ATONEMENT (32 page)

Her joy brought a smile back to his mouth, “Surprise.”

She jumped excitedly, kissed his cheek and he thought of his boys, wishing they were here, wishing for a lot of things –and that’s what bothered him most, the ‘wishing’ part because he wasn’t the wishing kind.

Visitors
were usually allo
wed
only fifteen minutes
for viewing
, but Nico
as
a ‘
special guest’
had no time restriction.
A hefty donation allotted him intimate access which was cool since
Selange
wanted
copious pictures of the grand painting and the ancient church
.
From there they visited The
Duomo
, the third largest church in Christendom.

                             
She
took a few tourist brochures and
he
laughed at her, making her put them away. He gave her background information as he guided her though the great cathedral, sharing stories not printed on the
shiny pamphlets. T
hey rode the elevator to the roof of the
Duomo
stretching high above the piazza del
Duomo
and when t
hey reached the top
,
she took his arm, moving close to his body for warmth
.
He tried not to
get
distracted and pointed at the baroque and neo-gothic façade
and
the five carved doors done by separate artisans
, describing the politics at the time of their selection
. He
also,
told her the beautiful
cathedral took 500 years to complete and from where they stood high atop the roof the
re was
a breathtaking view of the Alps.
He pointed and s
he released his arm to get pictures
,
turned
, smiled
and took one of him, then took his arm again.

“You know a lot about these places. You’ve probably visited many times, didn’t you?” She asked impressed by his wealth of knowledge.

He found her statement amusing.
He was
born in Italy, schooled there and
proud of
his
heritage
,
both
good and bad
. These antique buildings were lasting symbols
of
the past. A testament to the intelligence and hard work of
a strong people just as the pyramids and sphinx were to the people of Africa.
He sometimes found Americans
oblivious to history and often lack
ing in
detailed knowledge of the monuments thriving in their midst. He met many New Yorkers who lived in the city all their lives and had
yet to
visit
the Statute of Liberty and if
they
had were
unable to articulate even the smallest details. This was not isolated to New York
City; it was prevalent in
San Diego, Florida and
many other states scattered across America. Perhaps this
is why she was easily enthralled by his recital of
the buildings
history
.

He took her hand
,
“You
hungry?”

“Starving now.”

He teased, “Starving
, huh
.
Only days ago
you barely ate.”

The smile he received was one of genuine love, “
Until you talked sense into me, remember?
”
Her lip curled, “That scared straight shit, really works.”

A
bass of a
laugh
escaped his throat, “Oh, that’s all it took. Me? I feel honored to have such power.
”
He
took the camera from around her neck and shot several frames of the smiling young woman. When he finished he put the strap ov
er his shoulder then drew her
tightly
against him
and asked. “
How
’s
the baby
treating
mom?”

“
I’m getting tired
really fast
. I don’t remember feeling this way when I was pregnant with Allie or Sal. I gained two more pounds this week.”

“Every pregnancy is different, but tomorrow if you like we can visit a doctor friend of mine
, she’s discreet
.”

“No, I’ll be home soon, it can wait.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” she placed her hand on his arm, “thanks for taking such
great care
of me
.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

High above the piazza
Duomo
he kissed her
.

A
flash from a camera ended his public display of affection
and he turned to
see where
it originated and
spotted
a man on the other side of the roof angled in their direction with a camera about to take another shot.

The man wore dark shades and Nico could not see his eyes. He was also alone, highly unusual.
He carried a cylindrical shopping bag with the name of a local winery embossed on it. The neck of the bottle with its black cap showed over the
plastic rim, o
ther than this and the camera, there were no other signs of shopping, which
struck Nico as out of the ordinary.
Most tourists traveled in pairs or groups,
bought souvenirs or mementoes at every opportunity and took pictures of the scenery or each other,
this man did not.
Nico surmised the man was not a tourist.

“No pictures
!
”
Nico exclaimed as he walked over.

The man answered in
a
Milanese accent
, Nico
detect
ed
. “I could not miss the opportunity to take a picture of love
.
”

Nico grabbed the camera, removed the memory card and handed the man his camera with
fifty euros, far more than the cost of the inexpensive
xD
picture card.
“No pictures
I said. Here
buy another one and take pictures of someone who doesn’t mind.”
Eyeing and assessing the unassuming man.

 
He crushed the card with his heel and
swiftly
walked away
running his hands inside his coat for the concealed weapon
in the inside pocket.
He did not draw it, only
released
the safety then
collected Selange and hurried her to the elevator.
Th
e man would not do anything in
public;
witnesses were everywhere, besides he would not make it from the building. Security covered every floor. No, he’d wait.

“What happened, what
’s
that about?”
                         
Nico
didn’t answer.
Once clear of the cathedral he escorted her in the direction
of the
r
estaurants
and
cafés
. They stopped at the
Panzerotti
Luini
where he
watched the faces as they waited on line, scanning for the man from the roof. At the counter he ordered the famed
panzerotti
, rounds of dough stuffed with tomato and mozzarella
and beverages
.
He saw no sign of the man. He paid for their order, snatched up the bag and escorted her out a
back door to a narrow street. They were on the op
posite
side of
the piazza
now hidden from view. This
shorter
route
to the underground garage
was
lightly traveled and unknown to th
e throngs of tourists.

“What’s wrong Nico
, are we being followed
?”

Conversation was a distraction
and he gave no response
.
He was too busy listening to other external sounds.
The sun
began to
set and they had maybe twenty to thirty minutes of natural light remaining
before the
oppressive dark
ness settled overhead
.
He wanted to get on the road, see if anyone
tailed along
. Selange’s feet moved swiftly in the practical boots and he appreciated she
didn’t persist with
any further questions and kept pace
with him
.
He looked over his shoulder as they came into an opening
and were
visible to the public. The garage entrance was across this narrow stree
t. He pulled her along, past a couple and
then an
elderly woman who smiled
with her
missing teeth.
Nico nodded as he squeezed past. Culinary aromas clung to the air as they passed a row of residential buildings and entered the entrance to the underground parking lot. Car horns blared in the distance and he halted, stole a
glance
over his shoulder
and spotted the man
with
the
bag
heading
to
the garage from an easterly direction.

He
initiated
the
remote start
,
unlocked the vehicle
from where they were and
thrust the bag and camera in Selange’s hands, pointed to the car and
gestured
she leave.
Selange listened, this time and hurried past the rows of cars until she reached
the Mercedes. He
heard
the door thud
and knew she had made it inside.