Summer Escape

8:00am

My internal clock prevents me from sleeping in.

I smile, I smell the saltiness in the air, I stretch. I get up to open the curtains and see green that has no beginning, middle, or end.

9:00am

The smell of coffee fills my nostrils while the soft fuzziness of ripe peaches grazes my fingertips. The yellow yolks of my eggs matches the yellow of the sun. It’s summer.

10:00am

Lying here in the grass I remember the way you liked your eggs soft boiled and the sweetness of apricot juice. I was never a fan of runny yolks and think apricots are too sugary. But I made it how you liked anyway.

12:00pm

My hair stubbornly clings to the back of my neck, sweat trickles down my spine and gathers on my upper lip. Beethoven plays in the distance while I lay in “heaven”. I’ve yet to eat a proper meal, it’s too hot to eat. But I am hungry for you.

1:00pm

Bike rides are the closest I feel to flying. I speed down the roads and sometimes I close my eyes. I love the feeling of the wind and the feeling of you flying not too far behind.

2:00pm

Do you remember the first time I showed you this place? I’m not sure how Monet would feel about us being here, but I like to imagine he’d be happy to know love lives on this grass, in this stream, with the trees as our witness.

3:00pm

My skin almost feels cold from the heat between us. We try to be civil in public but I’m sure my eyes are telling. There’s no hiding the magic that unfolds when two people are given the stars.

It’s 4:07pm, I’m in my bed in Brooklyn, and this is just my imagination. It’s been a while since I was introduced to Call Me By Your Name, but my obsession with the story prevails. I wish I could live in that world; a summer of lust, longing, bike rides, ripe fruit, nature, books, music, language and sun. There are so many places on earth I’d like to see, but I’ve been craving the simplicity of CMBYN. Being forced to stay inside strips you down to the basics. Material possessions are fleeting and I just crave food, water, shelter, nature and touch.

The pandemic has since devastated Italy. As much as I would like to spend my days in Bergamo or Crema, the lingering sense of loss would be difficult to ignore. My heart longs for the healing of Italy, of the world, and to coexist with people again. I’ll never take another smile, embrace, or brush of a shoulder for granted again.

Until then, I’ll use my imagination to envision my perfect vacation.