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This is a short fictional piece I wrote a long time ago.

It was a typical morning in the Brennan household with people running everywhere. As you can imagine with five women in the house, all trying to get ready at once, it was total chaos. The solitary male to reside there, except for the cat, was the father of four of the women and the husband of the other. They were a middle class family, not rich and although sailing close to the wind sometimes, not poor. But in the things that counted, not money, but love, sharing, good times and a sense of family, of belonging, they were richer than many. They were joined by an invisible bond and although they fought amongst themselves at times, God help any outsider who dared to say or do anything to hurt one of them. The group would imediately unite against the offender and become as unbeatable as the strongest army.

This did not mean however that nobody got inside this circle. They were as giving to others as they were to each other. The door was always open to any friends of the four girls, whether they be in need of help or just dropping around after school for a drink and something to eat.

Lies

Monique tried to hold it together as she continued to drive home. She was glad she didn’t have far to go. Her chest hurt and her eyes burned from unshed tears. She blinked and taking a deep shuddering breath, blew it out again. As she did she considered, knowing what she did now, what else had she been told that wasn’t the truth. And this was the thing that hurt her the most. In one swipe, their relationship was changed forever. The lie she had just discovered wasn’t huge but its implications were massive. She knew she would not only question everything she had been told but everything she would be told from here on out. A trust had been broken and it would not be easily repaired, if that were possible at all. At that point, she wasn’t sure it was. It felt like something within her was dying and unable to hold it in anymore she pulled over to the side of the road and laying her head on her arms on the steering wheel she cried as her heart broke.  

Day 14

A smart car that you see all over Italy.

© A Product of Silence

Today we say good bye to Italy. We left our hotel for Rome airport at 8.30am ready for a 12.30 flight. As we travelled on the coach we were all silence, our eyes trained out the window, getting our last look. When we arrived at the airport we found out our flight had been delayed by an hour and we also had an unscheduled stopover in Milan. This meant getting off the plane one more time and taking all our carry on luggage with us. 

We were in Milan for a couple of hours, where some of did some last minute shopping, and then we reboarded the plane and continued our trip home. We had another stop at Dubai and again at Singapore, both times just involved getting off at one gate and getting on at another, but each time you have to go back through security. I lost count of how many bottles of water I had to throw out during this process. Finally we touched down in Melbourne at 2.00 am and after clearing customs I walked out to meet my family at three in the morning. It was wonderful to see everyone, I had missed them more than I thought posssible. And as good as Italy was, I was glad to be home. It was the end of a fantastic trip.

Living La Dolce Vita

Day 13

Today we left Sorento, heading back to Rome. Our first stop was Pompeii. This decimated city left me in awe, such an amazing place full of so much history. I have trouble believing I actually saw it first-hand. Even though much of the marble has been stripped from the ancient city it is still incredible and been able to experience the places people lived so many years ago is indescribable. 

Pompeii

© A Product of Silence

After leaving Pompei we had a brief stopover in Naples where we had lunch. I would have enjoyed Naples much more had our tour guides not scared the life out of us with stories of muggings etc. As it was there was there was a protest happening by out of work men in the centre square. 

However lunch was incredible. We found a little pasta restaurant out of the way, up a tiny alley way and we had one of the best meals we'd had in Italy. This was mostly because of the entertainment which consisted of a man playing a piano accordion who serenaded us while we ate. If I didn't look up I could imagine it was Dean Martin singing 'That's Amore' amongst other songs that you associate with Italy from years gone by. It was a magical time. 

Bay of Naples

© A Product of Silence

We arrived back at our hotel in Rome at 6.15 and spent the evening doing some last minute shopping and packing up ready for our departure tomorrow. It's hard to believe my stay in Italy is nearly over. We have seen so much in our short time here. I'll be sad to leave, but I'm looking forward to seeing my family.

Living La Dolce Vita

Amalfi Coast

© A Product of Silence

Day 12 of our tour of Italy involved a trip from Rome to Sorento for a one night stay. The scenery as we wound our way along the Amalfi coast was absolutely breathtaking. Just before lunch we stopped at the picturesque hillside village of Positano. Our coach was unable to navigate the narrow winding streets so we were transported to the centre of the sleepy little village by minibus. 

Positano

© A Product of Silence

Searching the streets for a place to eat we were having no luck until we met a local who spoke some english. He lead us down to where Positano meets the sea where we found a beautiful little beach and sitting nearly right on the sand an idyllic open air restaurant. The food was amazing and it was a lovely sunny afternoon in the most beautiful setting. It was like something out of a movie. I don't think I'll ever forget that lunch in Positano. Afterwards we did some shopping in the little stores on the climb back up to the bus. 

Le Tre Sorelle, Positano

© A Product of Silence

Continuing our trip, we arrived in Sorento at 6pm. The traffic on our way into town was horrendous as was the garbage lining the streets. That part of Italy was in the middle of a major garbage strike that had been going on for some time. When we finally reached the hotel we found it was probably the worst of the trip but we were so tired by then it didn't matter much. After tea we walked into the centre of Sorento for a look around and a little more shopping.