By this time, of course, people all over the village had already spilled out of their houses and run into the streets to see what had happened. At that hour on a weekday, mostly women, old retired men, and children too young for school were at home.With hands over their hearts after the fright they had just received, the women all stood about in groups, talking in loud, excited, almost frantic voices. To all appearances, though, other than having had the wits scared out of them, no one was hurt, and the village had sustained no real damage. The expressions of fright soon gave way to relief and nervous laughter when it became clear that everyone was all right.

Antonella was waiting at the door, looking about anxiously, when Carter finally made it back to the house. At seeing him come into view, she put her hand to her heart like the rest of the women in town and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finalmente,” she said when he came to the door. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Carter told her. “And you?”

“Si, si, I’m fine,” said Antonella. “But I must go check on my mother and father.”

“And what about Giorgio?” he asked. “Is he back yet?”

“No,” said Antonella. “But don’t worry, I’m sure he is on his way. Come in. Stay here now, and when I get back we will wait for him to come home.”

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER 44

Noon came and went, and Giorgio did not return.

Antonella sat at the kitchen table with her pad and pencil, sketching in quick succession the coffee pot on the stove, a cup and bowl on the counter, and the salt and pepper shakers on the table. If she was at all perturbed by Giorgio’s delay in coming home, she did not show it to Carter. If anything, as she sat there drawing, she exuded an air of calm. It seemed to him that, instead of worrying, she had chosen to simply withdraw into herself and focus all of her attention on her sketch pad.

Carter himself was not overly concerned at first, but with each passing minute, a palpable sense of uncertainty began to hang in the air.

“Carter, I told you, do not worry,” said Antonella at seeing him look out the window. “My husband knows those mountains like the back of his hand.Trust me, he will be home soon.”

“But what about the terremoto?” said Carter.

“That was nothing but a little shake,” she assured him. “We get them every now and then around here. If anything, Giorgio was probably safer up on the mountain in the open air than he would have been at home in this old house.”