I thought of my crippling panic attack and held my tongue. “Sorry, I ran into some trouble and had to fix it. How was lunch?”

“Really good. We had pizzas, and they have this incredible soft drink like cola, but it’s a touch bitter and has this cherry taste that’s so good. I forgot what it was called . . .” Allegra trailed off.

“Chinotto,” Enzo said. “A treat for the summer months and refreshing, right?”

“Yes, I loved it. And then we walked over here and the funniest thing happened—Nonni, do you want to tell the story?”

Sweat gleamed on my mother’s brow and her T-shirt clung to her flushed skin. “Mom, do you need water? I brought an extra bottle.” Guilt flicked through me. I should have been watching her more closely and not given the job to Allegra. At Mom’s age, she had to be careful of the heat and physical exertion.

She waved a hand in the air. “I’m fine. More than fine, I guess.” The words made Allegra burst into giggles. “We were getting some gelato and standing in line, and this man kept looking over at us. Of course, I knew he was gaga over Allegra even though he was too old for her.”

“He was sexy,” Allegra added with a mischievous wink. “Right, Nonni?”

“Oh, shush, he was average. But I was getting a bit concerned when he began to follow us down the street, and every time I looked back, he stared at us. He wasn’t even trying to hide. So, I lost my temper.”

Allegra jumped in. “Nonni suddenly turns around and says, ‘What are you staring at? Don’t you know that’s rude?’ and he starts apologizing and says he was struck by beauty and he didn’t know what to do so he decided to follow us, and Nonni starts telling him he shouldn’t be trailing after young girls because it’s wrong, and he said, ‘But, signora, it is you I’m interested in!’ And then Nonni got all red and started stuttering—”

“I did not stutter! I was just surprised. My goodness, he was much younger than me!”

“Well, you guys were adorable, and then he asked for Nonni’s number and said he would love to take her to dinner!”

My eyes widened and I began laughing with them. “Mom, you’re getting more play than either of us,” I teased. “I think it’s those hot shoes.”

Her sensible, thick-soled nude loafers had been a target of insults from me and Allegra, as we’d tried to cajole my mother into wearing regular padded sandals. “Very funny,” my mother said. “Don’t come crying to me when you all have blisters or slip and fall.”

“Did you say yes to dinner?” Enzo asked, his brow arched.

“Oh, goodness no. I told him I was on a tour and would be leaving Rome in a few days.”