All the Way to Heaven

Chapter 47

Cosimo behaved like the perfect gentleman. He held my sweater while I slid my arms into it, settling it politely over my shoulders without any lingering touches. He ushered me out the door in front of him, and then walked beside me, making small talk as we passed through the empty front room and into the kitchen where Isa and Claudia were sitting together, sharing a cup of tea and talking quietly. They both smiled in greeting, but at Isa's raised brows, I shook my head.

"Nothing yet. But I have the phone with me." I patted my sweater pocket with my left hand.

"We are going to sit outside and enjoy the stars for a few minutes. Would you ladies like to join us?" I turned a surprised look to Cosimo, but the question seemed genuine. Both women declined the invitation, though, and I think he must have known they would.

He grabbed two tumblers from the cupboard and a bottle of Chianti from the counter. I think it was the same one I'd shared with Paulo yesterday, the one Claudia had unloaded from our food basket in the wee hours of this morning—was it just this morning? I almost stopped him, not wanting to share any part of that special day with Cosimo. I bit back the words and passed through the French doors he held open for me.

It was a beautiful night. The moon hung low and bulbous, casting an ethereal glow on everything. The lampposts along the path to the pool were on, so between them, the glow of the moon, and the soft light spilling from the kitchen, the terrace was comfortably lit. Cosimo pulled out a chair from the table we'd sat at almost a week ago, and I lowered myself gingerly into it. He brought another one around for me to prop my foot on and I smiled gratefully. It did ache a little today.

Sitting across from me, he deftly poured the wine, filling both glasses almost to the brim. He raised his and I lifted mine politely.

"To a beautiful evening with a bellissima passerotta," he toasted. I was getting tired of him calling me a bird. "Did you have a good day, Ani?" His voice took on that purring quality that seemed to vibrate against my skin. It had turned me to jelly the first few times, but tonight it made me want to scratch.

"I did." I would be polite and just ignore any suggestive hints. "I don't think the weather could have been better, and in spite of the sad state of the olives, it was so nice to see everyone working together and making the best of things. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it today."

"Yes, Franco instills deep loyalty and positivity in the people he works with." His tone tweaked a little and I peered at him over the lip of my glass, catching the narrow-eyed look he cast through the kitchen.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" I was suddenly curious again about Cosimo's role in things around here. I knew he contributed financially, but where did he, as a person, as the Lazzaro heir, fit into the big family picture?

He paused for quite some time before answering, tracing the pattern of the mosaic tiles in the tabletop with his fingertips. Finally, he said, "It is a good thing if there was something to be positive about, Ani. But the olive market is not what it once was for Italy. We have much competition from other countries that are able to produce greater amounts for less cost. Their quality is much lower, for certain," he said with what I could only call partiality, "but people do not appreciate fine things as they should." He ran his eyes over what he could see of me in a not-so-subtle way. Nope. Not going there, buddy.

"Wow. So the problem is bigger than just the olive fly or the bad weather this year, hm?" But we could talk olives all he wanted. He paused long enough to refill his glass. Mine was still over half full.

"Those of us who have a little cushion will survive, but every year, it gets more difficult." He sighed, and I could tell this stuff all weighed heavily on him. And in fact, if he was the "cushion" he referred to, I could see why. "It is a beautiful way of life, all of this." He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out wide to his sides. "Look around you. There is no other place like this, is there? But beauty alone does not pay the bills or feed the next generation."