Of course, Keira had no time to enjoy herself because she was, once again, completely stranded. She had no idea how to get to her hotel, no map to use to guide her there, and there seemed to be next to no cell phone coverage in the valley of the mountains.

She headed toward the beach where a small stone structure proclaimed itself to be a “ristorante.” There was a terraced bar outside, filled with people drinking cocktails. Keira went inside.

“Ciao,” she said to the waiter behind the bar.

He smiled at her as he continued drying a glass with a dish towel. “Ciao.”

“Do you speak English?”

“Of course,” he said, grinning even more widely. “What can I get you?”

“Actually, I’m not here to drink,” Keira explained. “I wondered if you could tell me where the Oceano Hotel is?”

“You’re staying there?” he asked. “It’s a lovely place. Best views. Right at the top of the cliffs.”

Keira was relieved that he knew where it was. “Could you tell me how to get there? I came by bus so I don’t have a car.”

The man put down his glass and towel and leaned his elbows against the bar. “That is going to make things difficult for you.”

“Why?” Keira asked.

“The bus goes to the top but it stops running early on weekdays. You will have to climb.”

“Climb?” Keira asked, her eyes widening. She couldn’t tell whether the man was joking with her or not. Her experience at the Naples train station had made her suspicious of people who seemed to be offering help.

“Yes, you need to take the steps up through the village all the way to the top. Fifty flights. Quite a trek.”

Keira groaned internally. She had her case with her. She’d been lugging it around for what felt like forever!

“Maybe you should have a cocktail or two before you go?” the waiter added with a smarmy wink.

Keira turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafe, feeling her throat thicken with emotion. She looked at the cliffs behind her and saw the stone steps the waiter had been talking about. Was it really the right way to her hotel?

She decided to ask in another cafe, half hoping that the first waiter was joking around. But unless everyone had the same cruel sense of humor, the Oceano Hotel was indeed right at the top of the cliff.

Keira was just about ready to weep. But she remembered what Elliot had said, the ominous tone of his words. There was a lot resting on her, pressure, responsibility. And she wanted to do it for herself as well, to prove she was no damsel in distress. If she could make it from her hotel to the station in Naples without anything terrible happening she certainly could climb fifty flights of stairs with her heavy case.

*

Keira’s legs ached. Sweat dripped from her. Her arms seemed to have gone numb from yanking the heavy case up flight after flight of steps. She passed cute souvenir stores and gelato stores, a delicatessen covered in ivy, a church. At points she had a hand railing to help her, at others it was more like walking through a narrow alleyway with walls on either side. At least during these points she had shade to protect her, otherwise the bright sunshine beat down on her.