temptation in florence 04 - expected in death Read Online Free PDF

but the weather is perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. In fact, May is my favorite month of the year.” Fabbiola smiled at her daughter. “And I always have my best ideas in May.”
    “Oh, really?” Carlina felt apprehension rising inside her. Knitting covers for statues was harmless enough. She'd hoped that this phase would last a little longer. Her mother's previous phases had often enough proved to be dynamite within the Mantoni family.
    “Yes!” Fabbiola dropped her large handbag onto the low bench in front of the check-out counter and rummaged around in it. “Look here!” She took out a hand-knitted bra with a matching pair of briefs. It was done in soft rose with a white edge and looked like a mixture of a toilet roll cover and a tea cozy.
    Carlina eyed the creation in dismay. “Interesting.”
    “I thought you could sell it at Temptation. I'm sure it would fly out of the door. If you wish, I can produce as many as fifty sets per week, with the help of my friends. I also thought--”
    “Mama.” Carlina tried to speak calmly. “I'm not sure that there is a demand for hand-knitted underwear.”
    “What?” Fabbiola recoiled and stared at her daughter. “How can you say that? It's an innovation!”
    “Wool is scratchy. There's a reason why few people wear wool directly on the skin.”
    “But this is super fluffy wool, Carlina! It's the best of the best!”
    “It's still wool.” Carlina felt desperate. How could she talk her mother out of this without hurting her feelings?
    Her mother lifted her chin. “I can see why Italy is going downhill all the time. Nobody is willing to innovate. Nobody is willing to take a risk, to try something new. If it's not proven, it will not work. In the past, now, people were different. They dared to try new stuff. They didn't stay in a rut, only doing what countless people before them did. They--”
    “Mama.”
    “What?” Fabbiola stared at her daughter, a strand of henna-red hair across her face.
    “Have you tried it?”
    “Have I tried what?”
    “Your underwear. Did you ever try to wear it for a whole day?”
    Fabbiola looked stunned. “But no. Can't you see that it's not my size? I thought you were a professional. You should have seen--”
    “Try it.”
    Fabbiola gulped. “You mean I should wear it?”
    “Yes. Wear it for one day, from morning till night. Then wash it and wait until it's dry. The next day, come back and tell me how it felt and what you experienced.”
    Fabbiola sniffed and opened her mouth, but before she could utter a scathing word, they were interrupted by an elegantly dressed woman who came through the door of Temptation with the smooth walk of one who knows how to make an entrance.
    “Buongiorno,” she said with a cool smile.
    “Buongiorno,” Carlina and Fabbiola chorused.
    The customer came straight to them, confident and self-assured. She addressed Carlina. “I'm looking for something a bit out of the ordinary, and I thought you'd--”
    “You've come to the right place.” Fabbiola lifted the rose-colored knitted bra and thrust it underneath the woman's nose. “This is the latest trend in fashion, and I'm sure you'll agree that's it's totally unique.”
    The woman glanced at the bra in front of her and wrinkled her nose. “I grant the uniqueness. As to the fashion trend . . . maybe in rural Russia?”
    Fabbiola's face turned purple. “Russia? Why Russia?”
    “Because people are poor in rural Russia and--”
    Carlina hurried to interrupt before her customer could go into details. “We also have some other unusual choices. Why don't you follow me to the shelf over here?” She pointed to the side and prayed that her mother would not insist on discussing her knitted model any further. While she presented several choices to the customer, she heard her mother mutter something under her breath and stomp out of the door. Phew. Saved for the moment. But it seemed as if the knitting phase was not without its pitfalls. She