Not Exactly a Midnight Wal-Mart Run...But Close.

Yes. The 7 hours between 7PM and 2AM had enough craziness in them ALONE to deserve a post. Read on…

That night I waited to hear from Beverley about when she was coming into town. 7:00, nothing. 8:00, nothing. 9:00, nothing. What in the world? She calls around 9:30. Apparently she was at the grandparent’s house, and her host parents had just disappeared after dinner. It was far too late to catch a bus, and she had no way of getting back to the house. Okay, call me when you get home., I told her. She called me from the house, wondering what she should do. I told her to ask the parents if they could drive her into Teramo, since they told her the other day that she could come with me. Plus, I had a hotel and TWO tickets; maybe that will give them some incentive.

Beverley called me back AGAIN saying she must not be very good at asking for things, because her host parents were going to bed now. She would look for a taxi if she could.

I had a nasty feeling that she wasn’t going to be able to find a ride. So I text Anna Giulia, Greta, and Davide. No answer from any of them. Greta was on chat, so I asked if she would be up to a roadtrip to Colledara. She never answered.

I called Anna Giulia. She answered, but said she wouldn’t be able to take the car tonight. My last hope was Davide.

I called him. “Sorry I didn’t answer your SMS,” he said. “I got a new phone and don’t’ have money on it yet!” I said it was fine and explained my situation to him. I needed to pick up Beverley from Colledara because we were going to Pisa in the morning. And I needed a car. And I would pay him gas money if he could just drive me out there.

I was 95% sure that he wouldn’t be able to do it. “Okaaaay,” he said. “I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” Oh my gosh. He is amazing.

Beverley calls me again saying that a taxi isn’t probable and there was no way to catch the bus from another town because she would have had to call the bus agency today to let them know to stop at a non-scheduled pick-up place. “It’s okay. I’m coming to pick you up!” I said. “What?” “Davide will pick me up here and we are coming to get you. We’ll be there in 45 minutes.” “This is kinda weird…but okay!” she replied

I grabbed my Google Maps directions and ran down the stairs. Davide rolled up outside my apartment and we headed out to Colledara. It was 11:00 PM.

We picked up Beverley and drove the 20 minutes back to Teramo, laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation was. I don’t know what I would have done without Davide. We told him he was the best driver ever, because he found his was to the tiny town of Colledara without my Google directions AND because he was willing to be chauffeur for the night. “Cornetto, anyone?” I say. We were definitely up for it.

Italians must not take random late-night roadtrips very often. I’m so used to randomly driving around town or making a Wal-Mart run at 11 or 12 at night, that this almost felt normal to me. Davide had never done anything like it. Life is so different here.

We were talking about the roadtrip in the cornetto shop, when a guy walks in and orders some food. He comes next to Beverley and says, “Excuse me. Can I take this?” In English? I thought I imagined it, so I didn’t pay any more attention and let it slide. It must have been this crazy night playing tricks with my mind. When we were talking about something else though, he said something in agreement, in English again!

Turns out this guy was born in Teramo and spent 6 years working in different parts of Great Britain. He said he didn’t run into many people that spoke English in Teramo, so whenever he did he couldn’t help but say something. I completely understood. Once again, though, his conversation was mainly aimed at me, even though there were 2 other people with me. I guess I have to get used to this. He wasn’t a creeper; it was just random to have a guy in a cornetto shop speak to me in English. We said goodbye and headed outside.

Davide mentions that he has never been to Pisa before. Beverley says, “Well, why don’t you come with us!?” He says he has to work, but he gets this childlike gleam in his eye and says, “Buuuuuuuuut, I can have some one cover for me. What time does the ticket office open? I can go ask my parents?!”

He gets so excited that once we get in the car, he forgets to go by the ticket office first to see if he can even get a ticket before our 7AM bus. I remind him, and we laugh as he turns the car around. I hop out, run to the door, and throw my hands up victoriously on the run back. “6:30! We can get you a ticket! YAY! Now all we have to do is hope your parents will let you go!”

We drive to Davide’s restaurant. His mom is going to think I’m crazy. First, I drag her son out to Colledara at 11:00 at night. Then I have him planning to travel to Pisa within 7 hours of departure time. She’s probably thinking, “This American girl is trouble, taking my son on spur-of-the-moment road trips.”

Amazingly, both his parents say yes. We plan to meet for breakfast at 6 and grab him a ticket afterwards.

Davide drops Beverley and me off at my apartment, and we finish my packing. I take a shower and finally roll into bed around 1:45. We are waking up at 5AM…3 hours of sleep. This trip better be worth it.

But I’m more than sure that it will be.