Chapter 9 – Italian Idyll
Ginny and Dean spent the rest of the day looking around the small town of Chiatona and then wandering the beach. For dinner Ginny guided them to the best restaurant in town, which also happened to be owned by Francesca's brother. When they entered, Fran and Bartolo were there with the family and waved them over. They were greeted in effusive Italian and Ginny responded in kind, while Dean just looked on with a bemused expression. He had already commented a couple of times about how well Ginny had picked up yet another language. They were holding hands when they entered and Fran noticed immediately. She had taken a liking to her young employee, who was actually younger than her two children, who were in their mid-twenties. She seemed especially excited to see that Ginny appeared attached to someone since she had been concerned about a young, pregnant woman out on her own.
"Jen, come, sit with the family. Who is your young man? We have not seen him before." (Italian)
"Fran, this is Dean. He's an old friend from home. He just arrived today. He's been in school." (Italian)
"Welcome Dean. You stay a while?"
"I don't know yet. We haven't decided."
"How long you know Jen? You know baby father?"
"Jen and I have been friends for about six years."
"So, what job you do?"
"I'm an artist. On commission."
"Artist? We must see your work. You come by tomorrow?"
Ginny decided to head off the halting inquisition in Fran's sparse English.
"Actually Fran, Dean is staying at the flat with me. You'll be seeing him plenty and he'll probably be sketching and painting while I'm working." (Italian)
Fran looked like she had more questions, but then a large platter of calamari and bruschetta arrived to start the meal. Ginny hadn't planned on intruding on the family meal, but Fran wasn't taking no for an answer. They spent the next three hours eating, drinking and talking. Dean's contributions to the conversation were limited, but Fran and Bartolo both spoke some English, as did a couple of others. Ginny also regularly translated, finding the switch back and forth between languages to be very good exercise. Finally, around ten, the group dispersed and Fran berated both of them in rapid fire Italian when they tried to contribute money for the meal.
They left the happy family group and wandered back to Ginny's flat over the coffee bar. Their previous stop had been so quick, that Dean hadn't really had a chance to look at the place. As he checked it out, he found it to be small, but comfortable. The door into the flat opened onto a small hall that led into the main living area and kitchen in one direction and then off to the bedroom and bathroom in the other direction. The furnishings were an eclectic but complementary blend.
"The place is nice Jen. It came like this? And you live here free in exchange for work?"
"Yes, it came fully furnished. Even has pots in the kitchen. Not that I cook much. I work thirty-ish hours a week in exchange for the flat, some food and tips. It allows me to get around the work permit requirements. The bedroom is back this way, I dropped your bags in there earlier."
"Oh good, so I get to sleep with you?"
"Of course Dean. What will happen beyond sleeping is up to you. Unless the hormones start, then I'll give you a head start to run."
Dean pulled Ginny close and kissed her nose.
"I'd never run from you."
Ginny smiled and they disengaged while Dean went to unpack a few things while Ginny got ready for bed. The day had been long and she had done more walking that usual. When she crawled in, she sighed and started to drift off immediately. Dean joined her a few minutes later, wrapping an arm around her. He was just starting to drift off to sleep when he felt movement under his wrist. Startled, he looked over at Ginny and felt it again.
"Was that the baby?"
"Yes Dean. The little bugger seems to like to keep his mum awake. Always starts his exercises about this time."
"His? It's a boy?"
"Well, the midwife hasn't confirmed. Call it intuition. Anyway, he should calm down in about twenty."
Dean just nodded and settled back, keeping his hand on her belly as the movements gradually calmed and they let sleep claim them.
The next morning Ginny woke and ate a piece of fruit before heading downstairs to open up the bar. Dean was still sleeping and she had let him know that she started early, but there was no need for him to be up at the same hour. As she worked the bar, she gradually munched on a roll and drank some milk as she usually did, spreading breakfast out. Dean appeared a little over an hour later, still looking quite sleepy. He watched Ginny serve a number of customers and was amazed at her skill with the elaborate espresso machine. She had come a long way from being a witch who was trained to use her wand for everything. When there was a break, she fixed him a traditional espresso, which finished jolting him awake. After, he headed out across the street to start sketching, deciding to make the coffee bar the subject of his first work in Italy. A couple of hours later, Fran arrived to check on the bar and saw him. When she walked around to see what he was working on, she became quite enthusiastic. Dean couldn't understand her, but he could tell she liked it. Finally she calmed enough to use some English.
"Dean, you are artist. This drawing, will you paint?"
"Yes. This is just the first sketch."
"Very good. Will you sell to me?"
"Fran, you've been very kind to Jen and I'm now staying in your flat. When I finish this, it will be a gift."
Fran exclaimed loudly again before promptly squeezing Dean tightly and then leaving to head into the bar. Dean just laughed and shook his head. He was glad that Ginny had found good friends.
By early afternoon, Ginny finished her shift and Dean joined her back in the flat as she made them lunch. He sat at her small table watching her in the kitchen as they talked about plans for the afternoon.
"So Dean, according to Fran you are an amazing artist. Of course I already knew that. She said you were working on a painting of the bar?"
"Yes, and she wanted to buy it when I'm done, but I told her it would be a gift. After everything she has done for you, it's the least I can do. She also hasn't said anything about me staying here with you. I was a bit afraid that there would be an issue."
"Dean, this is Italy, not England. They are more open about relationships. We're both adults as far as they know and whatever happens behind closed doors is our business. Fran would probably be surprised to find out we managed to sleep together without having sex last night."
"Well, I did manage to skip the question about the baby's father. She didn't seem happy when she asked about him."
"Yes, well that's different. Family is important here. I may sleep with whoever I want, but now that I'm pregnant, whoever is responsible should own up and marry me. I've managed to avoid Fran's questions on the subject myself."
"Speaking of the baby, we're going for the scan this afternoon?"
"Yes, I have an appointment at the clinic in Taranto in a couple of hours. It's about a half hour train ride. I thought we would spend the rest of the day there. You've already seen what Chiatona has to offer. I love this small town after staying in so many large cities, but it doesn't offer much. That's why it's nice to have Taranto nearby."
They soon finished lunch and headed out to the train station. Dean enjoyed the ride along the beautiful coastline. Ginny had picked a pretty part of the country to settle in for a while. Once they arrived in Taranto, it was about a twenty minute walk to the clinic. The building was an old stone structure, but once they were inside it became more modern. They checked in and sat down in the waiting area.
"So Jen, when you deliver, will it be here?"
"Yes, the clinic has two sides. This is the prenatal side. The delivery side has an entrance around the corner. There's a larger hospital, but I like the more casual atmosphere here and they offer midwife services with doctors only as backup. It's cheaper."
"I was wondering about that. So you are paying for everything directly?"
"Yes, when I decided to settle and stay here until the baby is born I went to the hospital first. The nurse there could tell I was looking for something different and suggested the clinic. Once I came here, they offered me three discounted visits since I'll be delivering here. The visits aren't that expensive. The delivery will depend. I've got plenty in savings to cover it. This is what I planned on and why I've been careful to use my savings as little as possible."
Dean frowned and nodded.
"Don't fret Dean. You've been helping me out more than I expected. This was my dream, my plan."
Any further discussion was ended when Jen's name was called and they went back to be examined by a midwife. Since she had gotten pregnant, Ginny had given herself a crash course in muggle labor and delivery methods, as well as reading all the usual baby books. One time she had almost slipped and said mid-witch instead of midwife, but had caught herself in time. Now she was familiar with the procedures for the clinic. The midwife asked the usual questions and then turned and looked at Dean.
"You are the father?" (Italian)
"He doesn't speak Italian." (Italian)
"Dean, she asked if you are the father. What do you want to tell her?"
"Yes, of course. That's why I'm here."
The midwife smiled, having understood enough of the English. She then turned back and started taking Ginny's measurements. She assured Ginny that she was well within the expected measurements for her gestation. Next, she pulled over the ultrasound and began to spread the gel as she started the scan. Ginny and Dean were both rapt as they watched the image of their baby appear quite clearly. The midwife took some additional measurements and then turned back to Ginny.
"You want to know the sex?" (Italian)
Ginny nodded.
"It's a boy." (Italian)
"Ha! I was right. Dean, it's a boy."
Dean stared, mouth slightly agape. A boy. He was going to have a son. It was suddenly real. This was more than just some social experiment.
"Dean? Everything alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, brilliant."
"Well, she's finishing up now. I'm right where I should be and we're both healthy."
Dean just nodded and held her hand as she got up off the table. They left the exam room and Ginny went to pay for her visit before they made their way outside to look around the town. Ginny guided them as they walked, holding Dean's hand and excitedly playing tour guide. After a while, she realized that Dean's responses to her running dialogue were subdued. Pausing by a statue, she turned to look at him.
"Alright Dean, what's up? Am I boring you?"
"What? No. Sorry, just lost in thoughts. It's a boy. He's real. I've been thinking. Do you want to get married? No, wait. That didn't come out right..."
"Dean. Stop. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not marrying you. We had an agreement between friends. I want a baby and you are helping me achieve that. You've been incredibly supportive, even more than I could imagine, but this was my choice."
"Ginny, I love you. I'm not using a false name for this. I could take care of you. Both of you."
Ginny smiled and put a hand to Dean's cheek.
"Dean, I love you too. I guess I was too scared to admit that before, but I've learned that love comes in different forms. I love you as a dearest friend. While I know you would marry me and we could be content, neither of us would be truly fulfilled. In the end we would come to resent being forced together. You essentially prefer men, although I seem to be your exception to that rule. I want to travel more, but I know you're looking for a place to settle down with space away from your family. We have different paths. Those paths may converge from time to time, but they aren't meant to run side by side."
Ginny was standing mere inches from Dean as she looked up and into his eyes. He was just barely holding back the tears and nodded as she finished, pulling her close. They stood by the statue for several long minutes, lost in thought and enjoying being held. When Dean collected himself and pulled back, Ginny took his hand.
"Come on, no more heavy thoughts, there's a lot more to see."
Dean smiled and decided to just enjoy the rest of the day with his best friend. Later in the afternoon, they were leaving a market square when Ginny pulled him toward a shop and they went to peer in the window.
"Dean, this is one of my favorite stops. It's an international used book store. I never know what they are going to have in stock. A lot of the books are Italian of course, but they have books in a lot of other languages, including a good number in English. Ooh, look at that cover there. That's too funny. I've never heard of a blue unicorn. Let's go in and take a look."
They entered the tiny store and Dean just swiveled his head around, looking at the tall bookcases that extended down each wall, jammed with books. Ginny started talking to the salesman and he pulled out the book she had seen in the window. Then he went to a nearby bookcase and produced two more books.
"Sorry Dean, let me translate. The book I saw is one of a trilogy. They're fantasy romance novels. It sounds interesting, so he is getting me the other two. It will give me something to do when I put my feet up at the end of the day."
They looked around a bit more before Ginny paid for her books and they exited the store. After a bit more sightseeing, they arrived at a small seafood restaurant that was one of Ginny's favorites. After a long and delicious dinner, they made their way back to the train and Chiatona. When they arrived, they watched the telly for a short time, but Dean couldn't really enjoy it since it was all in Italian, so Ginny shut it off and decided to head for a bed a bit early. When Dean crawled in next to her, he leaned over to kiss her briefly as he pulled her close. The one kiss soon turned into four and then turned into a snog as they both began to discard clothing. No words were needed as they let their mutual passion guide them. When Dean slipped into her, Ginny moaned in delight. She had gone for too long without a man and helping herself through hormonal nights was not the same. They made love with slow deliberation, drawing out the finale until they both climaxed spectacularly and fell asleep entangled together.
The following morning Ginny was once again up first and showered before heading downstairs to work. Dean returned to working on his painting until she was finished in the early afternoon. That afternoon they went to the beach and enjoyed the time relaxing and reading in the sun, then that evening Ginny took Dean to a local bar that had live music.
They soon had a routine established as the days progressed easily. As before, being with Dean was easy and Ginny enjoyed having him nearby as her pregnancy progressed. Several times a week they would plan outings into the nearby countryside or travel down the coast to other villages or occasionally head into Taranto. Dean also finished his painting of the coffee bar and Fran was so delighted with his work that she recommended him to a couple of friends, and soon he had two more commissions he was working on. After Dean had been in Italy for a couple of weeks, September dawned and the subject of his stay came up one day at lunch.
"So Dean, I love having you, but what are your plans? Your family must be missing you."
"When I called last week, mum definitely was. I told her though that I'm doing some art study and may be a while. She seemed to accept that as it's logical with me being in Italy. It's a good thing she doesn't know she has a grandchild on the way, she'd be going crazy. Anyway, I don't have anything drawing me back and you're only about three weeks away from delivery. We haven't talked about it, but I'd like to be here when the baby arrives."
"Really? That would be great. I didn't think I could ask you to stay that long, but I have to admit I'm a bit nervous never having given birth before. I know my mother claimed that all the women in her family were built for babies, but I'm not sure. Hopefully it will be as quick for me as it was for her. Mum's longest delivery was the twins and then it only took her six hours to have both of them."
"Excellent, then it's decided. I'll stay until he comes and maybe a bit after so you can recover. I know we need to go our separate paths after that. So, something else I was wondering, do you have a name picked out?"
"I was going to talk to you about that. I was thinking that since he was conceived in France and will be born in Italy that I would choose French and Italian names. The name I like is Sebastien Francesco."
"Hmm, I like it. Francesco is in honor of Francesca I take it?"
"Yes. She has been exceptionally kind and taken care of me for the last few months. She's more than just my employer."
"Well I definitely like it. It's unique."
With their plans decided on, Ginny and Dean finished their lunch and then headed down to their favorite spot on the beach. Ginny was now only three weeks from delivery and was finding herself quite content to lay on the beach with a book, protected with sunblock spells. She had just finished the second book in the fantasy trilogy and was starting the third. It was interesting to her to find that muggle fairy tales and myths actually had a bit of fact woven into them. Of course, to the non-magical world, unicorns and fairies were just wild imagination, but her knowledge of the magical world made the story even more entertaining. As she lay on the beach with her latest book, she paused and looked over at Dean, who was sketching an interesting nearby tree.
"You know Dean, this book is interesting, but I think I can do better. I bet I could write one of these novels using what I know about magical creatures and a muggle audience would just find them fanciful. I was fairly good at writing in school. I think it might be fun to try. And I can weave some romance in as well. Probably better than the romance in these. I swear this author has never made love in any position but missionary."
Dean snorted and shook his head.
"Well, you can certainly write about more than that. Maybe you should think about a story and start an outline."
Ginny contemplated and nodded at him before returning to her book. Dean went back to his sketching and the rest of afternoon passed in a lazy summer haze. That evening when they were back in the flat, Ginny did as Dean had suggested and started writing down story ideas. Over the next couple of days she worked on an outline and, by the end of the week, she had a large stack of papers and notes. On Friday night Dean sat, looking at the spread of papers on the coffee table and then looked up at Ginny.
"You know, I think you're about ready to start your story. I don't think you want to write it all out. You should get a laptop. Something small to travel with. I can get you one, but we need to find a good electronics store."
"I've been thinking about that as well. And I have the money. Actually, I need to go shopping for the baby also. Right now all I've got is a few clothes. Taranto has a few things, but I was thinking I'd like to go into a bigger city. Naples is about four hours by train. If we leave in the morning we can go, stay the night and come back on Sunday. I don't have any shifts this weekend."
"Sounds good. I've heard a lot about Naples. By the way, I have to ask because I worry, how are you fixed for money? I've been doing well with my commissions and I can help some."
"No worries Dean. I appreciate when you made the deposits for me before. I wasn't working steadily and it helped to cover some of the basics. Now I've got the flat and some tips so that I don't have to hit my savings that much. Last I checked at an ATM and converted my balance, I've got about 4,200 galleons at Gringotts currently. I'll have the cost of the mid-wife and delivery, but if everything goes as planned, I estimate that will only take about 800 to 900 galleons equivalent. I really owe Fred and George for the job they gave me."
"Well, I'm glad you're well set. And the guys owe you just as much as you owe them. The last time I was in the shop, the crowd of witches around the Wonder Witch shelves was near impassable. So, in the morning we head for the train station and go shopping in Naples."
With the plans in place, Ginny and Dean retired to bed a short time later. The following morning they boarded a train to Naples for the much needed shopping trip as they were in the last weeks' countdown to the baby's arrival.
