An Apartment in Venice (10 page)

The grey-stucco hospital in the small town of 28,000 was easy to find.

“I’ll drop you off and let you be with your family. You can call when you need a ride,” Chuck said.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not getting off that easy. I want you with me,” and she quickly added, “to hear what Nonno Tony has to say.”

“He’ll be embarrassed enough without having me there.”

“It’s too bad if he’s nervous. Another set of ears is always good. Besides, they already know you’re bringing me. Will you come?”

“Damn straight I will.”

When Giulia and Chuck walked toward Nonno Tony’s room, Nonna was pacing in the hall outside while the nurse was with him. Nonna grabbed Giulia into her arms and kissed her. “You came! You really came.” Then she looked at Chuck and whispered into her ear, “Is this beautiful man your friend?”

“Yes,” she whispered back and turned toward Chuck. “Nonna, this is my friend, Major General Novak, from the base where I work.”

Nonna spoke haltingly in English, thanking him for bringing Giulia. He responded in Italian and asked her to call him Chuck. Nonna beamed.

“Nonna, how bad is he?” Giulia asked.

“He has two broken ribs and is bruised all over. They kicked him when he was down! His knee’s swollen, his shoulder was dislocated. And black and blue marks all around his blue eye. But as usual, he says he’s fine,” she said with disgust and a little grin of pride.

“When can he go home?”

“Maybe tomorrow.
Oddio!
, Oh God! You didn’t go to the house did you?”

“No, no. We came straight here.”

The nurse, dressed in lavender scrubs, came out and said they were free to go into his room. Chuck stood in the doorway while the two women entered. Giulia hurried to the side of Nonno Tony’s bed. Using the arm without an IV, he pulled her close enough to give her a hug—not as powerful as usual—but he murmured he loved her and was sorry he had dragged her into his mess.

“Don’t worry, Nonno Tony. You need to heal, we’ll talk later.”

“We talk now. You didn’t go to the house?”

“We came straight here as Nonna said. But why not go to the house?”

“Who’s that?” Nonno Tony asked, noticing Chuck across the room.

Giulia wasn’t aware that Chuck had hung back; she motioned him to come to Tony’s bedside. “Nonno, I want you to meet my friend, Major General Novak. When he heard about you, he offered to drive me here.”

Nonno opened his good brown eye wide and appraised Chuck. “Big man,” he grunted. “Thank you for bringing my Giulia.”

Chuck put out his hand. “You’re welcome, sir. Please call me Chuck.”

“Gladly. And you will call me Antonio—no, make that Tony.”

They shook. Some sort of meeting of the minds happened between these two men. It was subtle, but a rapport had been established. Strange, Giulia thought. She’d expected Nonno Tony might not want Chuck anywhere near her. She was pretty sure, however, that Nonna would be thrilled she had a male friend who’d drive her all the way to Vittorio Veneto.

“Chuck,” Nonna said, “would you please find more chairs so we can all be comfortable while Tony tells his story.”

Chuck made an almost imperceptible bow and left to find chairs. Nonna caught the bow and smiled.

“Oh my, Giulia. Your young man is so handsome and polite.”

“He’s not my young man, Nonna. Just a friend.”

“So far,
tesoro,
darling, so far,” Nonna murmured. “I saw him look at you the same way Tony looked at me once.”

“He still looks at you that way, Nonna.”

“Yes.” She dipped her head, then smiled back up at Giulia.

How interesting, Giulia thought. Nonna wants to include Chuck in her husband’s story. She looked over at Nonno Tony. His eyes were closed, maybe painkillers made him drowsy, but it was more than that. He seemed shriveled and frail. For the first time, she acknowledged him as a seventy-seven-year-old man. But this couldn’t be her Nonno, who had always vibrated with life. My God. He could die! Her chest clenched and she felt short of breath.

Chuck came back carrying two plastic chairs with arms, and Nonna directed him where to place them. He insisted Nonna and Giulia take the plastic molded ones, and he took the wooden straight-back already in the room. Nonno Tony opened his eyes and assessed the situation.

‘‘Chuck, whatever your intentions are with our Giulia, for today, you’re part of our family. That means what I have to say stays here. Understood?”

“Absolutely, sir, uh, Tony.”

“Good. First shut the door and if anyone tries to come in, even the doctor, you will deal with them. Va bene. Here’s what happened.”

“Not far from home, two cars blocked my way and four men leaped out.” Tony sighed and continued. One thug yanked him out of his car and punched him in the face, then tossed him on the pavement where he struck his knee. He had presence of mind to act as if it were broken and hoped they wouldn’t try to break the other. He heard them discuss the possibility. “For once I was glad to have this white hair, because they decided one broken knee was enough for the ‘old coot.’ So they merely kicked me in the chest.”

“Oh, Nonno Tony!” Giulia cried. She’d almost said “poor Nonno” but that would hurt him more than the beating. “What happened then?”

“They had a message from their capo. ‘Fake granddaughter. Fake gems. Don’t snivel for payment. Don’t work in Vicenza. Not in Verona. Not in Padova. Be glad you’re alive.’ I remember trying to say not fake granddaughter, but I must have passed out.”

“They left him in the street,” Nonna snarled in outrage, “his car engine running. Someone came by and called the police.” She went to him and kissed his hand. “Promise me, Tony, no more.” He squeezed her hand, nodded his head with a sigh and closed his eyes.

“Let’s take a break,” Chuck said. “I’ll go find some coffee. Or tea?” and he looked at Nonna and Giulia.

Tony roused. “Let the women go, Chuck, I want to talk to you.”

After the women left, Tony called Chuck to his bed. “I’m weak now, but don’t count me out yet, big man.”

Chuck laughed. “That thought never crossed my mind.”

“Good. First off, those gems weren’t fake but Botteri took the opportunity to grab them for free. My fault. I shouldn’t have brought Giulia into it, and I should have listened to her when she said she’d go in disguise. That gave him an excuse to renege… and attack. Those diamonds were legit. I’ve had them stashed from way back. Thought it’d be a good time to break into the jewelry business in Vicenza. Whatever I broke into was not
il mio piano di battaglia,
my battle plan.” He shifted in bed and heaved a sigh wincing as he did.

Chuck wisely dismissed Tony’s wince of pain, and asked, “What can I do?”

“I need someone to go to the house and assess the damage. Those hoodlums wouldn’t stop with me. Thank God, Maria Grazia was with her weaving group, or they might have hurt her, too. So far, I’ve kept her from going there until I could find someone to check the whole place out. My friends would do it and they’ll help me restore it, but the instant you walked in—
che diavolo,
well hell—I knew you were the man for the job.”

“Absolutely.” Chuck caught himself from saluting. “Tell me what you need and consider it done.”

“You’re a man of action,” Tony said as a statement not a question. “But be careful. You’ve been in combat, right?”

“Special Forces.” And before Tony could continue, “Relax, Tony, I’ll check for possible explosives.”

Tony took another painful breath and settled back. “I like the way your mind works. My keys are somewhere around here. Ask Maria Grazia. Unless they destroyed everything, you’ll find a good flashlight and tools in the shed. Look in every room, even the little attic room where Giulia always stays. Those thugs will have made an unholy mess looking for more gems. Fools! I never keep valuables on the premises. Hope they didn’t destroy Maria Grazia’s loom.”

“Do you have a truck in case I need to haul anything?” Chuck asked.

“Yes. Thank God my neighbors were unloading gravel the day before. It’s parked across the street. Those animals wouldn’t have known it was mine. Get
those
keys, too.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Giulia and Nonna came back with coffee and sandwiches. Tony was snoozing or feigning sleep to prevent Nonna from arguing about not going home yet. But when Chuck told them what he’d be doing, Nonna relinquished the keys without a word.

As he went out the door, Giulia handed him a packet wrapped in white paper. “Take a sandwich.”

He took it, smiled, holding her gaze for an extra moment.

* * *

Two hours later, Chuck came back. “It’s a mess, for sure, but I think it can be set right in a few days. I’d like to help, Tony. I don’t have to be back until Wednesday.”

Giulia added that she’d left a message about missing her Monday class. “I don’t teach on Tuesdays so we have some time.”

Tony roused. He and Chuck talked in more detail about what needed to be done. Chuck was able to board up a window and re-set the hinge on the front door left hanging askew.

“Giulia, you and your nonna can stay at home tonight,” Chuck said.

“Young man, I want you to stay in our home, too.” Nonno Tony said.

“Yes. We have plenty of room,” Nonna said. “You are most welcome.”

“Giulia?” Nonno Tony croaked. His voice sounded raw.

“I’m here, Nonno Tony. What can I get for you? Water?”

After a few sips, he said, “What did Botteri say? What did you say?”

She told the story again with as much detail as she could remember.

“Tell me again about the person who tried to sign you up to be Botteri’s kept woman.”

Nonna gasped and Chuck rose up, then sat back feeling betrayed. He thought she would have told him all that on the way here. She’d been more frightened than she’d let on. Obviously, he didn’t have her full trust—yet.

Giulia felt uneasy, but she told about Laura, the tea, the fact that a certain gentleman wanted her exclusively and the contract offered as Giulia had dashed from the hotel.

“Does he have your name?”

“No. I used Nonna Mirella’s name.” Giulia felt comfortable to talk about the name business. “At the time, I thought I was being clever, but now I can’t go back to him and explain I am your—”

“Never go back to that man, precious. Never!” Tony began coughing. It was obvious each movement was painful.

“Calma, Nonno Tony, calma. More water?”

After another sip, he leaned back. “Avoid him. He wouldn’t believe you, and you’d be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life.”

“What a mess I made.”

“You? I’m the one who pulled you in and to make things worse, didn’t take you seriously. I’m sorry, little one. In any case, his kind would have cheated me anyway. Those gems were real. On the phone, I told that thief I couldn’t remember how many were in my safe box but I’d send about fifteen or twenty for his appraisal and possible purchase. I trusted he was a legitimate business man. I’m the one who messed up.” He slumped back and was quiet.

“It’s all over, Tony,” Nonna said, but he had drifted off again.

Nonna turned to Chuck. As soon as we set up the kitchen, you’re invited for dinner.”

Chuck had recovered and stashed Giulia’s lack of trust in him away for now. “Allora,” Chuck said. “I was thinking of taking you ladies out tonight.”

Nonna smiled but began to protest.

“The only place I know is Trattoria alla Cerva. Ever since I knew I’d be coming here, I’ve been hankering for their pasta with bolognese sauce made from the local deer.” He stopped. “Or, is there another place you’d rather go?”

“I’ll go with you,” Nonno Tony said rousing himself to a sitting position with the help of the mechanical lifter. Nonna rushed to him and gently pushed him down, whispering, “Not this time,
mio leone,
my lion. Not this time.”

He muttered that the bolognese was his favorite too, but in the end he acquiesced. The three left, promising to bring him pasta and sauce.

As they drove away, Nonna was sitting beside Chuck in the front seat. Giulia, who had crawled into the small area behind, began to reassure her grandmother about her loom.

“Nonna,” Chuck said turning to her, “your loom looks doable. It lists to one side, but the hard wood and sturdy hinges held. We can set it right.”

She nodded. It seemed to him that Nonna’s mettle was plenty strong to handle a damaged loom. He didn’t mention the extra time he’d taken in the small attic room that had been Giulia’s ever since she’d been little. It still held a young girl’s feel. Most of the available wall space was filled with posters of Venice. One depicted a charming
putto
. The chubby cherub held a book in his hands. A natural choice for a young girl who loved to read. Another poster puzzled him. It held a prominent place on the slanted roof at the foot of her bed. Must have been there a long time because the edges were curled and tattered. It showed a stone lion as big as a horse—a horse with a huge lion’s head and frowsy mane. More humorous than frightening.

Sitting sideways on the creature’s back was the goddess Minerva, helmet and all, including her symbolic owl perched on top. Odd. Why had that fascinated Giulia? And where in Venice was it? Then it came to him. The lion had to be in the
Giardini,
the Public Gardens, because green shrubs grew around the sculpture as well as gnarled oaks and large Spanish chestnuts. He’d ask later. He’d also ask more about the business of Botteri wanting Giulia to be his exclusive mistress. Jeez!

After dinner, they dropped by the hospital with food for Tony. But too groggy to eat, he sent it on home and bade them a drowsy good night.

Nonna and Giulia showed Chuck to his room. Giulia was ready to drop in her tracks and they all said goodnight. But Maria Grazia seemed energized and began to tackle her kitchen. Because his room lay close by, Chuck heard her humming as she worked. Maybe she felt relieved that Tony’s sporadic lifestyle was coming to an end.

Chuck grinned to himself. Tony might be in his late seventies, but as he had said to Chuck, he wasn’t down for the count yet. Right away, he’d liked the guy and right away wanted to know more about him. Even in his weakened state, Tony showed signs of being a forceful leader. Chuck wondered about an Italian Resistance connection.