“I feel the same way every time I enter this room.”
“And I really can’t take a photo?” he said, his face hopeful.
“I can’t even do that.”
His eyes widened. But instead of saying something else, he kissed her on both cheeks and hugged her.
“It’ssogood to see you again,” she told him.
“You too. Let me whisk you off to a little wine bar I know nearby that has the mosteccellentecharcuterie.”
Aida led her friend out of the palazzo, her mind buzzing with everything she wanted to tell him, but after Trista’s stern warning, she wasn’t sure she should.
Rome was warmer than Boston, so winter wasn’t nearly as frigid. Aida was delighted that she only needed a jacket, not the heavy winter coat she’d been sporting for the last two months.The sun made the buildings glow with the golden, almost otherworldly light for which the city was well-known. Walking through the streets of the Eternal City, the breeze barely kissing her cheeks, filled Aida with unbridled joy and contentment.
“What a perfect day.” Aida slid into a seat at a slightly weather-worn table under the awning of the wine bar’s patio. They ordered a bottle of Cesanese wine and a selection of local cheeses and salumi, including a wild boar pâté with a smear of chocolate.
“So, tell me,” Felix said, “how are you liking the new job?”
Aida reflected on Dante and Trista’s insistence on confidentiality and decided to power down her MODA-issued phone. She had long thought her own iPhone was listening to all her conversations to serve up ads. What could the MODA phone do?
“It feels like a dream. But there’s this undercurrent of surveillance that’s... unsettling.”
“Yeah, a Big Brother element to it all.” He gave a nod toward her purse on the chair next to her where she had put her phone.
“You had to sign an NDA too, so you know how weird they are.” Aida didn’t feel like she should say the name MODA aloud in public, although logic told her the locals would think she was talking about some new fashion.
“Very weird. When I worked with Johannes, he would record most of my tour and have it transcribed afterward. I definitely cut down on my lively banter knowing every word I said might be read again at a later date.”
“It was probably to help him manage the research. I’ve been told to do the same. He would have picked through the text afterward to get at the essence of what he was looking for. You probably don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Still. I never really understood the reason for all the secrecy. The NDAs, the restriction on photos, you know. It’s just history. I’m glad I’m just a guide they use occasionally, and not fully employed like you are. I would never submit to all theirrules and regulations in my personal life. They certainly don’t need to hear all my racy phone calls!” He laughed. “So, whatareyou researching?”
“Goethe and his time in Italy.”
“Ahh, you’ll be going to the museum then.”
Aida took a sip of her wine. “Sì.Next week.”
“But he’s already been well studied. Thatiswhy there’s a museum dedicated to him here.”
“It’s the angle I’m taking that’s unique.”
“Oh, do spill the tea.” Felix leaned in, ready for details.
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Aida said, torn between adhering to the rules of her contract and confiding in her dear friend.
“I signed the same NDA, remember? Plus, you turned off your phone.”
Aida looked at the other diners around her. No one was paying them any attention. “I’m studying happiness... what made Goethe happy, how he made others happy, and everything related to that in his life and works.”
Felix wrinkled his brow. “Happiness?” he said, a little too loudly. Aida gave him a stern look and he lowered his voice. “That’s it?”
Aida nodded. “Strange, huh? I don’t know why I can’t talk about it.”
Her friend chuckled. “Well, does it makeyouhappy?”
Aida raised her glass. “So far, it’s like a fairy tale. I’m learning endlessly, living in splendor, dining like royalty, and I have Rome’s treasures at my doorstep. The work, the place, the luxury—it’s more than I could have ever imagined. So yes, you could say I’m quite happy. Immeasurably so. But I really miss Graham. It’s hard to be away from him.”
