Fly Away Home

This story is by Hannah Custer and was part of our 2024 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.

Dalia Rossi, a twenty-seven-year-old brunette, muttered under her breath for the hundredth time since leaving the airport that morning. “Why did I agree to this? I’m doing fine. Nash has nothing to worry about. I haven’t been back because my schedule is a mess. That’s all.”

 She parked her rental car and glanced at her phone. “You’re the one who wanted me to be here, Nash. I’m giving this town another shot, but if you don’t show up, I’m going to kill you. Everyone else can go rot.” Then she thought about the people she graduated with and reluctantly admitted, “Maybe not everyone. I’d love to see Tobias.”

Dalia stepped out and then walked with as much confidence as she could towards a quaint Italian restaurant that was the gem of her hometown. She hesitated at the door, but as she stepped inside the lobby, the smell of freshly baked bread soothed her nerves.

As she glanced around, Dalia begged the soft pangs in her chest to stop. She could almost hear her mom and dad’s laugh from the next room. Her throat threatened to choke her with emotion, but she twisted the familiar weight of her dad’s wedding band around her thumb, and it eased. 

 A woman jumped up from her seat in a large banquet room and exclaimed, “Dalia!” As she approached, this woman dwarfed her in height and stature. The taller woman reached her arms around Dalia and pulled her close.

Dalia was slightly intimidated until she saw the all-too-familiar face. She coughed to clear her throat and begged her face to show a genuine smile: “Hi Nash! Thank goodness.”

 Nash enthusiastically muttered into her ear in a rush. “Ladybug, I’m so glad you’re here! When did you get home? Where are you staying? Who picked you up? Why didn’t you call me?” 

The tension radiating from Dalia dissolved as she could do nothing to dissuade her former classmate’s affections. With no other choice, Dalia returned the hug and told her. “I took an Uber, and I’m staying at a hotel. It’s second nature to me now I didn’t want to get in your way. I have leave again tomorrow to make it back in time for a flight out of Denver-“

Nash whined loudly. “Tomorrow? But you just got here.” She leaned back from the hug and said, “How can I tell you everything you’ve missed in one evening? I have so much to fill you in on.” Nash pulled her towards the table.

A low buttery voice crooned from the doorway. “Breathe for a second, Nash. I’m sure Dalia wants to know everything you’ve been up to, but you’re smothering her.” 

Nash turned to the man who slid into the chair at Dalia’s other side and insisted. “Come on, Tobias. Of all people, you should understand.”

The young man tossed his hood back, revealing a full head of black curls, bright eyes, and a Roman nose. He joked. “Join the club, Nash. We’ve got T-shirts. They all say ‘Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly away home’ on the chest.”

Dalia shook her head at his teasing, but Nash loved the idea and begged Tobias to do it. He conceded and told them both conspiringly, “I’ll whip up some designs, and you’ll have to tell me which one you like best.” Then, to Dalia, he whispered. “Nash and I will wear them next time we pick you up.”

Dalia felt her face warming up with a blush and said. “You don’t have to do that.”

Tobias lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Ladybug, I’m more embarrassed that we haven’t thought of something like this before. If it would be the tipping point on whether you come home, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

 Just as Dalia started to ask Tobias more about himself and what he’s been up to, a server came around and asked for drink orders. Dalia tried to settle in and stayed quiet, watching her former classmates interact. 

Noticing the change, Tobias dug a pen out of his pocket, wrote on his napkin, and then pushed it toward Dalia. “If you think we’re pushing too hard, just tell me off. I’m a big boy now. I can take it.”

Dalia looked up from the note, and Tobias flexed his arms playfully. Then, she stole his pen. “Have you changed that much? I remembered you being a big softie.” 

Tobias read the note and tapped the pen against his lips, taking his time. He winked at her when he noticed she was waiting for his reply. He jotted something down and handed it over.

Dalia gently stole the pen from his outstretched hand but didn’t respond immediately, making Tobias twitchy. Dalia wrote something down and slid it to him, but Nash intercepted and read the note. She then made her best impression of a teacher that the group instantly recognized. “Passing notes? How rude. How scandalous. I won’t have it.” Then she returned the note to Tobias, who read it and slipped it into his breast pocket with a childish grin.

Eventually, a middle-aged woman came to take their dinner orders. Tobias and Nash playfully tried to bully the waitress into letting either of them take the bill for the other two.

To the waitress’s credit, she only gave in once she recognized Dalia. To the entire table’s surprise, Tobias spoke to her in fluent Italian. The woman pinched his cheek and told the trio. “Miss Rossi’s dinner is on the house. I insist.” She turned to Dalia and patted her shoulder. “Welcome home, bellezza. You’re always welcome here. Your parents would be so proud of the lovely lady you’ve grown to be.”

When the waitress left, Dalia and Nash stared at Tobias. Nash spoke up first. “What was that? When did you learn Italian?”

Tobias shrugged, “My nonna tried to teach me, but most of it was to impress a girl I knew in high school. She always talked about going to Italy.”

One of their classmates egged him on playfully. “What’s she doing now? Do you keep in touch? I heard she was your first love.” 

Tobias confessed, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I can tell you she’s doing well as a flight attendant now.”

Thankfully, the rest of the dinner went without a hitch, though Nash hogged the garlic bread on their end of the table, and Tobias playfully scoffed at her while squirreling away some of it for Dalia and himself. The others brought up some of their favorite memories. There were band concerts and football games. They tried to bring out the best of what they remembered and dance around the topics and people they’d prefer to forget. 

As the evening wore on, each person left, giving each their best wishes. Then, after being ushered out to the parking lot, there were only three. 

Tobias made another joke as they stood beside his car. Dalia’s face almost felt sore from laughing. She muttered under her breath. “How am I supposed to go back after this?”

Nash put her hands on her hips. “That’s the point!”

Tobias put his arm around Nash’s shoulder. Nash readied herself to argue her case with Dalia, but one look at Tobias was enough to deflate her. Nash asked. “What?”

Tobias asked. “Give me a minute to talk to her?”

Nash nodded and folded her arms across her chest with resignation.

Tobias gripped Dalia’s hands and softly said, “After your parents died and you graduated, you left for flight attendant training like you were strapped to a rocket. Since then, this place, this town, hasn’t felt like home. It’s been ten years, and you’re probably more comfortable in a dozen different airports than anywhere else.”

Dalia reluctantly nodded, trying to look anywhere but Nash or Tobias’s face.

Tobias reached into his pocket and pulled out the note. He told her. “I have damning evidence right here, Miss Rossi, that you’ve been wanting to come home for some time, but you didn’t know where home was.”

Tobias turned the note over and recited. “If you wanted me, I could be anything, Ladybug.” He paused and added. “Be my home, my person. ”    

Dalia confessed. “I don’t want to give this place a second chance. I can come back here, but it’s not home without you two.”

Nash jumped in. “We could meet you anywhere. You know, for holidays? Or… what’s the capital of Italy?” She turned to Dalia with her best pleading face.

Dalia sputtered between giggles. “Rome, you silly.”

Nash gathered Dalia in a bear hug. “We’ll go to Rome for Christmas. It’s a promise.”

Tobias shook his head and tried to break them apart. “I don’t think you understand at all. Unhand her, Nash!”

Dalia was taken from Nash’s arms and fully engulfed by Tobias. He murmured into Dalia’s hair as Nash pouted, “Welcome home, Vita Mia.”