One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(35)
Babi looked below that phrase, at the hands gripping the handlebars. The right hand in particular. It had been its fault, it was the guilty one. It had caressed her that night on her bare back; it had attempted to undo her bra. And her own fingers had stopped it. Crazy fingers. She wondered if the left hand was more innocent. She hoped not.
She looked at the clock. It was five o’clock. Time to go. And as she was putting on her sweatshirt, she finally understood. Pallina was right. Daniela was right; her mother and Step were both right. She felt herself being enveloped by a strange warmth of sincerity. And for a moment, she was no longer a liar. Just full of contradictions. But true to her heart.
*
Pallina, Silvia, and a few other girls from Falconieri High School were sitting on a chain that groaned, suffering beneath their weight, stretching from one low marble post to another. They swung and swayed, laughing and talking about the topics of the day: Signora Giacci’s snafu, yesterday’s race, Babi’s photo in today’s newspaper.
“There she is.” Silvia pointed to Babi as she approached the Parnaso Restaurant. She greeted them with an amused smile.
Pallina ran to greet her. “Ciao.” They exchanged kisses, affectionate and sincere. The exact opposite of most of the kisses exchanged at the tables of the restaurant where elegant girls were sitting and chatting, luxuriating in the warm sun of that spring afternoon.
“That was an exhausting walk. I didn’t think it was this far!”
“You came on foot?” Silvia looked at her, appalled.
“Yes, since I no longer have my Vespa.” Babi gave Pallina an arch glance.
“Plus I just felt like stretching my legs. But maybe I overdid it a little. I’m not going to have to walk all the way back, am I?”
“No.” Pallina heaved an annoyed sigh. “Here.” She gave Babi a key ring. “My Vespa is at your disposal.” Babi looked at the large light blue rubber P in her hands. Then she glanced over at Pallina’s Vespa, parked a short distance away.
“Any news about what might have become of mine?”
Pallina tilted her head toward a group of boys.
“Pollo said he doesn’t know anything about it. That means no one stole it, otherwise they’d have heard about it first thing. The police must have taken it. He said that they’ll alert you after a while.”
“Just think if they wind up talking to my folks.” Babi looked over at the group of boys. She recognized Pollo and a few of Step’s other friends. One guy with a patch over his eye smiled at her. Babi quickly looked away. She hoped that Step was with them.
A waiter was standing by a table, hoping for a generous tip. A young man leaned forward in his seat in order to extract his wallet from his trouser pocket. An embarrassed young woman pretended not to know how much the order was going to cost. Actually, though, that same young woman came to Parnaso practically every day and always ordered the same thing. The only thing that seemed to change on a constant basis was the young man taking her to dine there.
Babi continued looking around. A number of motorcycles roared to a halt nearby, and Babi turned hopefully to look at the new arrivals. Her heart pounded furiously. But to no avail. These were just random young men, as far as she was concerned, and they walked to their tables calling greetings. None of them resembled Step in the slightest.
“Who are you looking for?” Pallina’s tone of voice and expression left no doubts. She knew.
“No one. Why?” Babi put the keys in her pocket without looking at Pallina. She was sure that her eyes, honest to a fault, would give her away.
“Nothing, it was just that I thought you were searching for someone…,” Pallina persisted. Babi wondered how much she knew. And she glimpsed herself, stunned. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes rapt and dreamy, and that shattered her reverie, that kiss not given.
“So long, girls.” Babi said a hasty farewell as a blush spread over her cheeks. And it was no longer just the recent effort of the walk.
Pallina went with her to the Vespa. “Do you know how it works?”
Babi smiled. She undid the steering lock and turned on the ignition. She gave it a push forward. The kickstand retracted with a screech of springs.
“What are you guys doing this evening?” a man’s voice asked.
Pallina raised her eyebrows. “Hey, this is a new twist. Are you deigning to go out with us?”
“You sure do like to argue. I just asked what you’re up to!”
“Oh, I don’t know. If you like, I’ll phone you or have someone phone you.” Pallina glanced at Babi archly, and looking past her, Babi suddenly glimpsed him. Step. His dark eyes, his bronzed skin, his short hair, and his hands marked by shattered smiles, broken noses, and other facial features that had once been intact.
His voice. Full of contradictions. He’d been right. A flash of pride took hold of her.
“No thanks, don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow after school,” he said. “It was just idle curiosity.”
“Whatever you think is best…” The Vespa carried Babi off quickly before that weak dam of pride could be shoved aside by a dangerous and stormy flood of emotion.
Pallina watched her go. The sweet way she used her shoulders to shift the gears. That faintly determined head, the hasty way she fled the scene. Pallina finally knew exactly what Babi wanted.