Later, the five of them went out for a passeggiata, a little walk in the open air, which ended at the piazza. There they sat on the wall, chatting with the other families that were out doing the same. As he sat there by the fountain, soaking it all in, Carter breathed a contented sigh. It was, he found, a simple, satisfying way to spend the rest of his Sunday afternoon. He let his gaze alternate between the people and the ancient village and the surrounding mountains. It struck him how all three seemed to form a harmonious whole that was almost idyllic. It was simply nice to be there, and he could easily see himself remaining another day or two, as Giorgio had implored him to do. Why, he wondered as he looked around, would anyone ever want to leave?

CHAPTER 42

CHAPTER 42

“Hey, Il Presidente!” someone called.

It was late the following morning, and Carter had been out walking around, exploring the outskirts of the village. In truth, there wasn’t a great deal to be seen, but it was something to do to pass the time. He had been making his way back down an alley, beneath lines of drying laundry flapping in the breeze overhead between the houses, when he heard the voice calling to him from up above.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, Carter looked up and saw that its owner was Domenico, one of the men he had met in the bar his first day in town. Domenico was standing atop the roof of one of the houses, a crowbar in hand.

“Buon giorno!” Carter called back to him.“What are you doing up there?”

“What do you think? I’m fixing the roof,” Domenico called back.

Carter looked over to the side of the house, where he saw a collection of broken roof tiles next to a ladder leading up to the roof. Having spent the entire summer working as a construction laborer, and having nothing else in particular to do at the moment, he was interested to see how things were done in Italy.

“Hey,” he called to Domenico. “Do you mind if I come up and take a look?”

“Come no?” answered Domenico, gesturing for him to come up. “Why not?”

Carter climbed to the top of the ladder and stepped off onto the edge of the roof, his foot slipping a little before he found his balance.

“Ayyy, be careful, Presidente,” quipped Domenico, waving his crowbar at him. “If you fall off the roof and get hurt, there’ll be war between our countries!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Carter promised with a smile.