Flames

Italian Vacation, part 1

 "You want to... ruin your vacation?" Claudio's furrowed brow looked extra dramatic on the large TV. Becky had wanted to call him privately for tips about coffee and Italy, but Seth insisted on taking part since he hadn't spoken with Claudio in a while either, so her phone was synced with their television. "We must have a bad connection...."

"No, no." Becky glanced over at Seth, who was shrugging in as gentle of a don't ask me way as he could. "I want to enjoy Italy, of course. It's gorgeous! Who wouldn't? But after I lose my title, I want to do a thing on Twitter—"

"Ah. Twitter." Claudio shook his head. "I should have known."

Becky kept her temper in check as she watched her friend and her husband exchange a knowing look. They both knew her well enough to realize that when she had a plan in mind, she would do her best to bring it to fruition. "I have a plan," she insisted. "I'll be losing to Sol and she's still finding her footing when it comes to promos and all that, so I just really want to sell the loss for her. I mean, Italy's lovely. People dream of going there, right? So here I am, with my hot husband—" She gave Seth a nudge. "That's your cue."

Seth chuckled and straightened up a bit. "Right. Sorry. She's getting a t-shirt made," he quipped, "but she keeps changing her mind on the font."

"You love it. Anyway, I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world with my hot husband and adorable daughter, living the life—la dolce vita?" Becky did her best to enunciate.

"Yes," Claudio said slowly, "but it's mostly tourists who say that. I'm guessing that will work for your purposes, though. You're trying to be obnoxious, right?" Then he grinned. "Note that I said trying. You're not obnoxious, of course."

"Of course." Becky nudged Seth again. "See? Claudio doesn't think I'm being obnoxious. And you made our daughter sell your injury, so having Roux play along for a few videos is nothing."

"Tried to get our daughter to sell it," Seth reminded her. "We both know how that turned out."

"If the only person she told was a teacher," Claudio replied, "I think you did okay. So basically you need good photo opportunities?" He sighed and shook his head. "And here I thought we were going to get to talk about coffee."

"That too!" Becky insisted, straightening up so quickly that it startled Seth. "That too! All the coffee tips, please! But yes, I need touristy things. I know there's the Trevi Fountain in Rome. There's ruins... well, pretty much everywhere. And if Roux's with us, gelato will be a must."

Claudio was quiet for a moment. "I'll make you a list," he said at last. "It'll depend on which cities you're going to, of course." Then he cleared his throat. "I miss being on the international tours with you guys. We could have such fun now, having the kids along...."

"We'll make something work." Seth wrapped his arm around Becky again. "We're all getting closer to retiring or being part-time. We can probably pull some strings and get some time off. But the real question is would you want to be stuck playing tour guide?"

Claudio grinned. "Happily. Maybe we can convince Renee and Mox too. Rent a villa somewhere so the kids can run around."

"And Uncle Claudio will swing them around all day?" Becky laughed as she stood. "It would keep you in shape, at least, not that I've ever seen you out of shape. I need more coffee. Be right back." She ran a hand over Seth's curls. "Want one?"

"Always."

Ever since they started Amo, Seth had been doing more of the coffee making, but Becky enjoyed the process too. She also wanted to give Seth a chance to chat with Claudio on his own. She and Seth did their best to keep in touch with friends who weren't in WWE, but schedules made it hard. Lately it seemed like they mostly saw friends at weddings. At least it's not at funerals, she thought as she poured beans into the grinder. Wrestlers had a much better life expectancy these days and she was grateful that she was able to celebrate her friends' accomplishments while they were still alive.