Ginny rearranged her shopping bags while Loretta and the boy chatted and laughed together. Could this be a boyfriend the teenager didn’t want Nico to know about? They looked very close.
“There is somewhere I need to go,” Loretta said when she returned. “Can you make your own way back to the hotel?”
Ginny looked around her blankly. It would be a long walk back in this heat, carrying all their shopping. She doubted Nico would be impressed if she returned without his daughter.
“A bus stops outside the town hall in five minutes,” Loretta said. “It will take you close to Splendido.”
“What shall I tell your dad?”
Loretta walked backward and performed an exaggerated shrug. “Tell him I need to live my life and he should start to live his, too.”
The bus Ginny caught was packed so full of people she had to stand in the aisle and couldn’t see her whereabouts through the windows properly. She got off too soon and had to walk a third of a mile back. By the time she reached Splendido, her back and forehead were sticky and her arms felt stretched from carrying the shopping.
She set the bags down in Nico’s kitchen, hoping he wouldn’t worry when he saw she was alone. The hotel was strangely quiet for lunchtime, though Ginny could hear a man talking. Curtis was lurking around at the end of the hallway on his own. He didn’t notice her and stood in front of Nico’s family photos while speaking into his phone. He moved along the hallway into the dining room, picking up and examining Nico’s pink vase and cushions and making more voice notes.
Something felt amiss and Ginny stepped back so he wouldn’t see her. She couldn’t make out his words and he eventually made his way outside. He stood in the courtyard looking up at the hotel with his phone still pressed to his lips.
As Ginny watched him through the window, she felt like she was witnessing a crime taking place without knowing what it was. What on earth was he up to? She waited until Curtis left the courtyard before she went outside, too.
A bark interrupted her thoughts and Biscotti appeared from behind the minibus. He had a stick in his mouth and scampered past her, disappearing around the corner. She followed him toward a field with grass so dry and yellow it looked like a sandy beach. Several colorful rugs were laid out like towels.
Ginny saw a gorgeous array of food spread out on plates. Juicy purple grapes shone in the sun, and there were two loaves of bread and an array of cheese. She noticed Curtis approaching with a walk so nonchalant it made him appear guilty.
Nico stood up to greet Ginny. “Where is Loretta?” he asked.
Ginny swallowed. “She saw a friend at the market and wanted to stay to talk to him.”
“Him?” Nico asked. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. I caught the bus back.”
He looked crestfallen. “I have been making a small picnic to celebrate some good news and now Loretta will miss it.”
“We bought some lovely tomatoes and fruit. Should I bring them outside?” Ginny asked.
“I will get them. You stay here, so Edna can tell you her good news.”
Edna held up a clump of fabric. “Eric followed Biscotti this morning and found my quilt,” she called out.
Ginny sat down on the rug next to Edna and slipped off her sandals. She took the quilt from the older lady and examined it. Ginny’s block was missing, the one made by Curtis was hanging by a thread and others were torn. The entire thing looked grubby and tattered, but Edna’s eyes were shiny.
“We can all make new pieces,” Edna said loudly, making it sound like a command rather than a request.
“I will clean the quilt with soap and water,” Nico said, reappearing with more food. “The washing machines at Grand Hotel Castello Bella Vista will surely ruin the delicate fabric.”
“Thank you kindly,” Edna said.
They all ate in the sunshine and Ginny could sense their moods lifting once more. She laughed at Eric and Biscotti running around together in circles.
Heather shuffled a pack of tarot cards, drawing different ones from the pack and referring to a book. She seemed to be willing certain ones to turn up. “I bought them in Florence,” she said, noticing Ginny’s interest.
“Do you believe in fortune telling?”
Heather cocked her head. “I never used to. I mean, how can random cards predict your future? They’re interesting though, supposed to have originated in Northern Italy during the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. People have used them for years, so theremustbe some reason they’re enduring,” she said, her voice full of hope.
Ginny didn’t really believe in them, but she did wonder about her future. “Can you do a small reading for me?” she asked.
“I’ll try. I’m not totally au fait with them yet.” Heather handed the deck to Ginny. “Shuffle them and think of a question.”
