“No, you mustn’t be embarrassed!” Rosa had admonished him on noting Carter’s pained expression. “The greatest mistake one can make, particularly when trying to speak a new language, is to be afraid to make a mistake. Don’t worry about it when you do. Take it with good humor. Trust me, it is far from the end of the world. You will discover, in fact, that people generally find it quite charming when a foreigner makes an honest effort to speak in their native tongue and trips up now and then while doing it. Italians, in particular, will love you all the more for it.”

Rosa’s words bolstered his pupil’s shaken self-confidence to some degree, and after a brief pause for both to catch their breath, the lesson had continued. Now, though, as he sat there on the beach recalling the incident, Carter felt his face flush again ever so slightly. He was not a perfectionist by anyone’s definition, but he was extremely competitive when it came to anything to which he committed himself. He hated looking bad, and the sting of the memory was enough to prod him to work all the harder, to ensure that it didn’t happen again anytime soon. With that thought in mind, he reached for his cassette player and headphones to listen to the next in the series of Italian tapes Rosa had lent him. It was just then, as he was about to pull on the headphones, that he saw Jimmy, beach bag and chair under his arm, parading down the beach in his direction.

“Ugh, I should have known,” Carter moaned in jest when his friend unceremoniously walked up and dropped his chair and bag beside him in the sand. “Just when I was beginning to enjoy being alone.”

“C.Q., what’s the matter?” replied Jimmy. “I just drove all the way down here from Providence.You’re not happy to see me?”

“Does it matter?”

“No,” said Jimmy, shaking his head. He turned and looked longingly about at the many young women sunbathing nearby. “Just look at this scenery,” he said in delight. “You have definitely scored a prime spot here. It would be rude of you not to share it with a friend.”

“Well, if you’re gonna stay, why don’t you at least sit down and stop staring at everybody before you embarrass me,” suggested Carter.

“With pleasure,” said Jimmy. He unfolded his chair and sat down, his head turning back and forth, as if he could not decide where to look first. He stopped just long enough to notice Carter fumbling with the cassette player. “What’s that you’re listening to?” he asked.

“My Italian tapes,” said Carter. “They help me learn.”

“So you’re sticking with the Italian lessons and your plans to go to Italy, eh?” chuckled Jimmy.

“Uh-huh,” grunted Carter with a nod.