by Lily Zante
“Would you like a panino? Ermete’s are the best in the whole of Italy.”
“Then the answer is yes,” said Ava.
“Any particular filling?” asked Nico.
“You choose,” suggested Ava. She waited patiently while the two men swapped more idle talk. A couple more people walked into the shop and both of them immediately livened up on seeing Nico. She stepped out of the way an watched him from a distance. He was so friendly and well mannered, laughing, talking and the group of people around him seemed very taken by him.
The shop owner handed Nico two Panini and after much thanking and refusal of money, at the end of which Nico won, she walked out of the sandwich shop with a warm Panino in her hands.
“Why didn’t he want to take your money?” asked Ava, wondering how to best attack this warm bread roll with its moist and brightly colored mélange of vegetables for filling.
“Let’s take a walk and I’ll tell you,” suggested Nico. Ava peeked inside her roll and saw that it was filled to the brim with a dazzling array of sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella, grilled peppers, roasted egg plant and spinach. She tried to bite into it without getting into a mess but after a few seconds of dainty eating, she gave up and followed Nico’s lead. He ploughed into his roll with gusto, letting the juices drip down and he wiped them as they fell. “You need to eat it when it’s hot,” he advised, between mouthfuls.
He led her away from the parade of shops to a small opening that led out to a small stream. Small bridges were dotted about at equal lengths apart the entire length of the stream and there were numerous wooden benches overlooking it.
Nico walked past the first three benches, all of which were empty and sat down at the fourth one. Ava followed close behind and sat down beside him.
They ate in silence as the stream gurgled and passers by waved at Nico as they walked by. He acknowledged them with a slight wave of his hand.
Fully sated, Ava breathed a sigh of pure contentment. She rested her arm lazily on the bench armrest and tilted her head back, closing her eyes. It was so peaceful and quiet here. It was as if they had stepped back from the daily grind of the real world and gone to a place where time had ground almost to a stop.
“You were right. They were the best Panini I have ever tasted.”
“Thought you might agree,” said Nico, wiping his hands on a serviette and handing a clean one to Ava.
After a moment’s quiet he said, “I grew up here. I lived here with my mother and grandmother until I was eleven.”
Ava lifted her head up and turned to look at him in surprise. “You grew up here? No wonder they all know you.” It was starting to make sense now, why the sandwich maker would not take his money. And all the people who seemed to know him.
Nico’s gaze flickered out in front of him, at the stream. He paused for the longest time and Ava didn’t know whether to push him towards more conversation or not. She felt that this place was very special to him, so she sat quietly and watched the stream. Sitting beside him, she felt more content and at peace than she had felt in months.
She turned her gaze to him and saw that he was serious again. His jaw was tight and he was deep in thought. When he finally looked at her, his eyes were moist and shiny. “I lived here with my mother and grandmother. My grandfather died before I was even born and my grandmother was all alone. We stayed with her while my father was away on business. And he was away a lot. I stayed here until I was eleven and then my grandmother passed away. Shortly afterwards my father called my mother and me to live with him, in Verona, where he at last decided to settle some twenty years ago. I had some of the happiest and most carefree times of my life here in this little village.”
Ava placed her hand on his arm very gently and gave it a little squeeze.
“I understand now why you call this your own little piece of heaven in Italy,” said Ava, watching the stream slowly and languorously moving along at its own slow pace.
Just then she felt Nico turn towards her. He twisted his body and pointed just behind her shoulder. She half turned her body and twisted so that she could see what it was he was pointing to. There in the middle of the top most slat of the bench backrest, was a small gold colored plaque which said:
Riposa in pace Rosella Augeri 1912 – 1993
Nico traced his finger over it slowly. “This was her most favorite spot here. She used to sit here and watch the world go by. I used to sit with her. We could have given her a big fancy mausoleum or a garden but she was a simple woman and so we thought she would appreciate this more. Even though its only a simple bench.”
“It’s beautiful” sighed Ava, honored that he had shared such a personal part of himself and his past with her.
There was a line of verse in Italian below. “What does it say,” asked Ava breathlessly.
“She gave peace and comfort to all those who knew her. And we find comfort in knowing that she at last rests in peace.” They were both sitting, still half twisted at the waist, almost facing each other as Nico translated the inscription for her.
“I have never bought anyone else to this spot,” said Nico finally, as if making an admission. He took his finger off the plaque and his glittering dark eyes looked back at Ava. His hand dropped down and Ava placed hers gently on top. At the slight touch of her hand, Nico instinctively moved forward and Ava leant towards him. Their lips were a few inches apart and Ava felt her heart thumping so wildly inside her shirt, she was almost sure that Nico could hear it too. She was so close to his lips that she could feel his warm breath caressing her face and as she closed her eyes and succumbed to the temptation, his warm and gentle lips brushed hers, igniting the spark of passion that she thought had died months earlier. His hands moved up to softly caress each side of her face and she felt herself falling deeper into his embrace, caught up in the headiness of their long drawn out kiss.
But all at once, Nico’s hands moved down to her arms and he stopped abruptly, pushing her arms away and pulling back, turning his body to the front and facing the stream instead.
“We’re getting late. We should start heading back,” he said, cold and detached all at once.
Ava sat rigidly, too bewildered to take in anything else that was going on around her.
What had just happened here?
The moment had taken her completely by surprise. She hadn’t realized until now, just how strong her feelings for Nico had become. The magic that had hung in the air, vanished into it as fast as it had appeared and all at once Nico seemed in a hurry to get back. He jumped up from the bench and started to walk away.
Ava found herself getting up and following him but her mind was still processing what had just taken place. He did have feelings for her. Or did he? All of a sudden, she wasn’t sure any more. He had turned hot and cold, in an instant. She was fully aware of her feelings now. But she was left totally confused about his. Nico seemed in a terrible rush all of a sudden and that bothered her. The possibility that he now saw her as an embarrassment bothered her even more.
“What just happened, Nico?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice, as she half ran to keep up with him.
“I remembered I have a meeting later this afternoon,” he said impatiently, glancing at her for the first time since he had pulled away. Her eyes met his briefly before he looked away but Ava had seen the anger in them.
“You remembered you had a meeting?” she said deliberately inflecting her voice. “You’re always having meetings. Who are you seeing now?” she asked bitterly.
“My boss,” said Nico, avoiding her gaze.
“And who’s your boss?”
“Mr. Cazale, the owner of the hotel,” said Nico, before adding, “My father.”
The complete silence that followed was broken by Ava’s derisive laugh. “And all along I’d been thinking that you were the owner.” It wasn’t true at all, although she had started to wonder exactly what role he did play. But she wanted to hurt him and, by the way he responded, sh
e knew that she had.
Nico stopped in his tracks and turned towards her with such a ferocious look on his face that she stopped suddenly too, not daring to take a step further. He glared at her, then cocked his head. “Why would you think I was the owner?” he growled.
What had gotten into him? He had opened up to her and shared his past with her and then gone from hot to cold, all in the space of about ten minutes. This sudden change in character frightened her. Answering him in a voice that was deceptively more confident than how she felt. “Your Breitling watch, your Armani suit, your ability to come and go and do as you please. Maybe things are different here in Italy but where I come from, hotel drivers don’t walk, talk and dress the way you do.”
From where she found the nerve to say exactly what she had been thinking Ava did not know. Especially now, when his face looked like thunder; she wanted to cower before him, but her arrogance made her stand even more upright.
Nico’s eyes never left her face and she could feel them burning into her. More than that, she sensed that she had somehow let him down - that he was disappointed in her. And when he said the next few words, she knew for sure that she had.
“You thought I was the owner? Was that why you kissed me?” he asked in a voice so condescending that she wished she could turn and run.
“It wasn’t something that I did by myself. Don’t delude yourself.” The cheek of it. Did he really think she had come onto him?
All at once she understood his anger. He thought she was no more than another gold digger who was after his money. But before she could utter another word in her defense, Nico shot her down. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you Ms. Ramirez. But I am not the owner of the hotel. I just happen to work there.”
He gave her one final look of disgust, as though she was dirt beneath his feet and walked off towards the street where he had parked the car.
Visibly knocked back, Ava slowed down to a crawl. She didn’t want to look like the whimpering weak woman running after him. She purposefully lagged behind him and slowly made her way to the car.
So this was what he really thought of her? A scheming, gold digger? He had given her no chance to explain herself. Perhaps he wasn’t the owner. Maybe he was just another well paid hotel worker here. Maybe she had it all wrong.
To hell with Verona.
Her time here was almost over and soon she would be heading to Venice. She had escaped Denver to have a break in Italy and now here she was in the same situation, only this time she was eager to escape to Venice.
When they arrived back at the hotel, Ava rushed out of the car, slamming the door hard behind her. She stormed into the main hotel lobby and saw, on entering, that it was busy today. Gina and another assistant were dealing with a small party of guests. She paused with relief to see that Nico had not followed her in. She didn’t want to see him yet. Coming out of the hotel conservatory was a tall, thin and blonde woman who looked vaguely familiar. She had by her side a small child carrying a teddy bear. The woman smiled at her and Ava smiled back, still not sure who she was.
“Enjoying your stay, I hope?” the woman asked her, as she approached Ava. “Go and wait for me in the dining room Alessa,” she said to the little girl by her side.
“Have we met before?” asked Ava, watching the little girl, holding her bear by the ear and walking towards the conservatory. The woman gazed at Ava curiously. She put out her hand, “I’m Silvia Azzarone. I think we met a few days ago, in Verona. We didn’t meet as such. You pretended not to see us and well, Nico saw you and he seemed quite worried.”
Something about her tone instantly put Ava on guard. Verona, a few days ago. Yes, she remembered her now. It was the woman who had been sitting with Nico outside. She remembered the child there that day as well.
Silvia looked over her shoulder at the child and then looked back at Ava, and when she did, the smile was gone from her face. “Don’t get too close to Nico,” there was the tiniest hint of a threat in her words.
The unexpected comment from this almost total stranger had Ava at a loss for words. “What did you just say?” asked Ava, not sure she heard it right the first time.
“I’m telling you to stay away,” said Silvia smiling sweetly in readiness for the blow that she was soon to deliver. “We have a child together. Or did he forget to mention that to you?”
The tinny sound of her high stiletto heels clipped sharply on the marble floor as she headed back into the conservatory leaving Ava standing under the chandelier with her mouth agape.
She felt as though she had been blindsided by a ten tonne truck.
Chapter 17
Nico sighed heavily then punched the steering wheel with his tightly clenched fist. His shoulders rose and fell in line with his heavy, labored breathing. He watched Ava rush out of the car and slam the door hard behind her, without so much as a backward glance.
He couldn’t move. He needed time to calm down himself down.
He hated the way the day had turned out. She had done what they all did and she was really no different to the rest of them. As soon as they found out who he was, they changed towards him. He had been so sure that Ava didn’t know who he was, and frankly, to anyone outside of Italy, who he was simply did not matter.
He braced himself as he got out of the car and walked into the hotel only to see a worried looking Gina standing behind the reception desk. “Your father is waiting for you in his office,” she whispered. There was an urgency in her voice that prepared him for what was to come.
No sooner had Gina warned him than Mr. Cazale opened the door behind the reception desk and stood in the doorway, looking at his son. Nico could see that the old man looked none too happy.
“You’re late. And you are the one who called this meeting.” His father’s tone was cold and quiet. Nico bristled inwardly, knowing that he must not fly off the handle, not now, when the next thirty minutes could change the course of his life. As he took a sharp intake of breath, Silvia glided into his view, slipping in from the side by the conservatory.
Her face was bright and she wore her usual fake smile.
“Nico, darling, I’ve missed you so much!” she gushed walking towards him with arms outstretched. She approached him confidently, placing her hands on either side of his shoulders and leant in to kiss him on both cheeks.
Her demeanor didn’t surprise Nico. He knew she believed that the results would fall in her favor but even so, she was unusually upbeat. Then he saw Ava’s gaunt face as she slowly walked out behind Silvia and all at once he knew what Silvia’s whole charade had been about. Unable to contain the build up of slow anger, he took Silvia’s wrists in both his hands and pulled them down, placing them back by her sides. His body was rigid as he started to take a step towards Ava but Alessa skipped past happily, dragging her teddy bear by its ear. The little girl gurgled when she saw Nico and then ran to her mother’s side.
Rooted to the spot, the anger inside Nico was insurmountable and he strained to keep his composure. For a few seconds, everyone’s eyes were fixed on him. Until Ava made the first move and rushed upstairs, her hand tightly clasping the handrail as if for support.
Nico watched her, unable to move; he had seen the hurt in Ava’s eyes but he could not comfort her just yet.
“I’ll look after Alessa,” offered Gina.
“Would you like to do some drawing with Gina?” asked Silvia. Alessa nodded enthusiastically.
“If you could give her some pencils and some paper,” said Silvia kissing the little girl.
“I’m sure I could manage a few sheets of paper,” said Gina coldly.
Mr. Cazale Senior smiled as he stepped forward and out into the main lobby to welcome Silvia and Alessa. He greeted both of them warmly and kissed the little girl giving her a tight embrace. He beckoned Silvia to follow him into his office, as Gina made a space for Alessa to do her drawings.
Nico watched Silvia head into his father’s office and his dark eyes blazed with a searing fury. He knew
that Silvia’s little show had been for his father’s sake, as well as for Ava’s. He hoped she hadn’t said anything untoward to Ava. Although he knew Silvia had seen him running after Ava that day outside the Casa di Giulietta.
He watched his father and Silvia as they linked arms and walked back through the door into his father’s office.
“Nico!’” he heard his father’s voice. With a heavy sigh, Nico followed them, stopping for a moment to look sideways at Gina. “Wish me luck,” he said gloomily.
“Good luck,” Gina said after him as the door to the office closed behind him.
She turned her attention to the little girl who was busy drawing happy smiling faces on her sheet of paper.
“Sit down Nico,” said his father slowly. He saw that his son looked rather forlorn and he wondered why. He knew his son didn’t love Silvia and therefore this was a heavy price to pay, to take on fatherhood as the result of a few nights of passion.
“Alessa is not aware of anything?” asked Mr. Cazale carefully, addressing Silvia.
“No. She thinks its just another visit to the Casa Adriana before going shopping,” replied Silvia.
Nico tried to suppress the sarcastic laugh he felt was coming on. He adored Alessa as much as anyone. What was there not to adore? She was a cute five year old, happy and carefree and with all the sense of wonder and amazement of a five year old. She had none of the malice that made up most of her mother’s character.
Alessa had been born out of wedlock. Silvia, the daughter of one of the richest men in Verona, and the youngest of four children, had been rather spoiled by her parents. So when she announced that she was expecting a child, with no marriage in hand, the news shocked her parents but they stood by her, in this conservative country with tight moral values. A child born out of wedlock to such a well-known and respected family was not the norm here.
But Silvia, being stubborn and wanting things her way, had demanded to keep the child. This action of hers was probably the first unselfish and responsible thing she had ever done. The problem arose when she insisted that Nico was the father.
