Only you, just you

Little lost lambs

Rey and Poppy rented a small car, which Poppy lovingly nicknamed , 'The puddle jumper' and hit the open road.

Semi trucks as large as mastodons loudly honked their horns and scared Rey more than once as she drove the intimidating motorway.

She would have apologized for her slow driving if she could, but they seemed to her to be pushing her along, which was all well and good. She had no moments to spare. They had to get to Rome before it was to late.

Poppy was also in less than an amiable mood.

"No busses, no trains? What kind of country is this! " She groused. "I can't believe no body shows up for work."

She stared the crumpled map and sighed. This would take forever. Over three hundred miles to Rome. Ugh!

Rey was gonna owe her big time.

Rey, however, was glancing out the side window when she could. Taking in the picturesque scenery. She alway wanted to see the Tuscan countryside and now here she was taking in all its glory.

She wished she could see them with her one true love. He would say eloquently, how the verdant valleys reminded him of the green in her eyes and quaint medieval villages, her ageless soul.

Her sweet daydreams turned into a horrible reality when she realized they had been driving for hours. Too many hours.

They were lost. And dangerously low on gas.

Poppy had flip flopped the map back and forth hundred times until the noise was causing Rey to curse under her breath. It took a lot to get Rey to curse at anything, so this particular instance was particularly bad.

"We've been on the wrong road for hours." She complained. " and I'm hot and hungry."

Poppy had the decency to look ashamed .... for about half a minute, then spoke up. " No, no. The point is we're looping, and I can't read krifing Italian!"

The wheels squeak to a stop as Rey applies the breaks and looks up a a jumble of mile markers. Pisa this way, Tuscany that way... Milan ....Turin...Roma, over and under and around and back again.
At least that's what it looked like to her. Nothing made any sense in this crazy country and at this point , her crazy life.

"Which way 'Pops?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Go to the left.... No the right... no the left."

"Poppy !"

Rey had almost run them into a ditch as she followed the other woman's confusing directions.

This way looked correct, she assumed. At least the sign said 'Roma'. Wasn't it said by someone that all roads led to Rome?
She sure hoped so.

But their luck just didn't hold up as the engine sputtered and died in the middle of nowhere. They drifted to the side of the road and Rey yanked on the parking brake with enough irritated annoyance to rip it off.

"I told you a liter was less than a gallon." Poppy explained as calmly as she could though she would have like to have screamed in frustration at this ludicrous situation they found themselves in.

"We would have had enough gas if you hadn't gotten us lost." Rey was equally upset but bravely held her temper . She sniffed and sat up straight in the uncomfortable seat. A spring was poking mercilessly in her rib painfully , but she'd endure anything to make it to Rome.

" Besides, a kilometer is less then a mile."

"Right, less than a mile , so we should have been able to cover more of them." Poppy said testily.

Rey had no other retort to that than to turn away, glaring out the cars dusty window.

She heard Poppy open the car door and get out. Rey had hurt her best friends feelings and now felt horrible about it.

Grabbing the snacks and the bottle of wine they had purchased at the gas station, she followed Poppy to the shade of a tree.

The cool breeze helped to calm the heat from her face and the spectacular view helped her mood go from frustrated to mollified.

There, off in the distance was another charming medieval village. Farms and churches dotted the landscape, making a picturesque tableau.

The sounds of tinkling sheep bells and the ding dong of a church bell calling the faithful to Mass reached their tired ears.

Was she faithful? Did she still have it in her to believe she would find Poe?

She would be devoted and dedicated to him until the day she died.

The sound of Poppy sniffling brought Rey out of her musings. "I wonder what time it is back home?" Poppy asked the breeze that gently caressed her tear stained face.

She glanced up at Rey, who was sitting on a crumbling rock wall, "Sorry I got us lost." She apologized.

"Sorry I've been so edgy." Rey also needed to say she was sorry, and needed to explain why. " I'm afraid we're losing him."

They had nearly finished off their cheese and fruit and drunk the bottle of wine but she was not worried about where their next meal was coming from, or that they were stranded in the middle of a foreign land.
She was more concerned with the melancholy woman sitting at her feet when Poppy confessed,

"I didn't tell him I was going to the lake with the boys, I told him I was leaving him."

Rey's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Leaving him?"

What was going on with her best friend and big brother?

Poppy gulped down a sob and said, " I think he's having a affair."

"Have you seen her?" Rey asked, still in shock. " Are you sure?" She touched Poppy on the shoulder to show her support and love.

She knew her brother was a bonehead , but he'd never cheat on his wife. Not in a thousand years!

"How do you know?"

"I just know!" Poppy wailed loudly and then placed her head on Rey's comforting lap. Rey stroked her soft hair and said soothingly, " Hey, remember back in Junior High when I had that Halloween party and we played twister. You lost your balance and you started to fall. He reached out and caught you, instead of taking your place. He let you win. He never let anyone win."

Rey smiled through her own tears at the fond memory. "That's when I knew he was head over heals for you."

Poppy shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Yeah, we'll that was a long time ago."

Rey hoped she was helping her distraught sister in law when she said, " I remember thinking I hope I'll have somebody love me that much."
"I know he loves you. I know he'd slay dragons for you."

They sat in the cool shade lost in their own thoughts until the shadows fell across the valley. They had to get moving again and walked back to the car and hopefully flag a passing motorist down and beg for gas.

Luckily there was no need. Some charitable nuns had seen the note on the car window: 'Help need gas' and filed the tank up.

They were on their way again.