[Luca fanfiction] Love in Portorosso

Chapter 6

A little while later, the four friends headed down the shore. It was time to help Giulia preach the swimming part of the race. Luca and Alberto are in a rowboat, keeping pace with Giulia. Luca tried to ignore the aching pain in his arms as he rowed. Eimi and Giulia swam by as the boys watched. Eimi had wore a lovely pink bikini and skirt with her brown hair tied up into a bun.

"I guess that's how humans swim?" Luca said, confused.

"Ugh, that's embarrassing," Alberto replied, shuddering.

"I know. I wanted to do something like a high jump," Eimi said swimming. "But usually, I never even tried once."

In the distance, Erocle, Ciccio and Guido approached in a small motorboat.

"Any sea monsters?" Ciccio asked.

"No," Ercole said, shaking his head. "But I see some bait."

Giulia noticed them instantly, and her eyes went sideways as the boat came closer. "Oh, no! It's Ercole!" she shouted. "Go, go!"

Alberto and Luca began to row faster. However apparently, Luca was rowing in one direction, and Alberto was rowing the other, because their rowboat went around in circles.

"Luca! Faster, faster!" Alberto ordered.

"Why aren't we moving?" Luca asked, expurgated. Ercole's motor boat was even more closer now, and drawing nearer every second. Ercole grinned broadly, it really seemed like he was going to run the boys down.

At the last moment, Guido grabbed the wheel, turning the motorboat away to avoid collision. The movement created a wave. The wave missed Luca but it struck Alberto.

"Guido!" he said, his anger boiling over.

"I... I slipped," Guido insisted.

"Thanks Guido!" Eimi called.

Guido kinda felt glad that he didn't crash into Eimi. 

"Ciccio, slap Guido," Ercole commanded. "Again. Like you mean it."

"Ma sei scemo, Ercole!" Giulia angrily yelled at Ercole, speaking Italian. Eimi lifted her head as she heard a loud splash.

"Hmm. Where did the other one go?" Ercole asked, looing over at the boat with only Luca sitting on it.

Suddenly, something broke the surface of the water. Looking down, he saw something purple and snake-like. But before he could do anything, an angry Giulia tipped Ercole's boat over toppling him.

"Ercole! Che cavolo stavi pensando, eh?" she screamed.

Ercole's sweater fell into the water and the young man fished around for it.

"It got wet!" Eimi laughed.

"Sei matta! Giulia! It is wool. It cannot get wet!" Ercole cried. "Ciccio, make it dry, subito!"

With Ercole distracted by his urgent sweater situation, Eimi and Alberto climbed back. Giulia was the last to get on as Alberto dried himself.

"Luca? Alberto? Eimi?  Are you okay?" Giulia asked.

"Um..."

"We're okay, Giuli," Eimi said.

"We're good!" Alberto said.

"Well, I think that's enough training for today," Giulia said.

"Yeah. Agreed."

"Yup."

As the kids began to row home, Ercole finally looked up from his wet sweater. "Ah, Ciccio! The motor! They are slowly getting away!" 

Ciccio fumbled with the motor failing to start it.

"Guido, slap Ciccio!" Ercole shouted. "Per mille sardine! With contempt!"

While Guido articulately slapped Ciccio, Ercole watched them make their getaway.

Almost immediately upon their arrival at the piazza, Daniela thought she saw someone. She ripped the hat off the boy only to find that it was in fact not their son. She moaned, disappointed as she watched a group of kids play soccer. The ball soon rolled to Daniela and she looked at it.

"I have an idea," Daniela said.

"Uh-uh. Honey?" Lorenzo called after her, but she ignored him. 

She walked over to a group of kids. "Hey, guys! Can I play, too?"

She started to pay with them. She was super competitive. Almost immediately, she stole the ball from one of the kids and hip checked them into the fountain.

"Oops, sorry! I'm not used to legs," she said.

"Oh. Okay," Lorenzo said, taking a step back. He watched as his wife dominated the game.

The kids raced after Daniela, but they were no match for her skills. One by one, she played against them, and one by one she knocked them all into the fountain. It took Lorenzo a while to realize what she was doing. She was narrowing a list of suspects by process of elimination. Each time a kid went into the fountain they knew it wasn't their son.

"Not our kid," Lorenzo said as another one went in.  "Not our kid."

"Let's see Bianca Branzino do that!" Daniela said, then she did a dolphin call better than Bianca Branzino ever could. But they still hadn't found their son.

"Where could he be?" Daniela wondered, catching her breath.

"Well, at least you won. I think," Lorenzo said, finding the bright side.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Daniela said, determined. "Come on. We just gotta keep looking."

Eimi and the others had just reached the piazza. Luca could have sworn he heard a voice. Noticing that her friend had stopped, Giulia grabbed him and guided him along with Alberto toward their yard. Eimi sighed, trying to make sense of what she had heard.

"Good effort, team," she said. "You've earned your pasta tonight."

"Can I please eat with my hands?" Alberto began.