Dani heaved a deep sigh of discontent. “Okay.” Then she went back to her bedroom.
Babi put on her uniform. She’d never tell her a single word of it, she knew that.
Raffaella walked into Babi’s room. “So, Pallina slept here?”
“Yes, Mamma.”
“But where?”
“In my bed.”
“How could that be? When I came in to kiss you good night last night, you were all alone.”
“She showed up later. She couldn’t stay at her house because her mother was throwing a dinner party.”
“And where had she been before that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Babi, I don’t want to be responsible for her too. Just think if anything had happened to her, and her mother thought that she was here at my house the whole time…”
“You’re right, Mamma.”
“Next time, I want to know in advance if she’s coming over to sleep at our house.”
“But I even told you she was coming, before you went over to the Pentestis’ place, don’t you remember?”
Raffaella stopped to think for a moment. “No, I don’t remember.”
Babi smiled at her naively, as if to say, So what am I supposed to do about that? She knew perfectly well that her mother had no way to remember such a thing. She’d never said it, after all.
“I’d never want to have a daughter like Pallina. Always out and about at night, up to who knows what. I don’t like that young woman. She’ll come to a bad end, wait and see.”
“But, Mamma, she never does anything bad, she just likes to have fun. I assure you, she’s a good girl.”
“Maybe so, but I still prefer you.” Raffaella smiled at her and caressed her under the chin before leaving the bedroom.
Babi smiled. She knew how to handle her mother. But lately she’d been telling her too many lies. She resolved to stop.
Poor Pallina, even when she had nothing to do with it, she turned out to be guilty. Babi decided to forgive her entirely. Certainly, there remained the whole Pollo problem to solve, but to everything, there is a season.
She slipped on the uniform skirt. She stood in front of the mirror, pulled up her hair, uncovering her face, and fastened it in place with two side hairclips. She stood there, staring at herself and, while the latest song by Tears for Fears poured out of the stereo nearby, Babi noticed how much she looked like her mother. No, even if she managed to figure out everything Babi had got up to, Raffaella could never think of trading her for Pallina because there were too many similarities between mother and daughter.
* * *
The sun filtered cheerfully in through the kitchen window. Babi finished eating her whole-wheat biscuits and drank the last drop of milky coffee that she’d saved at the bottom of the mug until then.
Daniela was digging to the very bottom. Her spoon probed anxiously against the edge of the plastic container of a small pudding as she tried to scrape up every last bit of defiant chocolate hiding down there in the furthest nooks and crannies.
Raffaella went to her bedroom, taking with her a demitasse of black coffee, still steaming hot. Claudio was happy. Maybe because of a positive horoscope, certainly because of the coffee he’d at long last been able to enjoy.
“Babi, it’s a beautiful day today. The sun is out. And I don’t think it’s even particularly cold. I talked to your mother about it just now, and we’re in agreement. Today you can take the Vespa to school!”
“Thanks, Papà. You’re both super nice. But you know, after what we said the other day, I gave it some more thought, and maybe you do have a point. Going to school together in the morning, you, me, and Daniela, well, it’s become sort of like a ritual, a kind of good-luck charm. Plus, it’s kind of a special moment because we can talk about anything and everything. Starting the day together is much better like that, don’t you think?”
Daniela couldn’t believe her eyes or, actually, her ears.
“Babi, excuse me. Let’s take the Vespa. We can talk to Papà whenever we want. We can linger over dinner with him in the evenings, or Sunday mornings.”
Babi grabbed her by the arm and clenched it, squeezing a little too hard. “Oh, no, Dani, seriously, it’s better this way. Let’s go with him.” She clenched her arm again. “Plus, I’ll remind you of what I said last night. I wasn’t feeling very well. Starting next week, maybe, we can take the Vespa, when it’s warmer.”
That final squeeze left no doubts that Babi was trying to send her a message. Daniela really was an intuitive young woman, more or less. “Yes, Papà. Babi is right. We’ll come with you!”
Claudio happily threw back his last sip of coffee. It was great to have two such wonderful daughters. It’s not often that you feel so beloved. “All right, girls, let’s get going or we’ll get you to school late.” Claudio went down to the garage to get the car while Babi and Daniela waited outside the apartment house door downstairs for him to drive around.
“Well, you finally understood! What was I going to have to do, break your arm?” Babi asked.
“Well, you could have told me earlier, no?”
“How was I supposed to know that today of all days he was going to give us permission to take the Vespa?”
“But why don’t you want to take it?” Daniela asked.
“That’s easy enough, because it’s not there.”
“The Vespa isn’t there? Then where is it? Didn’t you take it last night when you went out?”
“Yes,” Babi said.
“Well? Did you drive the Vespa into the manure, too, and then you had to throw it away?”
“No, I left it out at the Greenhouse.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Believe it.”
“I don’t want to believe it! My Vespa!” Daniela said.
“Well, as far as that goes, I was the one they gave it to.”
“Yes, but who paid to soup it up? Who had the new carburetor and intake put in? Next year, Papà and Mamma were going to buy you a car, and then it would have been mine. I just can’t believe it.”
Claudio stopped right in front of them. He rolled down the electric car window.
“Babi, what happened to the Vespa? It’s not in the garage.”
Daniela shut her eyes. Now she had no choice but to believe it.
“Nothing, Papà, I just put it back in the courtyard. It bothered you so much when you tried to get the car into the garage. I thought it might be more convenient just to park it outside.”
“Are you kidding? Put it back inside right away. What if it gets stolen? Believe me, your mother and I have no intention of buying you a new one. Run and put it inside immediately. Here, take the keys.”
Daniela got in the back seat while Babi walked off toward the garage, pretending to pick through the bunch, hunting for the right key. Once she arrived back in the courtyard, Babi started thinking. So now what am I going to do? I need to find the Vespa by tonight or else I’m going to have to come up with some other solution. Darn that Pallina, she’s the one who got me into this mess, and she’s going to have to get me out of it.
Babi heard the sound of the Mercedes arriving in reverse. She ran toward the garage. She leaned down in front of the roller gate. Just in time because the Mercedes emerged from around the corner and came to a halt right in front of her. Babi pretended to shut the garage, slid the key into the lock, mimed turning it, and then pulled it back out and walked smiling toward the car. “All done. I put it away.”
She decided that she was quite the mime, but that the best solution would be to find the Vespa as quickly as possible. As she was getting into the car, Babi felt she was being watched. She looked up. She was right.
The boy who lived on the third floor was looking down. He must have seen everything. That is, he hadn’t seen anything, which is why he had that puzzled expression on his face. She smiled, trying to reassure him. He smiled back, but it was perfectly clear that something was mystifying him. It would have
been impossible for anyone to make heads or tails of it.
The Mercedes drove off. Babi gave the keys back to her father, and she smiled at him. “I just wanted to make it easier for you to park.”
“I know, and I thank you, but it’s better this way. Did you put it good and solid against the wall?” her father asked.
“Good and solid. It can’t get in your way.” Babi turned to look at Daniela. She was sitting with her arms crossed tight across her chest. She was in a foul mood.
“Come on, Dani. We can ride the Vespa to school next week!”
“I really hope so.”
Babi went back to sitting normally. She looked straight ahead. Yes, they had to find a solution as quick as they could, absolutely.
The Mercedes stopped at the front entrance to the apartment building, right in front of the gate arm, which slowly began to rise. Claudio waved to the doorman, who gestured for him to wait a minute. He emerged from the booth with a package in his hand.
“Good morning, sir. Excuse me but someone left this for Babi.”
The doorman handed over the package. Babi picked it up, her curiosity piqued. The Mercedes moved away slowly as the car window rolled up. Babi opened the package. Daniela leaned forward, consumed by curiosity. Claudio, too, rose up slightly in his seat to see what it could be. Babi smiled. “Who wants a piece? It’s a chocolate pastry from Lazzareschi.”
Babi tore the pastry apart with her hands. “Papà?”
Claudio shook his head.
“Dani?”
“No, thanks.” Maybe she’d been hoping that the package contained some news about “their Vespa.”
“So much the better, I’ll eat it all myself. You have no idea what you’re missing, you guys…”
Pallina really was a sweetheart. She knew how to win your forgiveness. Now all she needed to do was find Babi’s Vespa for her by no later than eight o’clock.
Chapter 8
In front of the school, the girls were chatting cheerfully, waiting for the bell to ring. Babi and Daniela got out of the car and said goodbye to their father. The Mercedes moved off into the traffic around Piazza Euclide. A group of girls immediately surged in Babi and Daniela’s direction.
“Babi, is it really true that last night you were at the Greenhouse?”
“Is it true that you had to escape from the city traffic cops on a motorbike?”
“Is it true that traffic cop grabbed you by the hair and then Step knocked him down and you both got away on his motorcycle?”
Daniela listened in astonishment. So the loss of the Vespa hadn’t been a completely pointless sacrifice. This was true glory.
But Babi couldn’t believe her ears. How had they already managed to find out everything? Not actually everything. The story about the manure, luckily, still seemed to be a secret.
The sound of the bell saved her. As she was climbing the steps, she gave vague answers to some of the questions from her least obnoxious friends. Well, it was done. That day, she was a celebrity.
Daniela waved a fond goodbye. “Ciao, Babi. See you at recess!” Incredible. In all the years they’d been going to school together, she’d never uttered those words
She watched Daniela walk away, surrounded by all her friends. They were all walking around her, asking a thousand questions. She, too, was savoring this moment of extreme notoriety. After all, it was only fair. She’d had to sacrifice her Supergas. Babi just hoped that Daniela said nothing about the manure.
The first period was ancient Greek, and Signora Giacci was testing. She was about to put an end to the last quarter before the final exams of high school. Once the list of subjects was posted, there would be no more pop exams. Babi checked the little checkmarks on the list she kept in her notebook. There were just three missing to complete the set of exams. These would be the “lucky girls.” Babi read the names. Once again, Silvia Festa. Poor thing.
Babi called to her as the students entered the schoolroom.
Silvia heard her. “What is it?”
“Listen, Signora Giacci is going to test you in Greek today.”
“I know.” Silvia gave her a quick smile. “I’m reviewing.”
Babi smiled at her. For all the good it was likely to do her. Because, in cold hard fact, only a miracle could save her now.
“Ciao, Babi!”
“Pallina! How are you today?”
Pallina set her book bag down on Babi’s desk. “Fine, but with a quart of blood less than I started the day with!” Pallina rolled up the light blue blouse of her uniform, displaying her pale white arm. “Look here!” She pointed to a bandage that was ever so slightly stained blood red at the center. “That’s nothing. You can’t imagine, that doctor, the work he had to do to find my vein. He stabbed me all over, pinching my arm because he said that would help to bring the vein out.
“The only positive thing about all this is that, afterward, my mother took me out for breakfast at Euclide café. I had a delicious maritozzo pastry with whipped cream. By the way, did you get my package?”
“Yes, thanks!”
“Well, it’s just that your doorman has the expression of someone who always wants to know what’s in every package you drop off for him. He’s worse than an X-ray machine. So he didn’t eat the Lazzareschi pastry?”
Babi smiled. “No.”
“Have I been forgiven?”
“Almost.”
“Why almost? What, was I supposed to get you two pastries?”
“No, you need to track down my Vespa by eight o’clock.”
“Your Vespa? How am I supposed to find your Vespa? Who knows where it is. How am I supposed to know?”
“Don’t ask me. You always know everything. You’re well connected in the circuit. You’re Pollo’s woman, after all. One thing is certain, when my father gets home at eight o’clock tonight, that Vespa has to be in the garage…”
“Lombardi!” Signora Giacci was at the door. “Go to your seat, if you please.”
“Yes, excuse me, teacher.” Pallina picked up her book bag.
Babi stopped her. “I have an idea. I don’t need to find my Vespa anymore, at least not right away.”
Pallina smiled. “That’s good. It would have been impossible anyway! But how are you going to handle it? When your father returns home and doesn’t find the Vespa in the garage, what are you going to tell him?”
“But my father is going to find the Vespa in the garage.”
“How is that going to happen?”
“Simple, we’ll put yours there.”
“My Vespa?”
“Sure, as far as my father’s concerned, they’re all identical. He won’t notice a thing.”
“Okay, but how am I going to…”
“Gervasi! Come on up and let me see your signed notebook.”
Babi brought her the notebook, already open to the signed note. Signora Giacci checked it. “Well, what did your mother say about your failing grade?”
“She grounded me.” It wasn’t true, but she might as well let Giacci think she’d had a full, crushing win.
In fact, Signora Giacci swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker. “Well, good for her.” Then she spoke to the class. “It’s important that your parents appreciate the work we teachers do and that they support it wholeheartedly.” Nearly every girl in the class nodded in agreement.
She turned back to Babi. “Your mother is a very understanding woman. She knows perfectly well that, what I do, I’m doing entirely for your own well-being. Here.” She handed back her notebook.
Babi went back to her desk. A strange way of looking after my well-being, flunking me on my Latin test and sending home a disciplinary note, she thought to herself.
Signora Giacci reached into her old suede briefcase and pulled out the Greek assignments, folded in half. Those papers unfolded, reckless and rustling, on the teacher’s desk, spraying over the class the magical thought that they might all have received at least a passing grade. “Let me warn you all that it’
s been a bloodbath. You should all just hope that Greek isn’t one of the subjects at the final high school exams.”
Everyone relaxed. They all knew for certain that the subjects this year were going to be Italian, Latin, mathematics, and philosophy. They all pretended not to know though. In reality, they could just as easily have been a class of consummate actresses. Dramatic roles, assigned by the situation of the moment.
“Bartoli, F. Simoni, F. Mareschi, D.” One after the other, the girls went to the teacher’s desk to retrieve their assignments in silent resignation. One of them went back to her desk with a smile. It wasn’t clear why. Maybe she was just putting on her game face.
“Alessandri, D. Bandini, D plus.” There was a sort of funeral procession. They all went back to their seats and immediately pulled out the paper, trying to figure out the reason for all those red marks. Most of the time it was a pointless exercise, just like their utterly unsuccessful stabs at translation.
“Sbardelli, C minus.” A young woman got up, making a V for victory. In fact, for her it was. She regularly got Ds for her classwork. That half a grade higher constituted a major achievement for her.
“Carli, C.” A pale young woman, with thick-lensed eyeglasses and greasy hair, invariably accustomed to getting at least an A minus, turned pale. She got up and walked slowly to the teacher’s desk, wondering what she could have gotten wrong.
A thrill of joy ran through the line of desks. She was one of the class grinds, and she never let anyone copy.
“Come on!” Pallina whispered to her as the poor thing trudged past her.
Signora Giacci handed Carli her paper. She seemed sincerely chagrined. “What happened to you? Maybe you weren’t feeling well? Or has this class full of illiterates finally managed to infect you too?”
The young woman forced a smile. And with a faint “I wasn’t at my best” went back to her desk. One thing was certain. Now she really did feel bad. Carli, who could rattle off the most challenging translations, with a big fat C. She opened her assignment. She scanned it rapidly and immediately spotted her tragic error. She slammed her fist down on her desk. How had she managed to get that wrong? She put her hands in her hair, clearly distraught.
One Step to You Page 8
