One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(24)

“I’d never want to have a daughter like Pallina. Always out and about at night, up to who knows what. I don’t like that young woman. She’ll come to a bad end, wait and see.”

“But, Mamma, she never does anything bad, she just likes to have fun. I assure you, she’s a good girl.”

“Maybe so, but I still prefer you.” Raffaella smiled at her and caressed her under the chin before leaving the bedroom.

Babi smiled. She knew how to handle her mother. But lately she’d been telling her too many lies. She resolved to stop.

Poor Pallina, even when she had nothing to do with it, she turned out to be guilty. Babi decided to forgive her entirely. Certainly, there remained the whole Pollo problem to solve, but to everything, there is a season.

She slipped on the uniform skirt. She stood in front of the mirror, pulled up her hair, uncovering her face, and fastened it in place with two side hairclips. She stood there, staring at herself and, while the latest song by Tears for Fears poured out of the stereo nearby, Babi noticed how much she looked like her mother. No, even if she managed to figure out everything Babi had got up to, Raffaella could never think of trading her for Pallina because there were too many similarities between mother and daughter.

*



The sun filtered cheerfully in through the kitchen window. Babi finished eating her whole-wheat biscuits and drank the last drop of milky coffee that she’d saved at the bottom of the mug until then.

Daniela was digging to the very bottom. Her spoon probed anxiously against the edge of the plastic container of a small pudding as she tried to scrape up every last bit of defiant chocolate hiding down there in the furthest nooks and crannies.

Raffaella went to her bedroom, taking with her a demitasse of black coffee, still steaming hot. Claudio was happy. Maybe because of a positive horoscope, certainly because of the coffee he’d at long last been able to enjoy.

“Babi, it’s a beautiful day today. The sun is out. And I don’t think it’s even particularly cold. I talked to your mother about it just now, and we’re in agreement. Today you can take the Vespa to school!”

“Thanks, Papà. You’re both super nice. But you know, after what we said the other day, I gave it some more thought, and maybe you do have a point. Going to school together in the morning, you, me, and Daniela, well, it’s become sort of like a ritual, a kind of good-luck charm. Plus, it’s kind of a special moment because we can talk about anything and everything. Starting the day together is much better like that, don’t you think?”

Daniela couldn’t believe her eyes or, actually, her ears.

“Babi, excuse me. Let’s take the Vespa. We can talk to Papà whenever we want. We can linger over dinner with him in the evenings, or Sunday mornings.”

Babi grabbed her by the arm and clenched it, squeezing a little too hard. “Oh, no, Dani, seriously, it’s better this way. Let’s go with him.” She clenched her arm again. “Plus, I’ll remind you of what I said last night. I wasn’t feeling very well. Starting next week, maybe, we can take the Vespa, when it’s warmer.”

That final squeeze left no doubts that Babi was trying to send her a message. Daniela really was an intuitive young woman, more or less. “Yes, Papà. Babi is right. We’ll come with you!”

Claudio happily threw back his last sip of coffee. It was great to have two such wonderful daughters. It’s not often that you feel so beloved. “All right, girls, let’s get going or we’ll get you to school late.” Claudio went down to the garage to get the car while Babi and Daniela waited outside the apartment house door downstairs for him to drive around.

“Well, you finally understood! What was I going to have to do, break your arm?” Babi asked.

“Well, you could have told me earlier, no?”

“How was I supposed to know that today of all days he was going to give us permission to take the Vespa?”

“But why don’t you want to take it?” Daniela asked.

“That’s easy enough, because it’s not there.”

“The Vespa isn’t there? Then where is it? Didn’t you take it last night when you went out?”

“Yes,” Babi said.

“Well? Did you drive the Vespa into the manure, too, and then you had to throw it away?”

“No, I left it out at the Greenhouse.”

“I don’t believe you!”

“Believe it.”

“I don’t want to believe it! My Vespa!” Daniela said.

“Well, as far as that goes, I was the one they gave it to.”

“Yes, but who paid to soup it up? Who had the new carburetor and intake put in? Next year, Papà and Mamma were going to buy you a car, and then it would have been mine. I just can’t believe it.”

Claudio stopped right in front of them. He rolled down the electric car window.

“Babi, what happened to the Vespa? It’s not in the garage.”

Daniela shut her eyes. Now she had no choice but to believe it.

“Nothing, Papà, I just put it back in the courtyard. It bothered you so much when you tried to get the car into the garage. I thought it might be more convenient just to park it outside.”

“Are you kidding? Put it back inside right away. What if it gets stolen? Believe me, your mother and I have no intention of buying you a new one. Run and put it inside immediately. Here, take the keys.”