Falling for Italy (18 page)

Sonia wiped her mouth with her napkin, swallowing the first delicious bite. It definitely had some oregano too.

“That’s what Giovanni asked me when we met. As I told him, I’ve been fascinated by guns ever since I was a child. Just a special passion, that’s all. As it happened, I was good at this sport.”

“I see. Maybe a native inclination? What do your parents do?”

The familiar twinge of pain and regret came as expected. And, as she’d done for the past ten years when confronted with such questions, Sonia fought it back.

“My parents are dead,” she replied, looking into her plate as though taking a casual interest in her food. “They were killed in a car crash ten years ago, when I was nineteen.”

The usual moment of awkward silence was interrupted when Giovanna said, in a deep sincere voice, “I’m so sorry. I know how heart wrenching it is to lose a parent.” After a slight pause, she asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. It’s just me.”

“Nineteen…” Fabrizzio mused, sorrow imprinted on his handsome face. “So young and left alone in the world. You don’t have anybody else?”

She lifted her gaze to glance at him.

“I have myself.” Moving her eyes to Giovanna’s, she added, “And now I have Giovanni. It’s more than I could ever possibly need. I couldn’t be more grateful,” she continued, smiling when Giovanni took her hand and kissed it softly, returning her smile.

“You’re a strong woman. And a brave one, to put your fate and faith into my son’s hands. I think that’s the biggest proof of love and trust one could offer. But remember, now you also have a family,” Giovanna told her in a quiet voice.

Looking across the table at the older woman, Sonia felt a life-lasting connection had already been established between them.

“Thank you,” she replied, her lips parting into a warm smile, reciprocated by Giovanna.

“She knows that, Mamma,” Giovanni said, stroking her cheek affectionately, his eyes flooding her with love. She rested her cheek in his palm just for a heartbeat, aware of the other couple studying them. However, she was no longer weary of their curiosity, because she felt the kindness behind it. These people had become her family. Such a strange word for her—one she hadn’t spoken in many years, nor to which she could relate. She’d been on her own too long and felt overwhelmed by their sudden acceptance and offered fondness.

As though sensing her drift into introspective melancholy, Fabrizzio asked in his jovial tone, “So, do you plan to continue working here as a target shooting trainer?”

“Yes I do, as soon as I can handle the language well enough.”

“Lucia is teaching her,” said Giovanni. “And I’ve never watched so much TV in my life since she’s around,” he joked, rolling his eyes toward her. “She’s watching anything that has Italian subtitles, from soap operas to documentaries on the mating of lions.”

Giovanna bubbled out a laugh.

“That should be interesting. How do you like the house? That was another step to domesticity with which Giovanni shocked us.”

“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Sonia answered animated. “And I’m completely in love with Guccio.”

“Ah, a dog…the closest thing I have to a grandchild so far. I hope you’ll get to work on that as soon as possible. I want to be a young, fashionable grandmother.” Giovanna sighed, making Sonia blush. It seemed it was never too soon or inappropriate to talk about mating and making grandbabies in the Coriola-Angeli family.

“Do you have anything left to take from England, or is your move complete here?” Fabrizzio asked her, as he placed an enormous piece of cake onto his dessert plate.

“Well, I’ll have to give in my notice,” she replied, following his example, because the cake looked absolutely mouthwatering, with layers of chocolate and a mountain of cherries on top. “I’ll do that after the holidays and make sure my teams have an appropriate replacement. I’m sorry to leave them. They were making progress, but I have someone in mind who will do his best in continuing their training.”

“Good, that’s good. We have bombarded you with questions, poor child. You haven’t even had time to eat properly. While you do that, it’s your turn to be grilled,
amico,”
he told Giovanni. “How’s the business going?”

“It’s going fine,” Giovanni said around a mouth full of cake. “Since I’ve taken a month’s vacation, I haven’t been to the office, but I’m always up to date. We are, after all, technology freaks. Sonia calls me
the computer king
,” he went on chuckling, making everyone laugh. “How about you? Bought any interesting properties lately? I forgot to tell you.” He turned to Sonia. “Fabrizzio is dealing with real estate, among other things. He was the first to discover our home.”

“Really?”

“Yes, well,” Fabrizzio said, “I planned to buy and resell it, but something urged me to show it to Giovanni first. Thank God I did! I am now contemplating buying an ex-hotel building. They wanted to demolish it, but I see some potential there.”

“Oh,
Dio!
They’re talking business now. Come on, Sonia,” Giovanna intervened and stood. “If you’re finished, let’s get out of here. I want to show you the rest of the house.
Amore
, put some more logs in the hearth, the fire is dying out,” she told Fabrizzio and bent to kiss his cheek.

Then she crossed her arm through Sonia’s and led her out of the room to a sumptuous staircase.

“Let’s go up to the library. I have something for you, a pre-wedding present. By the way, I never asked, have you two set a date?” Giovanna said as they climbed the stairs.

“Not yet. We’re still enjoying the status of being engaged,” she joked.

“How about
San Valentino’s Day
? That would be symbolic and very romantic.”

“Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day too, here in Italy?”

“Sonia…
Dia de San Valentino
has been a Christian holiday in Rome for hundreds of years,” Giovanna informed her, as she opened a heavy-looking wooden door, the first one in a row of doors standing on both sides of a long corridor.

The room was a book empire, three out of four walls were covered with bookshelves from top to bottom. Sonia spun around in awe, angling her head back as she marveled at this universe of knowledge. It smelled of wood, old paper, ink and leather bindings. Big chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their crystals sparkling in the light coming through a trio of windows.

“Oh, my God! I could live here all of my life, right in this room!”

“Do you enjoy books?”

“Immensely,” Sonia replied and turned to the other woman. “I left more than a few dozen back in London, in my flat. We’ll collect them when we go back after the holidays.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Giovanna noticed Sonia’s amulet and, reaching out to touch it, held it between her elegant fingers.

“This is quite unique,” she remarked, studying it carefully.

“Yes… We came across it in a rather unusual way,” Sonia replied, recalling the old antiquarian and his cryptic riddles.

“How’s that?”

Sonia recounted briefly their eventful visit to the antique shop and the story of the amulet—as the old man had told it. Giovanna listened intrigued, her graceful eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“That is indeed strange. I’ve never read of the existence of such an amulet owned by Dante. And I know his biography and the legends related to him pretty well. In any case, the present I have for you will go perfectly with this pendant,” she said and headed to one of the bookcases.

“Oh, Mrs. Angeli, you don’t have to—”

“Call me Giovanna, please,” she interrupted, taking a small jewelry box from one of the shelves. She turned to face Sonia.

“I know we barely know each other, Sonia, but I like you. My son chose you to be his bride. That means a lot to me. You will soon become my daughter, and for us family is very important.”

She smiled wistfully, her eyes looking at some long-lost memories.

“Vincente, my first husband, didn’t put too much stock into family. We were both very young when we got married, full of dreams. Neither of us had had a significant relationship. But soon after our children were born, Vincente discovered other women existed and he enjoyed them very much. The younger, the better. I wasn’t enough for him. So this time I chose a man who had plenty of women. I know I’m not his first, but I know I’ll be his last. You can even teach me how to shoot so I can make sure of that.”

Sonia smiled widely, utterly delighted by her mother-in-law’s wits and character.

“Giovanni had many women too,” Giovanna went on, and the smile on Sonia’s lips faltered, replaced by that sharp twinge in her heart whenever she thought about her fiancé’s ex-lovers. She turned her gaze away, but Giovanna took her hand into hers.

“He dated many women, but he didn’t love any one of them, until you. You know you’re not the first, but you will be the last. I know that.”

Sonia stared long into her dark eyes and saw the truth and kindness in them. She squeezed Giovanna’s hand gently.

“I know. Thank you for making me feel welcome. I’m glad to be part of this family…
Mamma
,” she added, making a smile bloom on Giovanna’s beautiful face.

“
Figlia mia
…I want you to have this,” she said and opened the little box, revealing a silver broche. It was shaped like a leaf, with tiny lines finely carved around a ruby the size of Sonia’s thumbnail. “It was my mother’s, and now it’s yours—the wife of my first born.”

Sonia didn’t know what to say. She touched the broche tentatively with a single finger, trailing the dentate edges.

“Oh, this is… Thank you, Giovanna, but…isn’t this supposed to go to Linda?”

“No. Linda has my mother’s pearls. This is yours. So take it and don’t fuss about it, yes?” she replied in a brisk tone, meant to stave off the sentimentality threatening to turn the moment into a weepy one.

Sonia took the box and smiled at Giovanna, swallowing the knot of emotion in her own throat.

“Okay. Thanks. You were right—this will be a killer with the pendant.”

* * * *

“So, how did you like Mom and Fabri?” Giovanni asked her as they drove on the sleet-covered streets. They’d decided to take time for a brief shopping session before darkness fell, since it was too late for sightseeing.

“I liked them very much. Your mother gave me your grandmother’s ruby broche,” she replied, patting her bag.

“Well, since you take such good care of the family jewels,” he said in an insinuating tone and grinned at her slyly.

“Oh, you mean these?” she asked innocently and slid a hand between his thighs, stroking gently.

“
Dio
,
cara,
I’m driving. Do you want to get us killed?” he asked on a strangled choke when her caresses became bolder.

“At least you’ll die a happy death,” she philosophized, but withdrew her hand, chuckling. “Maybe I should wait until we’re safely in our suite. Where are we going anyway?”

“I thought I’ll take you to the shopping district near
Piazza di Spagna
. That’s a paradise of fashion and on the way you have the chance to see some of the city.”

“I love it so far, and I know there’s so much to see,” she said, trying to encompass with her gaze the rushing by panorama. “I hope we’ll come again next year, stay longer. Let me act like a genuine tourist. Oh, that reminds me—your mother and I thought we should get married on Valentine’s Day.”

He choked out a laugh.

“You and my mother are getting married?”

“No, clown!” She poked him in the ribs. “You know what I mean. What do you think? Shall we marry on Valentine’s Day?”

He looked at her seriously.

“
Cara
, I’d marry you right this moment. The date doesn’t matter to me, just the result. But I want us to have a big wedding. I want to show the world what a treasure I have, and I want you to feel like the princess you are.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing, and a smile blossomed on her lips.

“I already feel like one, baby.”

He stroked her cheek with one hand, and then put it back on the steering wheel.

“Do you think we have time to organize everything in less than two months?”

“I have no idea. I know absolutely nothing about weddings, except what I saw at Linda and Gerard’s wedding.”

“Don’t worry. Mamma will help. She can make miracles happen when it comes to such events. We’re here,” he announced, looking for a place to park.

He knew the area reasonably well and didn’t think they would manage to cover all the shops and boutiques before closing time. As always, a cosmopolitan sea of people swarmed to and fro—men and women of all ages and races, seized by an acute shopping fever, loaded with bags and packs.

Sonia clung tightly to his arm, her rounded eyes darting right and left, as though not knowing where to go in first. Prada, Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana, Versace, Armani
—
all gathered to one spot in the capital of sin and luxury.