been here?"

"Well guys, I've just started about one ago. The company I'm working for paid for my condo and my plane ticket."

"Oh, so that's like us!" Aimee said. "Madison told us how you two met, but you guys barely know each other! If you don't mind me asking, why'd you ask her so suddenly to meet you here?"

Madison's eyes went wide and immediately flushed with embarrassment.

Ryan could see what was going on and slightly turned pink too. He played it cool thought and held out four coins. "Here, let's all make a wish."

All four of them turned around and clasped the bronze object in their hands. They slowly closed their eyes and made a silent wish. Then with a simple toss, the four coins floated down in the water with tiny bubbles hovering over them.

After a fairly interesting description of how the Trevi Fountain came to be by a tour guide, they decided to go eat at the local diner. The small doorway had a red umbrella sign with Italian words that obviously none of them could understand. Luckily, the menu had pictures. As their meals came out, the topic of families came up.

"Haha, so when you moved to Australia, you thought they didn't know any English at all? "Greg asked with another bite of the spaghetti.

Ryan smiled. "Yes, it's quite hilarious now that I think of it. I walked from the plane and started talking in this horrible accent. The employees looked at me with such a strange face."

"How'd you get there? I mean, yeah, by plane, but your family lives in the States. You must have been young when you came to Australia," Madison said.

"Actually, I've lived in Australia for two years. I'm twenty-three now. So when I left my family, I wasn't that young - just twenty-one. I'm fortunate; they paid for everything man," he took a small sigh. "And when I left, it was all tears and hugs. Living on opposite sides of the world is kind of hard, but I visit them every summer, so it works both ways."

"Oh, I see. That reminds me, Madison, how come you've never talked about your family?" Greg asked, facing her.
"Yeah, you've never told us how you got to England, or well, anything for that matter." Aimee added.

Ryan questioned her with a sideways glance. "Good time to talk about it now. Unless, you'd rather not."

Madison's peppy behavior turned to doom and gloom. "No, no. It's fine. I just rarely talk about family matter because, well, I was born into an unfortunate family, I guess." Three faces pressed her to keep talking. "See, my parents had a lot of businesses in Los Angeles. They were always out to meetings or their fancy parties at night. I was always home with a nanny."

"Oh," Aimee said.

"Yes," Madison stifled a laugh. "My own mother even forgot my thirtieth birthday."

"Well, how'd you get to England then?" Ryan asked.

"Oh course, they wouldn't pay for it. Actually, I didn't tell them until the night I left. I had a small job on the weekends at MacDonald's, and on the weekday evenings after school, I would work at my internship at a smaller newspaper studio. I had those two jobs for four years; ever since I was fourteen. Then when I turned eighteen, I realized I had saved up enough to go to England. A lady from 'Capital' called me one night and she told me my resume was accepted. Oh, you couldn't believe my joy! So about two months later, on the night before I left, I told them I was leaving the next morning, and guess what? They didn't care. They were waiting for me to finally move out."

Aimee, Greg, and Ryan had shocked expressions on their face. Aimee said once more, "Your parents are ghastly! I cannot believe that. Well, my dad was divorced and my mom died when I was sixteen, so I can't imagine what you had to go through, but Madison, you should have told us this story long ago. I mean, my parents treated me with somewhat of a respect but I'm so sorry."

Madison was grateful for her kindhearted friend, Aimee but as they continued to talk about their own parents and the mishaps, she simply stared at the low-lit lamp and remembered another flashback.

"Champ, it's pay check day." Madison said to the young-ish man in the blue Macdonald's shirt. He had a name tag that read - Champ, Assistant Manager.

"Oh that's right!" he pressed some keys on the cash register and pulled out a small white check for Madison. "Here you go "shortie". So, four years here huh? Aren't you getting tired of working at this place? Wouldn't you prefer a finer establishment? I mean, I know I work here and everything, but I have to admit, this place is a dump and the food is disgusting."

Madison sighed and wondered how she was going to tell him that she was no longer going to be working there. "Champ, listen. I would prefer working somewhere else. Actually, England's Capital Magazine has accepted me. I'm... leaving California."

The chubby little man looked hurt and disappointed but he knew of her family's horridness towards her so he said, "Oh, I see. You know, England will be fantastic for you. Lots of places for an idea to spark. Good luck."

The two co-workers gave one last farewell and Champ watched Madison drive away into the dark night.
Knock, knock. "I need to talk to you two." No one answered from inside her parents' door so she decided to kick it. "OPEN UP! This is important."

Her dad yanked the door open and stood half drunk in front of her. Madison's mom in her skimpy night-dress stumbled out after. "What is it now, you silly girl?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm leaving. Tomorrow morning, I'll be gone from this horrible life."

The two parents in their pajamas looked well surprised but then their expression changed to thankfulness. "Finally. God, now we can have this house to ourselves."

Normally, when parents said things like that to their own children, they would break down crying, but not Madison. She was used to the neglect by now. She merely said, "Yes, thank God for that," and went to her room to finish packing.

Madison awoke from her daydream with the feeling of a soft hand on her own. "Madison, are you alright?" Ryan asked. Most of the customers had left the restaurant at that time. Aimee and Greg were putting on their jackets and Madison was the only one still sitting down. "You didn't seem to hear us when we said it was time to go."

"What? Oh, I mean, yes, I'm fine. Let's just go."
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My goodness ! I am so overly sorry for the long wait. I've been so preoccupied with this one story that I LOVE. It means so much to me. So please comment ! Uhm.. four more chapters & an epilogue left!