Tales From the Front by Cheryl Lavin

Italy has always been one of the most romantic countries in the world. But Gloria! This is ridiculous!

Today's tale begins three years after Gloria's divorce. That's when she fell in love with Lino, Italian No. 1. He was the chief engineer of a cargo ship, the Capo Faro, and lived in Italy.

"The love was mutual. He said he wanted to marry me. We went out every night until his ship sailed.

But after a few months of corresponding, he stopped writing. I was devastated, but I refused to give up hope."

Then Gloria met Guido, Italian No. 2.

"We dated a few times while he was in Chicago. He was good-looking and had a great sense of humor."

Guido (No. 2) also lived in Italy. He invited Gloria to visit him and meet his parents and siblings and stay at their home for a few days.

"I agreed, hoping I'd get to see Lino (No. 1), too, and find out if there was still a chance for us."

Gloria took a ship to Italy, the Cristoforo Colombo.

"It seemed like there were 10 guys for every girl. I had the time of my life. Of all the men who paid attention to me, the two main ones were the purser (it was strictly forbidden, but he did it anyway) and Silvio, another passenger."

Silvio, Italian No. 3, asked Gloria to visit him at his home in Bologna after she saw Guido (No. 2) and, maybe, Lino (No. 1).

"I said no for fear of making Guido and Lino jealous. Silvio said he loved me and pleaded with me to change my mind. He literally got down on his knees and begged me, but I was adamant. My love for Lino was too great."

Guido (No.

"Needless to say, I refused."

By the time they said goodbye, four days later, he was no longer speaking to her."

"I contacted Lino (No. 1). He drove me and all my luggage in his tiny car over the mountains to La Spezia, near Romito Magra, his tiny home 'town.'

"We checked into a little hotel, and then he dropped the bombshell. He could never marry me because I was used to a big city. Romito Magra consisted of three streets. His home, where he and his mother lived, was called a palazzo, a palace, because it had two stories. The women in the town didn't have washing machines. They used washboards in a community vessel that looked like a giant horse trough."

"To get an education, my three children would have to attend boarding school in La Spezia, the nearest big city. He said he loved me and that I was everything to him, but I could never survive there. Then he told me he decided to marry a girl he grew up with."

Gloria's return trip to America was sad. There were no eligible men. Well, just Marcello, the ship's doctor (Italian No. 4), with whom she had a chaste but nevertheless forbidden fling.

"I spent most of the voyage regretting my decision not to meet Silvio (No. 3) in Bologna. Of all of the painful human emotions, the most painful is remorse."

Have you ever dated or married some one from a different country? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to cheryllavin@aol.com. You can visit her blog at www.talesfromthefront.com. To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

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