Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A Day In Pisa


Chapter Thirteen


I woke up for the second day in a row in Adam’s arms. A small smile played across my face for a moment before I opened my eyes. I hated to break the spell it was so warm and comfortable right where I was. This bed should have it’s own zip code it was so big, and I don’t think Adam and I together had used more than a tiny spot all night. We were still snuggled together, legs and arms intertwined, sharing the same pillow, our heads close to one another.

Yikes! The first thing I thought of was early morning breath! My eyes flew open and found Adam’s chocolate colored eyes 3 inches away and staring into mine. I started to bring my hand up to cover my mouth and before I could, his lips were on mine, warmly and tenderly moving across mine. Not too insistent, just sweet.

“Your breath is fine,” he said and I wondered how the hell he could always figure out what is going on in my mind. If I believed in psychics, I’d swear he was one, but that was nothing but hogwash.

“Is mine?” he questioned with a smile.

“Hm?”

“My breath, is it okay?”

I only thought about it for a moment and realized it was. And thought, what a silly, human thing to be concerned with.

“Yes,” I answered. “Your breath is fine and I think we’re silly to be worrying about it!”

“But we are,” he pointed out.

“True. How do you feel this morning?”

“Right now I’m feeling fantastic,” he informed me and I realized for the first time how our whole bodies were nestled together, in very close proximity. He was rubbing up and down my backside, gently caressing the curve of my back and the soft swell of my hip. I also realized that we were both starting to get excited about that.

“Okay Romeo, no excitement, remember?” I joked, scooting across the bed to the edge. It would have been quicker to go over him, but I didn’t think that was a safe choice at all.

I opened the blinds and stood at the windows looking out at the bright Italian sunshine. It was a beautiful day and I felt wonderful. I looked back at the bed and Adam and felt glad that he was feeling better.

He was staring very intently at me, and then grinned at me when I gave him a puzzled look. I frowned and followed his gaze downward and realized the morning sunshine was filtering through my thin night gown and he could see every single detail of my body. Well, practically every detail. For half a moment I was outraged at his cheekiness, but then I just laughed. I hoped the memory drove him crazy today!

He rolled over onto his back and cautiously put his hands behind his head. God, he looked sexy, laying there in bed, sheets bunched around his hips, his chest bare. I realized that I could see a few details of my own and I was enjoying the sight when he laughed and patted the bed beside him in invitation.

“Not on your life!” I exclaimed, heading to the bathroom in order to escape temptation. After I had taken care of business and brushed my teeth I wandered back into his bedroom and saw him sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. His head was bowed down and I could see immediately that his head was still bothering him.

I sat down next to him and put my arm around him. “Hey, it’s still hurting, isn’t it?” I asked

“Yes, more than I would like,” he stated, reaching for his robe which I had left on the floor when I took it off of him last night.

“I’ll get it,” I told him, bending over to grab it. I put it around his shoulders and he shrugged into the arms and stood up, wraping it around him and tying it about his waist. No peek for me!

He got up slowly and then made his own trip to the bathroom. While he was in there I went out to the living room and opened the blinds to let the sunshine in. I wished we had brought the CD’s up from the car so I could have music on. I could live the rest of my life without ever seeing TV again, but I can’t hardly live a day without music. I listen to all genres because I enjoy variety, that’s why seeing Adam’s collection pleased me so much—he had diverse tastes as well.

I turned the stereo on, ignoring the equalizer and started pressing the tuner button to listen to the different station selections. Italians seem to be very fond of techno-pop and I found a lot of stations playing that, however I don’t care for that myself and I had a feeling Adam didn’t either. I finally ran across a station playing some older rock, which would do I decided.

Adam came in, still clad in his robe and sat down stiffly on the couch. Just the little bit of moving around had brought his headache back full tilt and I asked him if he wanted more ibuprofen.

“Yes,” he answered, “but I think I probably should eat something first.”

“Alright, I think they left us a menu last night. What would you like?” I asked after he had looked at the menu for a moment.

“It’s almost 10:00,” he told me. I couldn’t believe we had slept so late! “I hope they are still preparing breakfast.” Personally, I thought that they would probably prepare whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, but I didn’t say that. The rich, movie star thing again. Adam seemed oblivious to it, but it seemed to be the general reaction most people had to him, or probably anyone in his situation.

“I’d like an omelet and pancetta, coffee and cream, lots of coffee actually,” he decided.

“Okay, I’ll call them and order.”

Adam lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. The music was playing softly in the background. I asked him if the room was too bright and he said it might help if the blinds were lowered a bit, but not all the way.

“After all, I won’t be able to see anything when you stand in front of the windows if you lower them completely,” he joked halfheartedly.

Since I had put my robe on when I came out of the bathroom I didn’t worry about that. But when they brought our breakfast, they might have seen more than I would have liked, so I was glad he had mentioned it.

I went over and sat carefully on the edge of the couch and lightly stroked Adam’s face, which was slightly bristly since he hadn’t shaved, but it looked good on him. He smiled faintly and relaxed a bit, then caught my hand and kissed it. I bent over and lightly kissed his lips and he hugged me to him for a moment. I sighed with the pleasure of just being with him, it felt so good.

I pulled myself away from him and left him to rest until breakfast arrived. I went into my bedroom, which felt weird since I hadn’t slept there. I hunted through my suitcase looking for something to wear today. I decided that after breakfast I was going to try out the tub. I found my body wash and toiletries and decided to wash my hair too. I looked pensively through the clothes I’d brought, hunting for something different. But it was the same old stuff in there. Not that it was bad stuff, but when I’d packed I had no idea I would meet a movie star and travel across Italy with him! I laughed ruefully thinking that even at home I didn’t have a wardrobe to fit that!

I finally settled on a pair of deep plum colored corduroys and a top that had a camisole in the same shade of plum and a sheer over-blouse with shades of plum, browns and creams. It looked great on me and I hoped that Adam would think so too.

I heard a knock on the door and I went to get it, self-consciously making sure my robe was closed and tightly belted. Adam was sitting up on the couch as I let them in and I asked them to set the breakfast up on the table.

After they had gone, Adam came over and sat down at the table and I lifted the lids off the covered dishes. It looked wonderful and smelled even better. My mouth was watering as I looked a dish of beautiful fruit; melon and berries, mangoes and banana, cut into small pieces. It looked fresh and tasty and I couldn’t wait to dig in!




I asked Adam what he would like and he characteristically stated “ALL of it.” I didn’t think he could be feeling too badly if he was hungry. I put a roll on his plate with his omelet and pancetta and then gave him a bowl of fruit. He cut into his omelet as I poured his coffee and he sighed appreciatively at the taste of the omelet which was stuffed with mushrooms and cheese. He cut a piece of pancetta and popped it into his mouth, chewing it with a look of bliss on his face.

I didn’t think I could do my breakfast nearly as much justice as he was doing his, but nonetheless I decided to try. He was right, it was wonderful and I enjoyed every single bite!

Two cups of creamy coffee later, I was ready to roll away from the table. I told Adam that I was going for a swim in the tub and he said he thought he would lay down for awhile. I got him the ibuprofen and called the desk so they would come and get the dishes.

“Adam, I need to look at your head. They said to change the bandages everyday,” I told him, getting the supplies they had given us at the hospital. He had been pretty lucky they had told us because of where the wound was, they hadn’t had to shave too much of his hair off. Longer hair above it covered it pretty well, except for a little bit of the bandage that showed. I carefully removed the bandage they had put on it at the hospital, afraid I’d hurt him, but it came off easily. The stitches looked good, no redness or irritation; the cut was dry and seemed to be mending. I put some antibiotic ointment on it and put a new bandage on it. I bent down and gently kissed his head and was thankful for the hundredth time that he was okay.

They still hadn’t come to get the dishes and Adam said he would wait for them before lying down again, so I went off to the bathroom and started the water running in the tub and added some bubble bath. The fragrant smells of vanilla and jasmine were filling the bathroom and the mirrors were soon steaming over.

I checked on Adam one final time before immersing myself in the wonderful water. They had come to remove the dishes and he was just getting ready to lie down. I hugged him for a minute, and then turned to go into the bathroom.

“Do you need any help?” he inquired, a classic villain's leer on his face. I could see him in some melodrama, raising his eyebrows and twisting his mustache.

I laughed and told him no and that he had better behave himself then escaped into the misty bathroom and sank down into the water with a sigh. It was warm and I shivered at the pleasure I felt in the simple joy of sitting in the water, playing with the bubbles and feeling the water swirl about me when I moved. I decided to shave my legs while I was at it and realized I had forgotten to grab my razor. I got out of the tub and felt the cool air that caused goose bumps to rise all over my body, but I didn’t bother to grab a towel as I padded into my room to grab a razor and then scooted back into the warmth of the tub.

After I had shaved my legs I dunked down into the water to wet my hair, and then I lay back in the tub and closed my eyes, listening to the quiet and thinking over the past few days.

I really hadn’t had much time to reflect on everything that had happened since I met Adam, and as I thought about it, it was remarkable to me. How many people at home would think I was making it all up I wondered? More than a few I bet. Hell, it’s happening to me and I barely believed it! It has been almost... magical, I thought. Yeah, Cinderella and the Prince.

My thoughts traveled back to last night and our experience at the tower. It was more terrifying now than last night when it was happening. I guess because so much was going on it really hadn’t sunk in last night. Fear for Adam and I and the close-call we had suddenly surfaced and I remembered the smell that had puzzled me but I came no closer to remembering where I had smelled it before. The truth is, it probably didn’t even have anything to do with what happened anyway.

I decided to shake it all off and finish my bath. I slid back down to wet my hair again and then generously massaged the shampoo in, taking my time. There was a pull-out hand held shower head and I turned the water on and carefully rinsed my head and then worked in some conditioner and let it set for a few minutes.

I hadn’t heard a sound from Adam, and I assumed he must still be sleeping. He made me feel so alive and I have never been more aware of my body than with him. I was tempted to let my hands wander over my body, but I recognized that wasn’t what I wanted or needed, so I just rinsed my hair one last time, pulled the lever to let the water out and climbed reluctantly out of the tub.

I used a small towel to wipe the steam from the mirrors and wrapped another around my hair and wound a huge bath sheet around me. The towels were thick and luxurious and I reveled in the softness of them. I went and peeked into Adams room and he was lying on the bed on his side facing the bathroom. His eyes opened even though I had tried to be extremely quiet.

“Did you enjoy your bath?” he asked quietly, smiling at me draped in towels.

“Yes, it was lovely,” I told him, unconsciously checking to make sure the towel was tucked securely around me. “How do you feel?”

“Um, I think I’m ready to take a shower, if you’ve left me any hot water that is!” he laughed.

“Maybe a drop or two,” I retorted as I turned to head to my room to get dressed.

“I think I need your help with my shower,” he tried hopefully.

“I think you are out of luck there fella. You are definitely on your own!” I waved as I left the room.

I heard him in the shower as I was getting dressed. I dried my hair and left it down and I decided not to put on any makeup. He’d seen me all morning without it and it apparently hadn’t bothered him too much. I did stop to put on some lip conditioner—after all, I want soft lips for those lovely kisses!

Adam was just finishing getting dressed when someone knocked on the door. I opened it to find the Pisa policia here to inquire about Adam and to ask more questions. I sighed resignedly, knowing I didn’t really have anything else to add, but deciding to help all I could.

I asked them to please sit down and said I would get Adam. I knocked on his door and told him the policia were here and he told me he would be out directly, which I reported to the officers. I also asked them if they would like some coffee and they politely refused. We waited a few more impatient minutes for Adam making small talk about my visit to Italy. When Adam came into the room, I realized immediately that I was looking at Adam the actor. I knew that posture and attitude and I wondered what was up.

The officers stood up when he came around the couch and allowed him to take a seat and I sat next to him. They introduced themselves, which I appreciated because they were different policia than the ones from last night. Detective Della Torre and officer Ansigiana brought over the chairs from the dining table and sat down and detective Della Torre opened a pad and prepared to take notes.

There was another knock on the door. Adam and I looked at one another and frowned slightly. He started to rise, but I put my hand on his leg to stop him and told him I would get it. It was housekeeping, coming to make up the beds. I decided now was as good of a time as any and I had her come on it. She went immediately to the bedrooms ignoring our guests and I heard her faintly, messing with bedding and such.

We discussed the event again and they read the notes from last night, not only from us, but from the other people who saw the incident.

“Mr. Richland,” detective Della Torre asked Adam, “Can you describe the assailant for us please?” He looked exactly like what you picture a detective should look like, tall and thin, with graying hair, very distinguished; he appeared stern and very matter-of-fact. I supposed that helped to instill confidence in him.

“Assailant?” Adam asked, frowning. “When did this person become an assailant?”

“Mr. Richland, the person did not stop, even when called to do so. If it had been a genuine accident, certainly they would have stopped to assure themselves of your welfare,” officer Ansigiana said. He spoke English well and I was glad of that because this could go really badly if we had trouble understanding each other.

“I understand you concern, however I believe it was a simple accident, probably a youth judging from the way they were dressed. They might not even have realized what happened,” Adam finished.

“I find that answer unbelievable you must understand,” detective Della Torre stated. His English wasn’t as good as officer Ansigiana’s and his accent was thicker and harder to understand. "There was much, how do you say, commotion?” At our nods, he continued, “Yes commotion and people yelling. I do not think it plausible that they did not know that something had happened.”

“I still find no reason to believe it was deliberate,” Adam insisted.

“Yes, Mr. Richland, I understand that.” Focusing their attention on me, detective Della Torre asked “Ms. Marcus, do you believe it was an accident?” The way he pronounced Ms. sounded like ‘me-zza’, which made me smile.

“I don’t see how it could have been anything other than someone being careless. Anything else would have required planning and attention, and no one knew we were going there, we didn’t even know. It was spur of the moment, our decision,” I assured him.

“Forgive me Ms. Marcus, but this is Pisa. Everyone goes there.”

“I’ll admit that is probably true, but still, it seems far-fetched that someone could have or would have planned this,” I repeated.

“Yes. Is there anything else you can think of that might help us?” officer Ansigiana asked.

Adam and I looked at each other and shook our heads, not remembering anything. And then I remembered the smell and I told them about it.

“Where were you when you smelled it?” they asked.

“It was where Adam fell at, by the arch on the second floor.”

“Was the odor strong, did it linger so that it could possibly have been on someone who was helping?” Della Torre asked me, pausing in writing his notes to look at me. Officer Della Torre was an extremely good looking man, but looked more Swiss or German rather than Italian with his blond hair and blue eyes. But he had deep grooves across his forehead, whether from worry or frowning I didn’t know and they kept him from looking friendly. Together, the two of them were very aloof, and truthfully, I couldn’t wait until they were gone.

“No, it didn’t linger. In fact it was so brief I could very well have imagined it. I smelled it when I knelt down to help Adam. It could have blown in from outside for all I know,” I told them, a slight frown on my face as I tried to remember more about it, but failing. I shook my head and finished, "No, it only lasted for a moment.”

The maid came out of the bedrooms then and asked if we needed anything else. We told her no and she stood there for a moment, staring and smiling at Adam. I sighed and decided I was going to have to get used to the reaction of people to him. She left then, closing the door quietly behind her.

Officer Ansigiana and detective Della Torre stood up and prepared to leave as well. “Very well then, if you have no other information for us, we will leave now,” officer Ansigiana told us. “Oh, how much longer will you be in Pisa Mr. Richland?”

“We leave for Firenza tomorrow.”

They looked at each other and detective Della Torre asked, “How long will you be there? Might we have the name of your hotel, in case we should need to contact you again?”

“We’ll be staying 3 days at Hotel Dei Fiori Bei. Do you anticipate needing to speak with us again detective?” Adam asked.

“I am certain we will not Mr. Richland, but just in case, we needed the address for our records. We hope you have a very enjoyable stay in Italy and are sorry about this unfortunate incident. Good day Ms. Marcus and Mr. Richland.”

I nodded to them and frankly, I was glad they were leaving.

6 comments:

Hope said...

Hi Reeneez and all of the other wonderful readers!

Yes, I know you are all getting impatient for the 'deed' and it will happen soon, I promise. But remember that to them, they have only been together 5 days and there are lots of things happening!

Hang in there and I welcome any comments you have!

Hope

Anonymous said...

I love this blog!! Thank you so much for posting the way you said you would. No other blog does that. This is so romantic, and fun to read. I look forward to Friday.
Thanks!
Sandy

Anonymous said...

I don't know Hope... i'm getting a feeling like someone is hiding something... I'm curious to see where Italy takes them from here. As always, another great post. Looking forward to Friday! Rene

Hope said...

Sandy and Rene,

Anticipation is part of the fun! And poor Adam is not feeling at his best right now. I'd personally love to be his nurse, but alas! that's up to Sarah.

Hope

Anonymous said...

I am wondering if that goth girl from the movie set had anthing to do with it.. Hmmmmmmm. Who knows but this is a great read. Thank you for your creativity.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the great story !
Screw housework .... when there are great blogs like this on the net to spend hours away reading !!
:)