"I'm really sorry about my uncle. His mind's always on the sea, be that fishing or hunting for sea monsters….." Alberto and I were taking an after-dinner stroll along the beach together. It was Uncle's idea of all things, so long as he had me home before dark. Not that I minded! All things considered they seemed to get along with each other, which in turn made me very happy. I just wish Uncle didn't put too much pressure on Alberto to go out fishing with him. It wasn't a very good veiled attempt at what he was trying to do, if you catch my drift. Luckily Alberto didn't seem to read between the lines. He wore a constant contented smile across his face.
"I like Massimo. He's a good guy," my dear friend exclaimed without reserve. This earned a warm smile from me. "He is a good man- a very good man," I agreed. "Just one thing though. What happened to his arm?" "Oh, he was born without it." "Really?" Alberto's eyes perked up. I nodded. "That's how he came into the world. There was some talk when he and Papa were younger that Papa should take over the family business. But Zio was the first born son, so….."
His eyes wandered outward a little. "Huh. Human society is a lot more complicated than I thought." I couldn't help but stare at him a bit bewildered. "You're really not used to our customs, are you?" "Well there's so many of them," Alberto gave my arm a playful shove. "You're not wrong, and if you think this is bad, you should see what it's like back home," I laughed. He looked at me walking there beside him.
"Back home? You mean in Floor-ants?" "Florence, yes. That's the city I was born in." His gaze scrolled down like he was a tad hesitant to ask his next question. "Do you… miss it?" "I do. I miss the city, the people, the culture…. But what I really miss most is Papa." "Your dad?" My head nodded again, my eyes lowering gently. "I was the only family he had in Florence. He's the curator for the Uffizi Gallery, so he wasn't able to move to Portorosso with me. It's ok though. We write often and I'll see him at my wedding," whenever that may be. Alberto peered at me with sorrow filling his demeanour.
"I'm sorry we can't enter the race for the Portorosso Cup. You could have used that money to get your father a train ticket." "Hey, it's not your fault! It's like Zio said, we can't afford the entry fee. It's just the way it is." "But you really want to see your dad." I smiled at him, genuinely charmed by his concern for me. "If we did win the race, we'd split the money in half. What would you buy with your half?" "Me? I can't think of anything I really want; not that money could buy me anyway." "Really? Not even, say, a new boat? Or a new bike for yourself?" He laughed, spinning his head back in my direction. "I'd rather ride yours." "But I need that bike for deliveries," I teasingly countered. His grin only intensified, his eyes lowering onto mine. "Then we'll ride together, since it worked out so well last time," his tone was half-serious, half-joking. But there was true intension in it. He might have tried to mask it with a joke, but I caught it immediately. And it made me smile back at him…. "In that case we need to keep practicing. And you steer next time." "I thought that's what we already agreed on when you nearly crashed us into the sea- in case you forgot." "Oh, trust me; I didn't forget. You're just going to have to teach me to ride downhill." "That, I can do," he noted with confidence. I giggled and we gazed into each other's eyes once more, which might explain why neither of us were expecting what happened next.
"Tesorina!" Oh…. Just, oh no. My feet ground to an abrupt halt. This flash of terror and disgust rode across my face. If there's one person I didn't want to run into on this beach again, it was him. Oh god, why is this happening?! And with Alberto here too. I suppose it would be too much to ask that they never meet in person, but I knew deep down inside that it was bound to happen sooner or later. As I winced all the way to kingdom come, Alberto simply blinked alarmed and puzzled. "Tesorina?" He repeated, sounded confused.
You-know-who suddenly came marching through the sand straight up to me. Ercole took my hand in his, making me spin right around to face him. Alberto followed suit, looking lost as ever. "There you are, my little one. Oh, how I've missed you! I looked all over town for you but heard these insidious rumours that you were out riding a bike in- gasp- boy clothes! I knew such lies could never be true! My princess dressing in boy clothes. The insult! Don't worry, my sweet; I didn't believe them. Your reputation is safe with me, tesorina," that snaky grin of his covered his mouth. Ugh, revolting! Alberto wasn't looking too happy right about now either. "Why does he keep calling you "little treasure"?" He asked me, not taking his glare off Ercole.
It was only then that Ercole even bothered to recognize Alberto's existence. His cheesy grin dropped like a pin as the two men sized the other up. And I should note that Ercole refused to let go of my hand this whole time; his grip actually intensified the longer he leered at Alberto.
"I haven't seen you around before. Who are you?" Ercole slithered. I internally rolled my eyes. Oh, this was going to be fun. "Alberto, this is Ercole Visconti- a local boy." "Heh, "boy". You're so cute, my small one," Ercole chuckled as if my calling him a "boy" was sweet somehow. Alberto on the other hand, frowned. "Ercole? You mean the guy who always wins the Portorosso Cup each year?" Like Alberto had just insulted his mother, Ercole shot him a monstrous glare. "What?! What do you know about the race? You better not be here to enter it, small fry, cause you're absolutely right! I do win it each and every year. Isn't that right, Ciccio?" As always, his two lackies weren't far behind. "That's rig-…." Poor Ciccio began before Ercole told him to shut up, cause of course he did. I rolled my eyes this time while Alberto looked incredibly unimpressed with the whole debacle.
"What was your name again? Alberto? I love your clothes. Where did you get them? A dead body?" Ercole laughed along with his friends. I frowned upset. "Ercole! That's not nice!" "You're right, tesorina. It's not nice you should have to look at such an ugly outfit. Shame not everyone can be high-born class like us." "Uh, what's he saying? Was that an insult?" Alberto asked me, growing more unhappy by the minute. I was too, frankly! This creep was insufferable!
Ercole waggled his long, bony fingers in front of Alberto's face. "Of course it's an insult! Where does this moron come from? Under the sea?!" "No!" Alberto fired back with gusto. Ercole was having none of it. "What is a vagrant like you doing in our town, hmmmmm? There's already enough losers in Portorosso without you. I should know; I've beaten them all in the Portorosso Cup since I was six." "He's not here for the race, Ercole," I breathed, trying my best to keep my composure. Above all, a lady never loses her self-control…. No matter how warranted it is.
"Oh, just passing through then? Well, that's fantastico! That's just what this village needs- another foreigner." One of his friends had to clear his throat when he saw my horrified reaction to this. Ercole looked my way and instantly flinched, taking my hand in his again. "But of course we welcome those from cities like Florence! You are an ornament to Portorosso, my sweet. No one can compare you to this lowly sea drifter who smells like fish!" "I'm not a sea drifter, and I don't smell like fish! And would you let go of Ilaria's hand? You're making her uncomfortable," Alberto made an attempt to position himself in between me and Ercole, protecting me from him. Bad move. Well actually it was a very sweet move, but it had its effects.
It was like a flip had been switched in Ercole's brain and he finally put two and two together. Alberto and I were walking on the beach together and we know each other's names. That can only mean one thing….. "What did you call her?" "Ilaria- that's her name." Ercole's face darkened. "How do you know her name?! And how dare you address her so casually?! Do you know who she is? She comes from a world you'll never understand or access! Don't you dare call my tesorina by her given name! You'll give people the wrong idea!" "And what idea is that?" Alberto smirked cockily. Ercole looked like he was going to throttle Alberto.
"Who do you think you are?" He growled in a threating sort of way. "He's my friend," I finally cut in again, putting my hand on Alberto's back. Ercole's eyes flared up enraged. "Friend?! Oh no, no, no, no! Boys and girls can't just be "friends". If he's talking to you, he wants something from you. That's how men are, my sweet." "Oh really? Well talking to her now," Alberto crossed his arms defiantly. "That's because she and I are practically courting!" "We most certainly are not!" I gasped, outraged that he'd even use that word with me. I was afraid Ercole didn't understand the severity behind that language… or maybe he did and that's why he said it, which is worse. I wanted to vomit when Ercole's response was to give me a smile. "Oh, tesorina; you modest lady. Your humility becomes you. But you needn't be so shy. Everyone in town would understand why you'd want to court me," his voice was so unbelievably arrogant just then. While my face was now pale beyond all words, Alberto's temper flared up.
"Didn't you hear her? Whatever "courting" is, you two aren't doing it." "See?! This just shows your lack of class and social skills! It's in a lady's nature to deny that she and her man are courting, or that she's even in love- which my little one here clearly is. "No" really means "yes" for them." "Uh, I think it means "no"," Alberto's eyebrow lifted. Ercole waved him off. "So ignorant. You're too stupid to even make fun of. Sad, really." "Ercole!" I cried, having more than enough of his nonsense. To even suggest that we were courting or that I was in love with….. There are not enough words in the Italian language to describe how disgusted that made me feel. But the two completely ignored me, electing instead to glare daggers at one another.
"Listen here, you unwanted, unfashionable vagrant. Stay away from my girl; she's too beautiful for you. You are not friends, you will never be friends, and she wants nothing to do with you. And I'm not going to let you bother my precious princess anymore! If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away," Ercole proclaimed all this and Alberto looked like he was ready to punch him. But Ercole being Ercole, he had the audacity to slip around Alberto so I was now standing in between them; cause that's what a gentleman would do, insert eyeroll here. He didn't grab my hand this time but held his out for mine. "Come, tesorina. Let's take a stroll down the beach just you and me, eh?" I swear if I didn't intervene, Alberto would have grabbed Ercole and thrown him a mile away from me. My hand discreetly reached back to brush against the front of Alberto's arm in an effort to calm him down.
"Uh, actually Ercole, Zio will be expecting me back by now. It's getting too late for a walk." "Ah, you're so right, my little one. We'll have plenty of time to catch up during the day. Besides, I'm feeling a bit peckish myself. Ciccio; Guido! Let's go get me a sandwich!" Alberto and I didn't say anything or move a muscle as the trio proceeded to exit the beach, making a lot of noise along the way. An awkward moment passed and I grabbed the side of my arm in an uncomfortable fashion. My eyes fluttered back over to the still pissed-off Alberto, who's hands were clenched into fists. I gazed at them then up at his face.
"Alberto, I'm so sorry." "Sorry for what? It's not your fault that jerk has a stalking problem." "He just… doesn't understand," I was trying very, very hard not to verbally bash Ercole into the ground; which would be extraordinarily easy. Alberto had no problem doing so though. "The guy's delusional," his threw out his hand for emphasis. "Y-Yes, he is. But he doesn't know that." "That's clear! He thinks he's the best thing to ever roam the land." "And… I don't think anything I say can or will convince him otherwise," I admitted with a defeated sigh. Alberto peered back at me with softer eyes this time. He waited a moment then smiled. His hand reached out to touch my shoulder.
"Hey, you're not alone, ok? You got me; I won't let you handle that creep on your own." "But Ercole said….." "Forget what he said! I'm not scared of that twig of a man. It's obvious which of us is stronger, so if he ever wants to get in a fight….. God, I hope he wants to fight," he muttered under his breath. I stared at him anxious. "But his two friends- it's three against one." "Don't worry; I won't fight him unless I have to. But just know that I'm here for you. You're not alone when dealing with Erco-lame. I'm here now…. I'm here." I could merely gawk up into his eyes for a moment, but it felt much, much longer. Before I knew what was happening, I was already smiling. I was smiling at Alberto without even realizing it… "Yes… Yes, I know you are."