Free Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae

like that,” Chiara says to me after Liana leaves, one hand propped on her hip. “My legs are not that nice. I want her legs,” she huffs.
    “I want her hair.”
    She clasps a section of my hair and lifts it up, letting it fall back down strands at a time. “What is wrong with your hair? It is perfectly fine.”
    “It’s perfectly boring. I plan to get a makeover as soon as possible.”
    Cristina’s voice beckons us to the sitting area. “What is next for Phillipa? Where do you travel to after Roma?”
    “I was actually hoping to get opinions on that.” I shift, and a spring in the couch squeaks. Anna Maria opens her eyes briefly but dozes off again immediately, nestled in a cushy recliner that takes up a big portion of the living room.
    Chiara chimes in, “Pippa’s plans changed last minute,Mamma. She is deciding what she wants to do with her summer days here.”
    “Ah. Difficult to find rooms now,” Cristina says, absentmindedly running a finger along the rim of her wineglass.
    “So I’m learning. My hotel told me I have to leave tomorrow because they’re booked.” And in reality, one of those youth hostels is probably all I can afford from now on. I shudder at the thought of sharing a tiny room with who knows how many smelly people. And sharing a bathroom.
    Chiara and her mom speak to each other rapidly, leaving me to study the tattered upholstery of the armrest. I’m torn between trying to decipher what they’re saying and tuning them out because they obviously don’t want me to know what they’re saying. Either way, it doesn’t matter. The only word I pick up is “Mamma.”
    Cristina turns to me. “We would like to invite you to stay with us.”
    “Oh.” I look around the humble apartment, wondering where they would fit another sleeping person. “That’s so generous of you.”
    “We would love for you to stay,” she says.
    There’s a flutter in my gut. They actually want me here. I want to say yes.
    “ Per favore , Pippa.” Chiara leans forward, excitement radiating from her. “We insist! And remember I am helping my aunt with her restaurant in Cinque Terre?”
    “Yes. What—”
    “I leave the day after next.” She stands and clasps my hands as if she’s leaving this instant, and her face glows even more. “Iwant you to come with me! There will be plenty of room with my aunt.”
    I sit up straight on the edge of my seat as the brilliance of her idea floods through me. Free lodging in one of the most beautiful places to photograph in the country? I’d be stupid to pass up this opportunity. And even better, I won’t have to spend my entire summer alone after all.

Chapter Thirteen
ASSIGNMENT NUMERO CINQUE: BE YOU Now, I have a feeling you’ve been a more reserved version of yourself thus far. Am I right? But with that last assignment, you’ve already faced your fears, so now reap your reward and live! Be the Pippa that I know you to be for your new Italian friends so they’ll love you as much as I do (but not so much that they keep you, because I totes need you back) .
Make an effort today to become more of who YOU want to be .
    We have a whole day to kill before we hop on a train bound for Riomaggiore. I’ll miss Roma, but the pull of Cinque Terre is so strong, electricity buzzes through every part of my body.
    After Chiara shuttles my luggage and me back to her apartment in a little two-person gray cube on wheels—the “car” sheshares with her sister—we walk to a shop without windows and pause outside the lacquered red door.
    Chiara puts a hand on each of my shoulders. “Are you ready?”
    “For what?”
    A dark beauty in a tight sapphire dress slinks out of the door and passes us without a glance, her voluminous hair trailing behind. The scent of cherries wafts through the air. Jealousy courses through me.
    Chiara catches the door before it closes all the way and ushers me inside. The cool air breezes by us as it rushes for the opening. Goose bumps pop up all over