Artful Dream

Chapter 19

It was Sunday morning and Maggie drifted in out of sleep to the sound of the bells from The Duomo calling the faithful to Mass. She opened one sleepy eye and made out the blurred shape of a number eight on the digital alarm clock.

There was nothing planned for today so hopefully her and Richard could start their ‘homework’ that Giovanni had set them and explore some of the city. Yesterday had been an incredibly busy day, however, she felt she had made a friend in Sophia which was great. Particularly if her and Richard ever came back to Florence she’d have a girlfriend to hang about with and go shopping.

She picked up the alarm clock and held it millimetres from her nose, five past eight. She placed it back on the bedside cabinet and flopped back onto her pillow. If this was Chelsea, she would quite happily grab a coffee and a book and spend all day in bed reading. But this was Florence and it was a beautiful day and so forced herself to get up.

Out of bed, she wrapped a hotel bathroom robe around her, put on her glasses and made herself a cup of coffee. Then pulling back the curtains,  she unlocked her patio doors.

The side of the hotel they were on was west facing so the balcony was still in shadow. The air outside was still fresh from the night-time. Maggie moved onto the balcony and tip-toed over to Richard side where the bistro table set stood.

She quietly moved one of the chairs and sat with her feet up on the other. From where she sat she could see through the bars of the railings to the street below. The church bells had stopped ringing allowing her to hear the two-elderly gentleman outside the café across the street discussing whatever they were reading in their morning paper.

Then she noticed a woman, about her age, came out from the bakers looking as if she came straight off a Milan catwalk. The Italians oozed style, thought Maggie as she saw the woman walking in heels along the cobble street while doing the shopping. Bored with looking down on to the street, she wondered if Richard was up.

Richard was not up but awake, he’d been awake for the past two hours. Just lying in bed staring at the sapphire ring mesmerized by its many shades of blue. They were going to spend the whole day together. A whole day of potential opportunities to place this ring on Maggie’s finger.

He looked over to his window and through the curtains he could see the silhouette of Maggie and he started to have voyeuristic thoughts with her shapely figure. He closed the lid to the little box and placed it in his drawer. He then got up put on his bathroom robe and joined her outside.

The swish of Richards patio door made her jump, then she smiled to see this unshaven bedhead walk through. “Morning, I didn’t wake you, did I?” she said as lifted her legs off the chair allowing him to sit.

“No, I have been awake for some time. How did you sleep?” he asked.

“I must have zonked out as soon as my head hit the pillow, what about you?”

“Like a baby,” he lied. In fact, he sat up for an hour after Sophia dropped them off thinking things through. If Maggie accepted his proposal the next stage would be the wedding. He didn’t want to give her a cheap wedding but at the same time neither of them had much spare cash. Everything they both had was tired up in the shop. Normally the father of the bride makes a contribution but Maggie’s father was killed in a car accident when she was a teenager.

“You alright babe?” You got that vacant look about you again. Food not agreeing with you?”

Richard snapped back to the present and smiled, “No, I’m OK just tired I guess. Busy day yesterday.” Then changing the subject. “So, what do you want to do this morning?”