A falling through [R.]

As usual they had to meet in a fancy place, like this cafe, where Savannah now felt out of place. Sorenza had been great to her ever since she moved out of the family mansion – she’d been sympathetic, compassionate, and selfless when it came to help Savannah in any kind of way, but somehow she did not realize all the changes that this new situation brought to Savannah’s personality. Yes, she used to love the glitter, the glamour, the partying ; she used to enjoy having dinners in five-star restaurants and get drinks at hotel bars… but not anymore. Savannah couldn’t stand the fakeness of it all any longer. It just jumped at her now. She wasn’t seeing it then but today… All these smiles were fake. Even Sorenza’s. She was playing along with the game, you know.

“So, what are you having ?” Sorenza asked cheerfully. She didn’t have to deal with the hormones and the sudden cravings and disgusts Savannah was feeling all day long. Like, right now, she wanted a black coffee so badly. Until the day before she couldn’t stand its smell coming off the machine but today, oh yes, a small, dark espresso, she’d practically die for it, though she was not allowed to have caffeine.

“I’ll go with a jasmine tea,” Savannah said to the waitress, “and could you bring us a set of pastries ?” Yes, she was hungry. Her size 6 (34) was long gone and replaced by a plump size 10 (38). She felt huge next to her radiant sister. Sorenza was always beautiful. Even when she was just out of bed with a terrible hangover she looked great.

“So…” she said, not really at ease with the chit-chat routine, “what’s up ? Any big party to be planned soon ?”

She felt so far away from all of this. She was sure Sorenza wouldn’t understand because this, the party planning, was the only thing she ever experienced in life. But Savannah wished she would get it someday. Sorenza was her only family now.

[Ouf, c'est challenging Laughing

]

The Di Laurentis’ are a classy family, always respecting the social conventions. Sorenza’s not like that, even if she hides it with great talent. The Di Laurentis’ were very strict with their daughter’s education, maybe too much. Sorenza never followed their rules and they never discovered it. But, there is one thing she took from her parents without rejecting it. Like her parents, Sorenza doesn’t like change, except in decoration and fashion.

And the thing is, she’s facing change every time she sees her lovely pregnant sister Savannah. The best way she found to deal with it, is simply to ignore that change occurring to her sister. It’s obviously kinda hard to ignore that huge belly for sure, even more when you’ve known that girl a few months ago, when she was as thin as a model. But the worse part of that pregnancy was that Savannah’s behavior was drastically becoming something Sorenza hated, it was dull. She became a waitress, lives in a small flat with her cute doggie, waits for her baby and never wants to go out as they used to. According to Sorenza this was the definition of dullness, and she felt powerless to change that situation. Thus, she was tying hard to get Savannah to the old fancy places she used to love, just in case the old Savannah would decide to kick the new one’s ass.

“Well, work is… you know… absorbing. I have to settle everything for this fashion show for next week. Luana bags and accessories. They have so many amazing things, you should totally come! I can give you a front row seat, near the bathroom if you still have those nauseas!”

Even if her little sister hadn’t answered yet, Sorenza knew from the look on her face it was going to be a ‘No, thank you. I have to work’. The waitress brought Savannah’s tea and Sorenza’s coffee, she instantly paid the bill and asked for a glass of water.

“Oh, and by the way, Teresa asked how you were and she says hello!” Teresa was there nanny/maid, the only one that was happy to see Savannah like this. She said she was gaining more maturity and all stupid things like that. Of course, the parents didn’t say anything, Savannah had become a taboo name. Sorenza purposely didn’t mention them.

[Very challenging! j'ai l'impression d'être trop rouillée là! Laughing

]

Savannah just nodded. As if she looked good enough to sit front row at a fashion show. As if anybody but Sorenza wanted her there.

Of course, they were not celebrities or anything, but for the happy few that gravitate in their circle, the Di Laurentis were at the top of the pyramid. They were neither actors, nor musicians nor even were they models but they did rule the city. That name would probably sound familiar to any Roman, although he wouldn’t know where he heard it – for someone with a little power and money, the Di Laurentis’ were the equivalent of the Medici family. If the Di Laurentis' came to a restaurant opening, it basically meant that the restaurant was going to get good press. If they came back, whoa, it meant it'd get a star. If Savannah were ever spotted at this fashion show, the consequences would be those of a tsunami and her parents would resent her even more, only if it be possible. How dare she be here, attracting the flashes and cameras, her belly like a full moon hypnotizing the audience, raising questions and suddenly reminding everyone that she’d been MIA for months.

Then Savannah just smiled. She used to loathe Teresa, she was so old school, always sticking to the tradition and all that stuff that smelled like old dusty fabric. Not only had they to sneak up on their parents, they also had to take the Teresa factor into account because she would certainly tell their parents they went out. Fortunately, they never had to blackmail her to put her to silence.

Savannah’s look crossed Sorenza’s. It was somehow between angry and bored. It was weird. Savannah had always been cheerful, smiley, always chatting around and giggling – which she would still be on occasion, but today, the cute and nice Savannah appeared only around Gino’s bar sirena. The only place she felt safe in a very long time. Right now she just couldn’t party anymore, because she’d get tired, and thirsty and grumpy, but she knew, deep down, that she would be able to do that again. It would be different, of course, because she wouldn’t get drunk just for the sake of drinking, but she would enjoy herself anyways. It would just be different and Sorenza didn’t seem to get that.

“Oh come on, Sorenza,” she said, “you seriously think I’d be welcomed at your fashion show ? I can’t even afford to buy one of their wallet anymore ! And what would the parents said if they saw me there ? I’m pretty sure they’d buy me a plane ticket for Switzerland and believe me, it’s not so that I could go ski.”

Sorenza is kind-hearted and generous with the people she loved but she has quite a temper and often looses it. That’s one of the consequences of being a spoiled brat your whole life, you’re used to have everything you want whenever you want and you just can’t take no for an answer. Savannah didn’t say no, but everything from her look to her posture smelt ‘no-ish’. Her tone was dry and curt and Sorenza couldn’t stand that.

“Well, maybe a trip to Switzerland would clear your ideas!" Sorenza began. "Aren’t you tired of thinking everyone would look at you and judge your huge belly like ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the pregnant Di Laurentis girl! The one that got screwed in every way!’. Stop it Savannah, you’re not the only pregnant socialite in Rome! Now people are more interested in Lindsay Lohan’s detoxification than you and your pregnancy…”

It’s been 5 months since Savannah was kicked out of the family mansion. At the beginning everyone was interested by this scoop. ‘One of the greatest family of Rome is going to have one little bastard in a few months’, everyone loved those kinds of headlines. Sorenza’s receptions always attracted numerous paparazzis or journalists looking for juicy news about that. Sorenza had to deal with them and her job while Savannah was hiding in her seedy bar. She couldn’t say she was not welcome since she hadn’t tried, even once, to confront those people while Sorenza was always trying to protect her by calming the press, saying that her little sister was tired and had to get some rest for the baby’s sake.

But now, all this was over. Nobody was still concerned with that story, people had moved on with their lifes and interests. The only persons still dealing with that were their parents and since Savannah didn’t seem to have the will to fight for her place in the family…

“Seriously… So what?" She asked, looking her sister right in the eyes. "Mom and Dad would see you, they would be angry and would ask you to leave immediately. You’re a big girl, you can stand up to them, you can tell them all the love you feel for your baby like you told me, you can try and talk to them but you won’t even think about it because they kicked you out and you assume they hate you. You’re not the one in the family that has to deal with Mom’s tears when she sees a photo of you. So please, Savannah, stop acting like you’re a victim and like you’ve done everything you could…”

“Oh right, as if you’ve ever fought for anything in your life! You don’t even know what conflict means because everything had been handed to you on a silver plate.”

Sorenza wouldn’t take no for an answer, but anyways, very few people ever dared to refuse her anything. Sorenza embodied the whole family, her subordinates feared her as much as they admired her for her beauty, for her witty mind, and somehow, for her talent. She made her way to the top without directly working for her father or following the steps of her mother. She had succeeded in being an individual of her own while Savannah only remained a shadow.

“Everyone judged me from the beginning Sorenza! I’ve never been a part of this family or at least mum and dad never showed me I was. If they care that much, why don’t they contact me? I’ve had to prove myself every single day of my life to show you and the world that I deserved the chance that was given me when they adopted me. I’m not doing that any longer. I’ve found a new family who makes me feel cherished and safe, something no one ever did before.”

Bringing up the ‘I’m adopted’ issue was a bad idea and she knew it. Sorenza and Savannah always made a point of never noticing they were different, or at least never thinking about it. They were sisters and that was all. But recently, they drifted apart and couldn’t seem to find a common ground anymore. They were bound by what they parents had put them through, the dinners, the charities, sitting straight on their chairs, never put their elbows on the table, always use the spoon from the plate to the mouth… But did they even share more than just the fact of living in the same house?

Savannah added sugar to her tea and started stirring it with her spoon, nervously clicking it to the side of the cup.

“You should tell them that. You should tell them that I’m happy now – I’m back in the gutter where they found me. It’s where I belong.”

[

]

“You knew what it was like in this world before you went MIA, and you dare saying that everything is handed on a silver plate? Why that? Because I fought to get to that position and you know that! You know that when you’re the daughter of THE Roman family every step you take can be your fall, and you know what I have to deal, each day of my life to keep it that way.”

Savannah always thought Sorenza was just a giddy blondie used to have whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. She never denied her talent or her wit but since her little sis tasted the “other world” Sorenza knew Savannah felt like she had nothing in common with her anymore. The worst thing was that Savannah thought she never had anything in common with her adoptive sister, or family, she thought she was never a part of this family, as if Sorenza and her parents never showed all the love they had for her.

“If you really think you were never a part of this family why did you stay so long? Why didn’t you run away before? If you don’t consider me your sister why are we still seeing each other and sipping tea every now and then? You completely irrational Savannah…”

They both went silent, Sorenza was contemplating her coffee while Savannah was stirring her tea and clicking her spoon on the side of her cup. This soon get on Sorenza’s nerves but she stood still. She always hated to fight with Savannah, they both were very close, that was probably why their fights were always quite heated. Usually, Sorenza was the kind of girl that loves to fight just because she always had the ability to destroy the opponent. However, she felt guilty each time she went after her sister, she wasn’t able to resent her as much as she resent other people even if she was mad at her.

“For your record, they didn’t find you in a gutter… You were at the hospital… And the best hospital in Rome by the way, so I wouldn’t call that a gutter…”

She took her coffee and sipped it quietly for a few seconds. She, the, finished it entirely and sighed loudly.

“Anyway, I’m tired of fighting with you. I get your point, you don’t feel part of the family, you think I’m some kind of spoiled brat, that we never loved you and blah blah blah. Fine, I’ll leave you alone for now on if that’s what you want.”

[c'est complétement pourri A falling through [R.] 628228

]