Sumer was ephemeral. As Alberto and Luca had grown the notion of its shortness grew more pressing. Like the melting of gelato it dripped away into a pool of sweet memories lasting for brief moments before staining minds with vivid yet hazy flashbacks. There were moments Alberto treasured. While working the long hours tending to nets and barrels of fish and going through the motions of fishing with Massimo, the moments between him and Luca were especially treasured as he thought of them while he worked.
They were eating gelato by the rocks that led down to the sea. In that moment he had seen something in Luca's demeanor, something a little more mature yet still reminiscent of the shy personality he had always known. Their eyes met and it was as if a world of unknowns unleashed itself right then and there. He had reached out, placed a gentle arm around Luca's form, leaned close, and then muttered the familiar words of self encouragement. "Silenzio Bruno!" Then he kissed him and everything tasted like the sweet yet pungently tart flavor of strawberry gelato. Between the two of them was a subtle push and pull like waves washing along the shore. A delicate yet yearning intimacy lay new and ripe before them, awoken by a young love that had bloomed slowly over such memorable summers.
There were also moments under the stars. Alone, just the two of them, Alberto lay holding Luca against him, spooning his form gently as the warm breeze of the Sumer wafted through the night air. In the dark of the night while camping out in Giulia's little tree house the world looked different. Darkness coated the landscape except for the glow of the stars above and the odd glow of a far off window where someone dared to stay up late. Neither of them could sleep, so as they had gotten to whispering, Alberto had asked Luca about the stars. Luca had then promptly raised his finger pointing at clusters of dots within the sky naming constellation after constellation and then happily going into detail on all the things he'd learned in astronomy class at school. Soon enough he could sense Luca growing tired, and so he laid there hugging him against his form, feeling the warmth of Luca's body against his.
There was a sweetness to the memories. A feeling of something worth cherishing in the moments where Luca wasn't there. Always as he thought of them a bittersweet yearning festered within him. Each summer was a gift and even with long letters written between them to make up for their time apart, nothing compared to the feeling of each other's presence.