The Italian

Mum laughs. “That’s not like our Nat now, is it?”

“I know right, she’s like a man magnet.”

“What’s he like?”

I screw up my face. “Not my type.”

“What’s this guy your seeing like?”

I roll my eyes, this again. “He’s nice.” I really don’t want to get into this today, I need to get off the phone. “I have to run mum, I’m going to be late for my gym class.”

“Okay dear. Love you. Call me later.”

“Love you too, bye.”

* * *

“Would the Sedan be suitable?” the girl on the car hire desk asks.

“That will be great, thank you.”

It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m hiring a car to get out of Milan for the weekend. With Nat busy and my life in a fucking shamble, I need to get the hell away. I’ve decided to drive up to Heidelberg in Germany. It’s about a five-hour drive from here, so not too far for a weekend. I always wanted to go there, and I’m not lying around in my hotel room in Milan being depressed all weekend. I’ve booked a hotel and will drive there tonight with the intention of coming back Sunday night.

It’s not like I have anything on other than feeling sorry for myself, and I’m sick of doing that.

I’m better than this. I’m better than him.

I deserve a man who loves me and, damn it, I won’t take anything less.

Fuck Enrico Ferrara. He can go to Hell on a broomstick for all I care.

I sign for the car and the woman shows me all of the settings and how to work the navigation system. I throw my bags into the back and get in. I drive around the corner before I program in where I’m going.

Heidelberg, here I come.

* * *

It’s just on 10pm when I drive into the hotel at Heidelberg. I’ve had a good trip; the traffic was good and I’m excited to be here.

I’ve always had a fascination with Heidelberg since the tenth grade when I did an assignment on Heidelberg Castle. I vowed to myself then that I would one day see it in the flesh with my own eyes, and here I am.

I’m going to spend the day there tomorrow and I have to admit I’m feeling very proud of myself for ticking something off my bucket list.

Even when things are shitty, I’m still okay. I’ll make it through this rough patch, I always do.

* * *

I walk through Heidelberg castle in awe. It’s so much better than I could have ever imagined. I’m fully aware that I only know this place because of my stupid assignment when I was a girl, but I feel an affinity to it, as if I were meant to come here one day.

I spent the morning looking around by myself, and then this afternoon I signed up for a guided tour. I’m fascinated by its history. The building is red brick and sits on the side of the hill overlooking the gorgeous town below. It was built in the early 1600s and has been destroyed by lightning, fire, and war, yet it still sits proudly on the mountain, as if guarding the town below.

The ten members of the tour group are wearing earpieces while our tour guide is pointing out the facts about the castle. We get to the main quadrangle.

“And this here…” The tour guide points out a deep footprint in the stone below a window that is two-stories high. “This footprint is a bit of a legend.” He smiles. “Apparently, the queen was tired of the king always being away, waging wars and what not. So, she took a lover—a knight—and they began a torrid affair which led to them falling madly in love. Their affair went on for years until, one night, the king came home early to find the knight in bed with his wife. The knight had no choice but to jump from the window or the king would have had him killed instantly. When the knight jumped out of the window in his armor, he made this footprint in the stone. Now, for the really fun part. It’s said that any man whose foot fits in this hole is a fantastic lover.”

The group laughs and we move onto the next point of interest. I stand and stare at the footprint in the stone, and my mind begins to drift back in time.

What would it be like to have been that queen? To be married to one man and yet be in love with another? Her husband’s knight. One of her protectors. I look up at the window above and imagine the nights that they spent together in her quarters.