Tread

June 26

"We missed it." Majorly. Entirely. The train is gone, and has been for an hour.

"I tried to wake you," Leo says, throwing my clothes and other knick knacks into my duffel. My head's pounding, the light of the sun might as well be laser beans, and I'm tasting guava. Why am I tasting guava?

"Come on, Rai. We might be able to catch another one if we hurry."

Stumbling out of the room, we hand in our key cards and leave the building. I slip my sunglasses on and clutch Leo like a lifeline. The man is a saint, carrying my duffle and half-carrying me to the Termini station.

"You act like you've never had a hangover before."

"I haven't."

"Really?"

I nod and quickly regret it as bile crawls up my throat and I swallow it down. "Whenever I drink, I make sure to have water. I know my limit, and if I want to go over that I make it up by eating."

"But we ran out of money—"

"And Signe and Valter kept buying us drinks." I groan, "Fell to shit then and there."

Ten minutes later we make it to the train station and get in line for Customer Service. It takes half an hour before we speak to someone and manage to get a ticket for the next train. We leave the line and hit up a restaurant that has wifi. While I eat, Leo checks over his work email in between bites of a breakfast sandwich. Eventually a waiter comes and clears our table and I grab my phone to call my mother.

She picks up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" her voice is sleep filled and raspy.

"Mama?"

"Raiqah?" In an instant she goes from half-asleep to fully awake. "Hey, habibti. Where have you been?"

"Well..."

She snorts and I hear rustling in the background along with a male groan and my mother's hushed words, "Go back to sleep. It's my daughter." A door creaks, and then my mother's addressing me again, "I still have your bank account information, so I know you're in Italy. Might have told me you decided to go backpacking. You're father is furious by the way. I'd call him after you finish with me."

"Sorry, Mama."

"You know I don't mind, Raiqah. Next time just try to remember I spent nineteen hours pushing you out of my vagina when you don't want to tell me something."

"Guilt tripping me? Really?"

I smile as she laughs and I can almost see her shrug. "How's the trip so far? You were in Switzerland, right?"

"You know I'm changing my bank when I get back."

"Oh, come on." My mother dismisses my threat, "Tell me what you've been up to. I want to hear everything."

I give her the highlights, locations and amazing food, but leave out Leo. Not because my mother wouldn't be happy for me, but because like dessert, I want to save the best for last. "And I met someone."

"Who?"

"First," I say, remembering the male voice from the start of our conversation, "Who was that guy? In your bed?"

"Damien. You'd like him. Hopefully when you get back you two can meet."

I frown at her nonchalant tone. My mom doesn't date, not since she divorced my father. The fact that she has a man in the house is huge and I don't understand why her tone doesn't express that. "How long have you been going out?"

She waits so long I think the phone call might have dropped. "Six months."

"What?" I yell, freaking out Leo and the other patrons in the restaurant.