someone to talk to, someone to affirm her good fortune, to confirm that she deserved it, to reflect her joy. Turning her face to the sun, she inhaled the sweet air, then once replenished, plunged back into her gilded world.
A few days after their first meeting, Marina found a note from Sarah and Thomas waiting for her at the pensione.
Meet us for dinner tomorrow at Anita’s. S&T
She had not seen Sarah and Thomas since their lunch together, although she’d kept an eye out for them in the streets, hoping she might run into them as she walked from her pensione to the Pitti Palace. The note had not said at what time to meet and she had no way of getting in touch with them. Dinner, she knew, was a late affair, with people often sitting down to eat as late as ten o’clock. While she appreciated the leisurely rhythm of the city, the long lunch hour followed by an afternoon siesta and then the reluctant resurgence in late afternoon as the shopkeepers lifted metal gates and shutters for the last few hours of business, she wasn’t sure she could wait that late to eat. She would just have to guess at a time and hope she wouldn’t look stupid hanging around outside the restaurant. In the end, she decided on eight thirty and was saved from potential embarrassment when she saw Sarah and Thomas disappearing through the doorway of the restaurant just as she rounded the corner.
Sarah greeted her with an enthusiastic embrace and Thomas kissed her on both cheeks.
“I’ve found you an apartment!” Sarah announced as they settled at the table, her eyes sparkling. “It’s on our side of town, in Via Luna. Moon Street, isn’t that lovely? It belongs to my friend’s parents. Marcello says you can see it tomorrow.”
Thomas was enthusiastic. “It’s on the ground floor in what used to be a workshop. The whole street was workshops at one time, but I think almost all of them have been converted to apartments. It’s a tiny little street, a dead end. No traffic.”
Marina looked from one to the other. She hardly knew these people. She had not even started her classes yet. The words “Moon Street,” “workshops,” “no traffic” echoed in her head. “Wow, I don’t know what to say.”
Sarah reached over and squeezed Marina’s hand. “It sounds great. Marcello says it has two rooms, so maybe you could set one up as a workroom and the other as a bedroom /sitting room. And, of course, it has a kitchen and bath.”
“I think it may have a garden as well,” Thomas added.
He ordered a bottle of wine, and Marina allowed them to sweep her up in the celebration. They ate gnocchi in a creamy Gorgonzola sauce, followed by veal scallops cooked in butter and lemon, and at Thomas’s insistence, the three of them shared a plate of tiramisu to finish.
They wanted to hear about everything Marina had done since their lunch together, each of them volleying questions at her in a way that came to feel a bit like they were verbally elbowing each other out of the way, vying for her attention. When dinner arrived, Thomas engaged her in a lengthy conversation about photography, which Marina knew something about, having been the photographer for her high school paper. But by the second course, Sarah had turned the conversation back to Marina’s life, and the two women chatted easily as if they’d been friends for years while Thomas grew quiet, seemingly absorbed in his meal, although she caught him staring at her more than once.
She agreed to meet them the next morning at their apartment, from where they would proceed to Via Luna to see the apartment. When they parted, Sarah hugged Marina tightly and kissed her on both cheeks, her excitement palpable. Marina wondered if she was always this friendly but couldn’t help feeling flattered. Thomas stood off to the side, watching, then gave her a lingering embrace that seemed to include the press of his hips, but she couldn’t be sure. He had one final instruction on finding their
A few days after their first meeting, Marina found a note from Sarah and Thomas waiting for her at the pensione.
Meet us for dinner tomorrow at Anita’s. S&T
She had not seen Sarah and Thomas since their lunch together, although she’d kept an eye out for them in the streets, hoping she might run into them as she walked from her pensione to the Pitti Palace. The note had not said at what time to meet and she had no way of getting in touch with them. Dinner, she knew, was a late affair, with people often sitting down to eat as late as ten o’clock. While she appreciated the leisurely rhythm of the city, the long lunch hour followed by an afternoon siesta and then the reluctant resurgence in late afternoon as the shopkeepers lifted metal gates and shutters for the last few hours of business, she wasn’t sure she could wait that late to eat. She would just have to guess at a time and hope she wouldn’t look stupid hanging around outside the restaurant. In the end, she decided on eight thirty and was saved from potential embarrassment when she saw Sarah and Thomas disappearing through the doorway of the restaurant just as she rounded the corner.
Sarah greeted her with an enthusiastic embrace and Thomas kissed her on both cheeks.
“I’ve found you an apartment!” Sarah announced as they settled at the table, her eyes sparkling. “It’s on our side of town, in Via Luna. Moon Street, isn’t that lovely? It belongs to my friend’s parents. Marcello says you can see it tomorrow.”
Thomas was enthusiastic. “It’s on the ground floor in what used to be a workshop. The whole street was workshops at one time, but I think almost all of them have been converted to apartments. It’s a tiny little street, a dead end. No traffic.”
Marina looked from one to the other. She hardly knew these people. She had not even started her classes yet. The words “Moon Street,” “workshops,” “no traffic” echoed in her head. “Wow, I don’t know what to say.”
Sarah reached over and squeezed Marina’s hand. “It sounds great. Marcello says it has two rooms, so maybe you could set one up as a workroom and the other as a bedroom /sitting room. And, of course, it has a kitchen and bath.”
“I think it may have a garden as well,” Thomas added.
He ordered a bottle of wine, and Marina allowed them to sweep her up in the celebration. They ate gnocchi in a creamy Gorgonzola sauce, followed by veal scallops cooked in butter and lemon, and at Thomas’s insistence, the three of them shared a plate of tiramisu to finish.
They wanted to hear about everything Marina had done since their lunch together, each of them volleying questions at her in a way that came to feel a bit like they were verbally elbowing each other out of the way, vying for her attention. When dinner arrived, Thomas engaged her in a lengthy conversation about photography, which Marina knew something about, having been the photographer for her high school paper. But by the second course, Sarah had turned the conversation back to Marina’s life, and the two women chatted easily as if they’d been friends for years while Thomas grew quiet, seemingly absorbed in his meal, although she caught him staring at her more than once.
She agreed to meet them the next morning at their apartment, from where they would proceed to Via Luna to see the apartment. When they parted, Sarah hugged Marina tightly and kissed her on both cheeks, her excitement palpable. Marina wondered if she was always this friendly but couldn’t help feeling flattered. Thomas stood off to the side, watching, then gave her a lingering embrace that seemed to include the press of his hips, but she couldn’t be sure. He had one final instruction on finding their
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