by Ruth Hay
Lucy shivered and replied in a quiet voice that she did not like the vibe after all the people suffered and died in there and she would rather find Juliet’s house.
Maria and Susan exchanged looks but did not try to discourage her. Ancient buildings sometimes had that effect on people. Maria was learning more about her daughter’s interests and sensitivities every day.
In spite of having a map to guide them, Lucy found it very difficult to track down Juliet’s house.
She had already announced that they would not see the tomb of Juliet as it was in the opposite direction, but both Romeo’s house and the Casa di Guilietta were reasonably close together and should be possibilities. Unfortunately, a combination of streets without anything approaching a safe sidewalk, and others that did not connect easily, resulted in confusion. While Maria and Susan were quite happy to wander in the general direction Lucy indicated, admiring whatever stately building or remarkable architecture presented itself along the way, Lucy grew more frustrated by the minute.
“I know it’s near here. I remember the name Via Capello because it sounds like Juliet’s cap.
It must be near here. I’ll check around this corner.”
By now, the sun was high in the sky and all three adventurers were glad to stumble into the Piazza delle Erbe where a sea of umbrellas covered market stalls and cafes could be found in the shade around the square. A refreshing lunch with salad, soft drinks and cool gelato soon restored their spirits and some careful inquiries by Maria pointed them in the correct direction for the elusive house of Juliet.
“The trouble is,” Lucy grumbled, “these squares and streets are so close together that you can’t see ahead to tell if you’re going in the right direction. I prefer Canada where it’s clear and open everywhere.”
Maria did not argue. She flipped open the large umbrella she had acquired from a stall while Susan was paying for lunch, and under its sun protection they finally found Via Capello and through an archway on a side street the façade of a house with unique, three-lobed windows and a stone balcony could be glimpsed, whenever the crowds moved away for a moment.
Lucy was ecstatic. She searched the walls until she found the place where letters had been left for the team of Italian women who were employed to retrieve and answer them.
Lucy was very curious about the contents of these letters. She waited until a young woman approached with a folded paper in her hand and asked her what she had written. The young woman was an American tourist who had also seen the movie so the two girls made instant friends and talked endlessly about their favourite parts and the hazards of young love.
Maria and Susan took refuge against the ivy-covered wall to the left of Juliet’s house and sat on the ground in the shade, sharing a bottle of mineral water Susan had been wise enough to purchase at the café.
Lucy and her new friend took photos of each other under Juliet’s balcony and exchanged emails and phone numbers for future contact. They spent minutes in front of the simple bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard discussing her height, clothes and hairstyle. Maria and Susan marveled at their instant friendship and overheard, with some relief, that the American girl had visited both Romeo’s house and Juliet’s tomb. She had advised Lucy to skip both of these locations as neither one compared to this site for dramatic effect.
On the train back to Bologna, Lucy entertained her mother and Susan with the story Claire, the American, had told her. It seemed that Claire was older than she looked and at the advanced age of 21 she had fallen in love no less than three times, to the despair of her two sisters and her parents. Each romance had turned out badly, leaving Claire with uncertainty about her choices. Her banker father, who seemed to have escaped the recent downturn in the American economy, had chosen to send his daughter far away to Italy where she was, hopefully, out of reach of another suitor.
The last romance resulted in a broken heart because Claire’s Romeo had spurned her for a younger, and according to Claire, an uglier, girl. This insult was not to be tolerated and Claire had taken her revenge. In the dead of night she had crept into her Romeo’s apartment using the key he had once entrusted to her. With scissors in hand she shredded every piece of clothing she could find and left the pile on the floor of the living room where Romeo and his new love could not fail to discover it on their return from a night at the movies.
Claire was basking in a feeling of satisfaction about this act, when, to her horror, she found out that the debris of her former lover’s clothing had been made into a viral video which was accompanied with a diatribe against Claire which assured she would never find another man to care for her.
Claire’s letter to Juliet was a plea for reassurance that she had the right to her revenge act. The letter concluded with a request for advice on what she could do to recover her status as ‘a nice girl’. Claire was determined to find the right guy and marry for life.
As Lucy approached the end of this story, the two senior women were doubled over with laughter, rocking the train carriage.
“Good luck with that!” burbled Susan.
“I can’t believe she could be so naïve!” exclaimed Maria.
“But, she was a really nice person,” insisted Lucy. “She just made some bad choices, I think.”
“Well, let that be a warning to you, my girl!” chuckled Maria, with a wagging finger pointed at Lucy. “In this age of social media, nothing is secret and bad choices can follow you forever and into places you would never expect.”
“Your mother is not joking, Lucy. It’s quite true what she is saying. If you sleep around or even get a reputation for fooling around, you could find it difficult to correct that impression for many years to come.”
Lucy looked pensive at this statement and finally asked, “I know it was easier to keep secrets in your day, Mom. There wasn’t any internet to spy on you. Was it the same when your mother and father came to Canada? How did they meet and fall in love?”
“I was just thinking about that the other day, Lucy. I don’t know the whole story about your grandparents, but I can tell you a part of it.
My mother learned to sew when she was a young girl. She trained with a seamstress in Bologna for several years then she was sent to New York to work for a cousin in the rag trade. She must have been skilled at her work because she ended up in a well-known American fashion house where she did alterations for clients who purchased their clothes from samples shown by showroom models. I remember my mother telling me how she got that job. She was told to select from a dozen bolts of cloth and return in two days with her own design of a size 2 sample suit for daywear.”
“Wow! That was quite a test for a young girl.”
“I think so too, Lucy. It was while she was working for the fashion house that she met and married my father. He was a long-distance driver who made deliveries of furs from Canada and when they found they were both from Italy the attraction was immediate.”
“So it was a love-at-first-sight situation?”
“I think so Lucy.”
“Well, that’s what I would like. A first love that lasts forever just like you and Aunt Susan found.”
“Don’t think it’s as easy as all that,” warned Susan. “A good relationship has to be worked at all the time. You are lucky to have such good parents and grandparents, my girl, and don’t you ever take them for granted. Just think …………… your talent, as well as your mother’s, comes from the grandmother who worked so hard in fashion.”
With this admonition to think about, silence descended on the carriage and all three thought of home and loved ones until each one fell asleep.
Chapter Eleven
At the villa, the next day after the Verona trip dawned with a cloud-covered sky and light rain falling.
Maria decided to take the delayed trip north to Milan and she started out very early, leaving notes for Lucy and Susan.
She preferred to spend the day on her own in order to accomplish more. The previous contacts she had
made by phone should make it easier to get around the busy city and she would hire a car and driver at the Milan train station. Bulk purchases would be sent on to Canada but any private purchases could be carried back to the train. She had a digital camera to photograph items that might be possible considerations later. This privilege was only granted to good customers and she was delighted to be able to do this kind of buying in person rather than by computer.
Maria took on her business persona as soon as she donned her smart navy suit for the day in Milan. Although she felt pleased with her progress toward connecting with Lucy, the familiarity of her work tasks was a comfort zone she could always retreat to.
She settled back in the express train and thought of the conversations of the day before. Lucy had, hopefully, heard some good advice along the way, from herself and Susan. Time would tell.
Before she put all domestic items out of her mind, she wondered if Susan would remember her promise to find out what Lucy was doing when she retreated upstairs for hours.
Both Lucy and Susan slept late and awoke to the gray, rainy weather and to Maria’s notes.
Lucy decided to have a lazy day and work on her project while her mother’s prying eyes were otherwise engaged.
Susan thought she would cook omelettes and pancakes for everyone in the villa then spend time with Jake before his daily appointment with Angela.
Her agenda for later in the day included a heart to heart with Lucy. It was clear to Susan that Maria was deeply concerned about her younger daughter and if there was any way to get through to Lucy, it would be a chance to return the favour Maria had granted when she generously invited them to the villa and set up the program for Jake.
Susan suspected that Lucy still had a lingering respect for her, related to the time they had spent together when Maria was busy with her store and Susan had worked part-time at the lawyers’ offices in London. Maria would drop Lucy off in the mornings and with the help of the dogs and Jake, Susan would entertain and educate the little girl until her father collected her at noon. Lucy relished the attention she got from the couple and both Susan and her husband loved the little girl who was like the child they never had.
Even after Lucy was of school age, they sometimes looked after her in the evenings when Paul was out of town and Maria was working the evening shift or involved in stocktaking chores.
The special contact lingered, and Susan often thought that Lucy behaved better in their house than she ever did at home.
The opportunity for quiet conversation arose after lunch, which was whole wheat pasta in a sauce so delicious that nothing more need be added to it. Lucy, Jake and Susan sat with Angela and the three aunties in the kitchen and talked together, with Angela’s language help.
Lucy was delighted that she was always referred to as “Bella Lucia.” She knew it meant she was beautiful and the compliment was all the more welcome because it reminded her of the Twilight movie’s main character, Bella.
Lucy followed Susan’s lead and helped to wash up the lunch dishes. While their hands were immersed in water it was easy for Susan to ask the question that would start the discussion with Lucy.
“Listen, sweetheart, what’s with you disappearing upstairs? Have you a secret boyfriend up there? A Romeo who ascends to the balcony?”
“That’s not too likely, Aunt Susan! He would have to be Spiderman, to climb these walls and there’s not much chance he wouldn’t be seen by someone before he reached my window.”
“Well then, what gives?”
Lucy put more force than was really necessary into dish drying while she considered this request. “Don’t tell Mom, OK?”
“My lips are sealed.”
“I have started painting and I don’t want anyone to see my work until I‘ve finished a series I’m working on.”
“That’s great news, Lucy! But why are you keeping it secret?”
“It’s just that I haven’t painted for years and I need to know I can do it well, before I share the pictures.”
“Seems like a reasonable request. Can I ask what the paintings are about?”
“They’re just views from the villa windows. I thought they would be a good present for my grandparents. Years ago my dad took photographs of the area for my grandma and she has kept the photos on display in their house in Toronto. I thought they might like an update.”
Susan stopped mopping up the tiled counter around the deep sink and turned her full attention on Lucy. “That’s a wonderful idea, Lucy! Your grandparents will love the paintings and they will take pride of place alongside your father’s photographs. How exciting for them to see talent come through in a new generation! They will be so proud, and so will your mother and father.”
“Hmm! That depends on whether the paintings are any good at all!”
“I won’t ask to see them yet, sweetheart, but I am sure they are brilliant since you have given your time and devotion to doing this for others. How do you feel about that?”
Lucy placed the last of the dishes on an open shelf and followed Susan to the patio doors where the rain could be seen falling steadily. They stood side by side looking out at the dripping foliage.
“I think it’s been strange being here without my friends at school and the usual stuff I do with them. It’s meant I have had more time to think.”
“It looks like that thinking has been about other people in your life, Lucy. Am I right?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“What conclusions have you come to, if I may ask?” Susan was afraid the conversation would end abruptly with Lucy stomping off upstairs again, so she was proceeding carefully.
“Well, I can’t help thinking about family. This place is just heaving with family and it makes me aware of how people depend on each other.”
“You mean like the way Angela has given up her time to help Jake?”
“Yeah, like that too. Mom just had to ask once and Angela stepped up to do a good turn for someone she didn’t even know. And I am beginning to see what this holiday is all about. I didn’t want to come at all at the start because I thought it was Mom’s way of getting more work time and I was just dragged along since Pop was away.”
“Have you changed your mind about that?”
“Well, Mom’s working In Milan today but she has done plenty stuff with me all week and she really wants to understand me instead of always being on my case.”
“I know your mother loves you very much, Lucy. She has been worried by the distance between you recently. She had to make some hard choices when you were young but she has more than made up for that, and now she hopes you will both be closer.”
Lucy suddenly realized she was being put on the spot to make a statement she was not yet ready for. She turned around and looked Susan right in the eyes for the first time since their conversation had begun. “Thanks for talking to me, Auntie Susan. I need to get back to my paintings now. Please remember your promise.”
Susan made the motion of zipping her lips and Lucy laughed out loud. It was something Susan had taught her when she was just little and they had to be especially quiet because Jake was asleep with the dogs by his side.
Lucy ran off, and Susan sighed. She had done what she could. Lucy was still a child in some ways but there were definite signs of maturity there.
When Maria arrived back at the villa, it was already night. She struggled out of the taxi with her parcels and bags and handed over a big tip when the driver went ahead of her and pulled the old handle that rang a bell inside the house.
Lucy and Susan opened the door at once and relieved Maria of her burdens, while asking her how her day had gone. Maria asked if she could sit down first before answering. She begged for a cup of coffee. She had not stopped to eat more than a snack in the Gucci Cafe since she wanted to get as much shopping done as possible in this day.
Lucy sprinted into the kitchen to fetch the coffee while Susan placed a cushion behind Maria and helped her out of the fitted jacket of her suit. M
aria began to sense an urgency through her fatigue. What was going on? Both Lucy and Susan were positively humming with concealed energy. Were they really that anxious to find out if she had found any bargains in Milan?
“All right you two! What’s up? You can’t fool me. What have you done now?”
Lucy and Susan tried to look innocent but failed miserably. Susan was the first to recover her composure and asked, “Did you buy yourself any special occasion dresses in Milan, by any chance?”
“What? Why would I need special occasion dresses? You are not making sense Susan.”
Lucy could not contain herself any longer and blurted out, “Mom! We had a phone call from Aunt Anna while you were out. We’re all going to Scotland!”
Chapter Twelve
It was some time before Maria could make out what Lucy was talking about. Her daughter insisted on dancing around the villa’s kitchen waving a dishtowel above her head and shouting “Scotland! Scotland!” over, and over, at the top of her voice.
Susan was not much better. She was obviously pleased about something because her smile was huge and she was laughing so hard at Lucy’s antics that she couldn’t answer any of Maria’s questions.
Just as Maria was getting worried that the pair had been drinking all the Lambrusco while she was away, they managed to calm themselves enough to sit down like rational creatures and speak sensibly.
“Sorry, Maria! We were just so excited at the news that we went a trifle overboard. We have been waiting behind the door for hours and we just exploded when we saw you.”
“Fine, then! What news from Anna could possibly affect you two so much? Tell me for pity’s sake!”
Lucy signalled to Susan to continue. She hardly trusted herself to speak clearly.
“Well, Anna called here to tell us that Bev and Alan have decided to get married.”
