GeraldHawkins

Days 19 and 20: Rome, Italy—More pizza, more pasta. There were cats all over this town. Our room was huge and the bed was flimsy and creaked a lot. The communal bathroom flooded when I took my shower.

I took the train to the airport. She stayed behind.

She laughed. I was tired, but I smiled anyway. I liked the way she laughed.

THE END

Go to Firenze, Italy, for Days 17 and 18.
Go to Oxford, England, to start over.
Go to Okawville, Illinois, USA, to start Four Motels, Three Friends, and a Car.

Days 17 and 18: Florence, Italy—We met a man in the train station whose job it was to find visitors hotel rooms. He charged no fee, and didn’t stick around for a tip. We checked into the Hotel Dina and ate at a restaurant across the street. There were fat men in suits in the corner, speaking in quiet, deep voices. She ordered gnocchi. I tried it and liked it. When we paid, the waiter took our money and gave it to the men in the corner.

We stayed in bed until almost two in the afternoon here, kissing. It was becoming a habit. The shower in the room didn’t work and smelled of mildew. We had to walk down the hall to use the bathroom. When we went out, we stopped at a pizza place that cut a square out of a large pizza and folded it over, like a sandwich. We ate while walking. The streets here were very narrow. When we came around corners, we were always surprised by the beauty of the buildings. There were statues in all the piazzas. We ate pizza and pasta for every meal.

Go to Nice, France, for Day 16.
Go to Roma, Italy, for Days 19 and 20.

Day 16: Travel to Nice, France—We missed two trains on the way from Paris to Nice. When we got there, it was very late and our cheap hotel was shut for the night. I proposed sleeping on the beach. She wanted a shower. We stayed at an expensive hotel that was no better than a Holiday Inn in the U.S. She had a shower and we got a few hours of sleep before our morning train.

Go to Paris, France, for Days 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Go to Firenze, Italy, for Days 17 and 18.

Days 12, 13, 14, and 15: Paris, France—We got a room on the sixth floor (no elevator) of a one-star hotel in north Paris. There was a sink by the window and a toilet down the hall, but no bath or shower. We left the window open. We could hear the sounds of children in a rooftop playground as we made love. When we finished, there was a knock at the door. It was the maid with clean sheets.

We bought Clementines and baguettes. I walked around with the baguettes sticking out of my backpack like antennae. Whenever we get hungry, we reached back and broke off a chunk.

Go to Dover, England, for Day 11.
Go to Nice, France, for Day 16.

Day 11: Travel to Dover, England—We met an American student on the train. He was studying at Trinity University in Dublin. He was a writer. He looked up from his journal to offer us some chocolate. She took some. I talked to him about writing. I showed him a poem about bridges I wrote in Inverness. He liked it.

Arriving in Dover, we bought cookies and blackcurrant juice. The blackcurrant juice was mixed too thickly and drinking it with the cookies made my tongue taste like velvet. We were in separate rooms again. The hostel felt like an institution, a half-way house. There was a day-room, and everyone was waiting for the ferry to France.

Go to Dublin, Ireland, for Days 9 and 10.
Go to Paris, France, for Days 12, 13, 14, and 15.

Days 9 and 10: Dublin, Ireland—We were separated again. I didn’t even know where her room was. We liked the feel of Dublin. We went to the zoo and crossed many bridges over the Liffey. I decided to read Ulysses when we got back to school.

Go to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for Days 7 and 8.
Go to Dover, England, for Day 11.

Days 7 and 8: Belfast, Northern Ireland—I got sick on the ferry crossing. I laid my head on the table and she laid her hand on my back, giving me a sense of balance. The hostel put us in the same room. She thought I was asleep when she undressed. Her back was to me, but I saw the sides of her breasts. I clenched my fists and tried to sleep.

I asked someone where the rough areas were. We bought a box of Clusters cereal and walked around eating handfuls while we gawked at the graffiti and the bombed-out buildings. It didn’t feel dangerous, but I was ready to protect her, anyway.

She complained about my disinclination to engage in physical amorousness. I was bored and tired. Maybe I’m gay, I told her. She didn’t believe that, and neither did I. It started to rain. We walked back across the city, climbed into the same bed, and stayed there the rest of the evening. At one point the bed collapsed underneath us. She laughed.

Go to Inverness, Scotland, for Days 4, 5, and 6.
Go to Dublin, Ireland, for Days 9 and 10.

Days 4, 5, and 6: Inverness, Scotland—The hostel was bad, we were miles apart. There was nothing to see here. We went for a tour of Loch Ness and walk around a lot. We ate tomato soup almost every night. The pizza place ran my credit card through upside-down and we got a free meal. Plus, I stole all their mints. It was cold and lonely. The river moved very fast through the town. It didn’t want to stay here, either.

Go to Edinburgh, Scotland, for Day 3.
Go to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for Days 7 and 8.

Day 3: Edinburgh, Scotland—We toured a castle on a hilltop. The air smelled like tomato soup. We walked around for hours trying to find the source. We found a pizza place that sold tomato soup and each had a bowl. Then we walked down to the waterfront, but we never got there. Down by the water, it was all docks and fenced industrial facilities. We walked through a trailer park and found a still patch of harbor that had been boxed in by piers. I tried to call my mother.

We were staying at a hostel, in separate rooms. When we were going back to our rooms, she stopped me in a closed-in space between two doors. She grabbed me and kissed me.

There were a lot of students staying in the hostel. Sometimes I watched how the couples acted so I would know what to do.

Go to Liverpool, England, for Days 1 and 2.
Go to Inverness, Scotland, for Days 4, 5, and 6.

Days 1 and 2: Liverpool, England—We checked into the Y.M.C.A. At the counter, I suggested that we just get one room with two beds to economize. We kissed a little bit. She asked if I wanted to move the beds together. I said I was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

We went to the Cavern, where the Beatles started out. We got up on stage and pretended to play. She played air guitar and sang. I pretended to play the drums because Ringo never got enough credit.

Go to Oxford, England, for Day 0.
Go to Edinburgh, Scotland, for Day 3.