“On the other side of the Arno River, just outside thePalazzo Pitti.”
“…Pee-tee…?”
Niccolo sighed in exasperation. “The palace was built for a rich banker named Luca Pitti in the 1400s. The Medicis acquired it a hundred years later and turned it into their primary residence. Over the centuries, it’s housed everybody from Napoleon’s sister to the last king of Italy. The gardens were commissioned by Eleanora of Toledo, a Spanish princess who married a Medici in 1539. Does no one else here know their history?”
“Only you, you fuckin’secchione,”Adriano said, using the Italian term for ‘nerd.’
Niccolo gave him a sour look. “At least I learned to use my brain.”
“Just not your dick,” Adriano shot back.
“Oh, he knows how to use his dick,” Sofia said with one arched eyebrow.
As the women laughed, Niccolo gave his wife a grateful nod and smile. “Thankyou.”
“She hasto say that,” Adriano said dismissively.
“No she doesn’t,” Niccolo replied.
“Yes she does,” Adriano snarked.
Niccolo ignored him and returned to his lecture. “After Giuliano de’ Medici was murdered in a church on EasterSunday, the Medicis became terrified of assassinations, so they commissioned an architect named Vasari to create a private passage for them over thePonte Vecchio. The Vasari Corridor linked the Boboli Gardens to their offices in what is now the Uffizi Gallery, so they could cross the Arno River safely.
“That’s why thePonte Vecchioonly has jewelry shops on it to this day. It used to have butchers, but the Medicis objected to the smell as they crossed the river in their private walkway, so they kicked out all the butchers and replaced them with goldsmiths. In fact, the Medicis – ”
“Enough with the fuckin’ Medicis!” Adriano yelled.
Niccolo looked irritated, but before he could say anything, Bianca changed the subject. “I went to the Boboli Gardens on a field trip when I was 11.”
Niccolo happily took the bait.
“Then you know the gardens aremagnificent– some of the finest in all of Europe.” He turned to me. “Stroll over to the Fountain of Neptune; the statuary is amazing. Go to theIsolottoand see the Fountain of the Ocean. It’s on an island full of orange and lemon trees, which were symbols of the Medici family. Plus, there are plenty of garden mazes with walls made of hedges. You can take her in one of them for a romantic kiss.”
“And fuck in the bushes,” Lucia suggested.
“Donotfuck in the bushes,” Niccolo deadpanned.
“Should I take her to the Pitti Palace, too?” I asked.
“No, that place is boring as fuck,” Niccolo said.
Everyone laughed, even Alessandra.
“Trust me – take her to the Boboli Gardens,” Niccolo said, and gave a chef’s kiss. “It’s perfection.”
“…alright…” I said dubiously.
I decided after the date that I should have gone withanyoneelse’s suggestion.
Except for Alessandra’s.
Maybe not a church.
55
After I drove Adriano and Bianca back to Florence, I saw Emilia later that night. Though we had passionate sex, we crashed out relatively early before waking the next morning and making love again.
We repeated the same pattern the next couple of nights –
