While Dad was kissing Mom, the bus came and stopped because we were standing there with all our luggage. Dad waved it on. The driver shook his head because Dad should have waved him on before he stopped the bus. Otherwise, how was the driver supposed to know we were standing there with all our luggage at 5:38 A.M. just for fun?

Dad said, “Well, everyone back to your rooms.” I asked Mom how we would get our rooms back since she had gone and settled the bill and told the owner we were leaving and never coming back. Mom pulled me a little behind the others and whispered, “I didn’t pay the bill. I told the manager we’d be back.” Then I whispered, “Mom, how did you dare?” and she answered me, “I know your father, that’s how.” So I asked her what the manager had said, and Mom told me he had been very understanding and said that he and his wife had fights too and never mind, because he understood all about how complicated life was, especially amore.

Chapter 9

THE NEXT MORNING WE ALL SLEPT IN LATE, even me. Lucrezia left our table set for breakfast, though the other tables were already set for lunch for the guests who had full pension. Their tables had wine bottles sitting on them with their names written on the labels. If they didn’t finish the bottle at dinner, the glass or two of wine left was still theirs to drink at lunch the next day. We usually had our mineral water bottle returned to us each night with some water left in it from the night before. If it was the fizzy kind of water, gazzato, by the next night it was always flat. I liked having our bottle with our name on it on the table just the same. It was bad enough that we were the only family on vacation at the pensione who didn’t drink wine. So it was nice to have something to mark our table as normal, at least sort of.