I always heard about my Italian great-grandma and how beautiful she was. She was strong and inspirational to two of the most important women in my life, Oma and Auntie Lisa. Auntie Lisa especially was so proud of her Mom. Great-grandma was from Naples, and I always dreamed of seeing a place that was so romantic. For my birthday, you surprised me.
I was so scared, but you thought of everything.
It’s really hard for me to eat anywhere, so you hired a personal chef to join us in Italy. I didn’t know until later that it was one of my best friends, Cassie, who had moved to Spain. I cried, she cried, we were a weepy mess, and boy, did it do my heart good.
Once I remembered… It’s you, so I didn’t have to worry. “Just Trust Me,” “And I did,” as Evelyn said in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel… and I truly do, and you’ve never given me any reason not to. Total trust, my everything.
We had this beautiful Tuscan villa all to ourselves for a full month. There was a pool, chairs to sunbathe, and a huge kitchen. Was I going to cook? Oh yes. For once, I was going to love cooking. I had you, and I had Cassie’s guidance. I was unstoppable—well, so I thought until I got to the third ingredient and somehow messed up.
Cassie and I laughed so hard. She did that deep laugh she does when I get her almost to pee, and the laughter was heard through the whole house the entire night. From that moment on, it never stopped. I could just imagine it as a movie scene where you could hear the laughter from outside as the shot pans away. Laughter, love, and food, the whole night long. I’ll never forget it; it's a core memory.
When it was time to leave, you took me to the town hall to tell the Mayor that we wanted citizenship. I started calculating everything in my head, only to find out you had been planning this the whole time. You wanted to ensure I loved it here and didn’t want to leave before you finished the deal.
We go there every time we need a reminder to pause and relax.
Our very own Eat, Pray, Love. So much love.
Greysen Paige is a tech industry exec who writes creatively about a future he wishes for and dreams of. He also seeks new and additional creative outlets, reading, studying the magic of life, playing video games, and, most importantly, spending time with family and friends. Find me in more places at https://Greysen.io.
Disclaimer: AI is not used in any of my writing. It is only used when generating art for my stories and will always be labeled clearly.
