Lydia and the Three Tenors

Quite a few years ago, there was a man named Aaron, who usually spent his summers by himself in a humble Sicilian vacation home. He was part of the trio “The Sicilian Tenors” with his friends Elio and Sam, and they were planning to have a party at Aaron's house, which would be celebrating the release of their most recent album. On the day they were supposed to arrive, Aaron got a call from Elio and Sam, who said they were in town and ready to visit him. Since it had been quite a few months since they last saw each other, Aaron arranged to spend the day in town with Elio and Sam, but he was so focused on being with his friends that he forgot to lock his door. No sooner had Aaron left than a lady happened to be passing by.

The lady’s name was Lydia, and while on a personal trip to Italy, she was visiting Sicily just for fun. She saw Aaron’s summer abode and, even though she didn’t know who resided there, she wanted to see what the house looked like on the inside. Being a curious woman, Lydia approached the door and set down her suitcase before knocking and asking if anyone was there, but received no answer. Even with no response, Lydia opened the door and was shutting it when she noticed an almost complete to-do list by the door, which she read before deciding to do the last few items. A couple hours later, the smells of fresh pasta with sauce wafted through the air as Lydia finished putting away the pots and pans.

After setting the dining room table for three people, Lydia checked the to-do list, where she saw that the only item left to do was sweep both floors of the house. Once the floor was shining like a freshly minted Euro, Lydia put the broom back into the closet before carrying her suitcase to the second floor, where she noticed that the bedroom had just one bed in it. After setting up both a cot and an air mattress beside the other bed, Lydia changed into her nightclothes and climbed under the afghan cover before falling fast asleep. She happened to be asleep as Aaron returned a few hours later with Elio and Sam, who laughed when Aaron realized that he had left the door unlocked.

“Whoa,” Aaron gasped as the men smelled the pasta and sauce, which was currently cooling on the stove, “I don’t remember cooking anything before leaving to see you two.” As they had dinner, Sam took a drink of the water in his glass and complemented, “Whoever prepared this meal while you were gone is quite the cook! This pasta is delicious, and there was enough for the three of us to eat without having leftovers!” The other two agreed with him before finishing dinner, after which Sam took everyone’s dishes to the kitchen as Elio asked, “Who do you think cooked this pasta, Aaron?” With a shrug, Aaron shook his head before he put the new album into his music player, to which they all sang along as they drank eggnog in the living room.

Once the CD was done, Aaron waited for Sam and Elio to have their suitcases before leading them to the bedroom, where they all stood and stared at the sight of Lydia. After Sam and Elio set their suitcases by the nearest wall, they stood behind the head of the bed as Aaron stood at the bedside, where he remarked, “I think we found the one who completed my to-do list!” A few minutes of silence later, Elio started humming “Nessun Dorma" before the other two joined in, not knowing that Lydia heard every note. After singing for a while, the men changed clothes before deciding who sleeps where: Sam on the air mattress, Aaron on the cot, and Elio on Aaron's couch.

The next morning, Lydia woke up from her long sleep and thought about the singing she heard that night, which she thought was all a dream. Once she was out of bed, Lydia changed into some day clothes before making the bed and brushing her hair, which is when she heard the men cooking breakfast downstairs. Slowly gaining an appetite, she followed her nose downstairs, where she saw the men in the kitchen and stifled a giggle at how crowded it was. When she went to the couch in the living room, she decided to straighten the pillows on it, which she was doing when she heard someone chuckle, “I think I found the housekeeper, guys!”

Lifting her gaze from the couch, Lydia gasped when she saw Sam, whose eyes twinkled as he apologized, “I'm sorry for startling you, Miss!” He then stepped closer to her and took her hand, which he kissed before she gulped, “Gee, that's alright, Sir. Who are you, Sir?” As Sam introduced himself and his friends, Elio and Aaron joined the two of them. Despite her best efforts, the men insisted on making breakfast for Lydia, to which she sighed and giggled in defeat. Once they finished breakfast, Aaron asked Lydia if she wanted to hear him and his friends sing, to which she nodded before applauding after they sang a few songs. They even had Lydia join them on a couple songs, and they were surprised by how good she sounded, even with her mediocre knowledge of the Italian language.

After spending many hours singing and enjoying each other's company, neither Lydia nor the men could believe that it was almost nighttime. Wanting to return the bed to its rightful owner, Lydia offered to sleep on the couch and let Aaron back in his bed that night, giving Elio the chance to sleep on the air mattress while Sam would sleep on the cot. Aaron and Sam agreed to take their places, but Elio wanted Lydia to sleep somewhere better than the couch, so he offered to sleep on the couch again while Lydia took the air mattress. After everyone had a cup of eggnog, they said goodnight before changing for bed and going to sleep.

Over the course of the next few days, Lydia had helped around the house, including the laundry and doing more dishes. A couple days later, Lydia told the men that she had to go home, which made them sad before they all exchanged contact information. After giving her copies of their CDs, including their most recent album, the men helped Lydia pack her suitcase before they lined up to give her goodbye hugs and kisses. After receiving kisses and hugs from all three, Lydia held back a tear as she walked to the airport before catching a flight home. Every time the Sicilian Tenors would have a show in Lydia’s area, she would go and support her friends.