Hill Towns by Anne Rivers Siddons

Author:Anne Rivers Siddons
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, Fiction, Family Life, General
ISBN: 9780061715730
Publisher: HarperTorch
Published: 1992-12-31T06:00:00+00:00

9

WE MET AT FLORIAN’S THE NEXT MORNING FOR

CAPPUCCINO and brioche and to decide what

to do with ourselves. Somehow we had all

contrived to avoid the subject last night; no one seemed to

want to break the beautiful, fragile skin of the scene on the

bridge. And I think we all knew there would be discord this

morning. The heat that the mist and rain had held at bay

had finally straggled in from Rome, and even before nine

the humidity was stunning, a palpable thing. Neither Joe nor

I had slept well. I had lain awake very late and felt and heard

him tossing. When we finally woke, heavy and damp and

slow, we did no more than exchange our ritual morning

conversation. Neither of us mentioned the Lido, but it hung

between us, white and burning as if we were already there.

I knew he was not going to give it up. And I knew I simply

could not go.

There was a message for us when we went past the desk,

from Yolanda: Have some crafty business over on

213

214 / ANNE RIVERS SIDDONS

Burano. See you for lunch and, if not, for dinner. Leave mes-

sage where. XXX, Yolie.

“What’s on Burano in the way of crafts that would interest

Yolie?” I said to Sam and Ada, who were waiting at a table

outside Florian’s. I almost wanted to shake them both: Sam

looked as roaringly vital as ever in the shredded cutoffs and

shirttail-flapping blue denim, the dreadful hat riding high on

his red forehead, and Ada, in her trademark cotton gauze,

looked like a woman carved of ice. No tossing in damp sheets

for them; the Regina and Europa had efficient air-condition-

ing hidden behind its billowing white drapes.

“Lacemaking,” Ada said. “Almost every woman on the is-

land does it, and it’s exquisite. There are seven stitches in

Burano and Venetian point lace, and each woman specializes

in one, so every piece gets passed around until it’s finished.

A tablecloth center will take about a month. I can’t imagine

Yolie trying to get her viewers to make lace, though. It takes

years to learn. Whole generations of young girls ruin their

eyesight doing it—”

She broke off and looked at Sam, who was laughing.

“I imagine Yolie’s trying her hand more at making

whoopee than lace,” he said. “The simple fishermen of Bur-

ano are notably potent and ardent. An American woman

with a nice solid ass and no squint could get laid by eleven,

have the best vongole in the lagoon for lunch, and be back

in time for tea.”

“If you mean she’s going over there to pick up a man, you

should be ashamed of yourself,” I said to Sam. “You should

have seen her last night when those three creeps came on to

us outside Harry’s. They’re probably halfway to Rome by

now.”

“Yolie wants to be the one to choose,” Sam said.

HILL TOWNS / 215

“Don’t worry about her, Cat. She’s been cruising ever since

we’ve known her. She’s smart and careful; nothing’s going

to happen to her and she won’t catch anything. Yolie has

more condoms in her wallet than I did when I was fifteen.

She just likes to screw. Nothing wrong with that.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

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