"Ilaria, I'm going to unload the new net. Then I'll start dinner." "Ok, thank you, Zio," we called out back and forth. I was currently in my room at my desk ready to start my next letter to Papa. The back door closed, and I picked up my pen. It was set at the ready on the parchment, but I hesitated for a moment. Sitting there with my pen in my hand I stared down at the blank sheet of paper; my mind empty and full at the same time. There was so much I wanted to tell him, and so much I couldn't say…..
My shoulders perked up at the sound of a pebble hitting my window. I didn't react beyond looking over, thinking it may have been nothing, but when another pebble bounced against the glass I stood up. Imagine my shock to see Alberto standing below my windowsill, grinning and waving up at me. "Ilaria!" He hollered up quietly. I immediately opened the window to lean my upper half out of it. "Alberto?! What are you doing here?" We had to keep our voices down; Uncle was just on the other side of the house. "I came to say hi! See how you're doing." "Awe! That's so sweet! Stay there; I'll be right down!" Shutting the window, I snuck out of my room and down the stairs. With a quick check out the front window to see my uncle busy in the front lawn, I exited out the back door. Alberto was waiting there and he instantly smiled at me.
"How did you get in here?" I first asked him. "Climbed over the wall," he motioned to the garden wall with his right shoulder. I blinked from him to it; that wall was about ten feet high. "Uh, really?" "Yep! Wasn't that hard. I'm used to climbing up things." "Heh, you're a bit of a wild child, aren't you?" I giggled. He doesn't realize how unusual it is for a grown man to climb over a wall specifically designed to keep intruders out. But then, he does live in that tower on the island. He half-smiled, half-smirked at me, resting his hand on his hip and slanting a bit.
"So, how are you feeling?" "You mean after almost drowning and being ferried across the water for the first time in my life? Very well, considering all that," I laughed. He nodded approvingly. "Good, glad to hear it." I blushed a tiny bit, my fingers interlacing. "You came all the way here to check on me?" He shrugged, unable to look me in the eye. "Eh. I wanted to see you again, and I didn't expect you to row to the island. You probably shouldn't be in a boat again by yourself." "I wholeheartedly agree!" I let out a little laugh again. Rowing in a boat alone was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Still, him saying it out loud made me laugh and I couldn't stop myself from grinning at him. He was so sweet and genuine around me, and we barely knew each other. But I could already see myself being friends with Alberto. Speaking of which….
"I'm glad you're here actually," I said. "You are?!" His face morphed to one of alarm and embarrassment, but not in a bad way. My head nodded resolutely. "Yes. I never got to thank you…. for saving my life. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. And it's not just me. I'm thanking you on behalf of my uncle and father too. I don't know what they would have done…. if I didn't come back home. So, from me and my family, thank you, Alberto…. Thank you."
Alberto didn't make a sound for a moment. He rubbed his arm and looked everywhere but at me; that was after gawking at me speechlessly as I spoke. If I didn't know any better I'd say he was blushing right then. While I couldn't tell that precisely, I did see this smile bloom across his moist lips- this sincere, expressive smile.
"A-Ah, well, it's no big deal. I'm just glad you're alright- that's all." "I am, thank you. What about you? How are you doing this afternoon?" "Eh, can't complain. There's not much going on with me." "Not much is going on with me either right now. It's a nice, quiet, relaxing sort of day," I gazed up at the bright blue sky happily. When I glanced back down, I caught Alberto looking at me. My reaction was to grin, making him flinch a little and tear his eyes away once more. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture, trying to act manly I'm sure. This made me giggle internally- he's cute!
"What are you going to do now? Go into town?" Only then did his face fall a little. "Uh, no. I've never really… gone into the village before," he admitted with some reluctance. And I can see why; I stared at him in pure disbelief. "What? Really? But you live so close!" He took a minute to reply to me. "I've just… never had a reason to come before." "Really?! But isn't it lonely staying out there on your island like that?" "It's not so bad. I've got a lot of friends under the sea," he waved his hand a little, letting his grin return. I wasn't convinced, however. I also had fishy friends but they couldn't compare for human companionship. He must have seen my worried and sad expression because he back suddenly arched. His feet shifted so he was facing me directly.
"Hey! It's ok! I like living on the island! It's a lot better from where I came from, trust me." "You must have come from somewhere really bad, then," I uttered. He shook his head. "Not really. It wasn't "bad" per se…. I just like living on the surface….. Er, under the sun, I mean! I just like it up here better, you know?" I did not know, nor could I picture a situation where a man would actively choose to avoid society, saying it's better to be out on his own. Just what kind of place did Alberto come from?
He gave me a kind grin, cocking his head a little. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's got nothing to do with you." "But…. you're here because of me?" "Well, you got me to come to Portorosso finally at least! I finally had a reason to come," he said with such sincerity… I wiped my eyes and mirrored his pleasant expression. "Yes, I suppose so." We said nothing for a second, simply watching each other. My eyes lowered a tad.
"Would you like to go on a walk tomorrow? We can go along the beach." Alberto's eyes also grew a bit. "A walk? With you?" "Yes! But only if you want to. I don't want to pressure you into anything," that would be unseemly for a lady to do. He immediately nodded. "Sure! Let's go tomorrow! Say, when the sun is in the centre of the sky?" "You mean noon?" My eyebrow cocked. He gulped then nodded awkwardly. "Uh, yeah; that. Noon." I chuckled. He's so smart, yet he doesn't seem to know about simple, everyday things. I mean, who doesn't know when noon is? Still, as usual I gave him the benefit of the doubt. There likely wasn't a clock out in that tower anyway.
"Ok, then! Tomorrow at noon it is! I'll meet you on the beach- the one you rowed our boat onto." "Noon on the beach, got it!" Alberto confirmed with the snap of the fingers. "I look forward to….." "Ilaria! Ilaria, I'm done!" Uncle's voice cut my sentence off. I flinched and Alberto got a wave of panic on his face. I don't blame him for being afraid of being caught with the grizzled fisherman's only niece outside in the garden. But I knew I could handle everything. I flashed him a reassuring grin, motioning with my finger to stay quiet.
"I'll be right in, Zio! One second!" My voice yelled back inside. Then I looked back at the still terrified Alberto. "Stay here. I'll be right back," I whispered, urging him to hide behind the big tree in the yard. Once he was safely out of sight, I rushed back inside the kitchen. While Uncle was busy taking off his boats and washing his face, I gathered some of the leftover cherries from breakfast together in a white handkerchief. I tied it shut with one of the blue ribbons from my hair.
Alberto was right where I left him outside. He blinked at me in surprise as I lifted his hand up to place the small bundle in it. "A snack for the way home. Thanks again for everything. I'll see you tomorrow." "Uh, thanks? I'll uh… see you tomorrow," the way he responded, you'd think he'd never received a present before; he acted just so stunned. But with one last look and smile his way, I turned to head back inside without another word. By the time I shut the back door Uncle was already in the kitchen getting ready to prepare dinner. When next I checked in the back garden, Alberto was nowhere to be seen.