Rendezvous in Rome (2 page)

“Look at these beautiful scarves!” Bess exclaimed, pulling a multicolored silk one from its hanger. She wrapped it over her head like a hood. “Do I look like a movie star?” she asked, batting her eyes dramatically.

“You would with these sunglasses,” George offered, slipping a pair of sleek black frames onto Bess's face. “Actually, I might even buy a pair for myself. I lost my old ones on the Riviera, remember?”

The three girls looked over as Claudia returned from the back room with a package in her hand. “Here they are,” she said, breaking the seal with
her fingernail and letting three gold-tone necklaces spill out onto the glass counter. “Now, these are fabulous.”

“Hey, this one looks almost like mine,” Bess said, fingering a necklace with three blue stones. Reaching into her aqua knapsack, she quickly fished out the necklace Massimo had given her and put it on the counter next to the store's necklace.

“They really do look similar,” George commented. She picked up the necklace and ran her finger over the bumpy surface of one of the beads. “How do they get this granular effect?”

“The Etruscans had a special method for putting grains of gold onto surfaces without melting them,” Claudia said.

When George returned the necklace to the counter, Bess picked it up again and put it on. “Guys, do you like this and the scarf together?” she asked, surveying her reflection in the mirror.

Nancy came over, a pair of men's gloves in her hand. “Nice,” she said. She turned to Claudia. “These leather gloves are as soft as butter. My dad would love them.”

Bess decided to buy the scarf while George got the sunglasses. The girls paid for their purchases while Claudia returned the three necklaces to the back. Then, after saying goodbye to Maria, the four girls walked outside again.

“Perfect,” George said, slipping on her new sunglasses. “Now I can face this hot Italian sun.”

The girls walked lazily to the end of via
Condotti, where the street opened up into Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps.

“This looks sort of familiar,” Bess said, looking around. “Aren't we near our pensione?”

Claudia nodded and explained, “It's down that street to the left.” Shading her eyes with her hand, she looked around the piazza. “Sandro should be here somewhere. Let's go to the top of the steps and see if we can spot him.”

They picked their way through people perched with their lunches on the wide, curving stone steps. When they got to the top, Nancy found herself standing on the edge of another street lined with shops and hotels. From here she felt as if she could see the whole city. A carpet of red tile roofs stretched out before her, interspersed with church domes. The grand dome of St. Peter's Basilica floated on the horizon.

The piazza below was almost as crowded as Piazza Navona had been. Displays of flowers and crafts were set up haphazardly all around the oval area. And this piazza had a fountain, too, a long carved stone boat with water sheeting over the sides.

“There he is,” Claudia said, pointing.

Nancy saw a young man bounding up the steps, two at a time. He was good-looking, with light brown hair, a chiseled face, and chocolate eyes. When he reached them, he swept Claudia into his arms and gave her a big kiss.

“I can see you've already been shopping,” Sandro said after Claudia introduced him to Nancy,
Bess, and George. His English was very good, Nancy noticed. “Beautiful/' Sandro said as his eyes came to rest on Bess's necklace. He fingered it appreciatively. “Did you get this at Preziosi?”

“No, Massimo Bianco made it,” Bess told him.

Sandro whistled. “Massimo is getting better. He should raise his prices!”

As the five of them talked Nancy learned that Sandro was on his lunch hour from his job for a computer company. “It's good to be outside after being inside all morning,” he told the girls.

“It is so beautiful today. We can eat on the steps,” Claudia suggested. “Who will come with me to buy some
panini?”

“Panini?”
Bess asked, rummaging in her knapsack for her phrase book. “Is that food?”

“Sandwiches,” Claudia explained. “And we will need some
àcqua minerale
to drink.”

“Mineral water, right?” George guessed. “I'll go with you, Claudia.”

“Well, I'm going to practice my Italian in the piazza,” Bess decided. “I saw some earrings down there that I want to get a closer look at. I'll meet you back here, okay?”

Sandro turned to Claudia and briefly spoke to her in Italian. She nodded and said,
“Buon idèa.
Sandro will go with you to help, Bess.”

As Sandro and Bess headed down the steps Nancy turned to Claudia. “I guess I'll go with you and George. Now, where can we get those
panini?”

“I know a great
tavola calda
three blocks away,” Claudia told her, starting off down the street at the
top of the Spanish Steps. “They have pizza as well.”

“Ugh, who could stand anything hot?” George asked, wrinkling her nose. “It's ninety degrees!”

Nancy stopped in her tracks as a loud scream pierced the air. A moment later loud Italian voices and the clatter of running feet echoed off the stone buildings.

“It is coming from the piazza,” Claudia said with concern. She, Nancy, and George began to jog back to the steps.

Just as the girls reached the top of the steps, another high-pitched wail rose above the noise. A familiar voice cried, “There they go! Stop them! They have my knapsack!”

“Quick!” George shouted, taking off down the stairs. “It's Bess!”

N
ANCY RACED AFTER
G
EORGE
, with Claudia close behind. At first Nancy couldn't see Bess through the thick knot of people gathered at the foot of the Spanish Steps. As they pushed their way through, she finally spotted Bess sitting on the ground near the fountain. Sandro was kneeling beside her.

“Bess, are you okay?” George asked breathlessly, hurrying over. “Are you hurt?”

There was a shocked expression on Bess's face as she looked up at her friends. “No, I'm fine,” she assured everyone, although her voice was a little shaky. Nancy and George quickly helped her to her feet. Seeing that Bess was all right, the crowd of people began to thin out.

“Those awful kids are pickpockets and thieves. They swarm around tourists all the time,” Sandro said angrily.

“At least your necklace is safe,” Claudia commented, seeing the gold beads Bess was clasping tightly in her hand.

Bess blinked as if she had just realized it was there. “Wow, that was intense,” she said. “All of a sudden these kids were all around me. They grabbed my knapsack, and the next thing I knew someone pulled at my necklace. They almost got it, too, but then they ran off.”

“I guess they got scared,” Sandro said. Frowning, he took the necklace from Bess and examined it. “The clasp is broken.”

While Bess spoke, Nancy scanned the area. She didn't see any group of kids, but she did spot a splash of aqua next to a trash bin several yards away. “I think I see your knapsack,” she told Bess, striding toward the trash bin.

It
was
the knapsack, she saw. As Nancy knelt to collect the scattered contents, Sandro appeared beside her.

“The perfume bottle shattered, but at least everything else will smell good,” he said, handing Bess's hotel key and some change to Nancy. “We're in luck. Even her wallet is here.”

“But no money,” Nancy said, checking it. “At least they didn't take her credit cards.” She rummaged inside the knapsack and was relieved to see Bess's passport and traveler's checks, too. “I guess they were just after cash.”

“Thanks, guys,” Bess said when Nancy and Sandro returned with her things. “To think I bought this knapsack because I thought it would
be
better
than carrying around a purse. I feel so silly. Set upon by a gang of little kids!”

“I'm just glad you're not hurt,” Nancy said, handing Bess her knapsack. “All your ID is still there, but there's no money in your wallet.”

Bess shrugged. “I wasn't carrying much anyway. The guidebooks tell you not to.” She stared ruefully at her necklace, which Sandro was still holding. “I feel bad about the broken clasp, though. I mean, Massimo just gave it to me, and I've already broken it.”

“I can get it fixed for you,” Sandro offered. “My mother knows a good jeweler.”

“It might be simpler to take it back to Massimo,” Claudia said. With a teasing look at Bess she added, “I bet that will . . . cheer you up—is that the expression?”

Sandro reluctantly handed the necklace to Bess. “At least let me buy you some more perfume. I wasn't very good at protecting you.”

“No way,” Bess declared, dabbing at her forehead with a tissue she found in her knapsack. “But I will let you talk me into having lunch at a nice air-conditioned restaurant. I think I need to catch my breath!”

• • •

“Boy, it's getting hotter by the minute,” Bess said an hour later as she, Nancy, George, and Claudia left a small restaurant named Piccolino. Sandro had left a few minutes earlier to return to his job. Now, in the heat of the midday sun, none of the girls felt like walking or getting on a crowded bus to get back to Piazza Navona.

Claudia paused on the sidewalk and looked expectantly at the others. “I have an idea,” she said. “Have any of you ever ridden a Vespa?”

“Sure,” Nancy replied. “Isn't it like a moped?”

Claudia nodded. “They are a way of life in Rome. Everyone I know has one. Come on, there is a place where we can rent them down the street. We can get you two for the time you are here. You can ride double on the bigger ones.”

Under Claudia's direction the girls chose two Vespas and doubled up for the ride. “Just keep your eyes open,” Claudia told Nancy and George as she buckled her safety helmet on. “Romans are the worst drivers in the world.”

Claudia wasn't kidding, Nancy realized as the fourth driver in a row cut her and George off. George's grip tightened on Nancy as Nancy buzzed around the car in order to keep Claudia and Bess in sight. She was relieved when they reached the piazza and could park the Vespa.

Massimo came bounding over to greet the girls as they approached his jewelry display. “Dancing tonight?” he asked, his dark eyes fixed on Bess.

“Not tonight,” Bess said, looking apologetic. “Sandro invited us to dinner at his mother's. But we
are
free tomorrow, right, you guys?” she said, giving Nancy, Claudia, and George a pleading look.

Nancy could see that the others didn't want to stand in the way of Bess's romance, either. “Right,” she confirmed. “Dancing sounds great.”

“Perfetto
. Then it is a date,” Massimo said, his smiling eyes trained on Bess.

“Massimo,” a low female voice called. Nancy turned and saw a stunning girl with deep green eyes and black hair. She wore a long simple dress splashed with red flowers. She was very petite, only about five feet tall.

“Karine,” Massimo said, surprise in his voice. “Um, meet Nancy, Bess, and George. This is Karine Azar. You already know Claudia.”

Karine smiled and waved at the girls. Casually she went over and sat on Massimo's stool.

“Azar?” George asked. “Is that Italian?”

“It's Turkish,” Karine replied, with a slight lilt in her voice. “But my mother is Italian.”

“Karine is an artist, too,” Massimo explained. “We go to the same school. She makes chalk drawings in the piazza during the summer.” His eyes darted between Bess and Karine, and he looked very uncomfortable. Nancy wondered what the story was between him and Karine.

“What kind of drawings?” Nancy asked Karine, trying to break the tension.

Karine nodded. “Over there.” She waved in the direction of a brightly colored drawing on the stone floor of the piazza. It was a depiction of a robed figure.

“That's really great,” George commented. “What is it?”

“I usually do one of Rome's great works. Today it is one of the figures from a fresco called
The School of Athens
,” Karine said. “It's supposed to be Aristotle.”

After glancing at the drawing Bess took her
necklace out of her knapsack and showed Massimo the broken clasp. “Can you fix it?” she asked.

“Cèrto
. Of course. Let me get a new clasp and some pliers.” Massimo reached for a canvas bag beneath his display table. “This is a beautiful piece,” he said as he dug around for supplies. “If I had known you had it, I might even have charged you for the one I gave you this morning.”

“What an artist!” Bess teased. “You can't even recognize your own art. This
is
the necklace you gave me this morning.”