The Music In Me

3

"Villa Cordevigo welcomes you, Ma'am. Will you please present an id for proof and meanwhile take a look at what room you'd like to book?" The young girl said rapidly in a French accent and gestured at a screen on the wall. It was evident that she was an intern here because there was an older man in the back taking notes and observing her carefully. 

"Here's the id and I have my room already booked. The special suite booked under the name Irena Macci?"

"Oh yes Ma'am, I see it. Please allow us to show you your room!" The girl said excitedly and led her to the top floor.

Once in her room, she quickly took a shower, put on a comfortable jumpsuit and decided to go out. 

When she was a young girl, her mother always said, 'If you feel down, ever in your life, go for a drive or a walk. There, you'll find all your answers.'

She checked her phone only to find 12 missed calls from her husband. So much for needing a break from her. What she was surprised to realize was that she didn't feel the urge to go back. That was when it hit her how things had changed. When she had married Timothy two decades before, they had been something entirely different. Even after four kids, they would go to each other's events, work with each other to maintain the household and be involved with each other and the kids. Irena wondered when it had all fallen apart.

Irena found herself missing her youngest, Desdemona. The girl was only 15 and she reminded Irena of her sister-in-law, Wisteria. Wisteria became a close friend of Irena from the day they met and their bond had been unbreakable. That was, until this paparazzi scandal of Christabel. 

When the news of the break-up was still fresh, Wisteria had called Irena, concerned about how she was doing. Irena, however, was in a really bad mood. That day, Wisteria and Irena had their first fight. The fight hadn't been anything major. In fact, it was quite understandable given the situation, but Irena had been so ashamed of the whole affair that she found herself ignoring her sister-in-law. Now she missed both her sister-in-law and her daughter. 

It was quite cloudy outside, so Irena asked for an umbrella at the reception while she waited for her cab. Once she was in the cab, she quickly searched on the internet what places there were to visit nearby. Out of all of them, she found the Basilica di Santa Anastasia the perfect spot for that afternoon. Since it looked like it would rain, she felt better being in a place where she would not be risking not finding cover. 

The moment she stepped inside the church, she felt a blanket of peace wrapping itself around her. There were quite a few tourists, two major travel groups in particular, but it still felt as if Irena was the only person there. She didn't know what to do exactly, so she sat on one of the wooden benches there. She sat there for hours, lost in thought and when she once again grew aware of her surroundings, she found the place empty except for a new tourist group.

"Look, it's raining!" one of the young boys exclaimed and his friends turned to look at the entrance. 

The downpour and thunder echoed loudly in the hall when suddenly, a staff member emerged.

"I know the situation is not ideal, but I'll require you all to vacate the hall as soon as possible. There is a rehearsal dinner scheduled soon. The wedding party will be arriving any moment now. We apologise for the inconvenience."

The happy faces now looked worried as the group thought about where to go in such a heavy downpour. They managed to get a cab that could fit them all about 15 minutes later, but Irena found herself stuck. She was panicking about what to do next when the Bridal party arrived. The staff rushed outside to escort them and Irena thought that was going to be the end of it, that she would be thrown out into the pouring rain, but she was shocked when she saw the bride's face.

The bride was Stacy, her college roommate and ride-or-die best friend.

It was in that moment she realized how much she had needed a break from everything and everyone. She had forgotten who she was, until she had left it all behind. She was now finding all the pieces of herself she had left behind.