A Twist in My Story

The following morning Joe and Luciana were on their way to the English countryside. They met at the same café as the previous two days for a quick breakfast before heading down to the train terminal. Their journey was mostly silent, both too tired to participate in much conversation. Joe had spent a large portion of the night tossing and turning in anticipation of the next couple of days—he was happy that Luciana had agreed to continue traveling England with him. Meanwhile, Luciana had been kept up with troubling news from home. She had tried to push those thoughts to the back of her mind and get some sleep but when she finally did, she was awoken just three hours later by the lovely workers at her London hotel—she had to remember not to ask for wake up calls anymore.

Once they bought their tickets for the countryside, they got onto their train—they were fortunate that it was moments from departing. Fortunately they found a compartment that was empty and set their things in the above cabinets and sat across from each other. Luciana immediately closed her eyes and rested her head against the window pane next to her, hoping to catch up on the sleep she lost the previous night during their three hour ride. Joe noticed this and decided to pull out a book to keep him company while his travel buddy slept.

He was trying to immerse himself in ‘Julius Caesar’ but was distracted by Luciana shifting every few minutes. “Do you have ants in your pants?” he asked teasingly after several minutes of this.

Luciana’s sharp brown eyes snapped open and she cocked her head at him, her eyebrows meeting in the middle in confusion. “Excuse me?” she questioned, not aware of the American saying.

Joe chuckled before sending her an easy smile. “It’s just a saying us Americans have,” he responded. “You keep shifting around in your seat.”

“Oh,” she responded. “These seats are uncomfortable,” she answered. “I always hate having to sleep on trains,” she pouted, once more rearranging her position, this time angling her body so that her back was against the window pane.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night huh?” Joe asked, closing his book, but maintaining his place with his index finger. Luciana merely shook her head in way of response. “You were just that excited to keep traveling with me, huh?” he teased, hoping to lighten her mood. He could already tell Luciana was one of those girls that got crabby when she didn’t have enough sleep. He had a few girl friends that were like that in college and honestly, they scared him when they got in their moods.

He saw Luciana roll her eyes at his teasing, but a small smile was threatening to break through. “No, that wasn’t it. I just got a phone call from home,” she admitted without thinking.

Joe’s teasing demeanor immediately stopped. “Is everything okay? Do you have to go back home?” he asked, genuinely concerned. If she received news that kept her up all night, it must be something big.

Joe’s concern immediately made Luciana realize that she had once more said more than she ever intended to. “Yes, everything’s fine,” she lied, closing her eyes once more—hopefully Joe would realize she didn’t want to talk about that anymore.

Joe eyed Luciana warily. He knew that he barely knew her, but she was acting strangely, and it wasn’t the first time either, there were times in London where she had seemed off, but he decided not to ask questions. He really did know close to nothing about her. Seeing that she had ended their brief conversation, Joe once again opened his book, but after a while Luciana started shifting again. “Why don’t you just lie down? There’s plenty of room,” he suggested.

She opened her eyes and looked at him once more. “I wouldn’t want to put my face on these seats, who knows who’s been sitting on them,” she responded, crinkling her nose in disgust as she looked down that the olive green vinyl seats.

“Oh, so you’re a germaphobe?” Joe teased.

“A what? Is that an American insult?” Luciana questioned.

Joe chuckled. He found her lack of understanding of American slang terms kind of endearing. “No. It means that you’re afraid of germs,” he explained.

“Oh. No, not really, but I had a bad experience once on a train. Never again,” she stated, shaking her head, thinking back to the first time she ever fell asleep on a train. That wasn’t an experience she liked to relive.

Joe chuckled at her response. “Here,” he stated, taking off his sweatshirt and rolling it up in a ball before holding it out to her. Luciana’s eyes shifted from the tan patch of skin that had been exposed when his shirt rode up as he took off the sweatshirt to the aforementioned garment.

“What is this for?” she asked.

“You can use it as a pillow. That way your face isn’t touching the seats.” Luciana stared at the garment dubiously before Joe rolled his eyes and just shoved it in her hands.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling softly at him before unrolling the garment and folding it neatly. She placed it next to her on the seat before lying down and resting her head against the thick, gray NYU sweatshirt. Joe’s scent was radiating off of it, infiltrating her nostrils. She tried to discreetly take a whiff of it—Joe smelled really good. His scent surrounded her and seemed to relax all her worries. Soon enough she was falling asleep comfortably for the first time on a train.

Joe watched as Luciana seemed to relax and fall into an easy slumber. Her honey brown hair was falling around her, blocking most of her face, but Joe couldn’t help but think that she still looked adorable. He had found it odd when she told him not to fall in love with her because he honestly didn’t think he could ever fall for a girl that fast, but he could see how any guy could fall in love with her. She was gorgeously exotic looking and seemed like a genuinely nice person.

Someone opening their compartment door made him break the trance he had been in. He looked up and smile at the young man that had just entered the compartment—hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt—he must have been watching Luciana sleep for at least ten minutes. But the man didn’t indicate he had noticed anything out of the ordinary—he merely smiled back and after seeing Luciana stretched out on the opposite seats decided to sit next to Joe, but close to the door. Joe once more opened his book and allowed himself to be immersed in the writings of Shakespeare.

They were roughly thirty minutes from their destination point when Luciana started to stir. Joe looked up from his book and smiled at her when she opened her eyes. She gave him a weak smile as well before sitting up and stretching. When she brought her arms back down, her eyes landed on the second man in the compartment. Joe, who had been observing her, noticed how she instantly tensed. Luciana’s eyes roved the features of the man, who had looked up at her and smiled pleasantly. When she finally decided that she didn’t recognize him, she relaxed a bit, but she was still visibly guarded.

“Did you sleep well?” Joe asked to get her attention away from the stranger.

Luciana’s eyes focused on him before nodding. “It’s weird sleeping on a train, I don’t usually do it, but I slept comfortably. Thank you,” she responded, picking up his sweatshirt and giving it back to him.

“I’m glad,” Joe said, accepting his sweatshirt back. “It’s good you’re well rested, I need you to be awake and chipper for our excursion today,” he said with an easy smile. Luciana barely smiled back. Joe frowned at her lack of response but decided to try something else. “I’ve been doing some reading on Stratford upon Avon, well, pretty much since I was in high school. Romeo and Juliet was one of my favorite books to read in school and ever since then I’ve loved all of Shakespeare’s works. I’m really excited to go to his birthplace and see all the places that inspired him.”

Luciana’s eyes quickly flashed to the other man in the compartment. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to their conversation however. Joe found her behavior even more odd than the previous day. “Hey, are you okay?” Joe asked.

Her eyes flashed back to him only to see his glancing at her with worry and curiosity. She mentally chided herself for acting so paranoid and making him the slightest bit suspicious. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and flashed him a smile. “Yes, I’m fine, sorry I’m acting weird. I just had a dream and it shook me up a bit, but I’m okay. I believe we’re almost there, we should start gathering our things and heading to the doors,” she stated. Without waiting for a response on his part, she stood up, stretching her long legs before reaching over head and retrieving her bags. Joe had no choice but to put his book away and retrieve his things as well.

Once exiting the train station, they saw a sign that signaled the tourist bus that showed all of the major tourist sites in Stratford upon Avon. Joe immediately started to walk in the bus’ direction but felt his hand being pulled back. “What?” he asked when he turned to see Luciana holding his arm tightly.

“Where are you going?” she questioned.

“To the tourist buses,” he responded.

Luciana cracked a smile at him. “We don’t need one of those, come on,” she said, flicking her head and walking in the opposite direction. Joe followed behind her, looking around him at the semi-busy streets. He knew this was a common tourist attraction during the summer months, but there weren’t as many people around seeing as how it was just the beginning of September. “Okay Joe, this is our first stop,” Luciana announced, stopping in front of an ancient half-timbered building. Joe looked up at the building, admiring the ancient architecture. “This is said to be Shakespeare’s birthplace. Shakespeare, as you probably know, was born in 1564 and grew up here on Henley Street. This house was in his family’s possession for roughly 200 years after his death. It was bought in 1847 and by then it had been deteriorated, but since then it’s been restored. It’s pretty cool inside. Are you ready to go in?” Luciana asked.

Joe glanced at her with an amused smile. “So does this mean you’re my own personal tour-guide?” he questioned.

She laughed and nodded her head. “There’s no need wasting time paying these other tour-guides when I know all the information myself. I’m sort of in love with William Shakespeare myself,” she admitted.

Joe smiled easily at her before allowing her to lead the way. Joe felt like he was in heaven upon entering. For someone who loved Shakespeare as much as he did, this was a wonderland. The house itself was extremely cramped, but Joe admired all the ancient furniture and the room that was Shakespeare’s father’s glove making workshop. There was also a marvelous stain-glass window that had signatures of famous people that had visited the location. Joe marveled at the other famous signatures, one of them being Charles Dickens, another one of his favorite literary figures. They continued to walk around the house and then to the visitor’s center that was attached to the house. Luciana explained all the exhibits that covered Shakespeare’s life, his famous works, and the time period he lived in. When they reached the scale model of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Joe had Luciana take a picture of him standing next to it—it didn’t matter that he had taken a picture outside of the real building just the previous day in London.

When Luciana finally managed to get Joe to leave the building, both of them agreed they wanted to stop for some food. They walked around until they found a place to eat. “This here is said to be the pub dear old William would sit in, drinking away his sorrows and writing some of his best work,” Luciana stated, as Joe held the door of the establishment open for her.

“Wow,” Joe stated, “I don’t think I can handle this,” he teased. Luciana rolled her eyes. She found herself doing that a lot because Joe was constantly teasing her and joking around, but secretly she didn’t mind it so much. After growing up around so many serious people, she liked being around Joe’s carefree spirit—it was refreshing.

The two of them sat at the bar and immediately the bartender attended them, setting them both up with a mug of beer. They glanced at the small menu before ordering some lunch. “So tell me Joe, how was it seeing the birthplace of one of your idols?” she questioned, taking a swig of her beer.

“I’m not gonna lie, it was probably the coolest part of this trip. To think that I’ve been walking around the same streets William Shakespeare walked—it’s just mind blowing,” he stated.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. I have to admit, I’ve been here before but I’ve never enjoyed that place as much as I did today,” Luciana confessed.

“Why’s that?” Joe questioned, taking a sip of his beer himself.

Luciana cocked her head. “I’m not sure,” she responded, looking down at the mug in front of her. She was lost in her thoughts when their food appeared before them. “So tell me, what was your childhood like?” Luciana asked to fill the silence.

Joe chewed his food and swallowed before answering. “It was pretty great. I grew up with an older brother and a younger one and when I was 10 my youngest brother was born, so that’s three brothers total. We’re all pretty close. Kevin, Nick and I used to always do stuff together when we were younger. Now Kevin’s married and always working and Nick just went off to college, so I don’t see them as often, but I still love them. Little Frankie’s always around the house though, he’s my favorite brother for sure,” he answered.

“Must be nice. What are your parents like?” Luciana asked.

Joe was silent for a while before answering. “My mom’s pretty great. She doesn’t like to get too involved in our lives unless we’re doing something stupid or whatever, but somehow she always knows what’s going on. I don’t know how she does it. It must be a freaky mom thing. But she’s the best person I know.” Joe smiled to himself thinking about his mother. Having said those things about her out loud made him realize how selfish he was just leaving her like that. And he hadn’t even called her yet to tell her he was okay. Guilt churned unpleasantly in his stomach—he would have to do something about that soon.

“What about your father?” Luciana questioned.

He let out a bitter laugh. “My father, wow, what is he like?” Joe sarcastically questioned. “Let’s just say we don’t see eye to eye on some things. He just, he wants to control every aspect of my life and it’s kind of annoying,” he explained, stabbing his chicken for forcibly than he intended.

“I know what you mean,” Luciana mumbled. This didn’t go unnoticed however and she cringed when she realized her mistake.

“What’s your family like?” Joe questioned.

Luciana let out a puff of air, making the hairs that were falling in her face fly out before landing in a disarray where they previously were. She paused to think of how to answer, her eyes quickly flashing to the door when she heard it jingle. The two people that walked in sat in a corner, immersed in themselves. When she realized they weren’t looking for her, she relaxed again. “Luce?” Her eyes snapped back to Joe and she realized he was waiting for her response.

“Not like yours,” she started, trying to be as evasive as possible. “I have three brothers as well, and two cousins that were practically raised in our house,” she explains. “I was never really close to them when we were younger, they’re all older than me and did boy things together with my dad. But I’m a bit closer with them now that we’re older,” she stated.

“Wow, I bet they’re all pretty protective of you then, huh?” Joe questioned.

Luciana let out a small laugh. “Oh yes,” she agreed. She smiled softly to herself, thinking about just how protective her brothers and cousins have gotten in the past. Sometimes it was annoying, but recently she’s found that she’s been missing them, especially Luka.

“What about your parents?” Joe asked, truly interested. This is the most he’s gotten Luciana to tell him about herself since he met her. She’s a very private person, he got that impression almost as soon as he met her, but he didn’t push for any information about her. Just because he was willing to trust new people didn’t mean everyone in the world was like that. For that reason he was really surprised, but at the same time grateful that she was telling him a bit about herself.

Luciana hesitated a bit longer when he asked about her parents. “My mom and I are close. My dad’s always been too focused on his…business…to pay much attention to me,” she replied. Until recently that is…

“Yea. What is it with dads and being all about business? Why can’t they just let you be?” Joe mused.

Luciana chuckled. “I have no idea,” she replied.

The two continued eating while discussing more about their family…okay, so Joe did most of the talking, he couldn’t get Luciana to open up anymore than she did. “We should probably get going if we want to see some more of the city,” Joe suggested when there was a lull in the conversation.

“Sounds good,” Luciana stated, starting to gather some Euros from her bag to pay for her meal.

“Please, allow me,” Joe stated, already putting more bills on the bar than were necessary for his meal. Luciana shook her head at him, starting to protest. “Please, my mother always taught me to be courteous to women,” Joe defended.

Luciana shook her head again. “I don’t let men pay for me unless they are family or we’re on a date and this was not a date,” she insisted. It was one of her rules and there was no way she would back down.

“Okay fine,” Joe said, sensing that he wouldn’t be able to win that battle. They each paid for their separate meals and were on their way. They walked a bit before reaching New Place, the home Shakespeare bought in 1597 after he retired. The actual house itself wasn’t there anymore, but there was a garden in its place that preserved the land owned by the great English writer.

“It’s getting dark, we should find someplace to stay,” Luciana suggested.

“Don’t worry, I got it covered. I did a bit of research and there’s a little bed-and-breakfast that I wanted to stay at. The train ride will only take a half hour,” Joe said.

Luciana groaned. “More trains,” she protested.

Joe laughed at her reluctance. “Come on princess, it won’t be that bad,” he assured. Luciana stiffened at his words. She hated being called that.

“Fine, let’s go then,” she said, already walking towards where their journey in the small village started. Joe released a sigh, confused about her change in demeanor. He had no idea what he had said to upset her this time, but one thing he was learning about her was that she had mood swings—a lot of them. The thing was that they were different than the one’s girls usually had. This left him confused as to what brought them on. There was more to this girl’s story and Joe was interested to say the least. Hiking is bag into a more comfortable position, he followed after her.