All Roads Lead To Rome

All Roads Lead to Rome

by Leslie Johnson

All roads lead to Rome or so the saying goes. It comes from the time when the Romans were conquering the world. They were famous for their road building and many roads that exist in Europe today, began with the Romans.

        Emma, a single girl looking for romance and her very best - but married friend, Lorraine, were navigating one of these roads in the backcountry in England, when she met him. He was enthusiastic and sweet. Being a tourist in his country, she wondered about taking him home. All single girls dream of finding romance far afield - someone new and exciting. A romance that would lead to a magical holiday or one that might be more permanent. She couldn’t watch “PS I Love You” without wishing at least once that she was the Hilary Swank character - meeting a handsome Irishman who would not only put up with - but encourage her uniqueness. It was that movie that sparked this trip, the longing to find her other half.

        That morning, they were following the map when they arrived at the ruins of a once thriving inn. The rest stop at the bottom of a steep incline had fallen to ruin when the road became impassable and people began detouring. Even the modest stable was nothing but two walls leaning drunkenly on each other. That old Roman road under a canopy of trees was now more like a ladder. The large flat paving stones had heaved themselves out of the earth where they had once been forcefully placed.

        Tummies growled as the two girls scrambled up the awkward slope, trying to find footing on the flat stones twisting from the earth. It was past lunch time. They were looking for somewhere to sit and enjoy the sandwiches and fruit their landlady had packed before they set off at eight that morning. That’s when they first saw him hurrying down the road toward them. Emma glanced at Lorraine. She did not seem delighted. Lorraine had made herself the unofficial protector of Emma’s heart. She wanted to save her romantic friend from being hurt.

The two kept moving and as he got closer, Emma couldn’t help but smile. That seemed to encourage him to come closer. She started to wonder if he knew a good place to sit and enjoy lunch. Would he stay and share her lunch? Did she want to share? A thousand questions roared through her mind. How old was he? He didn’t look that old? But it’s hard to tell from a distance.

They drew closer and Emma threw caution to the wind. She wrapped her arms around his lean body and pulled him close. She could smell him; he smelled just as he should; earthy and clean. He began kissing her face and even while she protested and tried to pull back, he continued to smother her with kisses. Sensing his love and his zest for life she stopped trying to back away. Instead she cuddled him closer and surrendered to his awkward and zealous passion.

Lorraine came alongside; even she was unable to resist his charms. Then she cleared her throat and pointed down the road. There were three adorable children coming out from the same gate, racing down the road toward them. Then stepping through the gate to stand watch was a tall, thin woman, a child resting on her hip. This was wrong. This was all wrong. Emma felt her face flush with embarrassment as the kids stopped beside them.

One last little cuddle and she released him back to his family. The kids joyfully took hold as she moved away, Lorraine trailing behind. Holding her head up, Emma walked down the road and past the gate. The woman stood wearing a stern look on her face. She studied Emma as she passed and it took every effort for Emma not to stare back. She wondered why this woman had been so careless. If she loved him, why didn’t she keep him home? Put him on a leash or something?

Emma and Lorraine never spoke until a mile further, they found a large fallen tree where they could sit and look down into the valley and enjoy their lunch. When Emma had finished her sandwich, she finally broke the silence. “He was so cute and I wanted him for myself.” She sighed. “...until I saw those kids.”

Her friend smiled. “You would have broken those kid’s hearts and besides you’d never get him through customs; too much red tape.”

Emma had to agree. She thought of her life back in Canada, sure that even as gorgeous as he was; he wasn’t a good fit for her. It was best that she gave him back. But they admitted to each other that he was the cutest boy they had seen on their trip so far. His lovely brown eyes, his little pink tongue, his tiny black nose and his black and white fur - he was so adorable. But then all puppies are.