I wondered what to do. I realized maybe the villa was a little out of the way. “Can I walk, or take a bus maybe?”
“I’m not sure about the bus, but if I were you, I wouldn’t walk. It’s a couple of miles probably.”
“Sure,” I said, downcast.
“But I’m off today, and I’ve got some shopping to do, too, so I can take you.”
“Amazing.”
“Just give me a minute to get changed,” he said, “and we’ll go.”
I nodded, unable to suppress a smile. And yet I was agitated inside, feeling as though I were crossing a threshold and there was no turning back. On his way out of the kitchen, Lucas stopped and told me, “By the way, I’m respectful of other people’s freedom and their quirks. So, uh…if you want to walk around the house in your underwear, that’s fine by me, no problem. Just pretend I’m not here. You can wear your doughnut panties, or cookie ones if you have them, or whatever. I’ve got a sweet tooth.”
Without thinking, I grabbed a lemon out of the fruit bowl and threw it at him. He caught it, just barely, and ran into his room. I wanted to tell him off, but as I leaned my hands on the table, I felt something. Something different. An inner warmth. As though something inside me was thawing out. I felt silly, but I felt happy, too. I grabbed my bag and waited by the door. A few second later, Lucas appeared in jeans and a black T-shirt, sunglasses propped high on his head and a cigarette behind his ear. He tucked his wallet in his back pocket and grabbed some keys from a bowl on the sideboard, tossing them to me. I had to juggle them in the air before I finally caught them.
“Here, these are yours. Shall we?”
I agreed and we walked downstairs. Outside, I felt the magic the place emanated once more. The scent of citrus fruit was intense, and the damp from the sprinklers hung in the air around us, making tiny rainbows in the sunlight.
Under the arbor, I saw Catalina pruning rose stems.
“Good morning,” Lucas said.
She turned and flattened her hand over her eyes.
“Good morning,” she responded, examining me briefly. “Headed out?”
“Gotta fill up the fridge. By the way,Nonna, this is Maya. She’s going to rent the room, as long as you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” Catalina said. “If she’s good enough for you, she’s good enough for me.” She laid down her clippers and walked over to give me a brief kiss on each cheek. “Hello again, Maya. Is your phone working?”
I could feel myself blushing as I told her, “Yeah, I think the bush broke the fall.”
Surprised, Lucas asked, “You two know each other?”
“We met this morning in the vestibule,” I told him, “when I had to come downstairs and rescue my phone.”
The way they looked back and forth at each other, they seemed to be communicating something, and finally Catalina raised her arms and said, “A new renter! You know what that means?”
“Barbecue?” Lucas ventured.
“A barbecue!” Catalina said. “We’ve got to welcome our new guest. And how long has it been since the last one? I can no longer remember.”
“It was when Paulo came here about a year ago, I think,” Lucas answered.
“Tell me about this barbecue?” I asked.
Catalina explained, “We always have a little welcome dinner when someone new moves into the villa. It’s a way to get to know them. And now it’s your turn!”
Get to know me?I wasn’t sure if I liked the sound of that.
“There’s no need for all that,” I told her. But they both told me there was. And when I asked them not to go to so much trouble over me, I started stumbling over my words, and they said, almost in unison, “It’s a tradition,” with Lucas telling me it would be a nice way to meet the neighbors and Catalina adding, “And a nice way for them to meet you.”
I think Lucas knew I was scowling at him, but he didn’t let it bother him. He just flashed that same innocent smile at me.
“Great, I’ll tell everyone,” Catalina said, heading inside. “I’ll ask Giulio to buy what we need, and Blas will take care of the firewood.”
“We’ll get drinks,” Lucas said.
