“Then you must be careful not to be seen. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
“This job means everything to me, Helen. It’s my life.”
“You’re not what I would call a romantic type, are you?” she said and laughed. “My Italian men don’t think about their jobs, they think about me.”
“I’m not talking about your Italian men.”
“Oh, Ed, do sit down and relax. You’re here now, so why are you getting so worked up?”
So I sat down, telling myself that I was crazy in the head to be here.
She went over to the liquor cabinet.
“Will you have a Scotch or rye?”
“A Scotch, I guess.”
I watched her, wondering just why she had asked me over at this time of night. She wasn’t being provocative.
“Oh, Ed, before I forget: would you look at this cine? I bought it yesterday, and the release thing doesn’t work. Do you understand cines?”
She waved to where an expensive leather camera case hung from a chair. I got up, opened the case and took from it a 16 mm. Paillard Bolex with a triple lens turret.
“Hey! This is nice,” I said. “What in the world do you want with an item like this, Helen? It must have cost plenty.”
She laughed.
“It did come high, but I’ve always wanted to own a cine. A girl should have at least one hobby, don’t you think?” She dropped crushed ice into two glasses. “I want a record of my stay in Rome for my old age.”
I turned the camera over in my hands. It suddenly occurred to me that she must be living well beyond the allowance her father was giving her. He had told me he was giving her sixty dollars a week. He had said he didn’t want her to have any more. Knowing the price of apartments in Rome, this one would cost something like forty dollars a week. I looked over at the liquor cabinet that was loaded with every kind of drink. How was she managing to live in this style? Then there was this expensive camera she had suddenly bought.
“Has someone left you a fortune?”
Her eyes flickered, and for a moment she looked confused, but only for a moment.
“I wish they had. Why do you ask?”
“It’s not my business, but all this must cost you a lot, doesn’t it?” I waved my hand to take in the room.
She shrugged.
“I suppose it does. My father gives me a generous allowance. He likes me to live this way.”
She didn’t look at me while she spoke. Even if I hadn’t known exactly how much her father was giving her, the lie was pretty obvious. Although I was puzzled, I realized it wasn’t my business so I changed the subject.
“What’s wrong with the camera then?”
“This release thing won’t work.”
Her finger touched the back of my hand as she pointed. “The safety catch is on,” I said,
showing her. “This thing here. You press it down, and the release then works. They put the safety catch on so the motor won’t run accidentally.”
“For heaven’s sake! I nearly took it back to the shop to-day. I guess I’d better read the book of instructions.” She took the cine from me. “I’ve never been very smart with mechanical things. Look at all the film I’ve bought.” She pointed to where ten cartons of 16 mm. film stood on the desk.
“You’re not going to use all that on Rome, are you?” I said. “You have enough there to photograph the whole of Italy.”
She gave me an odd look that seemed to me to be a little sly. “I’m keeping most of it for Sorrento.”
“Sorrento?” I was puzzled. “Are you going to Sorrento then?”
She smiled.
“You’re not the only one who takes vacations. Have you ever been to Sorrento?”
“No. I’ve never been so far south.”
“I’ve rented a villa just outside Sorrento. It’s lovely and very, very isolated. I flew down to Naples a couple of days ago and arranged everything. I’ve even got a woman from a nearby village to come in and do for me.”
I had a sudden feeling that she wasn’t telling me this without reason. I looked sharply at her.
“Sounds nice,” I said. “When are you going?”
“The same time as you’re going to Ischia.” She put the camera on the table and came over and sat beside me on the settee. “And, like you - I’m going alone.”
She looked at me. The invitation in her eyes set my heart thumping. She leaned towards me, her full, red lips parting. Before I knew what I was doing, she was in my arms, and I was kissing her.
We held that kiss for perhaps twenty seconds, and it really got me going, then I felt her hands on my chest, pushing me back, and that steady, hard pressure brought me to my senses. I let go of her and stood up.
“This is a crazy way to behave,” I said, breathing like an old man who has run up a flight of stairs. I wiped the lipstick off my mouth.
“A crazy way to behave in Rome,” she said, leaning back and smiling up at me, “but not in Sorrento.”
’’Now, look…” I began, but she held up her hand, stopping me.
“I know how you feel about me. I’m not a child. I feel the same way about you,” she said. “Come with me to Sorrento. Everything’s arranged. I know how you feel about father and your job, but I promise you it will be perfectly safe. I’ve rented the villa in the names of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Sherrard. You’ll be Mr. Sherrard, an American business man on vacation. No one knows us down there. Don’t you want to spend a month with me — just the two of us?”
“But we can’t do it,” I said, knowing there was no reason why we shouldn’t do it, and wanting to. “We can’t rush into it like this…”
“Don’t be so cautious, darling. We’re not rushing into anything. I’ve planned it most carefully. I’ll go down to the villa in my car. You’ll come down the next day by train. It’s a lovely place. It faces the sea on a high hill. There’s no other villa for at least a quarter of a mile.” She jumped to her feet and fetched a large-scale map that was lying on the table. “I’ll show you exactly where it is. Look, it’s marked on the map. It’s called Bella Vista — isn’t that cute? From the terrace you can see the bay and Capri. It has a garden: there are orange and lemon trees and vines. It’s completely isolated. You’ll love it.”
“I dare say I will, Helen,” I said. “I admit I’d like to do it. I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t, but what’s going to happen to us after the month’s over?”
She laughed.
“If you mean you’re scared I shall expect you to marry me, you needn’t be. I’m not going to get married for years. This is something I want to get out of my system. I don’t even know that I love you, Ed, but I do know I want to be alone with you for a month.”
“We can’t do it, Helen. It’s not right…”
She touched my face with her fingers.
“Will you be a darling and go now?” She patted my face and then moved away from me. “I’ve only just got back from Naples, and I am very tired. There’s nothing more to talk about. I promise you it will be safe. It now depends whether you want to spend a month with me or not. I promise you there’ll be no strings to it. Think about it. Don’t let’s meet now until the 29th. I’ll be at Sorrento station to meet the three-thirty train from Naples. If you’re not on the train, I’ll understand.”
She crossed to the lobby and opened the front door a few inches.
I joined her.
“Now, wait, Helen…”
“Please, Ed. Don’t let’s say any more. You’ll either be on the train or you won’t. That’s all there is to it.” Her lips brushed mine. “Good night, darling.”
I looked at her and she looked at me.
As I stepped out into the corridor, I knew I would be on that train.
