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The next morning, Alex and Lana set off from the villa at ten am. By noon, they’d visited the beautiful Gardens of Augustus and Capri’s breaktaking highest point, Monte Solaro. By two in the afternoon, they’d eaten a delicious lunch, strolled through the beautiful, leafy Philosophers’ Park and explored the gorgeous columned walkways of Villa San Michele.
All the while, they’d laughed, talked, even teased one another a little. They’d held hands. He’d wrapped his arms around her, brushed a little ice cream from her lip, and kissed her at the island’s apex, not caring who saw them.
––––––––
“So you like her, this young woman,” Ricardo Marino said, sagely waving the tumbler in his hand after dinner that evening. He and Alex were sitting together on the piazza, looking out at the sea and the stars. “I see how you look at her, my son,” Ricardo continued. “I don’t think I have ever seen you look at anyone else in quite the same way.” He smiled - a big, warm, generous smile.
Alex took a sip of whiskey, looking out at the beautiful night. It was a favorite pastime of his and his father’s: sitting together outside after dinner, sharing a drink, talking about everything and nothing, contemplating heaven and earth.
“She’s just so different. To anyone I have ever met,” said Alex.
“And you said she fell into your life by ... accident?”
“Hard to believe,” said Alex, nodding, “but yes. She was driving one of those rental scooters ahead of me on the road, late, late one night. The night before you all arrived, in fact. She was going fine, really, she was a great driver ... but then she hit a pothole. She fell. The scooter tipped and slid into the bushes. In the process, she hit her head. Instantly, I stopped the car, ran over to her, and insisted that I take her to the hospital. But she refused. Even though she was not fully conscious. She was adamant that she just wasn’t going. So next I said I’d take her back to wherever she was staying. But she refused that, too. Just as forcefully. She gave me no choice about bringing her back to the villa.”
Ricardo chuckled. “Some of us are wisest when we are out of our minds,” he said, looking at his son.
Alex raised his glass. “Funny, she said something similar just yesterday.”
“A wise woman,” said the older man, nodding in approval. “And beautiful, too. It is hard to believe she is not taken by some other man.”
“Well ...” Alex let his voice trail off into the night.
“Well ... what?”
“You see, Papa, Lana actually came to the island with her fiance. They had a fight. A big one, by the sounds of it. And she walked out. Left. With very little plan about where she was going. Which is why she was on the road on her own, at that hour.”
“Aaaah,” said Riccardo, taking a sip of whiskey. The ice in his glass clinked. He in fact knew this part of the story from his wife, but appreciated his son’s honesty in telling him. “So she is both far braver and, maybe ... not as available as we think,” he said.
The idea shook Alex. For days, he’d pushed to keep the figure of the fiance as far from his mind as possible. And yet here was his own father, his own father, subtly telling him to be careful, to watch out for this person, in his own wise way.
“She doesn’t wear her engagement ring anymore,” said Alex, as though trying to justify something to his father, or himself.
“Neither did your mother, when I met her,” said Ricardo. “But that didn’t mean Lorenzo was yet out of the picture.”
“Lorenzo? Who’s that?” Alex felt his brows knit. His father had never mentioned anyone called Lorenzo before. “What are you saying, Papa?” he asked.
“When I met your mother, Alessandro, she was engaged to another man,” said Ricardo, gently swilling the drink in his glass. “They had just had a fight, one of many, when she and I met, but ...”
“But ... what?” Alex was hanging on his father’s every word.
“Well, my son,” Ricardo went on, “No matter what had happened ... she still had feelings for him. It took me a long, long time to convince her that I was the one she should be with, not him. It wasn’t easy. He had a good job. Money. A big house. A fine car. Everything I couldn’t offer your mother. Not yet anyway.”
“I didn’t know,” said Alex. “You never spoke about it.”
“After all these years, I suppose it feels like ancient history,” said Ricardo. “Which is why, perhaps, I’ve never felt the need to bring it up. But at the time ...” he pressed his hand to his heart, “oh, what I went through to win your mother from him.”
Alex looked out at the ocean. He had always imagined his father and mother’s union as natural as the seasons. He could hardly imagine another figure between them, standing in the way of their happiness. He felt affronted on his father’s behalf. And yet it was obvious, really, that a beautiful woman like his mother should have caught the eye of other men.
“About your lovely lady and her fiance ... their fight happened just days ago?” Ricardo asked lightly.
“Yes,” Alex nodded. He suddenly realized he’d indeed known Lana just a couple of days. It felt so much more like a lifetime.
The older man nodded to himself, thinking. “In that case, I think she has yet a way to go ahead of her, your beautiful woman from across the ocean,” he said wistfully. “Women can be very loyal in their affections, Alessandro, no matter how they may act, how much they may deny them, or how many fights they may have along the way. It will take Lana some time still to realize who the man is that she should be with, I think. Or, should I say, it will take some time before she feels she’s had it proven to her. And proven to her, without doubt.”
Alex looked at his father, in awe of his wisdom, his cool head. And yet, his Papa’s words made him feel uncomfortable, unsure. Was he ready to take on the challenge of the kind his father was suggesting? He’d known Lana only two and a half days. And he might never have even known her at all. Was he willing to do what it took to prove to her that he was the one she should be with? Was he even sure that that was what he himself wanted? Lust was one thing. But love, togetherness ... that was different.
And yet, as he looked off into the darkness, he knew his father was right. Suddenly, he felt the idea of Lana’s fiance weigh heavily on him. Do nothing, or not enough, and he suspected she would return to him. Lana didn’t take emotions lightly. She was not that kind of person. Surely, there needed to be something real and strong, between them? Otherwise, she would never have agreed to marry him.
He felt his blood pressure rising, his head starting to spin a little.
“I ... It’s just so soon,” he said.
“Calm down, my boy,” said Ricardo, sensing his son’s disquiet. “We are only talking. Just a Papa and his boy talking on the terrace. And there is time. Time enough. If, indeed, you choose to fight for your mysterious woman at all.”
His father’s words were cool and easy, yet underneath them, Alex felt, lay the challenge. It was a challenge to stand up and take something he wanted. To assert himself. Not to let an opportunity, perhaps a miraculous one, pass him by.
It was a worthy fight, alright. And yet, it had come at the worst possible time. A time when he should have been focusing on his work, his creativity, his professional future. Would this other thing get in the way of what he wanted to achieve? Could he let it? Would it mean ... choosing? Between one and the other? His mind was spinning.
Resting a firm hand on his son’s shoulder, Riccardo stood up from his chair. “It has been good talking, my boy,” he said. “But it is getting late for an old man. I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight. I love you.”
“Goodnight, Papa,” said Alex, but his mind was elsewhere.
He sat on the chair a good while longer. Until he could sit and do nothing no more.
Pulling himself up, Alex headed for Lana’s room. After dinner, she and Bella had sat talking in the kitchen. But he’d seen them return to their separate rooms about half an hour before. He hoped Lana wasn’t asleep yet. Or if she was ... well, she’d need to wake up. There were things he suddenly needed to say to her, to clear up, to find out. Just what, he didn’t yet know, exactly. And yet he was compelled to go to her. There was no choice. The blood sang in his ears. His heart thumped in his chest.
He knocked loudly on her door. “Lana? It’s me. Can I talk to you?”
“Alex?” Her voice was surprised, a little uncertain. “Yes. Um, just hang on a moment.”
She was already in bed, but now she pushed the covers back and raced to the bathroom, began pulling on the plush white robe that hung from a hook on the bathroom door. From his tone, Lana knew something was wrong. Very wrong. As she belted the robe over her lacy nightie, she felt the blood quickening in her veins. What could it be that was so urgent at this time? What had happened?
She opened the door to find Alex standing on the threshold. His face was pained, racked with thoughts and emotions she couldn’t make out.
“Alex, what is it?”
“Get dressed,” he said. “And meet me down in the garden in five minutes. We need to talk. But not here. Not ... like this.” He pushed his mind from the warm bed that lay behind her, its rumpled sheets.
“Alright,” she said uncertainly, but nodding. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
As she dressed, Lana’s mind raced. What had happened? What could it be, so suddenly? Images of sick family members, terrible tragedies, even past girlfriends resurfaced came into her head.
Before she knew it, she was dressed and jogging down the stone steps into the garden.
“Alex ... what is it?” she asked, stepping before him. He was pacing the lawn, his eyebrows furrowed with thought. She put a hand on his arm. “What is it? Tell me.”
He had his hands in his pockets and didn’t move under her touch. His expression was stoic, resolute.
“I want you to tell me about your fiance ... Tom,” he said, looking away from her, disliking the man’s name in his mouth. “I want you to tell me what I need to know. Who he is. How long you’ve known him. And ... whether you and he are over ... or what you intend to do from here. I need to know where you and he stand, Lana. Where you and ... I stand.”
Lana took a step back. She was surprised. Maybe even a little shocked. Tom was the last person she’d ever thought all this could be about.
She took a deep breath, ready to start explaining, when suddenly she realized she felt ... strange. It wasn’t exactly anger that she felt. And not quite discomfort, either. But having to explain herself, and her circumstances right then and there ... It felt wrong.
“Lana, you have to tell me.”
Suddenly, the feeling intensified. Who was this man to demand that she account for her life to him, out of nowhere, like this? She thought. Though they’d had a lovely couple of days together, it wasn’t like she owed him anything, she realized. Least of all an explanation about something she herself was still trying to figure out.
And yet, still, she wanted to be reasonable. So she settled her voice and began to speak. “Tom and I were together for almost four years,” she started, controlling her voice. “We met through a mutual friend. We ... live together in New York.”
Alex took a sharp inbreath. The news had obviously come as a blow. “You live together?” he said. His mind was truly spinning now. Somehow, he’d never imagined that she lived with anyone. But he’d only been deceiving himself, he realized. Of course it was natural that she shared a home with her fiance. “And are you ... you’re happy with him?” he tried to stop himself from asking this next question, but the words tumbled out. “I mean, were you happy? You’ve been happy?”
Lana felt her skin tingle a little with genuine anger. The mention of Tom was uncomfortable for her. Who was he to demand that she confess all of this to him? To demand he tell her things she hadn’t yet even confessed to herself?
“Yes,” she said, suddenly, indignantly, realizing how much what she was about to say would hurt. “Yes. We have been happy. Together.”
“But I met you trying to escape him,” said Alex, exasperated. “How can you say you’ve been happy?”
“Life is complex, Alex,” she said. “Love ... is complex.”
He looked at her, his eyes burning. “So you still ... love him?”
“I ... I didn’t say that, exactly. But we’ve had a long, long relationship, Alex. It’s only natural that I feel ...” she broke off.
“Feel what?” he demanded. All the time, he was kicking himself for his anger, his mad passion, and yet he couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t stop. Here was this remarkable woman who in just days had made him feel things he had never felt before. And here was that same woman saying that she still had feelings for some other man. A man who, he felt, would never equal his own depth of feeling, his creativity ... And yet she seemed blind to it. Blind to this other man’s faults. Or was she perhaps just like so many other women in the world, who, once they have something that feels secure, hold onto it, even if it’s wrong? Even if, ultimately, it eats them up?
“Are you going to go back to him, Lana?” he demanded. “After your little fairytale here in the villa is done? Are you going to go back to him, because that’s reality, rationality, safety? And this is just ... make believe?”
Lana had finally had enough. “You self-absorbed idiot,” she said. “How dare you! How dare you demand these things from me after knowing me for only two days? How dare you demand to know so much about my feelings about a matter that doesn’t even concern you? That’s none of your business? And how dare you think I should confess everything to you? Just because you kiss me and show me the island?” She turned on her heels. “You need to take a long look at yourself, Alex,” she said. “The world doesn’t revolve around you. Around your needs and your problems. You’re a good person, but you’re also self-absorbed.”
And with that, she turned, taking the stone stairs up out of the garden, two at a time.
Back in her room, Lana shut the door, locked it. Her heart was racing. How dare he confront her like that, she thought, beginning to pace the room. How dare he ask her those kinds of questions? And after only two days! How dare he come to her, needing to put his own mind, and ego, at rest?
She suddenly saw what had happened. He wanted to clear the decks for himself. Wanted to clear his mind about her, so that he could focus better on his work, make the decisions he needed to make about his future, create what he needed to create, and no distractions.
In one way, she understood it. And yet, in another, it made her angry. Immensely so. Life was messy, she thought. At its best, it was chaos. You couldn’t just put the important things quickly into little boxes, satisfied that you’d dealt with them, and move onto the next. No. She shook her head. No. You had to deal with life, all at once, just as it happened. Be it messy or strange or imperfect.
She began to pace the room. Yes. That was life, she reflected. She’d herself tried to control life before, and always with poor results. Now Alex was trying to do the same thing. And even though he was far older, he was not apparently any wiser. Well, if that was the case, there was a lesson he needed to learn. And he wouldn't be learning it at her expense.
Then and there, she resolved to leave the villa the following morning. She would find somewhere to stay on the island - anywhere, really, even a tiny little room - and stay there for what was left of her trip. She’d work on her novel. See the island. Hire another scooter. Be alone and happy and ... free.
She’d gotten herself into this situation, she reflected. And now she was going to get herself out.
When morning broke, Lana showered, dressed quickly, and found Bella in the kitchen.
“Morning,” said Bella in her usual tinkling tone. “My, Lana, are you alright? Where are you going?”
Lana had her suitcase beside her.
“Bella,” Lana began, her voice firm and controlled, “I wanted to thank you. For everything. I’ll never forget the time you and I spent together. It’s all been so wonderful. And you’ve been so kind to me, so generous. But ... I need to go now. I have to leave the villa this morning. Please apologize to your parents for me. And thank them ... for everything. You don’t know how much being a part of your family these few days has meant to me. But I have to go. I’m sorry. Thank you again.” She turned.
“Lana, Lana! Wait!” Bella quickly caught up, just as she was leaving the room. “Was it ... him? Was it Alex? What did he do?”
Lana just shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”
Bella sighed. “My brother. Trust him to screw things up ... “ She ran her hand through her hair. “But, I understand, Lana. And you do what you need to. Still - you don’t think you’re just going to walk back into town do you? It’s miles and miles. Even if it is downhill. I’ll get the car.”
They wound down through the sunlit hills of Capri and back toward the town center. Bella, ever resourceful, said she knew of a small bed and breakfast on the island run by a kindly old lady called Emilia. She might just have space ...
As things turned out, Emilia’s BnB was the first place they called at, and the only. The rooms were modest, the elderly lady explained, as Bella translated, but always clean. And the last room that was available, the very last one, she stressed, had a beautiful view of the garden. Would she like to see it?
They walked up a narrow flight of wooden stairs and the old lady opened the door to the sunlit space.
“Oh my ... it’s perfect!” Lana exclaimed, looking around. White walls, neat bed, a desk by the window. It was tidy, pretty, and all her own. “I’ll take it. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The old woman smiled and nodded. She headed back downstairs for the forms Lana needed to fill in.
“You can get some writing done here,” said Bella, looking around the room with approval. “Perhaps even find the time to finish your book?”
“I ... I think I just might,” said Lana, smiling, imagining herself in front of her laptop, happily tying away.
Suddenly, Bella whirled around and hugged her. “Oh Lana! ...I ... I just can’t believe you’re leaving. And like this.” She shook her head.
“I know, Bella. But ... it’s for the best.”
“This is going to sound silly, but I was starting to feel like you were my second sister.”
Lana smiled. “I was starting to feel like you were my sister too,” said Lana, feeling tears rising to her eyes. “You’ve been so good to me over these past days, Bella. I’ll never forget your kindness. It’s been more than anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Stepping back, Bella wiped away a tear of her own. “Please. Let’s not make everything sound so final. Where’s your phone? I’m leaving you with all my numbers. Both here and in New York. Oh yes, and my email. When we’re both back in the Big Apple, we’re definitely having coffee right away,” she said, taking the phone out of Lana’s hands. “I don’t know what my brother did, but I know he’s an idiot,” she said, punching her information into Lana’s address book. “I would ask you to forgive him, but I know it’s not my place to do anything of the sort.” She handed Lana back the phone. “Have a good time in Capri, Lana. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. Make of it everything that you can.” She smiled and embraced Lana a last time.
And like that, Bella was gone. Lana heard the roar of her roadster fading away down Capri’s cobbled streets, blending with the hubbub of the town, until it disappeared.