One by one, the stations ticked by. Faenza, Forlì, Cesena, Rimini. Whenever he felt the train starting to brake, Carter would open his eyes briefly to take a look out the window to see where they were. The stations all looked more or less the same to him, but he loved the sound of the names. He realized that he was rushing through the country, missing so many places that under different circumstances he might enjoy visiting. Perhaps one day he would return and take the time to stop and see some of them, but for now his mind was set on only one destination.

The train rolled on.

Riccione, Cattolica, Pesaro, Senigallia.

At Ancona, everyone in the compartment save for Carter stood and collected their things. The young woman glided out the door and out onto the station platform with the four businessmen walking close behind, enjoying the wonderful view for as long as it would last. The train was soon under way, and Carter once again had a compartment all to himself. He preferred it that way now. As he sat there staring out the window, he had a feeling that reminded him very much of his football days. Before a game, Carter was always a bundle of nerves, to the point of being sick, and he would want for all the world to just run away. At the same time, though, he would be filled with eager anticipation at the thought of taking the field. At such times, he liked to go off by himself for a while to think things over, to reconcile these disparate emotions, and to gather himself together for the task at hand. Only then would he be ready to play.

Carter felt much the same way on this day. His stomach was a twist of nerves, but at the same time he was elated by the thought that he was drawing closer and closer to Elena. And so, with an hour and a half still to go before he reached Pescara and the next leg of his journey, Carter took a deep breath and tried to gather himself together.

When at last the train pulled into Pescara Centrale, Carter jumped up, grabbed his bags, and hurried out onto the platform. The air outdoors by now had grown quite still, and the skies dark and menacing. Carter looked at his watch. There was, he knew, plenty of time for him to find his way to the next train, which would take him inland to Chieti. It was almost noon, however, and he had yet to eat a thing all day. At this point, anything at all would do, so long as he could eat it quickly. Looking across the station concourse, he saw a small bar. Wasting no time, he headed directly to it, intent on buying a sandwich to eat on the train.