Earlier that morning, while Ross commuted to work, Eliana had taken coffee with Anna. The sky was a brilliant blue, and Eliana had opened an upstairs window near the parlor overlooking the courtyard.

Anna spooned her third teaspoon of sugar into her coffee.

“The American moved in yesterday.”

“I saw him.”

“He leaves for work early. He left at six this morning.”

“Are you spying on him?”

“Every chance I get. He’s very bello. And he speaks un buon italiano.”

“Really?”

“He speaks better Italian than my ex. I told him so.”

“Gorbachev speaks better Italian than your ex. I could never understand his accent.”

“Maybe you should go welcome him to the villa.”

Eliana looked up over her cup at Anna. “By welcome him do you really mean seduce him?”

“Certo.”

Eliana laughed. “I’m married, Anna. For worse maybe, but until death do us part.”

“We could only be so fortunate.”

Eliana ignored the comment. “Why don’t you make a go of it? You definitely could use a man.”

“Perhaps when I return. I may not have my looks anymore, but I’m definitely available. Isn’t that half the battle?”

Eliana smiled, looked at Anna’s cup. “More coffee?”

“Just half a cup, per favore.”

Eliana took the cup to the counter and poured the coffee. “What’s his name?”

“Ross,” she said, though the way she said it sounded more like Roz.

“Is he here for work?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. He wired his rent from Switzerland.”

Eliana finished her coffee, looking out over the courtyard at Ross’s apartment door.

“Is Alessio still asleep?”

“Penso di sì.” I think so.

“It’s a shame. I wanted to say goodbye.”

“I’d wake him but he needs to sleep. I’m pretty sure he’s sick. His cheeks are flushed.”

“You’ll say goodbye for me?”

“Certo. He’ll be sorry he missed you. You won’t be back until September?”

“If I can stand being with Claudia for that long.”

Eliana smiled. “If she’s such miserable company, why do you go on holiday with her?”

Anna raised her hands. “Who else is there? You won’t come with me.”

“Maybe if Maurizio was around.”

“If Maurizio was around, I would not invite you.” She glanced over Eliana’s shoulder at the wall clock. “Is that the correct time?”

“Sì.”

“Claudia will be crazed if I’m late. I better go.” She downed her coffee; then the women walked to Anna’s apartment. Eliana helped her carry the last of her luggage out to her car and they kissed farewell.

“Goodbye,” Eliana said.

“I don’t say goodbye,” Anna replied. “I’ll see you soon.”

Eliana leaned against the villa wall as she watched Anna drive off, her small red car disappearing at the end of the drive in a haze of dust. The world is flat, she thought. It drops off just a few kilometers from the grounds of Rendola. Maybe she should have gone to the sea. She already felt lonely.

She looked out over the valley. The olive trees bristled from a summer breeze, dusty and blanched as the soil beneath them. As she crossed the courtyard, she glanced over at Ross’s door. Even though Anna had said he was gone, a part of her wished he would walk out at that moment. She wanted to meet him. And though she hadn’t admitted to noticing, what Anna had said was true. He was bello. From her window she had watched him move into his apartment with little more than a backpack—as free as the foreigners she often passed on the Chianti roads backpacking through Tuscany. There was something about his appearance that intrigued her. He had a rugged, yet boyish look.