The Sunflower Girl

by Rosanna Chiofalo

  “I see. Grazie, then. I don’t think I thanked you for my espresso and biscotti. Grazie molto.”

  “È niente. It’s my pleasure. I’m just glad you didn’t have to pay for biscotti that you are not crazy about.”

  “No. They are good. They’re just not as good as Mamma’s.”

  “Perhaps some time I can taste your mamma’s biscotti. She must be an excellent cook and baker. My mother was.” Dante’s eyes grew somber.

  “Is your mother still alive?”

  “No. She and my grandmother were my only relatives. My grandmother died shortly after my mother. The grief over losing her daughter was too much for her.”

  “How did your mother die? Was she ill?”

  Dante shook his head. “She was coming home late from work one night and was struck by a drunk motorist. The pig drove off. The police never found out who it was.”

  “I’m so sorry. And what about your father? When did he die?”

  “I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. He left my mother after he found out she was pregnant with me. She was only nineteen.”

  “So you are like me. I have never known my father either, but in my case, he died during the war when I was a baby.”

  “I am sorry, Anabella.”

  “We all have our crosses to bear in life. That is what Mamma always says.”

  “How true that is.”

  “I like it here. Thank you for taking me.”

  “I am happy you are enjoying yourself. Do you have any favorite cafés you like to go to either here in Siena or where you live in Pienza? I imagine there must be a small village with shops and cafés there.”

  “No. This is my first time in a café.”

  “Really?” Dante raised his eyebrows. “You have never been to a café? How can you live in Italy and have never gone to one?”

  Anabella looked down. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal. She doubted many of her neighbors or the other farmers in Pienza went to cafés or regularly dined in restaurants. Anabella had gone to a restaurant once, when she turned sixteen. But her mother had seemed uncomfortable the entire time they were there. Chiara had joined them and had talked with Anabella for the duration of the evening while Mamma merely looked at the people around her and said little.

  “We work a lot at the rose farm. The farmers in Pienza would rather eat their own food and drink their own espresso than pay double at a café or restaurant.”

  “Maybe next time we can go to a restaurant.”

  “I have been to a restaurant, but only once.”

  Dante looked sad, but remained silent.

  “I should probably be going.” Anabella’s voice sounded wistful. She was having a good time and was not ready to leave.

  “You don’t sound so sure.” Dante smiled.

  “This has been nice.”

  “Before you leave, I want to show you something. Can you spare ten more minutes?”

  Anabella glanced at her watch. Mamma would be waking up soon from her nap. Anabella could tell her there had been an accident and that had delayed her. She had never lied to Mamma, but it was a small lie. She would pray to God tonight and ask Him to forgive her.

  “All right.”

  As they left the café, Anabella could feel Dante’s eyes on her. Was she making a mistake? Spending all this time alone with him? She’d never been alone in the company of a man before. Doubt began to seep into her mind, but, as if reading her thoughts, Dante gave her a reassuring smile and said, “I hope you know you can feel comfortable, and safe, with me. I would never do anything to disrespect you.”

  Immediately, she felt better. Again, there was something about Dante that made it easier for her to trust him.

  “We could walk to the place I want to show you, but it would be quicker if we drove, just a five-minute drive. Are you all right with that?”

  “Si. That is fine.”

  Dante’s car looked quite old and as if it had seen its fair share of accidents, with multiple dents and scratches.

  “Are you sure it’s safe for me to get in the car with you?” Anabella asked, unable to hide her grin.

  Dante looked at her, surprised, and then followed her gaze to his beat-up car.

  “Ah! I bought the car this way. It’s used. Unfortunately, it’s the only car I could afford, but I can assure you the motor and the rest of its parts are in excellent working condition, and I am a very careful driver, especially after how my mother died.”

  Anabella immediately regretted her joke. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, no! Has anyone ever told you that you apologize too much? I know you were only joking, and I love it that you seem more comfortable around me today. Please do not hold back.”

  “I suppose I do apologize a lot, but it is how Mamma taught me—to always be polite and considerate toward others.”

  “And she taught you well, but there are occasions when you don’t need to apologize, especially when you are just being your true self.”

  Anabella nodded, though she wasn’t exactly quite sure what Dante meant.

  As he promised, they reached their destination within five minutes. She had been lost in her thoughts and had not noticed the landscape before her until Dante stopped the car. When she looked out her passenger window, she gasped. “Oh, my! What a vast field.”

  An enormous field of sunflowers spread out before her. Although she was accustomed to seeing sunflower fields on her weekly drives to Siena, she had never seen one so large. The sunflowers swayed to and fro every time the soft breeze that was present today blew by. She got out of the car and walked ahead of Dante. When she was a child and had first seen a sunflower field from Mamma’s car, she had wondered what it would be like to run, or even simply just walk, through the rows of sunflowers. But her mother’s angry reactions to sunflowers had made Anabella repress the yearning to walk among them. Now, here she was, free to do as she pleased and finally close enough to touch the beautiful, large flowers. She quickened her step as she walked among the flowers, holding her hands out to feel their stems. She stopped and stared up at an especially large sunflower, before reaching her hands up to gently pull it toward her face. She inhaled deeply, taking in the flower’s scent. While it wasn’t as fragrant as the roses on her farm, the sunflower still had a subtly pleasing scent. She then noticed a group of sunflowers whose seeds had ripened. She rushed over to them and broke a few seeds free from one of the flowers. She popped some of the seeds into her mouth and chewed on them, and, as she had done when she’d first eaten the seeds in her room, she swallowed the shells instead of spitting them out. Anabella then realized Dante was not by her side. She had been so excited to see the beautiful sunflowers and to walk through them that she had left him behind. How rude must he think she was? She turned around and was startled to realize he had been right behind her the entire time. But he was sketching feverishly.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Don’t mind me. Please, go back to enjoying the sunflower seeds.” Dante smiled before returning his attention to his sketch.

  Anabella then realized he was drawing her. She felt self-conscious, so, instead of eating the rest of the seeds she held, she let them drop from her hand as she turned her back toward Dante and walked a few feet ahead. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of the sun’s warmth on her face. When she opened her eyes again, Dante was standing in front of her. His face was mere inches away. Anabella opened her mouth to ask him if everything was all right, but before she could utter a word, he placed his hands gently on either side of her face and leaned in closer, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. She was stunned—and afraid. But almost as soon as the fear entered her heart, he stepped back.

  “I’m sorry, Anabella. I don’t know what came over me.” Dante ran his hand through his hair as he looked off to the side. His face was flushed.

  Anabella remained silent. Her heart was racing, and her stomach felt funny. And then the strangest thought entered her mind. She wanted him to kiss h
er again. Though she had felt afraid as soon as he’d placed his lips on hers, the fear was now entirely gone, leaving in its wake a longing to be close to Dante again. But she was too embarrassed to tell him her thoughts.

  A few more seconds elapsed before Dante broke the silence.

  “Would you like to see what I was sketching?”

  Anabella nodded. She followed him back to the spot where he’d been drawing. He picked up his sketchbook from the ground. The breeze had flipped the cover of the book closed. As he riffled through the book to reach the page he’d been drawing on, Anabella stared at him. He was handsome. She’d never really noticed how handsome he was before. All she’d known was that there was something about him that had intrigued her. And it was more than just the bizarre fact that this man she’d never met before had dreamed about her and had then decided to make her the subject of his drawings and paintings.

  “I was working quickly, so I still need to touch up a few aspects of it.” Dante held up the sketch.

  She was speechless. In the short amount of time he’d had to draw the picture, he had not only captured the scene with Anabella walking through the sunflowers, but he’d also managed to depict the emotions she was feeling as she strolled through the field. Her head was tilted up as she looked at the sunflowers, awe evident in her face, and a soft smile danced along her lips. There was a glow in her face, and her eyes were wide-open, as if some new knowledge was being imparted upon her.

  “I have a name for it already. I’ve called it Anabella’s Awakening.”

  “My awakening?”

  “Yes. I saw something inside of you light up as you first took in the field of sunflowers and then as you walked through them. It was as if you were seeing them for the first time, although I know that’s not the case since you can’t avoid seeing sunflowers here in Tuscany. It was similar to how you looked in the café when you were taking everything in. But this time it was heightened.”

  “You could see all of that?” Anabella’s voice came out in a whisper as she tried to fight back tears. She didn’t know why she was close to crying. Perhaps it was because this man, whom she had only met recently, seemed to possess the ability to see right into her soul. Not even Mamma, who was the person she was closest to, had ever been able to truly know Anabella’s thoughts or feelings.

  “Yes. And after the little you told me about yourself today, I sensed there is a lot about the world you have yet to experience. I am only too happy I brought you here today, if only for the reason that I was able to see the joy it brought you. Though you seem content for the most part, Anabella, I cannot help but detect that there is also a certain sadness in you. Am I right?”

  Anabella was overcome. She looked down at her feet, a habit she had not managed to break from her childhood, whenever she was feeling shy or self-conscious. But this time she looked down to try to shield her eyes, which were quickly filling with tears, from Dante’s line of vision. She tried to blink the tears back, but it was no use. Dante lifted her chin gently, forcing her to look directly at him.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met, and I would like to know everything about you—what makes you happy, what makes you laugh, even what makes you cry.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Dante. I’ve never met anyone quite like you. Then again, I don’t know many people other than my mother and the workers on our farm.”

  Dante laughed. “There is again that frankness that I love about you.”

  Anabella laughed, wiping the tears from her face.

  “This might be too forward of me, Anabella, but I guess after I had the audacity to kiss you earlier, this will probably pale in comparison. But I was wondering if you would pose for me?”

  “Pose for you?”

  “As I draw or paint you, like I did today.”

  “But you haven’t needed me to pose for you when you created your other works.”

  “Yes, but now that I know you and can see you in the flesh rather than just in my dreams, I can bring more life into my paintings. I can see in your face the emotions you are feeling while I work. And it would give us an opportunity to become more acquainted with each other. But if you do not feel comfortable or if you do not wish to become better friends with me, that is all right.” Now it was Dante’s turn to look down.

  “I would like to become your friend.”

  “Really?”

  Anabella nodded as she gave Dante a shy smile.

  “Is that a yes then to my request that you pose for me?”

  “It might be hard since I only have so much time when I come to the piazza, and I don’t know if Mamma will be feeling better soon and will want to accompany me again. But if you can work quickly as you did today, we can try to fit it in.”

  Dante knitted his brows as he crossed his arms around his chest and paced back and forth for a few moments before responding. “I have an idea. How about if I helped you sell your flowers as soon as you arrive at the piazza? This way, you will be done with your work earlier, and you will have more time to pose for me.”

  “But what about the sale of your paintings and drawings?”

  “I can do that on the days of the week when I’m not with you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Cento per cento! Besides, if these paintings come out even better than the ones I have already done of you, you might make me a rich man!”

  “So I am a means to your making money?” Anabella frowned as she raised her eyebrow and did her best not to laugh.

  Dante picked up her hands and placed a kiss on them. “Please, don’t ever say that. As I mentioned earlier, I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable or disrespect you. I suppose that was a tasteless joke I made. Please forgive me.” He held her hands to his heart as he said this.

  Anabella could feel his heart beating, and she swallowed hard. Even if she had been angry, how could she not forgive him? “There is nothing to forgive. I, too, was joking.”

  After Dante dropped Anabella off by her parked car, they made plans to meet near the flower vendors’ tables next week. He held open her car door as she stepped inside.

  “Ciao, Anabella. I look forward to seeing you next week.”

  “Ciao.”

  Dante waved as she drove away. She returned the wave and smiled. She sighed deeply as she thought about what she had just done. Was she out of her mind? Agreeing to pose for Dante? Even though he’d agreed to work with the amount of time she had before she was forced to return to the rose nursery, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of trepidation. Still, she could not deny that she wanted to keep seeing Dante. And she longed to feel again the freedom and elation she had felt today when she was in the café with him and in the sunflower field. She also was curious to see what other works of art he would create of her. But most of all, she wanted him to kiss her again.

  CHAPTER 13

  Dante

  Siena, 1970

  Dante was painting feverishly. He only had so much time before Anabella would need to return home. Sweat beaded his forehead, and he continually wiped it on the back of his arm. But he didn’t mind. He could honestly say he’d never been happier in his life. And now that he could paint his muse as she stood before him, he was even more inspired.

  Anabella was sitting in the same field of sunflowers Dante had taken her to the previous week. He had instructed her to sit with her legs bent to the side. Her right arm lay draped over her right thigh, and her hand lightly grasped her calf. Fortunately, she had worn a dress today. Then again, Dante had never seen Anabella in slacks. He wanted her bare leg to show in the painting. As if reading his mind, Anabella had kicked off her sandals. He was going to have her sit upright, but then she lowered down onto her left arm. She pushed her gloriously long hair over one of her shoulders. He noticed two of the buttons in the long line of buttons that trailed along the back of her body had come undone. Dante was about to tell her to button them, but then he saw how perfect she look
ed—the relaxed position of her body, how her hair hung casually down her back, her bare feet. It was only natural that her dress wouldn’t be buttoned all the way to the top.

  Then suddenly, in that moment, he felt an overwhelming stirring of desire, similar to last week when he had abandoned all reason and kissed her. But he’d promised Anabella he wouldn’t take advantage of her or disrespect her in any way. And Dante intended to honor his word—no matter how much it would be killing him.

  An hour later, his heart raced as his painting took shape before him.

  “How is it coming along?” Anabella asked. Her back faced him as she kept her head tilted upward toward the sunflowers as if she were listening to the flowers talking to her.

  “I am almost done. I know you must be tired. Just a few more minutes, I promise.”

  “That is all right. Just please keep track of the time. I don’t want to get home late.”

  “You won’t. Are you sure you’ve never modeled for anyone before? I am still amazed at how you positioned yourself perfectly, even better than how I had intended to place you. And your patience is quite remarkable. I’m sorry I was only able to give you two short breaks.”

  “That’s all right. Knowing you will paint a beautiful piece of art is worth my being a little uncomfortable.” Anabella looked over her shoulder, smiling at Dante.

  He froze the moment in his mind. For he would have to capture her from this angle another time.

  “I have really enjoyed being here with you today. Grazie, Dante.” She turned to face the sunflowers again.

  Dante’s hand froze midair just as he was about to paint another stroke. He felt a pleasant, warm sensation spreading throughout him. He placed his paintbrush down on his easel and walked over to Anabella.

  Anabella started for a moment when she realized he was standing near her.

  “Is everything all right?” Her eyes opened wide.

  “Si. I just wanted to tell you that I have also enjoyed being with you today.” Dante’s eyes grew heavy as he continued to look into her eyes.