One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(37)

“No, now I don’t want it…”

“Oh, really? Then unless you’re wearing my skirt when you walk out that door, I’m going to call Mamma right up and let her know.”

Babi swung around angrily on her sister. “You’re going to do what?”

“Exactly what I just told you.”

“I’ll slap your cheeks red as a tomato…”

Daniela made a funny face, and at last, they both burst out laughing. Daniela went into her bedroom and opened the closet.

“Here.” She laid the black skirt on the bed. “It’s all yours. Dive into mud with it, if that’s what makes you happy.”

Babi took the skirt in both hands and held it up against her belly. She started trying to imagine what she could wear over it.

The telephone rang. Daniela went to answer it. “Hello? Oh, hi…”

In her room, Babi turned up the radio. The music inundated the apartment.

Daniela put down the receiver. “Marcello, hold on for a second.” She shut the door to the hallway and then resumed talking, relaxed now.

Babi turned her bedroom upside down. The armoire stood open, all the drawers spread out on the floor. There was clothing on the bed. Indecision.

She went to her mother’s bedroom. She opened her big armoire. She started rummaging. Every so often she’d remember something. Could that be right for the black skirt? She opened the drawers. She was careful where she put her hands. Things had to go back where they belonged, otherwise her mother would notice. Mothers notice everything, or practically everything. Even Raffaella had overlooked Pallina’s Vespa.

But never send a mother to buy the same kind of jeans you saw your girlfriend wearing. They’ll always bring you the kind that the biggest loser in the class wears. She smiled.

A sky-blue angora sweater. Too warm. A silk blouse. Too fancy. A black jacket with a bodysuit underneath it. Too funereal, too somber. But the bodysuit wasn’t bad. Bodysuit under a blouse? Let’s give it a try.

She shut the drawers again. She started back to her bedroom. She’d left a red sweater on the bed. She’d be caught. She put it back. Would her mother notice? Enthusiasm won out over fear.

“Who the hell cares!” The threat of punishment vanished, disintegrating in the mirror. Babi stared at herself, puzzled. Bodysuit under blouse, no, and Dani’s skirt doesn’t work with any of this anymore. So much the better.

But what am I going to wear? Denim overalls? She hastily pulled open the bottom drawer. She pulled it out, faded, short, and rumpled: Exactly the way my mother hates it most. Exactly the way he would love it most, she felt certain. Rapidly, she slipped out of her clothing. In a split second, she was ready. She looked at herself in the mirror. Perfect. She put on the faded jeans shirt, tucked it down into the pants, and then pulled up the suspenders. She flopped down onto the bed, picked up the short gym socks and put them on, and then put on her high-top All Stars, navy blue, the same shade as the elastic headband she found in the bathroom. She brushed her hair and pulled it back. A pair of fish-shaped colorful earrings, looking as if they’d come from the South Seas. She straightened the collar of the shirt.

Then she started putting on her makeup. The music was pounding at full volume. A black line made her eyes look wider. The gray eyeliner pencil made them look smoky, in an attempt to make them look even more beautiful. Her white teeth were scented with mint. A delicate sheen of pink covered her soft lips. While her cheeks, naturally apple red in color, were tinged to perfection of their own accord.

Daniela was still on the phone when the music suddenly stopped. As the hallway door slowly opened, Daniela turned around. Babi appeared in the dim light. She took a few steps and then stopped. The glow from the nearby living room enveloped her completely.

Daniela stopped talking into the telephone. “Wow, you look gorgeous!”

Babi smiled at her. Then she put on her dark denim Levi’s jean jacket. “Do I really?”

“You’re superhot!”

“Thanks, Dani, but your skirt was just a little too serious.” She gave her a kiss.

Dani watched as she walked away. For a moment, she doubted that this was really her sister. She wondered if she, too, would become so beautiful as she grew up.

Babi pulled the Vespa out of the garage. She started the engine and put it into first gear. She rolled down the ramp, slipping quickly out into the cool of the evening. Her French Caron perfume mixed with the scent of the native jasmine flowers in a delicate blend. She waved goodbye to the doorman.

Then, driving in the middle of traffic, she smiled as she remembered Daniela’s opinion. Babi didn’t feel ordinary, as she usually did. She wondered what Step would think of her. Would he like it? What would he say about her denim overalls? And her makeup? And her shirt? Would he notice that it was the same shade as her eyes?

Her little heart started beating hard. Pointlessly worried. She would very soon have all her answers.





Chapter 13



Babi locked the Vespa. Around her, a number of young people were sitting on their scooters or else lazing against a low wall, chatting about a love story gone wrong. Two guys dressed in punk getups were sitting on the steps. One of the two licked a cigarette and opened it, skillfully emptying all the tobacco into his hand. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something. He looked around. No one was watching. In front of the club door, a big guy with a small earring in his left ear and a smashed-in boxer’s nose was making a group of people wait.