“Sì.” Nico opened the door, gesturing for her to step inside first. A lady appeared behind the counter and smiled.
“The Venice Carnival began in 1162 to celebrate Venice’s victory over its enemy, the Patriarch of Aquileia,” she told them. “People gathered in Piazza San Marco to dance and play games. Ever since then, the victory has been celebrated in the streets of Venice each February. It was once the only time that lower and upper classes mingled together, aristocrats and peasants, and they wore masks to conceal their identities. They could carry out their fantasies, such as gambling and partying. There were affairs and even political assassinations. Three million visitors still attend the carnival each year.”
“Wow,” Ginny said, wondering what things she’d carry out behind the guise of a mask. Probably nothing illegal; she’d be too worried about being caught.
She picked up a mask and turned it over in her hands, wondering if she’d been donning a metaphysical one by pretending to be Jenny.
This one was white and painted with delicate red and gold flowers. When Ginny saw other customers were holding their purses, ready to make purchases, she experienced her familiar urge to whip out her credit card.
“That mask is one of my favorites,” the shopkeeper said with a smile.
Ginny gritted her teeth, fighting her impulse to buy it. If there were any gaps in her life, pretty objects wouldn’t fill them. “It is beautiful, but no, thank you,” she said, congratulating herself on her restraint. She handed the mask back to the shopkeeper.
Nico said something in Italian to the shopkeeper who nodded. She vanished into the back of the shop before reemerging with two packages wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. Nico paid and tucked them under his arm.
“Birthday presents for Loretta?” Ginny asked him.
Nico smiled enigmatically. “Come, we should eat something,” he said.
They bought slices of pizza from a small street café and sat at an outside table, cheese strings trailing on their chins. Eating in the sunshine was one of Ginny’s little pleasures. She loved feeling the warm rays on her face.
Nico handed one of his parcels to her. “This is for you,” he said.
Ginny stripped off the paper to find the mask she’d admired in the shop. Nico had bought one, too. It had a wide black stripe across the eyes and a three-cornered hat attached.
“Oh, gosh. Thank you,” Ginny said. She slipped the ribbon behind her hair and the mask felt cool against her skin. She glanced around, feeling conspicuous until she noticed a few other people wearing them, too. She glanced at Nico and thought he looked mysterious and handsome in his mask. It was good he couldn’t see her face and tell what she was thinking.
Nico led the way toward a tiny bridge with uneven paving stones. Ginny stumbled a little and he reached out for her hand to steady her. His fingers were slim and rough, so different from Adrian’s fleshy digits.
Holding another man’s hand felt wrong but, at the same time, Ginny welcomed the closeness of Nico’s skin.
They walked across the bridge together with their fingers linked for mere seconds, but it felt like much longer. The delicious sensation that trickled through Ginny’s body made guilt stir inside her.If it wasn’t for Adrian’s foolish actions, I wouldn’t even be here, she told herself.
“Where are we going?” she asked Nico.
He faced her and she could see his eyes shining behind the mask. “Come with me,” he said.
Ginny’s stomach flipped as she followed him toward a small wooden door in a wall. She looked up at the inauspicious building with its tiny windows and unkempt window boxes. “What is this place?” she asked, her intrigue hampered by a touch of worry.
“You will see,” he said.
An ornate bell hung on the wall and Nico rang it.
They stood together and waited for the door to open.
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The door parted to reveal a slice of greenery beyond it. Nico took off his mask and gestured for Ginny to step over the threshold first.
When she saw the beautiful oasis that awaited her, she also removed her mask and took in the view. Water trickled in a scalloped stone fountain held aloft by cherubs. Low curated boxwood hedges, set in squares, contained white rose bushes. As Ginny walked alongside Nico, she spotted hydrangeas, snapdragons and irises among the pomegranate and olive trees. A balcony fit for Romeo and Juliet brimmed with window boxes, and a sweet, floral perfume hung in the air.
“There are over five hundred gardens in Venice, many of them hidden behind the tall walls,” Nico said.
Ginny spun around on the balls of her feet. “You’d never know they were here, tucked away. It reminds me of a book I had as a child,The Secret Gardenby Frances Hodgson Burnett.”
“I think Loretta has this book,” Nico said. “Maria gave it to her.”
