When I got to the Pensione Biea I could hear the sounds of clinking forks and knives and glasses of the dinner guests out on the terrace. They ate earlier at the Biea than we did at the Nazionale. It was perfect. Jennifer had always had the same room since we were little and since no one locked their doors at the pensione I slipped into Number Nine with no problem. I put my letter on Jennifers pillow. But as I was leaving the room I thought, what if her mom comes in and sees it? So I put it under the pillow, then stopped because I thought she might just lie down and never feel it under there and it would lie there under her head getting wrinkled and get thrown out in the morning by Lucrezia when she made up the room.

Then I had an idea. I took Jennifer’s hairbrush, which was next to the sink, and wrapped my note around the handle. I tied it tight with a black ribbon that was lying there that I had seen in Jennifer s hair. I slipped the brush with the letter attached to it under the sheets and blanket to where I knew she’d hit it with her foot.

As I ran back up the path toward Portofino I smiled when I thought how Jennifer would jump when her foot hit the bristles.

That night at dinner Mom seemed kind of anxious and strange. I took it to be that she was nervous that Dad would smash stuff again. But Dad was in a better mood; he even leaned over and kissed Mom and said she looked beautiful. Janet and Rachael and I all exchanged glances, and Janet nodded in satisfaction, as if to say that the second honeymoon idea was hers to begin with and see how well it was working.

The dinner was fine and the manager stopped hovering around when he saw Dad would not be throwing things that night. And even though the waiter tried to serve us all minestrone while Mom said grace, this worked out too because for some reason Mom’s prayer was short that night so the soup didn’t get cold. I casually asked what everybody’s plans were for after dinner and to my relief Dad said, “Well it’s been a long day. I think we’ll get an early night. What do you say, Elsa?” Mom said fine and Janet looked at Rachael and nodded like this meant something too but I didn’t know what.

Then Rachael asked Dad, “May we take a walk out to the lighthouse?”

And Dad said, “Sure but be back in by ten.”

I said, “I think I’ll go to bed early too.”

Mom said, “That’s a good idea, darling.”

So it had all worked out perfectly.