Curtis had even partially completed a form, writing,Sorry for laughing after the gongs. I just know some things won’t work.
Ginny wondered what he meant.
There was one extra sheet, making five in total. She pressed her fingers to her chest when she saw the name at the top, Nico.
He hadn’t completed an evaluation scale, but he had put forward an activity. In neat handwriting at the bottom of the page it said,Venice, the city of love.
Perhaps Nico wanted help with his heartache, too.
21
Bridges
The beauty and romance of Venice made Ginny feel breathless. Her loose hair danced in the wind and her pulse raced with excitement as she sat with the others on board the vaporetto, a water taxi that took them along the Grand Canal toward Piazza San Marco. Because Venice was a car-free city, Nico had parked his minibus on the outskirts near the train station. Since fainting in Gianfranco’s hotel, Ginny had taken a couple of days to recuperate and now felt back to her full strength.
The water rippled as the boat swept past crumbling buildings in shades of peach, dusky pink, ochre and white. Many of the ground floors had been vacated due to the rising water that reached halfway up some of the doors. Gondolas bobbed on the waves beside striped wooden mooring posts. Reflections danced under the oldest bridge that reached over the canal, the triangular white limestone Ponte di Rialto.
As the vaporetto neared the end of its thirty-minute journey, Ginny spied the orange and white structure of the Campanile, a tall bell tower overlooking Piazza San Marco. The magnificent Doge’s Palace (or Palazzo Ducale, as Nico called it) was petal pink with tapestry-like brickwork and hundreds of intricately carved stone windows. The building was topped with a row of structures that looked like the heads of spears. Heather took lots of photos on her Polaroid camera, shaking the shots and watching as images appeared.
When the water taxi came to a stop, the waves lapping against its side sounded like applause.
The sight ahead made Nico stand taller and he placed an arm around Loretta’s shoulder, pulling her closer. When he leaned in to kiss his daughter’s forehead, she didn’t pull away.
Edna wore an orange scarf tied around her hair, and a swathe of turquoise silk, worn as a sarong over her black skirt. With her large sunglasses, she looked like an extra from the set ofA Glorious Escape. She got off the boat next to Ginny. “Are you okay, my dear?” she asked. “I’ve been fretting about you.”
“I’m fine now. I got a bit overwhelmed by everything.”
“Tsk, young women take on so much responsibility these days, working, raising children, and looking after all and sundry. Something has to give and it’s usually themselves.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that—” Ginny started to say then stopped herself. A few weeks ago, she’d have insisted that womencouldhave it all, even though she often felt like a circus performer keeping plates spinning on top of thin poles. She mustn’t have been managing things very well if her marriage had broken down. “You’re right, Edna,” she admitted. “I’m beginning to see the light.”
“Good girl,” Edna said. “Me, too.”
When they all stepped off the boat, the sky grew grayer and fat drops of rain started to fall. Ginny flicked up the collar on her blouse. She’d read somewhere that Venice had a similar amount of rainfall to Manchester. Even in the drizzle, the city looked enchanting and she felt like pinching herself, to make sure she was actually here.
“Don’t worry. It is only a summer shower,” Nico said. He’d brought a pink umbrella with him and held it aloft so it was easy to follow him.
Other umbrellas opened around them like flowers in a meadow. Plastic rain macs shone wet and Ginny concentrated on her feet in case the pavement was slippery.
Nico stopped on a corner of Piazza San Marco and waited until his hotel guests gathered around him. He nudged Loretta, prompting her to tell them about the building with domed roofs like piped meringue that dominated the square. On top of a granite column stood a bronze lion with wings.
Loretta merely glanced over her shoulder. “This is the Basilica di San Marco,” she said, as if the magnificent structure was a new charity shop that had opened in the city.
Ginny didn’t know how she could be so blasé. The Romanesque carvings around the central doorway of the Basilica and the four horses presiding over the piazza were so beautiful they brought a lump to her throat. There were so many statues and small towers she couldn’t count them all and luminous gold mosaics glistened wet in the rain.
She instinctively reached out to hold Adrian’s hand and wriggled her fingers through thin air. She could barely hear Loretta’s sparse commentary above all the tourists talking around her.
Nico bent his head and spoke into Ginny’s ear. “The church was originally built in the ninth century to house the remains of Saint Mark, the patron saint of the city. The building has been remodeled several times over the centuries so is a stunning mix of architectural styles. It has five domes, four thousand square meters of mosaics and over five hundred columns,” he said. “Today, the square is also famous for luxurious restaurants, floods and many pigeons.”
Ginny found it difficult to concentrate when Nico’s hair brushed against her cheek. She could feel his breath on her neck and found it oddly erotic. She felt like she should inch away from him, even though she didn’t want to.
Nico continued his narration, this time addressing the whole group. “Venice is built on a group of one hundred and eighteen islands separated by canals. Over four hundred bridges link them together,” he said. “The city is built on a muddy lagoon with inadequate foundations. People say the city is sinking, but really it is flooding because of the rising sea levels.”
“Climate change has a lot to answer for,” Heather said. “We’ve been studying it in class.”
Ginny looked around her. Everything looked beautiful and solid, yet beneath her feet, invisible erosion was taking place.
“I’d like a nice sit-down and a coffee,” Edna said. “I believe the stylish people go to Caffè Florian and Harry’s Bar.”
