Love & Gelato(48)

“Oh. Sure.” I’d practiced for this, but when I went to tell him my new number, I forgot and had to look at the paper I’d written it on.

“Great. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He gave me a big hug, then clapped Ren on the shoulder. “See you around.”

“Later.” Ren turned to watch Thomas walk away and I used the opportunity to wipe my eyes. My mascara was everywhere.

“His shirt was really stupid, don’t you think?”

“What?”

“?‘Banned from Amsterdam.’ No one gets banned from Amsterdam. That’s the point.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“I’m really sorry about what happened in there. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” He looked at me closer. “Wait a second. Are you crying?”

“No.” A giant tear rolled down my face. And then another.

“Oh, no.” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “I’m so sorry. We’ll never go there again.”

“I’m sorry. I feel really stupid. That guy was just so disgusting.” But that was only half the reason I was crying. I took a deep breath. “Ren, why did you tell Mimi my mom died?”

His eyes widened. “I don’t know. It just came up. She was asking why you moved here and I just told her. Why? Did she say something?”

“You know, you don’t have to feel sorry for me. It’s not like I need you to read the journal and drive me around everywhere. I can figure this out on my own. I get that you have a life.”

“Whoa, what? I don’t feel sorry for you. I mean, it’s sad that you lost your mom and everything, but I hang out with you because I like to. You’re . . . different.”

“Different?”

“You know, like we talked about last night. We’re alike, you know?”

I ran my arm across my face. Because that was totally going to help the mascara situation. “Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise. What brought that on?”

“Mimi—” I stopped. Did it matter? She was just a jealous girl. And every time Ren saw her he acted like he’d just won the lottery.

“Mimi what?”

“Never mind. Can we go to Piazza Signoria? I want to see that statue.”





Chapter 15




WE WERE QUIET ON THE drive to the piazza. It was after eleven and the city felt different. Sort of emptied out. Like me, after an embarrassing postclubbing cry fest. Ren pulled his scooter up to a curb and we both got off.

“This is it?”

“This is it. Piazza Signoria.” He was looking at me like I was a box of highly fragile dishes, but I was still covered in snot, so I guess he was justified.

I walked out into the piazza. One side was lined by a large fortress-looking building with a clock tower, and in front of that was a fountain with a statue of a man surrounded by smaller figures. A handful of people were milling around, but for the most part it was empty.

“What’s that building?” I asked.

“Palazzo Vecchio.”

“Old something . . . Old palace?”

“Esattamente. You’re getting good.”

“I know. I recognized the word ‘old.’ I’m practically fluent.”

We smiled at each other. My eyes felt like water balloons, but at least I wasn’t sniveling anymore. Sheesh. I was lucky Ren hadn’t abandoned me at the nearest taxi stand.

“So what happened here again?” Ren asked.

“This is the first place he told her he loved her. They were looking at a statue. Something with ‘rape’ in its name.”

“Oh, right. The Rape of the Sabine Women. I think it’s under that roofed area.”

We made our way across the piazza, passing a bunch of other statues along the way, then walked under an arched entryway into what was basically a large patio filled with sculptures.

I recognized it right away. “There it is.”

The Rape of the Sabine Women was made of white marble and sat high on a pedestal, the three figures intertwined in one tall column. I walked around it slowly. My mom was right. No one looked happy per se, but they were all connected and they definitely complemented each other. They were also all naked and their muscles and tendons were bulging out all over the place. Giambologna hadn’t been kidding around.

Ren pointed. “Look how the woman is looking back at the other man. She definitely didn’t want to go. And that guy on the ground looks totally spooked.”

“Yeah.” I folded my arms, looking up at the statue. “Is it just me, or is this a weird spot for Howard to tell my mom he loved her?”

“Maybe it just kind of happened. He got caught up in the moonlight or whatever.”

“But he was studying art history and he’d just told her the whole backstory. I’d be surprised if it didn’t have some kind of significance to him.”

Ren hesitated. “Speaking of Howard . . . I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

He took a deep breath. “I sort of asked him about the secret bakery.”

I whirled around. “Ren! You told him about the journal?”

“No, of course not.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes, avoiding my gaze. “It was when you were getting ready. I made up this whole story about my mom finding a secret bakery when she first moved here, and then I asked him if he knew where one was. I was going to surprise you and take you there tonight after Space.”