Love Struck (2 page)

The Waitress returned with their
breakfast in her finely manicured hands. Paulo analysed her thoroughly with a
close probing eye, he was not imagining things, there was no doubt in his mind,
she definitely looked like Sara Sarracini.

Her appearance was uncanny, like
gazing at her exact double. There was always a doppelgänger of someone,
somewhere in the world, and this was Sara's.

“Buon Appetito.” she said, placing
their orders down on the table, her cheeriness was at its peak, the meal would
be tasting that extra sweeter with her sugar coating.

“Thanks.” gleaned Paulo, he was
smitten by her and who she resembled to him.

“Thank you.” Gloria put on a smile,
she could see her boyfriend idolizing the bleach blonde waitress, her intuition
told her he was picturing his superstar. She would be putting on a show soon
enough, she could feel it.

The Waitress was about to leave them
to their breakfast in peace, she had other famished guests to work up their
ravenous appetites a great notch. She would be leaving him, he was running out
of time, Paulo built up the courage to tell her what was stuck in his mind
since first laying eyes on her, he wouldn't find any peace during the rest of
the vacation unless he told her who she resembled.

“Excuse me.” he heard the words
coming out quickly, he thought it was in his head, that was until he noticed
her react, he had actually said it.

She stopped, looked back to Paulo,
“Yes?” questioned the Waitress, wondering how else she could be of a service to
him and make his breakfast as pleasurable as ever.

He made it to this point, the hardest
part was over, he explained with added confidence, “I'm sure you get this all
the time but you remind me of a
certain famous actress.”

“Really?” the Waitress beamed, her
fluffy head was even more fluffier.

“Your similarity is phenomenal.”

Only one star sprang to her mind, she
was on the right wave length as her handsome guest “Could it be Sara
Sarracini?”

Paulo grinned, “The one and only.”

The Waitress smiled merrily, she was
being sent to the clouds above, that had made her day. “I get compared to Sara
Sarracini all the time. It's a true honour.”

“You're a fan too?” Paulo was
astonished, it was too good to be true.

He could have jumped for joy off the
table and cheered at the top of his voice, finally he found someone of his own
generation who was well accustomed to the unbridled talent of the national
treasure, Sara Sarracini. He had a soul mate to talk about his beloved star.

“Absolutely, from way back in the
seventies when I saw her first ever movie 'The Widow of Bolzano', she was a
true diva, like Marilyn Monroe herself. The
sign of a true natural talent.” The Waitress spoke fondly
about her idol, the woman who aspired her to dye her raven hair a golden
blonde, it worked wonders in attracting all sorts of attention, precisely the
desired result and craved demographic she was hoping for.

“Here, here.” cheered Paulo with
infinite exuberance. This was as lively as Gloria had seen him. He was like a
different person from  the guy she thought she knew.

“I was an instant fan.” she declared
with much humility.

“I bet you can't wait for her new
movie.” he was positive she would be anticipating their favourite star's
glorious return with much eagerness as himself.

“I'm ecstatic. Finally she's came
back and about time too.” her anticipation was on par with his own.

The Waitress could have stayed at the
table and talked about Sara Sarracini until her shift ended then resumed the
conversation during her free time but duty called, she could see a family enter
the restaurant. “I've got to run. It's been a pleasure meeting another fan of
Sara Sarracini.”

She hurried to her post and greeted
the family at their table. The teenage son and the father were more than
pleased to be served by such a beguiling woman of her radiance and stature, it
was turning out to be an even more pleasant stay than it already was. The
mother and eighteen year old daughter did not look at the Waitress in the same
awestruck light.

“What a nice woman.” Paulo remarked,
his eyes were glued on her as he took a bite out of his anise ring.

“Just remember who your girlfriend
is.” came a subtle warning
masquerading as a friendly reminder from Gloria to her distracted boyfriend.

His preoccupied attention on the
Waitress was brought to a sudden end, he was thrust back into the real world
and the girlfriend he had been neglecting. Paulo could detect the livid
jealousy on her face, she was giving him one extreme stern glare. He chuckled,
she was too adorable when she was envious, “You're not jealous are you?”

Gloria attempted to hide her blatant
jealously to no avail, she didn't want him to think of it as something amusing.
“No, of course not.”

Paulo would put her silly envy to a
rest, he took her hand, filled her with assurance with his charming gaze
“Gloria, you're the only one for me. Honest.”

There was no possible way she could
have stayed mad at him, his warm secure words melted her jealously into a
dissolving pool. It was already distant from Gloria's mind. “I know. I just
can't help getting
jealous
sometimes. I can't bear the thought of you falling in
love with someone else.”

He put his hand on her cheek, gently
stroked her soft, silky face, his touch eased her gargantuan qualms into the
insignificant speck it really was. “I will never leave you for anyone.”

“What if she's a fan of Sara
Sarracini?” Gloria had to ask, she
wouldn't find her peace during the rest of the vacation until she knew and
could put it behind her for the rest of her life.

“Don't be silly.” he answered quickly
and directly, she had nothing to worry about.

“What if she looks like Sara
Sarracini?” came the next
scrutinizing question of insecurity.

“No way.” as before, he replied back
with the same quickness and directness, her worries were dropping fast.

“What if she is Sara Sarracini?”
Gloria presented the ultimate question, one that would prove if his loyalty was
reserved solely to her.

“Of course not. I only have eyes
for you.” he proved her right, he
once again answered quick and direct, showing he may have admired his starlet
but Gloria was the only girlfriend for him.

Gloria's insecurity faded into
obscurity, he had made her overwhelmingly pleased, she could hardly retain her
tiding emotions for him, “Oh, I love you.”

“I love you too.” he said warmly, his
deep fondness for her was felt when saying the grandest words ever formed to
create an incomparable sentence with such monumental beauty.

She embraced him, spilling her
cappuccino in the process. She didn't care, her boyfriend was more important.

Paulo looked up in deep thought, lost
in a fantasy projected in his staring gaze. He was imagining what it would have
been like if Sara Sarracini had come to this little big tropical slice of
heaven and more importantly, during her stay in paradise, ran into her biggest,
devoted fan and struck up a beautiful and passionate romance the likes of which
no one had ever seen. He longed for it to come true, to show the star he
admired her, the most, proving just how unconditional his devotion for her was.
Being with the woman of his secret, private dreams, it would have been out of
this world, he wouldn't have known how to react, it would have been like
winning the lottery, so unbelievable and hard to imagine actually happening,
but the fact it did made it the greatest fortune to bestow on one's life.

He would have been the most happiest
and most fortunate young man to be put on this earth to be able to have the
most magnificent and most dear woman of all existence in his life, one he would
always treasure in his rapidly beating heart, always and forever. Sara
Sarracini, his lily of all the lilies. She would be a lucky woman with a great
fortune if she had Paulo, he could absolutely guarantee it.

The likelihood of it coming true was
slim, his rational side reminded him of that, but he was aware himself, hence
why it was called a fantasy. The chances of Sara Sarracini coming to this
island among all the other resorts to spend her vacation was highly unlikely.
Paulo could dream though, there was no law of nature that could prevent him
from dreaming about the vacation and the romance of a lifetime.

That said, he did secretly yearn for
his deepest wish to come true every time he thought of her and himself together
as one great item. He would have been in for a big surprise if it did. So would
Gloria.

A luxury cruise ship, the top of the
line in its stately design and grand baronial scale, housing only the most very
important of people on the face of the earth, sailed majestically along the
deep blue sea, it dazzled equally to the bright hot sun gleaming over its gold,
black and white surface.

Patrons of all ages bathed beside the
immense pool filled with crystalline sky blue cool water reflected off the heat
of the sun, granting those who dived in some shelter from the baking hotness.
For others, the heat of the bearing sun was ideal for a tan. The pool was alive
with high societal guests playing, swimming and socializing in and around the
pool.

Of all the VIP passengers, only one
stood above the rest and was deserving of the title. She was the most very
important person on the entire cruiser, a real mega sized star that was prized
among the ship, she was all anyone talked about, they were all humbled from the
lowly crew to the high paying passengers, they were all obscured by her great
shadow cast from her dazzling, one of a kind splendour.

Tommaso, a kind hearted man, a close
friend, and a dedicated personal assistant to his illustrious diva was at the
bar, standing under the shack decorated in colourful plants, and even more
colourful cocktails. The tanned, skinny bartender, Luigi, handed him a long
island iced tea for their lovely stellar passenger.

“Compliments of the cruise.” the
Bartender stated graciously. The personal assistant was indeed complimented by
the ship's generosity towards his superstar, and so was she.

“Thank you so much.” Tommaso smiled,
kindly taking the long, slender glass from the Bartender's glossy, tanned hand.

“It's our way of saying that we're
all honoured to have Ms. Sarracini on board. We're all pleased to see her
return to cinema and we're all looking forward to seeing her new
film.” The Bartender said, speaking
on behalf of the entire ship and not just his own mutual feelings towards her.

Tommaso was pleased to hear that.
“She'll be very touched to hear that.”

Tommaso got ready to walk off and
deliver another free token of the vessel's courtesy to the honourable Sara
Sarracini. His forward motion was stopped by the Bartender calling out to him.
“One last thing.” he added spontaneously, they weren't through talking just
yet.

Tommaso pulled himself back to the
wooden counter, almost spilling the iced tea with his sudden stop and turn. He
carefully placed the glass on the bar, “Go on.”

The Bartender didn't want to be a
bother but he couldn't let an opportunity like this slip past him, he might
never have got another chance. “You and Ms. Sarracini have been
getting these requests all the time,
I don't want to be a bother but could Ms. Sarracini sign an autograph for me?
My friends
would all go
crazy.”

Every time he received a request for
an autograph, the happier he was for his beloved Sara Sarracini, it was a joy
to see her fans were as loyal and strong as they were back in the glory days of
their careers “Sure. It won't be a bother. Just write your name and she'll
write one for you. She'll be more than
happy and please, call her Sara.”

The Bartender was lost for words, it
was like his dream had come true, he avidly wrote down his name and handed the
paper to him. Tommaso tried hard not to spill the drink as he leaned over and
took the scribbled napkin off the Bartender.

“You have no idea how much this means
to me.” the Bartender said ecstatically, he hadn't been this excited since he
was a boy on the eve of his birthday.

Tommaso picked up the long glass and
got ready to walk off, he was suddenly stopped by the Bartender again.

“Wait.” he added spontaneously again,
they still weren't through talking just yet.

Tommaso jumped at the sudden
outburst, the glass slipped out his hand, not able to react in time, he saw it
fall from his grasp and smash off the floor.

“Sorry, I'll make you another one.”
said the Bartender gingerly, he really needed to say it calmer and not give
people a shock with his unprompted blow-ups. A man of his word, he prepared
another iced tea.

“What did you forget?” Tommaso
inquired, calming his jolted nerves.

The Bartender finished the drink,
placed the fresh new glass on the counter.

“Oh, it was a little request.” The
Bartender stalled, he was too nervous to tell him.

“Don't be shy, what is it?” he had
heard many varied requests from various fans, there was nothing he could say
that would be too much for him or Sara to handle.

The Bartender let it out, “If it's
possible, could Sara sign a photo of herself?”

“Sara has some photos for signing,
it won't be a problem.”

Tommaso got himself ready to take the
drink, he noticed the look on the Bartender's face and stopped himself from
taking a hold of it, his anxious tanned features were a sign he had something
else he wanted from her. To save himself another startling accident, he waited
for him to spit it out.”

“Oh.” added the Bartender. The
personal assistant's suspicion was right.

“Yes?” Tommaso was used to this, fans
too nervous to ask for their full requests. It demanded much patience to chisel
away to reach the proper request.

The tanned face turned a shade of red
when he got straight to it, “Could it be a sexy photo? Like I said I want to
drive my friends so crazy
when they see it.”

“I'm sure Sara
has a sexy photo. I guarantee your friends will be
bright green
with envy.” smiled Tommaso, that wasn't so hard. So many hot blooded males
desired a sensual photograph of their darling starlet to get their blood even
hotter, they were only human and it would be hard for any man to resist Sara
Sarracini's  sensual prowess. Even he himself could not fight against her
powerful sensuality.