Forbidden Study | Ch 1-4 preview

4. A day out

Zia Viola insisted that Susie, Charlotte and Laura come shopping with her the next morning. Her husband had already arranged to take Laura's fidanzato on a tour somewhere, she told them via Susie, so they would have plenty of time to spend in the boutiques of Reggio.

"If you thought my shopping was lavish wait until you see what my aunt is like," Susie told them. They had the use of the driver as Zio Giorgio was using his own car.

Stepping into the car as the driver held the doors open for them, Laura wondered how long it took to become accustomed to this kind of luxury. Everything was made comfortable and convenient for them at every step. Zia Viola didn't even have to worry about carrying her own shopping bags as they were quickly and discreetly picked up by the driver as they left each store.

Yet she never seemed arrogant or entitled, it was just that she simply accepted these things would be done. Laura found her strangely childlike as much as she was one of the most beautiful and sophisticated women she had ever met. Zia Viola was a happy person. Even if she had been poor, Laura suspected, she would have been just the same.

Zia Viola also insisted on buying them presents. "She says that she's had three sons for long enough, finally she has three daughters for the day and she plans to make the most of it," Susie told them.

Laura knew her parents would never let her accept expensive gifts from Susie's relatives so it made her feel extremely awkward. She could sense that Charlotte felt the same.

"This is a gift for her, not you," Susie explained when her aunt was out of earshot. "Just indulge her. She's the one who's getting the most enjoyment out of this. Be glad it's not Milan or Rome or things would be even more insane."

So they both tried to hide their discomfort and be as gracious as possible, while steering Zia Viola to items that didn't seem absurdly expensive. Laura tried to suggest she liked a scarf instead of a dress, imagining that it must be much cheaper.

"She'll only buy you both," Susie said. "So you may as well be honest about what you like."

Both Laura and Charlotte ended up with little black dresses. The deceptively simple look of Laura's dress belied its vast price tag. She knew that there were already a couple of thousand lira to the pound but that still couldn't accommodate the endless zeros.

Charlotte was thrilled with her dress. "My father would go mad if he saw me wearing anything like this. It's so short!"

"That's because you're so tall," Susie said.

"One of you will have to take it back in your luggage for me. I can't risk my parents finding it," Charlotte told them.

Laura faced a similar dilemma with her designer underwear. At least when folded a black dress looked pretty much like any other black dress. She offered to hide Charlotte's for her.

They had lunch at a pizzeria which was Susie's choice, suspecting that her friends could do with a break from the more exclusive end of town. They never had to worry about parking thanks to the driver, who dropped them off wherever needed even if it meant stopping in mid-traffic. Laura found the honking of car horns whenever this happened very embarrassing.

"They're honking at you and Charlotte, they couldn't care less about the car," Susie told them.

Pizza at least seemed like a slice of normality. Even if it was by far the best pizza Laura had ever eaten. A thin, crispy crust that had bubbled in the hot oven, with fresh Mozzarella melted on top of the sweet tomato paste, scattered with olives and fresh herbs that had gone crispy, releasing their aromatic oils into the topping. All the food they seemed to get in Italy was amazing.