“I am not riding that!” insisted Bonnie, stepping backward away from the scooter.

“This is how we travel, you would rather walk?” asked Alonzo in his thick Italian accent. He stared at her with his hand still extended to help her climb on.

“When you said you could get me there, this is not exactly what I had in mind,” complained Bonnie. Is this a mistake? She didn’t know this man. What if he was lying? What if he didn’t really own this café but determined she was just an American tourist to be taken advantage of?  How did she know he would not drive her to the countryside and leave her for dead? She heard her best friend’s words echo in her mind as a reminder, “Don’t forget they are all a family there, treat them that way.” Yes, she did approach him for directions. Yes, she did catch her breath the moment his eyes met hers. Yes, this was insane. She felt the weight of this moment. Of this decision. Isn’t this why she left home, to build a new life? It was now or never.

Julia finished reading and refolded the delicate paper, looking up at her husband with tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe you found it,” she whispered. He walked around the aged scooter to his wife.

“They said they found the letter under the seat. I think that is the answer you wanted?”

“It is! This is the very moment my parents met.”