“In Tuscany,” he began, “nothing warms one’s stomach on a cool night like a steaming bowl ofribollita, filled with chopped vegetables and bits of bread.In Arezzo, you can eat plump balls ofgnudifilled with cheese and spinach and drizzled in a rich sauce.”
“Mmm,” she murmured.“It sounds delicious.”
He did his best to recall all the different local cuisines he had sampled and describe them to her in as much detail as possible.The rich creaminess ofgelato, the spicy tang ofarrabiatatomato sauce on pasta, the sweetness on his tongue after a sip oflimoncello.
She nestled closer.“More.Tell me about the wine.”
No chianti on earth was as potent as her touch.The soft curves pressing against him were more drugging than any wine he’d ever known.Each happy sigh made his heart beat too fast and his mind empty of everything but her.He was hers to command.
“One cannot say anything about wine without starting with grapes,” he said when he found his voice.“The vineyards in Umbria…”
He held her close as he described everything he could remember about the harvesting of grapes and the countless varieties of wine.More than a man could taste in a single holiday.Or a mananda woman.He wished he could transport Gloria there at once in order to sample the dizzying array of flavors in person.
“And the art?”she asked when he finished.
“Theart,” he said in rapture.How she would love the art.He longed to show her.“The first time my breath was stolen from me, was by a Renaissance fresco soaring high above my head…”
By the time he finished answering all her questions about his travels, his voice was scratchy and the hour had grown late.He hadn’t noticed the passing of time.
With every memory he shared, the old vague yearnings for someone to accompany him on his adventures had taken a new shape.He did not long for some mystery woman by his side.He wanted to share experiences like these with Gloria firsthand.
“Wouldn’t you like to see for yourself?”he asked softly.“To pluck a grape right from the vine and feel its sweetness explode in your mouth?Visit the Sistine Chapel in Rome and the Gothic Duomo in Milan.Listen to the songs and stories handed down through generation after generation.”
At first, he thought she wasn’t going to respond.
“I like to read,” she said at last.“I don’t need to leave my house to visit the world.”
“One literally must leave one’s house in order to visit the world,” he said firmly.“No travel journal exists that can fully translate an experience.A taste, a texture, a scent… You can’t know unless you visit.”
“Then I guess I won’t know,” she said, her voice hollow.“I will not step foot on a boat.I have books.I’m not missing out on much.”
“Not much,” he agreed.“Just adventure.And life itself.”
She broke from his arms and crossed over to the window to sweep open the curtain.“Let’s not quarrel.It’s a beautiful night.The stars are alive.”
He narrowed his eyes.Shewas the one who didn’t allow herself to be fully alive.How could he make her see?“The stars are just stars.Inanimate balls of gas.You are the one who—”
She spun to face him, her cheeks flushed pink.
“They are alive,” she said fiercely, eyes glittering.“You’re wrong.”
Hardly.Any reputable astronomy tome extolled the recent discoveries of men like Wollaston and Fraunhofer.Their work with prism spectrometers proved without a doubt the surface was comprised of gases.Stars weren’t living planets.They were massive spheres of heat.Nothing could live there.
He shook his head.“Stars are dead.It isn’t the point.I don’t see why you can’t—”
Her voice rose.“Just because you don’t have the same dreams, doesn’t give you the right to take away mine.”
He lumbered to his feet, uncertain if he should to reach for her.“Are we still talking about stars?”
Her chin trembled.
“Your constellations come from science.Mine come from my heart.That doesn’t make them wrong.”She jabbed her finger to the window-glass.“What’s the name of that one?”
He suspected he was about to give the wrong answer.“Gemini?”
“No.”She blinked rapidly.“Those are my parents watching over me from the heavens.Smiling down on me every night.”
She lifted her chin and braced herself, as if expecting him to correct her.
