I had just posted my letter to Papa in the general store. The shopkeeper gave me one look and snorted. He didn't say anything during the transaction. Right after this, while still feeling ostracised, I went straight to the town's local- and only- dressmaker. Same as the previous man, she gave me one look and frowned, clearly unhappy to have me in her store.
"Buon pomeriggio, signora. I'm looking for uh, a simple sort of dress." "Simple?" Her unimpressed eyebrow raised at me. I squirmed a tad awkward, hesitant to approach the counter any further. "Y-Yes. Uh, like working clothes. A working dress; something I can ride a bicycle on." Granted, I could ride a bike with the dresses I had and did back in Florence often. But I had in mind something plainer I could get dirty doing deliveries for Uncle; we hadn't discussed me working for him yet, but I thought it might be a nice surprise. It would be improper for me to do manual labour in the gowns I brought with me however.
The old lady gave me a scoff and dismissive wave. "We don't carry anything in your size, princess." I knew this was not true; I'd seen lots of girls with the same slim figure as me in the village. Still, I grinned trying to save face. "Ah! W-Well I can order one custom-made then," my voice quivered no matter how hard I tried to steady it. Her sharp eyes locked onto mine. "We don't have any patterns either. Why don't you just pick one up from wherever you came from? They're clearly more to your tastes, your highness."
I left the shop with tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Uncle said it would take the locals some time to warm up to me, but it didn't seem like they were even trying to get to know me. Feeling warily and downtrodden, I slowly made my way over to the fountain in the centre of the town square. Gazing down at my reflection in the water, my lips parted a sliver. I'm going to spend the rest my life in this town; a place where people hate me, and all because I'm a foreigner- the girl from the big, faraway, fancy city. What was I supposed to do? I was determined to be a good daughter and niece to my father and uncle….. But how was I supposed to survive, let along find myself a husband, somewhere which treated me like a nuisance?
"Ilaria!" The sound of Zio Massimo's voice made me perk up. I looked over to see him sitting at a café table with two other men about his age. He was waving at me and they were all glancing my way. It felt good to see the grins on their faces, clearly not unhappy to see me. Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, I walked over to where they were sitting. They were currently sipping on coffee and hot chocolate with small biscuits and water cups on the table. Uncle grinned up at me- or as much of a grin as he could give. He was rather a stoic fellow; so were his friends.
"Did you send your letter off?" "Yes. Thank you again, Zio. I appreciate you giving me the postal fee." Uncle's friends smiled, also stoically. "What a charming girl. You and your brother must be proud, Massimo." Uncle nodded in agreement, making me blush a tiny bit. This was the first bit of praise he had given me since I arrived. His other friend looked right at me. "You are doing a very good thing for your uncle, young lady. Not many girls would be willing to move to our tiny town after growing up in a metropolitan city." This made me blush even hard. My hands clasped together in shy happiness as I peered down at my feet. "I just want to help out my family." The men all gazed at one another from the corner of their eyes and nodded approvingly.
"Such a good girl. I wish I had a daughter like you," one of Uncle's friends then sighed, resting his chin on his fist. "Do you… have a son?" I timidly asked, afraid I might look too intent. His head shook. "No. The three of us are life-long bachelors." "The last women we lived with were our mothers," the other friend said and I grinned. What pleasant men; Uncle was lucky to have such good friends.
Uncle waved his hand in the air. "It hasn't been a bad life." "No. The bachelor life is quite a nice one; that is, until you get to be our age," his friend leaned back in his chair. "True. It's hard being an old man living on your own. Luckily your uncle has you now, bambina," his other friend added. "Yes, I'll take good care of him," I flashed my Zio Massimo a loyal smile. He said nothing but his broad hand stretched out to give my arm a pat. That was all he had to do to make me feel appreciated and safe.
His friend polished off his expresso and licked his lips. "We're going out on the water this afternoon. Why don't you bring her with us, Massimo?" "Yes. If she's going to marry a fisherman, she might as well get used to being out on the sea," the other agreed. "You're going fishing?" I asked no one in particular. His friend gave me a mischievous smile. "Fishing? Nah. We are going to hunt sea monsters." "Oh, not you too," I inwardly rolled my eyes. "I tell you, they're out there. We'll catch one one of these days," the other friend announced dramatically.
"What makes you so sure that sea monsters actually exist?" I inquired, still trying to be as polite as possible. I didn't want them to feel like I was making fun of them. "We've seen them! Out on the coast not too far from the village. They're out there in those waters." "Are they dangerous?" "No, but you don't want to meet one in the water," Uncle chimed in again, telling me so. I blinked. "If they're not dangerous, why do you hunt them?" "They eat our fish and wreck our boats and nets." "And they steal from us. They like collecting human things," the friends informed me. "That makes them sound sentient," my head cocked a little. The one old man waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Bah, they're just like any other fish; mindless eating machines. But they're fun to hunt." "Especially because no one's ever caught one before." My eyes rolled internally again. Maybe that's because they don't exist? But that kind of logic was lost on these three.
Uncle finished his own drink and stood up from the table. "We better head out. Would you like to join us, niece?" He proceeded to ask me. My response was a grateful yet reluctant grin. "Thank you, Zio, but I think I better stay here. I doubt I'll be of any use on a sea monster hunting expedition." "Alright. We won't go out far; you'll be able to see us from the harbour." "I'll bring you down some drinks later if you'd like," I offered, and they all smiled again. "Such a nice girl." "Sure, Ilaria. Thank you. I'll be back in time for dinner." "Ok, Zio. Be careful and have a good time. It was lovely to meet you gentlemen," I then addressed the other two. "It was a pleasure to meet you, bambina. You are an ornament to Portorosso." "O-Oh! Well, thank you," of course I was blushing a bit again. "We'll see you again soon, Ilaria. Take good care of your uncle in the meantime." "I will. Have a good afternoon, gentlemen." With one last look and wave at me, the three gruff, wonderful men took off down the way toward the dock. I waited until they were out of sight, wanting to resume my search for a working dress in secret, but that didn't happen immediately.
I was about to go check out some other stores until this familiar, unwelcomed voice caught my ear. "Oh, tesorina! You who! Over here!" Nugh, God; why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? Gritting my teeth together, I very hesitantly spun around to see you-know-who marching toward me with his cronies in toe. His stupid hand was high up above him, waving like a lunatic.
"Ah, there's my little one. What brings you to town, tesorina? Could you possibly looking for moi?" Ercole asked with a laugh. His weird friends also laughed while my face stiffened in disgust. Once he finished laughing, he leaned his face closer to me. "Ah, no need to be shy, pet. Every girl in the village swoons over Ercole; you are no different that the rest." I don't think he meant that to sound the way that it did. One of his friends cleared his throat and Ercole straightened up his back.
"But you are different- in the best possible way. Now, tell me what you are doing here and maybe I can persuade you to do something different, no? Say, spend an afternoon with me, hmmmm?" "Uhhhhhhhhhh….." "We can take a romantic stroll along the beach. Come! I'll show my favourite spot!" His hand held out, waiting for mine. I took a step back, gripping my dress's skirt with both hands. "W-We have no chaperon," was the only response I could think of in the moment. His skinny thumb stuck out back to his friends. "What do mean we have no chaperons? Ciccio and Guido are with us." "I um….. B-But I told my uncle I would bring him and his friends refreshments while they're out fishing. I'm… sorry, Ercole, but I'm going to have to honour my promise to my uncle."
He looked at me momentarily before letting out one of his gross, greasy grins. He actually had the audacity to reach out and pat me on the head. Men do not touch ladies like that in Florence or…. anywhere! It was beyond demeaning!
"What a good niece- so loyal. Loyalty is a very attractive trait in a lady. Don't worry, tesorina; I understand. Why, I would be offended if you didn't keep your promise! Go and tend to your uncle. There'll be other days for us," his slimy tongue ran along his yellow teeth as his said the last part. I thought I might vomit right there on the cobblestones. I was practically running in the opposite direction when he called out to me. "And don't be afraid to make me a promise sometime, pet! You know where to find me if you want to!"