Chapter 80
Ihadn’t realized how long it had been since I’d eaten, which had only made my stress worse. I began to feel more like myself after a little food.
And oh my god – the food!
Caterina was wonderful. She started me off with a bowl of ribolitta that was the best I’d ever had, along with a small plate of cheeses, prosciutto, and olives.
Then she ladled out some pollo alla cacciatora she’d been making for dinner. The hearty stew of chicken, tomato, onions, and celery was fragrant with rosemary, sage, and bay leaf, and the meat was so tender it fell off the bone.
Paired with a glass of absolutely delicious red wine, I was in heaven.
Or as close as I could be after a day like today.
The kitchen was very comfortable. Though all the appliances were expensive enough to belong in the fanciest of restaurants, the kitchen island felt homey and cozy.
I sat on a stool as I ate at the island. Alessandra sat next to me as Caterina puttered around.
We talked as I ate. Thankfully, they avoided what had happened that morning and instead asked me questions about dating Giorgio.
“Did he take you to the Boboli Gardens?” Caterina asked.
I looked at her in surprise. “You know about that?!”
“Of course! In fact, he asked us what we – ”
“Cat!” Alessandra whispered.
Cat looked embarrassed. “Oh shit – was I not supposed to say anything about it?”
I laughed. “It’s okay – Giorgio told me he asked everybody for their recommendations. I just didn’t realize he meant everybody.”
“How was it?” Cat asked dubiously. “The Gardens, I mean.”
“It was actually pretty funny.”
Alessandra and Cat both stared at me.
“‘Funny’?” Alessandra asked in disbelief.
“Yeah,” I said, and told them all of Giorgio’s jokes about the statues.
The one about the proctology exam and the Renaissance version of Pornhub really brought the house down.
“Oh my god!” Cat said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Well, that goes right along with Lucia’s suggestion.”
“Cat!” Alessandra whispered again.
“Whaaaat?!” Cat said frantically. “Why do you keep doing that?!”
“It’s okay,” I said, and laughed again. “Giorgio told me she suggested we have sex in the bushes.”
Cat chuckled. “Yeah… so, did you?”
She meant it to be funny –
But I just sat there in silence and blushed bright red.
“OH MY GOD, YOU HAD SEX IN THE BOBOLI GARDENS?!” Cat squealed.
Alessandra didn’t shush her this time. She just stared at me with a wide-open mouth.
“Oh my god,” I said and covered my face in shame. Funny shame, but shame nonetheless.
Caterina leaned over and whispered, “Was it hot?”
I peeked out from between my fingers. After a second’s pause, I nodded.
“Tell us everything!” Caterina hooted.
“I can’t tell you that!” I whispered.
“You brought it up, so I think you obviously want to,” Cat said playfully.
“Nooooo,” I said, shaking my head.
“Come on.”
“Nope.”
“Come onnnnnn.”
“No!” I said, but I was laughing.
“You know that once Lucia finds out, she’s going to badger you non-stop until you tell her. And then she’s gonna tell us, so you might as well cut out the middleman.”
“I don’t want to offend anybody…”
Cat pshawed. “You’re not going to offend me! I live for this shit!”
I looked over at Alessandra’s rosary, which sat on the counter next to her. “Um…”
“What, that?” Cat said, and waved her hand. “Don’t let Alessandra fool you, looking all innocent. She snuck in and looked at Don Rosolini’s schlong the second day she was here, before they were sleeping together.”
“CAT!” Alessandra yelped. Now it was her turn to blush crimson.
“Well?! You did!”
“You sent me up there!” Alessandra protested.
“To deliver food, not to check out his package! In the shower, no less!”
“CAT – !”
But I barely heard them.
I had gotten distracted by something Cat had said…
And all the blood drained from my face.
Alessandra noticed first. She put a hand on mine in concern. “Are you alright?”
“I… yeah…”
“You look like you saw a ghost!” Cat exclaimed.
“No, I…”
“What?” Cat asked, concerned. “What was it?”
“Just… when you said… ‘Don Rosolini.’”
Both women froze.
Cat glanced at Alessandra. Then she looked back at me and started babbling.
“I meant Dario. Her husband. We just call him that sometimes. You know, like, ‘Lord Rosolini!’ Cuz – ” She gestured around at the house. “Duh! Mansion! Like a… medieval lord or…”
She trailed off, then pointed back towards the front of the house. “You know what? They’re taking an awful long time in there, so I think I’m just gonna go check on them and see if they need anything.”
Cat hustled out of the kitchen, leaving Alessandra and me alone.
I looked at Alessandra fearfully. “I… I didn’t mean to…”
I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Alessandra gave me a kind smile. “Giorgio already told us that you figured it out. ”
I stared at her in shock. “Did he tell you everything about me?!”
Alessandra laughed. “He was quite taken with you from the very beginning. And he wanted advice.”
“What else did he ask for advice about?”
My mind immediately went to all the little gifts he had given me – the origami, the troll doll, the necklace.
I felt sick at thinking that maybe all those things I treasured – the things that made me fall in love with him – had been at the suggestion of a mafia family.
“Oh… just the date, really. And the whole…” Alessandra paused. “…complicated part.”
“Can I… can I ask you a question?” I asked timidly.
“Of course.”
“You have a rosary,” I said, pointing to it on the counter.
“Yes.”
“But… you’re married to… someone who…”
I trailed off as I saw the change in Alessandra’s expression.
Her smile froze in place – but I could see the panic in her eyes.
“I’m sorry – I shouldn’t have said anything,” I murmured.
“No, it’s fine,” she said, but I could tell it wasn’t.
“No,” I said, ashamed. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I really shouldn’t have said – ”
“It’s…” Alessandra interrupted, then paused. “…it’s hard.”
I looked at her, afraid to say anything.
“You think maybe you can learn to live with it… and you can… as long as you can ignore it,” she said, her eyes focusing off somewhere in the distance. “But things keep happening where you can’t ignore it. Eventually, you’re forced to face it… again and again and again…”
“Why did you marry him, then?” I whispered.
She stopped staring into the distance and looked at me like she was surprised to find me there.
Then she smiled sadly. “For love.”
“…is that enough?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Enough for what?”
“Enough to… to deal with the things that scare you?”
She looked at the rosary, then touched one of the beads and rubbed it like she was in deep thought.
“…I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I think so. I hope so… but I don’t know for sure.”
I sat there in utter silence.
It was probably the most profound conversation of my entire life…
And it filled me with dread.
Then, from far down the hallway, I heard the sound of men’s voices intermingled with Cat’s.
They were coming to the kitchen.
Alessandra heard them, too. The spell broken, she looked at me again. “Giorgio’s a good man. He has a good heart.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“But in the end… you have to make the decision that’s right for you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She nodded and smiled sadly.
Suddenly the door burst open, and a whole crowd of people streamed in.
Lucia was at the head of the pack. “You fucked Giorgio in the Boboli Gardens and you didn’t even TELL me?!”
“Yeah,” Bianca agreed, “what the hell! There was an hour between Florence and here, and you never mentioned it once!”
“I didn’t mean to tell them – I swear!” Cat wailed. “It just slipped out!”
I burst out in a mortified laugh.
Valentino came in after the women, grinning like a movie star. “Okay, I’ve done some crazy shit in my day, but I’ve never done THAT in the Boboli Gardens. Spill.”
“Oh my God,” I cried out as I buried my head in my hands.
I was thankful that Dario –
Don Rosolini –
Wasn’t with them.
And I noticed that though Alessandra pretended to join in the merriment…
She held the rosary next to her pregnant belly, clutching the tiny crucifix like she was hanging on to it for dear life.