Uncle detached the bike from the cart while I looked myself over, all while wearing a frown. True to his word, Uncle gave me some of his clothes, which were much too big on me- surprise, surprise. One of his shirts came down to my kneecaps and looking like an unflattering nightgown on me. His pants were baggy and bulky; I had to keep them up with a rope as a belt. I'd never worn anything like this in my life and was utterly humiliated. Papa would have a heart attack if he ever saw me wearing such a thing.
"How will I ever attract a husband in this?" I sighed, lifting up the rims of the shirt. Uncle finished with the bike and turned back my way. "You look pretty in anything. Hop on. I've removed the cart so you can get used to riding on our streets. Ours are much different than those flat roads you have in Florence; there's a lot of hills and bumps all around Portorosso. I want you to get used to the terrain first before you start making deliveries." "Thank you, Zio. I'll do that," I took the bike handles in my hands. He gave me an approving nod. "Take your time. I'll be out in the boat this afternoon." "Ok!"
"Ilaria? Is that you? What on earth are you wearing?" We looked to see Ricardo and Giovanni coming up the room. "Buongiorno, gentlemen," I replied with a smile. Giovanni chuckled, walking up beside me and placing his hand on my shoulder. "Thought your niece was moving to Portorosso; not your nephew," he teased. Uncle huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's just until we can get her some different clothing. Ilaria here's going to start helping out with some deliveries," he said with some pride. I kept my eyes down and my cheeks blushed, but my chest was swelling.
Uncle's friends, meanwhile, frowned. "Massimo! You're putting the poor girl to work?" "It's not enough that she moved halfway across the country to live in a foreign village?" Uncle's hands shot up in his defence. "Now, now; she wants to work. And I won't let her overdo it. She's going to do some deliveries. Some- that's it." I said nothing while the others nodded their heads in understanding. "Alright then. Don't push yourself, bambina," after giving it a little shake, Giovanni released my shoulder. "He's right. Portorosso streets can be hard to manage if you're not used to riding on them," Ricardo added. "Which is why you're going to spend the next few days getting used to them," Uncle nodded at me. I gave an obedient nod back. "Thank you, Zio. And thank you, gentlemen. I'll be very careful." "Make sure you do. Your uncle and us are going out to hunt sea monsters." "Oh! Would you like me to bring you some refreshments on the dock later?" I offered politely. They collectively shook their heads. "Thanks, sweet girl, but we're going out quite far this afternoon. We'll bring our canisters with us," Ricardo smiled. "Ok then. Have a good time. Safe journey!" I waved as they started to set off. "You too!" "Be careful, bambina." "Have fun, niece! I'll be back in time to make dinner." "See you then, Zio!"
I walked the lightweight bike onto a main road in town. I say "main" but really it was just one of the bigger roads. Some local children were kicking a football nearby; they initially didn't pay any attention to me- that is, until they saw what I was wearing. The whispers from passers-by turned from mocking my clothes for being too fancy, to laughing for looking like a boy. "From princess to pauper, that," one old lady laughed to her friends while motioning to me with her finger. I did my best to ignore them and focus on the bike. I sucked in a deep breath. "Ok, Ilaria. You can do this. You've rode a bike a thousand times in Florence; this should be a piece of cake."
It was not a piece of cake. Turns out cycling on flat cobblestone roads and hilly streets with lots of twists and turns were two very different things. By now some of the kids stopped their football game to come see what I was doing. I know this because they were very upfront with their questions. "What are you doing?" A little girl, roughly the age of seven or eight, asked me as I hopped back onto the bike's uncomfortable, worn out seat. "Riding my bike," was my short answer. A little boy's eyebrow lifted up unimpressed; his little arms crossed. "You're not very good at it," talk about being blunt. I half-grinned, concentrating on keeping my balance. "That's why I'm practicing." "Where's your pretty dress?" Another small girl inquired. "At home. It would be inappropriate for me to ride in such a thing." "Why?" These kids! My lungs drew in another long, exasperated breath. "Because it's liable to get dirty." "What does that mean?" "It might get dirty," I thought that was obvious. "Oh," the kids uttered like that made sense. I wouldn't have to worry about dirt in Florence…. Insert internal sigh here.
"Where's the cart that's always on the back of your bike?" A very small boy asked next. "Back in the yard. My uncle wants me to get used to riding in Portorosso before we re-attach it." "Why?" Oh my god! Isn't all this super obvious? I had to refrain myself from rolling my eyes. "Because I'm not used to riding here. It's safer this way." "Why's that?" "Because I don't want to get into an accident." "Have you ever been in one before?" "Not back home, no. The terrain is much smoother there." "The what?" "The landscape," I sighed. What happened to ignoring me like the plague?
I started to peddle forward a bit, only to wobble. Riding in super baggy pants wasn't easy either. Some of the kids laughed while others held their breath with anticipation. The rolled about three feet forward when I really started to wobble. The children all gasped and I braced myself to fall sideways. Then, out of nowhere, two strong hands grabbed hold of my shoulders from behind, keeping me upright. Another stunned gasp fell from the kids' mouths and I glanced back to see- to my disbelief- Alberto standing there, propping me up. He gave me his classic curious, cocky expression.
"What are you doing?" "Alberto!" I immediately got off the bike, grabbing the handles, and spinning to face him. His planted his hands on his hips, slanting his stance a little. "What are you doing here?!" "Ah, was just in the neighbour; thought I'd drop by and say hi. You weren't at home so I came looking for…" "Who's this?" A six or so year old boy interrupted, pointing at Alberto. I flashed all of them a kind smile, standing close to him. "This is friend, Alberto." "I've never seen you before," a little girl stated flatly, followed by a sea of more questions. "Where are you from? How come I've never seen you in the village?" "Are you from a big city too?!" "Why are you so tan?" "How do you know the girl with all the pretty dresses?" "Did you come to Portorosso just to see her?" "Are you two in love? Are you gonna get married?"
"Enough, children! You're overcrowding him," I stepped in as Alberto was looking very uncomfortable by now. Breathing in heavily, I then turned back around his way. "I'm practicing riding my bike this afternoon." "Your… bike?" He repeated, sounding confused. I nodded down to the vehicle in my hands. His fingers snapped together. "Oh, that thing! That's a bike! Yes, I knew that," he claimed and some kids chuckled.
"Sorry about this, Alberto. Perhaps I've practiced enough for today. Come; let's go home and I'll make us some pink lemonade," I offered with a smile. Might as well; not like I was getting any better on this thing anytime soon. The kids all perked up at the words "pink" and "lemonade", causing me to roll my tired eyes. "Pink lemonade! What's that?!" "I want some!" "Yeah, I wanna drink some fancy city lemonade!" "Me too!" "How do you make it pink?" Alberto was somehow able to ignore all their questions, giving me a sympathetic gaze. "But…. your bike; y-you were practicing. I don't make you stop on my account." I smiled at him. "Would you like a turn?" "Me?!" His eyes lit up. I nodded, gently pushing the bike handles into his hands. "Sure! Give it a try if you want."
The children and I then proceeded to watch Alberto try- and fail- to even mount the bicycle. Most of the kids couldn't contain their giggles while I coached Alberto from the side; that is, when he wasn't coaching himself. "Ok, now just take your time getting onto it!" "How 'bout if I tried jumping onto it?" He called back, only to take another tumble when he gave that a try. The youngsters all laughed. Alberto let out a small growl and stood back up. "Nugh, stupid bike. I'll show it who's boss!" "It's a bike; not a horse," one of the older boys- maybe ten or so- chuckled. I shook my head and walked up in front of the bike. Alberto blinked at me in surprise when my hand reached out to guide his head straight forward.
"Keep your eyes up. Looking down is what's making you fall. Keep your eyes forward. Look at me….. Look at me," slowly I released his face to take a few steps back. Doing as he was instructed, Alberto kept his eyes glued onto mine. Without thinking he began to petal and I continued walking backward in front of him. The kids gasped in amazement while his eyes suddenly lit up. "Whoa, I'm doing it…. I'm doing it! Look, Ilaria! I'm riding a bike!" "Wonderful, Alberto! Very good job!" My clapped together as he rode up to a stop beside me. His smile was whole and glorious in that instance, like he was really proud of himself. Then, to my surprise, he hopped right off and urged the bike toward me.
"Now you try!" "Oh, I can't ride off and leave you here by yourself," my hands rubbed together, not taking the bicycle from him. "Then we'll ride together!" Alberto announced, once again like it was no big deal. But of course it was. My eyes widened scandalized. "Together? It's unprecedented! We couldn't!" "Sure, we could! There's enough room on here for two. Come on! You steer, you're better at this riding thing than me anyway." "Alberto, really…. This isn't proper," I hesitated. "Why not? They wouldn't have made the bike so big if they didn't want two people riding on it." I couldn't help but ogle my friend. He's so innocent and pure-hearted. He has no idea what social customs are around boys and girls our age, or how such things look. No, he simply wants to spend time with me… his only friend here in Portorosso. That thought made my heart skip a beat.
I took the bike handles from his grip and mounted the device. With glee, Alberto excitedly hopped on the back of the bicycle. All the children watched as I began to pedal- gradually, mind you- us down the road and up the gentle slope. By the time we reached the town square they weren't the only ones staring in our direction. I was just thankful Ercole was nowhere to be seen. While I tried to look timid and small, Alberto was having the time of his life. He was also looking all about the village with the largest eyes, absorbing all his saw like a sponge. His mouth was hung open and his smile was vast. Glancing back over my shoulder at his expression of awe made all of this worth it, I quickly realizing. Grinning myself, I turned my attention back to the road. It was ironically easier to ride on the windy roads with the extra weight.
Alberto kept tapping my shoulders and back to eagerly point out something interesting he saw. "Hey, Ilaria; look at that! Oh, oh, look! Did you see that?! Look over there!" I can't get over how much I enjoy being with him, I thought with a grin back at him. That was my reply instead of a verbal response; I just let him have at it.
It took some time but I finally got us to the top of the largest hill in all of Portorosso. I had to stop here to heave a bit. Meanwhile Alberto jumped off the back of the bike to go take a good look at the view. It was a stunning view of the town and sea, after all. He didn't say a word this time but only took in the scenery, his arms hanging out at his sides. My head gently lifted up, glancing in his direction. I looked at him standing there taking in everything, and I smiled….. Oh, how I smiled. He was looking at the breath-taking view, and I was looking at him.
After a minute, Alberto finally spun back around. He motioned to the road going back downward with his thumb, still grinning ear-to-ear. "Going down should be fun," he remarked casually. That's when my smile began to fade. My back arched upright, my hands gripping the handlebars. "Um, I don't think we should ride down. I can barely handle uphill, never mind downhill. We should just walk back." "Ah, come on. It'll be fun! Look, I'll be right here behind you," he came to sit back down on the bike. I gave him a worried face. "B-But I….." Still smiling, Alberto put his hand on my back reassuringly. "You can do this, Ilaria. We'll do this together, ok? You're going to have to get used to riding downhill eventually." "That's true…" My eyes slipped out into space.
Not wanting to think about it any longer, I closed my eyes and inhaled. My feet pushed on the pedals and soon I could feel us start to move downward. What began as a slow ride became fast really, really quickly. My stomach started to drop and I summoned the courage to open my eyes. I was right; we were going really fast. That's when I began to scream, and not in a good way. On the other hand, Alberto was having the time of his life. I don't think he recognized my cries to be ones of panic. He was also shouting, though with a lot more enthusiasm.
"We're going too fast!" "I know! Isn't it great?!" That's one way to put it. As I watched the houses and shops fly by it hit me that we were headed in the direction of the ocean, and I didn't know if I'd be able to stop us in time before we hit it. An intense panic began to swell all over me. "Alberto! Alberto, we're going to crash!" "What?" "Crash! We're going to crash into the sea!" I shrieked.
It was like a flip was suddenly flipped inside Alberto. He went from loving the ride to seeming more panicked than I. Seeing as we had little time left, he immediately took over. Alberto scouted out in front of us; his eyes growing when he spotted a soft patch of grass. "Hang on!" It all happened so fast. Before I knew what was happening two very strong arms around my waist from behind. They wrapped tightly around me and I found myself being flung off the bike. Alberto held onto me, tossing both of us right off my bike. He managed to spin ourselves in such a way that the only to have impact on the ground was him, with me landing safely on top of him. And right as we landed the bike tittered off, stopped by the railing leading off to the coast down below. While I was watching the bike roll away, Alberto was inspecting me over.
"Are you ok, Ilaria?!" He jumped to feet so he could help me stand up. Still holding both my hands in his, he scanned me over repeated for injury. I shook myself off and grinned playfully. "Well, that's one way to stop." Sensing my humour about the situation, he mirrored my expression after seeing that I was alright. "Uh, yeah. Next time we'll take your suggestion and walk down." "You're right though. I do have to get used to this hill…. eventually."
Alberto let go of my hands and I went down to fetch my bike. With a once over, I grinned back at him. "Not even a scratch!" The boy approached me, rubbing his arm somewhat pensively. His eyes told me he was feeling reluctant and remorseful. "Are you sure you're alright? We crashed pretty hard back there….." "You mean "you" crashed pretty hard back there. You so chivalrously broke my fall. If anyone would be hurt, it would be you. Are you alright?" "Who, me? Pfft! I've had worse- trust me." "I believe you," I laughed, recalling him jumping off that tower the first time we met.
Alberto rolled the bike back home, even though I insisted on doing so just in case he was actually injured and not telling me. But he was having none of it. He brought the bike all the way back to our house at the very bottom of Portorosso. We were laughing and making jokes by the time we got there; our minor accident far from both our minds by then. We stopped by the front gate together; the sun was beginning to set now. Our feet ground to a halt and I finally took the bike from Alberto. He handed it over the handlebar and smiled.
"I'm sure with practice these hills will become a breeze." "We got this! Just next time, I'll steer," Alberto stuck his thumb into his chest. "Yes. Then maybe we won't crash into the sea." "Or anything." "Or anything," I repeated with a laugh. We were so busy talking that both of us failed to notice the presence coming up from the dock and toward the gate.
"Ilaria," the sound of Uncle's severe voice made us freeze. I peeked over to see my uncle standing there with a big fishing spear in his hand. He wasn't looking back at me but the very stunned and frightened Alberto on the opposite side of the bike. Poor Alberto; I can't imagine what he must have thought right about now. Uncle's eyes were sharp and stern on him.
"Who's he?" He pointed Alberto's way with his spear. Alberto gulped and I immediately stepped in. "This is my friend, Alberto Scorfano. We met uh, near the water a little while back." "Your friend?" Uncle's tone wasn't as off-putting as you imagine. That's a good sign. The still terrified Alberto gulped again, giving Uncle a small, shy wave. "C-Ciao, signor," he forced a grin which made me have to stifle one. Awe, look at him; he's trying so hard.
Uncle's eyes drifted from him back to me, much softer now. "And what you and your friend been up to, niece?" "Practicing riding our bike. I'm…. getting better at it," not a complete lie anyway. "And you say you met down by the water?" "Oh yes. Alberto spends a lot of time in the sea, don't you?" Alberto's lips sputtered a little as he rubbed the side of his arm anxiously. "Uh, w-well, I um….." "You know the sea?" Uncle inquired, to which Alberto simply gazed back at him. I nodded on his behalf. "Absolutely, definitely more than the town anyway," I added with a wink at Alberto. He glanced back me with nervous eyes.
Uncle thought to himself for a minute before clearing his throat. He turned back to face me directly. "Well, Ilaria? Aren't you going to invite your friend in for dinner?" "Huh?" Both Alberto and I blinked surprised. But Uncle was serious. "Invite Alberto in to dine with us. It'll be nice to have a fellow seaman at the table." "Oh… Oh! Yes, of course! I just…. Wow, ok! Um, w-would you like to join us for dinner this evening?" I asked Alberto, still in shock as to what was happening. This sort of thing did not happen; this would be considered an act of "courting" back home if it did. Uncle wouldn't ask Alberto to join us unless he approved of him spending more time with me… Wait. Oh! Apprehending this only made my face light up more.
I don't think Alberto, or perhaps even Uncle, knew the severity of the situation. It was indeed severe, but in a good way! I'd never been instructed to invite a boy to dine with my family before. Uncle and I stood there, patiently waiting for Alberto's reply. For his part, he blinked over at me with a dumbfounded expression. "Uh, what's happening now?" He asked me in a sort of whisper, afraid to say the wrong thing I think. "Dinner. You come eat with us." "Oh! Uh, is that ok?" I couldn't figure out why he was being so timid. It's like he was afraid of my Uncle Massimo or something. Still, I responded with a kind smile. My hand reached over to rest overtop of his quivering hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Yes, it's fine. We want you to come. I…. want you to come." "You do?" His eyes shone down onto me. My grin grew in the most organic way as my head nodded with tenderness.
He merely stared at me for a moment. Then, letting a smile also slowly creep across his moist lips, his head turned back in the direction of my uncle. "So what are we having?"