The Sugar Thief by Nancy Mauro

Author:Nancy Mauro [Mauro, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: 2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

As they walked along Corso Umberto I, Francesco forced an elasticity in his limbs which he hoped she would interpret as familiarity. He hadn’t been on the campus in nearly two years. “This is the main administration,” he told her, pointing to the triple- arched entrance of the university’s Romanesque façade. “That is the bursar’s office. Beyond those gates are the classrooms.” He was keeping her safely on the opposite side of the street lined with shops and restaurants, hoping she wouldn’t ask to see inside the buildings.

“It is grand, isn’t it?” She stopped to admire the monumental façade that took up a whole city block, her nostrils flaring as though she were inhaling the architecture, or somehow was responsible for it. “I dislike the city, but it takes a city to house such a tremendous institution.”

Francesco’s tongue itched with irritation, though it was unclear to him just who he was irritated with. Don Ernesto’s accusation yesterday haunted him in its accuracy.

He glanced at his watch. “Up ahead on Mezzocannone we can get a taxi to Napoli Centrale.” He just wanted to put her on a train and send her home. Separate that life from this.

But his mother had turned and was staring at the trattoria a few doors away. “Francesco, that man is looking at us. Do you know him?”

He turned too. In front of the Caffè Tarantino stood Don Ernesto and the counter girl, laden with deliveries. The young woman was handing stacked pastry cartons to the barista in the doorway, but Don Ernesto met his eye. “Francesco!” he called.

“You know them?” his mother asked.

He shook his head.

“He just called your name.”

“But I’ve never seen them before.” Francesco gathered up something that passed as a smile and put a hand on his mother’s back. “You know what? God willing, this is your last trip to Napoli.” He barely waited for a break in traffic before ushering her across the street toward the university gates and away from Don Ernesto. “Let’s see if we can’t look inside.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.