Shaken to the Core

by Jae

  He winked at her. “Don’t worry about that. The wine’s very light. I have to make a living, after all.”

  So he was cutting the wine with water. Not that Giuliana cared at the moment. She peered down the street.

  The fireball tore across Washington Square, igniting bushes, trees, and the wooden bench where Kate had taken the photograph of the two old women. The white tents went up in flames, ignited by the searing heat long before the fire ever touched them.

  A horrible smell drifted over, coating the inside of Giuliana’s nose. She recognized it instantly. No one who’d ever smelled that odor would ever forget it. Oh Madonna, no! It was the sickeningly sweet stench of human flesh burning. Her stomach threatened to toss up what little food she’d had this morning.

  Kate had smelled it too, judging by the greenish tint of her face. “Let’s go!”

  Giuliana’s gaze darted toward Luigi. He wouldn’t leave; she knew that. He would either save his little restaurant or die trying.

  “Can we stay and help him?” Alone, he didn’t stand a chance.

  Kate stared at her. Then a weak smile curved up her lips. “You’re something else, you know that?”

  Not sure what that meant, Giuliana just shrugged. “Two other houses are between the trattoria and the street. We can save it, Kate.”

  “The sparks will ignite the building when the firestorm tears by,” Kate shouted. “We don’t have water to put them out.”

  “We have wine,” Giuliana and Luigi answered in unison.

  “Sicilians,” Kate muttered, but grabbed one of the wine-soaked towels. “All right, all right. Let’s help him.”

  Giuliana took one of the towels too, readying herself.

  Most of the street was deserted, but two neighbors and their families prepared to fight for their homes too.

  They didn’t have to wait long.

  Even though dark smoke blocked out the sun, the temperature rose and the glare of the flames lit up the street. The approaching firestorm tossed hot embers high up into the air. A hail of sparks rained down, like a swarm of fireflies. For a moment, it looked almost beautiful.

  Then the glowing pieces of ash landed on Giuliana’s unprotected left hand and face. It stung. She cried out and quickly shook off the cinders.

  A few sparks landed on the bellows of Kate’s camera, leaving tiny holes in the leather. Cursing, Kate closed the camera and shoved it into its case before carrying it a few steps down the side street, where the fire wouldn’t be able to reach it—at least Giuliana hoped so.

  The air began to vibrate and flicker with the heat as the fireball rolled toward them.

  Giuliana held her breath, afraid her lungs would be scorched if she sucked in even a little air. She covered her face with her arms to protect it from flying embers. Heat shot toward them as if someone had opened an oven door. It scorched her skin, even through her clothes. Oh Madonna and all the saints! They’d be charred alive!

  Then the fireball shot past them, engulfing the building closest to the avenue. Dry wood cracked under the heat. The flames immediately threatened to ignite the next house too.

  Sparks danced along its roof and rained down on the trattoria.

  “The roof!” Kate shouted. “We need to get up there.”

  Luigi ran to the back of his house. A minute later, the sounds of him scrambling up the roof drifted down. Two wooden shingles slithered down the roof and crashed to the street below.

  “Accura! Careful!” Giuliana grabbed Kate’s arm and pulled her back.

  Sicilian curses, more colorful than even the ones Turi had used, drifted down to them. “Throw me the towels! Quick!”

  Giuliana pulled her arm back and hurled the towel up as hard as she could.

  Crouching at the edge of the roof, Luigi caught it and lashed out with it at the flames licking at the shingles.

  “Giuliana! Help!” Kate furiously beat at sparks threatening to ignite the wooden front steps.

  Giuliana ran over and slapped at the embers with her towel. But as soon as she’d put out one flame, another sprang to life somewhere else. It seemed like a never-ending battle. She rushed around the house again and again, trying to be everywhere at once, until her head started spinning and the ache in her ankle returned.

  Paint blistered on the walls, sticking the towel to the wood. She tore it free and continued to lash out at a burning windowsill.

  The towel ignited.

  She dropped it just before it could burn her already bandaged hand and stomped on the burning rag. When it was out, she rushed around the house, dipped a new towel into the wine barrel, and ran back.

  Steam hissed as she beat at the flames with the wine-drenched towel. The alcohol vapors made her woozy. Her face burned from the heat, and her lungs stung, but at least the bandage around her hand protected her fingers from the searing heat a little. The thick smoke made every breath painful. The shirtwaist clung to her torso in a sweat-soaked, soot-stained mess. The muscles in her arm hurt, so she switched the towel to her other hand and continued lashing out at the sparks.

  She lost track of how many flames she’d put out and of how often she’d soaked her towel in wine or thrown a new towel up to Luigi. Her movements became mechanical, as if her body was moving without her control. A roaring started in her ears, but she couldn’t tell if it was all in her head or coming from the fires tearing down the neighboring houses.

  Every now and then, she caught a glimpse of Kate, who was fighting just as hard, sweat dampening her blonde hair and turning it a darker color. Somehow, the sight gave her the strength to continue.

  * * *

  Kate pulled her arm back and furiously beat at the glowing embers that blew over from the burning houses next door. A few drops of hot wine splashed onto her hand. “Ouch! Dang.” She shook her fingers for a moment before continuing to swing the towel.

  Papery pieces of ash and showers of cinders, some as big as dollar coins, swirled around her. She flinched every time one of them landed on her, but there was no time to do more than shake them off.

  Above her, Luigi kicked burning shingles off the roof, adding to the sparks that she had to put out.

  The acrid smell of melting paint and charred human flesh stabbed at her nose, making her gag. She would have breathed through her mouth, but her throat was raw from the smoke already. Even swallowing hurt. The hot air made her eyes swell shut until she was squinting at the sparks through mere slits.

  A hundred times, she wanted to just drop the towel and rest her aching arm and shoulder—or, better yet, run down the street toward where the air was cooler and she’d be able to breathe.

  One of the neighbors and his family had given up and retreated, surrendering their home to the fire.

  But Giuliana wasn’t giving up, so neither was she. Helping a fellow Sicilian was important to Giuliana. If Kate could help her with that, she would keep going, even though her arm felt as if it would fall off any second.

  Every now and then, she glanced up the street to make sure her camera was still safe, with no flames anywhere near the carrying case.

  After what could have been thirty minutes or many hours, the wind turned and blew the sparks from the other buildings away from them.

  Two more lashes at a glowing cinder that had landed on the top step and the danger on her side of the house seemed eliminated, at least for now.

  With her hands on her knees, Kate bent over and gulped in lungfuls of air, ignoring the burning in her throat. She groaned as she straightened. Every muscle in her body was already beginning to stiffen up. Moving like an old woman, she walked around to Giuliana’s side of the house.

  Giuliana was still lashing out at the blistered wall even though there were no flames and no glowing embers on that part of the building either. She apparently hadn’t yet realized that the immediate danger was over.

  Kate hurried toward her. “Giuliana! Stop. It’s over. We did it!”

  Giuliana’s hand with the towel dropped down. She stare
d at the house, then turned and blinked at Kate. Slowly, her heat-swollen lips formed a huge smile, her teeth gleaming against her soot-stained face. “We did it.” It sounded dazed, as if she couldn’t believe it. A moment later, she repeated it with more certainty and joy in her voice. “We did it, Kate!”

  “Yes, we sure did.” Elation swept through Kate, burning just as brightly as the fires had.

  Both started to move at the same time, rushing toward each other and coming together in a firm embrace. The impact made Kate stumble back a step. She wrapped both arms around Giuliana, swept her off her feet, and—aching muscles be damned—twirled her around.

  Giuliana threw her head back, her hair trailing in a circle behind her, and let out a loud laugh.

  When they came to a halt, they both swayed and clutched each other.

  “We did it.” Kate’s voice was a breathless whisper.

  Despite Giuliana’s blackened clothes, dirty face, and swollen eyes, she was the most beautiful thing Kate had ever seen.

  Before Kate could think about it, she bent her head and pressed her lips to Giuliana’s in an exuberant yet tender kiss.

  Giuliana flinched back.

  Kate froze. Oh Lord, what have I done? “I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I don’t…” She held out her hands toward Giuliana but then quickly withdrew them, not wanting to see Giuliana flinch back from her again. “This was just…”

  “Kate…”

  “The fire and everything…It must have clouded my thinking or something.”

  “Kate!”

  “You have to believe me. I really—”

  Giuliana’s hands, one of them bandaged, the other reddened by the heat, grabbed the front of Kate’s shirtwaist and shook her gently. “Stop. Stop and listen.”

  Kate hung in her grip like a limp puppy. Her gaze darted around. The neighbors were fighting to save their house, not paying them any attention. At least no one had seen her kiss Giuliana. She studied the blackened ground beneath her feet, but as the silence continued, she dared to peek up. “I’m listening.”

  “I…” Giuliana shuffled her ash-covered feet. Her mouth moved as if she was preparing to form words, but none came out. She rubbed her cheeks with both hands, smearing her face with even more soot, and muttered something in Sicilian. Finally, she went very still and just looked at Kate for a moment.

  They stared at each other.

  Then Giuliana pulled Kate down and kissed her. It wasn’t the peck to the cheek that she’d given Lucy when they’d said good-bye. It was a caress of Giuliana’s lips against Kate’s. The gentle pressure on her swollen, chapped lips stung a little, giving her a good idea of why Giuliana had flinched back. To Kate, it was the sweetest pain she’d ever felt.

  Giuliana’s fingers fanned out to cover Kate’s shoulders, keeping them pressed together a little longer.

  A warmth more intense than anything Kate had felt while fighting the fire spread through her body. Her legs started to tremble. She clutched Giuliana’s shoulders to stay upright.

  A loud scraping across the roof made them jump apart—and not a second too soon. With a loud thump, Luigi landed next to them.

  Kate stood, one hand pressed to her mouth, where she could still feel Giuliana’s lips, and stared at her.

  Luigi swept them both up into a big hug. “Oh, thank you, thank you! You saved my house. Grazii, grazii!” He kissed both of their cheeks with loud, smacking sounds. His mustache tickled Kate’s cheek, but she felt it as if through several layers of clothing. All her senses were still focused on the way Giuliana’s lips had felt against her own.

  She kissed me. She kissed me! Oh sweet Lord, she kissed me! Me! When Luigi let go of Kate, her knees gave in. She plopped down onto the still-hot cobblestones.

  * * *

  Giuliana’s head was still spinning half an hour later. She suspected it had more to do with kissing Kate than with the watered-down wine Luigi had given her and Kate to revive them.

  Neither of them spoke as they moved down the blackened avenue. Nothing moved. The residents had fled, and the fire had burned so hot that only lumps of smoking rubble remained of the buildings. The flames no longer found enough material to consume, so they’d gone out.

  Thoughts and emotions were tumbling through Giuliana with more force than even the firestorm. She wanted to ask a thousand questions: What’s going on between us? This isn’t considered normal in Merica either, is it? Was it just the joy of winning the battle over the fire, or have you wanted to do that for a while? Did it feel incredibly good to you too? Can I kiss you again?

  But this wasn’t the time or the place to ask any of them. The sight of the charred bodies they found every few steps was too incongruous with the hope and the excitement coursing through her.

  Kate didn’t say anything either. She walked along in silence, tightly gripping her carrying case, but every now and then she peered over at Giuliana out of the corner of her eye.

  They kept to the middle of the avenue to avoid the smoldering houses on either side. The cobblestones beneath their feet were still hot.

  Finally, Kate cleared her throat. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. All my body hurts, and I am very tired…” A yawn interrupted her. “But I am alive and good. And you?”

  “Same here, but that wasn’t what I was asking. I…Do you…? Have you…?” Kate’s gaze veered away from hers. “You kissed me,” she whispered. “What did it mean?”

  “You kissed me first. What did this mean?”

  They paused in the middle of the blackened avenue and looked at each other.

  One of them would have to be brave.

  Come on. You survived a firestorm. You can do this. She drew in a long breath, released it, and then opened her mouth. Just as she was about to speak, she realized she no longer had Kate’s attention.

  Frowning, Kate looked at something to her right.

  Giuliana turned to look in the same direction.

  Two more charred bodies lay a few steps into a side street. One of the gruesome figures was still clutching the remainders of a rifle, as if that could protect him from the fire.

  Giuliana pressed a hand to her mouth. “Diu miu. It is the soldiers that wanted to break your pictures.”

  Kate nodded, still studying the bodies. “They’re not on Montgomery Avenue.”

  “Maybe the fire was behind them and they wanted to get away.”

  “Maybe, but then why didn’t they head down any other side street before they came to this one?” Kate rubbed her soot-covered chin. “I wonder…”

  “What?”

  “They might have left behind a wagon or horses or even an auto in this side street,” Kate said. “Maybe they were trying to reach it.”

  Giuliana tilted her head. She understood now what Kate was hinting at. “We cannot steal a vehicle of the army.”

  “We’re not stealing it. We’re just…returning it to the soldiers in Golden Gate Park. After a little detour to Italy Harbor.” An impish grin spread over Kate’s dirty features.

  Giuliana couldn’t help returning the smile. Kate was just too endearing. She couldn’t resist her, even if she wanted—which she didn’t. The mere thought of walking to the harbor and then all the way back to the park made her body scream for mercy. “Benu. We search their vehicle.”

  * * *

  It didn’t take them long to find it. Kate had been right: the soldiers had been trying to reach their vehicle. Giuliana was glad to see that it wasn’t a pair of horses. She liked the big animals—at least from a distance—but she’d never ridden one, and now, with every bone in her body hurting already, was not the time to learn.

  At the next street corner, which was still untouched by fire, stood an automobile. It was buried beneath a layer of ashes, so Giuliana couldn’t make out its color. Not that she cared, as long as the motorcar would carry her and Kate safely through the city.

  Kate walked up to it and examined the automobile. “It’s a Packard.”

  “Is
that good?”

  “Very. It’s the same type of automobile my father has…had.” Kate worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

  Giuliana stepped close and touched her arm in silent comfort. That little bit of contact immediately made her aware of what else she could do to make Kate forget about the lost automobile. Oh Madonna. It seemed they had managed to put out the fire threatening the trattoria, but that touch of their lips had started a new one inside of Giuliana—one that wasn’t as easy to extinguish.

  Did she even want to put it out? No one had ever talked to her about love—this kind of love—between two women. But when her father had still been alive, he had sometimes read to them from the only book in their house, the Bible. She vaguely remembered the story about God destroying a village because its men had committed shameful acts with other men.

  Shameful acts…She looked down at her hand on Kate’s arm. No. Giuliana’s world had been thoroughly shaken during the last couple of days—literally—but now an unshakable conviction grew inside of her. Her caring for Kate couldn’t be shameful, could it? It was the only thing that had kept her going through the last few days.

  After several seconds of standing still beneath Giuliana’s touch, Kate moved even closer to the automobile and wiped a bit of ash from the fender. “What in the world…?”

  “What?” Giuliana asked. “Is the metal hot? You did not burn your hand, no?”

  “No, but…” Kate wiped at the fender again. “I know this automobile. It’s my father’s.”

  “No. This is not possible. The automobile of your father is gone.”

  Kate shrugged. “The soldiers must have put gasoline in it and saved the automobile before they blew up the street where we left it.”

  They couldn’t be that lucky, could they? But then again, they had survived the earthquake and the fires, when many others hadn’t. “How do you know this?”

  “See this?” Kate pointed at a scratch in the dark blue paint of the fender. “It happened the first time I took the automobile out on my own. I was too scared to tell my father, so he assumes to this day that it must have happened while he was driving.”