Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Making Plans

"S weetcakes!" Nina's moniker for Frankie flowed over the airwaves.

"Hello, dahling," Frankie responded.

"What's shakin'?" This time, it was Nina's turn to ask.

"Just going through my lists." Frankie chuckled.

"A-ha! And how many lists do you have?"

"Uh, several. One for each day trip," Frankie admitted.

"Oh good. I like having a pushy-planner-person. Tell me."

"First, you tell me. Is everything set up with you and Jordan?"

"Yes! His family will be in Milan for Christmas, and I'll fly out the day after. I'll get to spend Christmas Day with my family, and they can haul my derriere to the airport."

"Perfect. Or should I say perfetto?"

"How are you doing with your Italian lessons?" Nina asked.

"Not as well as I had hoped. This time of year is gonzo, so I'm going to be depending on Giovanni."

"What are we going to do when we're on our own?" Nina chuckled.

"What we always do. Wing it!" Frankie laughed. Frankie wasn't always keen on winging it, but there was often a time and place for it, and this trip was bound to become a winging-it adventure.

Amy opened her email and whooped when she saw the message from the head of the department of physics. She was granted an extremely rare and limited tour of the experiment cavern at the CERN Science Gateway. She was going to see the Hadron Collider! She downloaded and printed the attached file that contained information about CERN and began to read it out loud. "There is a laboratory in Switzerland called CERN. It leads the world in particle physics." She looked over at her cat, who seemed genuinely interested in his owner's enthusiasm. "Oh Blinky, this is so exciting."

She continued to scroll through the document and read the salient pieces to her kitty. "Back in 1954, it was founded by the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire . Over a hundred countries collaborated to utilize complex instruments to study subatomic particles. They hope to be able to further understand the universe and how it works. So, this big thing called the Hadron Collider shoots a bunch of particles to see how they react. But I already knew that." She giggled. "They hope to continue research in physics in a sustainable way, and push technology forward and train new physicists. Like me!" She grinned.

Amy was so engrossed in her reading material that she hadn't heard Peter come through the door.

"Hey there."

Amy looked up. "Oh, Peter! I got permission to visit the CERN Science Gateway!"

"In Geneva?" Peter set his briefcase down on the bench.

"Yes! Can you believe it?" Amy was so red-cheeked, she looked like someone hit her in the face with a fuchsia paintball. She was bouncing up and down.

"That's great! When?" Peter walked over to give her a peck on her flushed skin.

"December twenty-seventh."

"Aren't we supposed to be going to Italy around that time?"

"Yes! But we can fly into Geneva first and then head down to Naples the next day."

"So, we'd get to Campania on the twenty-ninth?"

"Correct. I'll have to check the airlines, but I think it's less than a two-hour flight."

"I'm surprised you haven't bought the tickets yet!" Peter teased.

"I literally got this a few minutes ago." Amy grinned. "I was reading it to Blinky. Gimpy didn't seem all that interested. The only thing is, it's a pass for one person."

"So, what are you going to be doing while I take the tour?" Peter joked.

"Oh, aren't you the funny man?"

"I'm sure I'll find something to keep myself occupied. How long is your tour?"

"Two hours."

"Maybe I'll rent a motorcycle and do a tour around the area, or maybe a boat ride on Lake Geneva. But don't worry that brainiac head of yours. I'm a big boy, and I'll figure it out."

Amy did a little hop and gave Peter a big bear hug. "You're the best!"

"You're not so bad yourself!"

Rachael and Randy were debating where they should fly into. Neither had any interest in Venice. At least not this trip. It was a toss-up between Paris, Florence, and Rome. "If we fly directly to Florence, it will take over eleven hours and we have to stop in Geneva. If we fly to Rome, then it's only an eight-hour flight. We could start in Rome, take a ninety-minute train ride to Florence, and then take a train to Naples. The train is three hours."

"Is there a bar car on the train?" Randy asked innocently.

"For heaven's sake, Randy. Bring a flask," Rachael laughed.

"Well, that sounds like an excellent itinerary."

"Good. Let's start with that, and I'll check in with Frankie."

"Sounds good. Toodles!" Randy signed off.

Randy was a character, but a good soul. They had never traveled together, and Rachael had no idea what he might come up with, but at the very least, it would be interesting.