Alone With Ross

•87•

"The water was so blue you wouldn't believe it." I waved my arm out, my tea slushing slightly making me laugh.

"You should've taken pictures, I would've framed them." Piper sat across from me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I have no room to carry any of those things, besides, it'll just give you an excuse to go see it for yourself someday."

Piper shook her head, rubbing her swollen belly tenderly. "I don't think I'd be able to do much traveling for at least a decade."

"Oh yeah, the alien thing spawning inside of you." Piper rolled her eyes.

"3D sonograms always look weird, just be happy I didn't show you her rear end." I saw slight movement coming from her stomach and I cringed at the sight of it.

"Pregnancy is the most insane thing I've witnessed. You have an actual human being just curled up eating half of the food you eat and kicking your bladder to put itself to sleep."

"You'll see the beauty in it one day when you have kids of your own." As soon as she said it she looked towards me apologetically. "I'm sor-"

"No, no you're fine. I'm not completely turned from the idea of kids." I was reminded of the beautiful cherubs I saw from my week spent in Utah. "Kids would be nice." I nodded my head and Piper laughed.

"You would be a wonderful mother." She said sincerely and it sent a pang to my heart.

"R-really? You think so?" Piper nodded her head and I looked towards the floor in thought, trying to imagine a future where I find someone I trust enough to bare children with.

But the only person I could see it with would rather not hear from me anymore.

Seeming to read my thoughts Piper asked. "How's Ross?"

•••
Two months prior

When traveling there's really good times, then there's trips from hell.

Italy was one of those trips. After spending a month in Greece I had said goodbye to the friends I made and the flings I started, only to find that as I had gotten on a bus my wallet was pic pocketed. It wasn't a total loss, considering the fact that I keep my credit cards and ID's stuffed in my bra, I only had some euros in it, but it was a coin purse I had gotten from South Africa made by some of the village women in Zimbabwe.

Then the bus I was on had broke down so me and a group of retired, elderly passengers had to trek 8 miles, down hill just to get to some crummy motel and wait two days for a replacement bus. And the motel had many rusty pipes so all of their tap water was brown, and the house keeper was the wife's owner so here she was at 3 am. Outside of my door yelling at her husband in a language that I couldn't fathom to try and decode due to the time.

The last straw was getting my luggage stolen. I had so stupidly thought that I could trust a woman to watch my luggage as I returned my room key but when I returned it was gone.

I don't know what possessed me, but through my tantrum I had dialed a number I knew by heart, paying the expenses of a long distance call it rang only three times before I heard his voice.

"Hello? Who's calling."

"This is a trip from hell, I swear someone is out to get me." I cried.

"Caspian?"

"First my wallet was stolen, then the bus broke down, the water at the motel was disgusting, and I could hardly sleep with all the noise, and this woman stole my luggage so now I have nothing to change into to roam about Italy." I shook my head. "I'm taking a train next time."