A Joke Of A Life

“Mark, come on! We’re going to be late to the party!”

Mark laughed to himself. His Italian wife, Rosa had a tendency to be dramatic about the smallest details imaginable. Who would have thought that he would travel to Sicily, Italy of all places?

Rosa went over to Mark to kiss him on the cheek and then the lips.

“Mi amore, why do you laugh at me so much?”

He shook his head at her and said, “Because you’re making a big deal out of this. Honey, we’ll only be gone from home for a month.”

Rosa pursed her lips. She hated it when Mark was right. But the problem was that they wouldn’t eat with her loving Sicilian family like before. At least when Rosa was there, she felt like the whole world was her oyster. Being around other American and French people, who were associated with Mark, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just made her uncomfortable to sometimes have to step out of her comfort zone.

She sighed. “Ugh, I guess you’re right. Let’s just leave now before I change my mind.”

Four hours later…

The beautiful sun on Sicily was so fascinating it could make God himself cry. How could anyone want to leave this gorgeous place? Rosa already felt at home. She was never interested in the snooty behavior of Londoners, New Yorkers, and people from Monte Carlo. Sicily was its own person; it had a unique voice that lasted for all eternity.

The architecture was timeless, making you feel as if you were part of a fairy tale. Rosa did love Mark, but sometimes, she felt that her mind was too much of a maze to make her husband understand her. She wasn’t the most outgoing person in the world. She preferred one-on-one conversations before she got close to anyone. No trauma had caused this need in her personality. It has always been a part of her.

But there was no turning back now.

Rosa and Mark were in Cefalu now. Population: 14,000. Cefalu was a new location for both of them to discover together. All the couple knew about it was that it was 70 kilometers away from Palermo.

What can you do? Sometimes you have to just buck up and take a leap of faith. Mark thought to himself as he read Travel and Leisure Magazine on the bus.

After the couple got off the bus, they saw their American and French friends.

“Bon vinutu, tutti!”

A 30-something year old man with a peppered beard was really excited. He appeared to be jubilant and full of life.

“Greg, I think your Sicilian needs some improvement.”

“Oh come on Edith, you know you love me.”

“That I do.”

Greg and Edith continued to stare lovingly into each other’s eyes until Mark cleared his throat.

“Oh…hi! You must be Mark, correct?” Greg walked over to shake his hand.

“The one and only!” Both men laughed like old friends again.

“Oh, Rosa,” said Edith. “I’m so happy you arrived.” She went over to hug Rosa.

Rosa hugged Edith back.

“The flight was good for you, yes?”

Edith was wearing a Hermes scarf, red wine lipstick, and had the perfect grace of a French citizen visiting Sicily in an otherworldly fashion. While Rosa secretly admired her, she was also unfortunately envious of her as well.

“Yes, the flight was the usual, but I’m glad we came to see you all.” Rosa figured it was better to be cordial rather than really say what was on her mind. Sometimes her bluntness got her into trouble.

Smile and be polite. That is all that matters. She thought to herself.

“Well, what are we all waiting for?” Greg asked out loud. “Let’s eat. Andiamo!”

The table was a glamorous sight to behold: candles were set out carefully to avoid a risky fire, yet they were gentle enough to light up the wonderful foods Rosa loved from Sicily. There was Ricotta with Lemon, Basil, and Honey Bruschetta. That was one of Rosa’s favorite meals. While every other meal looked like it was from other international cuisines,

Maybe she could give Edith the benefit of the doubt.

“It’s a glorious sight, huh?”

Rosa turned around to see Mark sitting down next to his wife.

“It is.” Then Rosa turned to the right as she saw her creative friend sit down. Everyone had sat down to mark this special occasion in Sicily together.

 “Oh, Edith. Did you do all of this for me?”

Edith was speechless. The husbands had already started eating their meals, but the ladies hadn’t touched their foods yet. Actually, Rosa noticed Edith had started eating their ricotta salad. Despite Rosa being too excited to eat,

“No. I had my sister-in-law do this.”

Everyone was now silently eating.

“But, you don’t have a sister-in-law. I thought Greg said that you grew up as an only child…”

Greg nervously gulped down his food.

“Hey guys, why don’t we talk about that crazy canoe trip I-“

Edith raised her hand up to silence him.

“I lied. I have a brother that you all never knew about.”

Everyone stopped eating their food. Rosa silently gasped. How could Edith lie about her life? She seemed so glamorous and perfect.

“But on Instagram, you said that everyone would enjoy your cuisine if you came down to Sicily. I checked your account yesterday. You even wrote in the hashtag #SicilyIsADivineSiteToBehold.”

Edith slammed her hands down on the table, the candles thankfully barely shaking.

“No, Rosa! I’m a liar! Don’t you see that? That photo you saw on Instagram was from my brother when he went to Italy last year to celebrate his five-year anniversary of sobriety.”

“Sobriety?” Rosa wasn’t naïve to the idea of alcoholics. She just never thought that Edith had any struggles. It was still a lot for her to process at this very moment.

“Yes, sobriety. It started when he was 25. He would have a beer now and again, but then he started to get into fights in bars, my father told him to go to rehab, or don’t come back, and honestly, talking about all of this now makes me feel so embarrassed.” Edith covered her face in shame.

Rosa walked over to hug Edith. It may have been confusing and awkward for everyone to hear, but Edith needed a friend now more than ever.