All the Way to Heaven

Chapter 25

My gaze drifted slowly over those gathered around this table, then came to rest on Paulo. Lids narrowed in speculation, he stared boldly at me, and I flinched in slow motion, my free hand coming up to tuck a wayward curl behind my ear. I tipped my head in order to bring him into clearer focus. He tipped his head, too, mirroring me. I blinked, my eyes opening back up a little slower than I'd expected them to.

He smiled. Slowly.

"Oh," I commented under my breath to myself. "That's just... wow."

"Ani?" Cosimo said my name close to my ear. I turned to find his eyes less than a foot from mine. His mouth, too.

"And that's wow, too."

I blinked again, but when I closed my eyes, the earth tipped slowly on its axis, and I had to open them quickly to keep from sliding out of my chair. My cheeks ached from smiling but the expression wouldn't stay off my face. All around the table, people waved their hands hypnotically in conversation, the candlelight making shadows dance across animated faces. The music of the Tuscan night filled my heart with joy and I did not want the song to end.

"I think perhaps it is time to take another walk." Cosimo bent toward me, our foreheads nearly touching. "Mia bella passerotta, sei ubriaco. You have had too much wine. Come." He stood and retrieved my wheelchair parked nearby, bringing it close.

On the other side of the table, Madalina stopped talking and looked from him to me, her eyes widening in understanding. She leaned over and murmured something to Paulo, who nodded, taking the napkin from his lap and tucking it under the edge of the saucer that held his empty espresso cup. Madalina leaned forward to say something to Isa across from her as Paulo rose and moved to help her up.

It was like watching a choreographed scene in a play. By the time I had made the somewhat clumsier than usual transfer into my wheelchair, Isa and Gerardo had excused the six of us from the table, setting in motion the culmination of the meal. Guests stood, scooped up sleeping children, exchanged goodbyes and many words of appreciation with Claudia and Franco, with Margarite and even Nilda.

Cosimo turned my wheelchair a little too quickly and I grabbed on to the armrests, letting out a high-pitched whoop. I giggled helplessly at the noise I'd emitted. Madalina stepped up close and made a shooing gesture with her hands, hurrying us off the terrace and down the cobbled path lit by old-fashioned lampposts toward the pool. It occurred to me that something about the behavior of my friends was protective, but I couldn't recall what or who I needed protecting from.

I could hear Isa and Madalina chattering to each other behind me as we bobbled along the path, and I marveled at the absence of pain in my broken ankle. "I think I should try walking tonight, Cosimo," I said to him over my shoulder. "My foot feels great." He didn't answer. Maybe I hadn't said it loudly enough.

"Cosimo!" I tried to raise my voice just a little, but I overshot my mark, bringing our little party to an abrupt and silent halt. Then, like a swarm, they rushed to my side, asking if I was hurt, if I was feeling sick, if I needed help in any way.

I waved both hands to stop them, the movement of my fingers against the starry sky distracting me for a moment.

"Ani?" Madalina straightened and brought both hands up to her cheeks, then began to laugh. "Oh, Mama mia! You are drunk, Princess Grace!"

"Cosi, you did not watch her!" Isa smacked her uncle on the arm and crouched down in front of me. "Ani, forgive me. I should pay more attention to you because you are my guest."

I shook my head, then stilled, and the lights along the path stopped looking like shooting stars. "I was just trying to tell Cosimo something. Um...." But I couldn't remember now what had been so important.