Chastened, Magda hung her head. “Okay.”
Three more turns and they were there, in front of Elisa’s door.
Magda moved to knock, but Luciano gently pulled her back with their linked arms. She bit her lip, nodded, and stepped backward with an slight squeak of passing gas. Luciano patted her shoulder and rapped authoritatively on the door.
The woman who opened the door wore a stained and shapeless dress. She brushed hair off her face that was last dyed perhaps three months ago, the brassy red at odds with the dark hair streaked with iron. “Yes?” She asked, querulously.
“Buongiorno, signora. I’m Luciano Sapienti, I used to teach at the scuola elementare, but now I am retired and have enjoyed the pleasure of tutoring your daughter in math from time to time.”
Elisa appeared out of the darkness, her face taut. Luciano smiled warmly at her, and Magda, sensing that this was a moment that called for warmth, stretched her mouth across her teeth to approximate a smile.
Elisa’s mother held the door open just a crack. “I can’t pay you.”
Magda’s turned to Luciano to gauge his response. He stiffened but said, “I assure you, madame, there is no need for payment. Your daughter has an exceptional mind. It’s a joy to work with her.”
Elisa’s mother’s eyes narrowed. “Hrmph. Then what do you want?”
“Forgive me, Signora, but I wondered if I might have a word with your daughter?”
“Elisa? What for? She’s busy.”
Elisa wiped her hands on her apron. “It’s okay, Mamma. He’s my friend.”
Her mother cocked her jaw and glared at Luciano. “Fine. Come on out.”
Elisa sidled past her mother, who stayed propped in the doorway, her arm fixed fast across the entrance. Elisa stepped up to Luciano, her eyes searching his for a sign of what brought on this unexpected visit. She winced at the cuts on his cheek. He smiled sadly at her, and she registered fear behind his look of reassurance.
Luciano looked at Elisa’s mother as if to beseech her for a moment of privacy, but her posture only stiffened. He cleared his throat, “Child. I have some bad news. There was a fire at the sagra last night.”
Elisa nodded. “Io lo so . . . I know, everyone is talking about it. But everything is okay, right? Is your house okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He took a breath. “It’s Fatima.”
“Fatima!”
Elisa’s mother chimed in, “Who’s Fatima?”
Luciano’s gaze was locked on Elisa, so Magda cleared her throat. “A little girl in town. She and Elisa are good friends.”
Grumbling, Elisa’s mother muttered, “What kind of name is Fatima? They can’t be that good friends if I’ve never heard of her.”
Elisa whispered, “What happened to her?”
Luciano took a breath, “She was in a room that filled with smoke, and she is very, very sick.”
Elisa moaned and pressed her hands against her temples, “Where is she?”
“The hospital. I thought you might want to see her. And her mother thought you being there might help Fatima in some way.”
“You’re not taking my daughter anywhere,” Elisa’s mother broke in. “You think I’d let her go off with a strange man? I’ve heard about you, you know. I’m not an idiot. You’re probably drunk now, and just want to take my child to do God knows what to her.”
The three on the front step regarded Elisa’s mother with a mixture of shock and disdain. Magda swallowed the bile she felt rising in her throat. “Signora, I’m sorry I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Magda, and I own the Villa Tramonte in the centro. I’ll be accompanying Luciano and Elisa to the hospital. I’ll make sure she gets there and back safely, and can give you my phone number. We’ll be back this afternoon.”
Elisa’s mother glared at Magda before sniffing. “Even so. I heard that fire was caused by the Muslims. I don’t want Elisa mixed-up with that.”
Elisa’s pinched face flushed red. “Mamma, I’m not ‘mixed-up’ with anything. I need to see Fatima. She’s my friend.”
“Oh, Elisa, you’re such a fool.”
Elisa closed her eyes and then said, “I’m not a fool. And I will go to see Fatima.”
“Ha! What kind of mother would I be if I let you go with strangers?”
“But you are not my mother.”
“Elisa!”
The tension on the front steps mounted. Elisa sighed, “I’m sorry, Mamma, I didn’t mean it that way. I just . . . I know you want to protect me, especially now, but Luciano is my friend, and Fatima is like a sister to me. I have to go. I think it might be my fault that she was there at all.”
“Not your fault!” Magda said sharply.
All eyes turned toward her and she muttered, “Sorry. Carry on.”
Elisa scratched her chin as she gazed at Magda curiously. She shrugged and turned back to her mother. “I’m going, and you can’t stop me.”
“Elisa! What are you saying?” Her mother looked around at the other adults and gestured as if to beg their understanding for her foolish daughter. Luciano and Magda gazed back, their faces like stone.
“Papà is gone, and he’s not coming back. You made sure. We’re safe now. But we can’t go back to how we were.” Elisa nodded to herself, satisfied, and went on, “I’m going to the hospital to see one of the few people in my life who doesn’t make me feel like an idiot. Let’s go.” Elisa strode away from the door, not looking back to see if Luciano and Magda were following.
Her mother shouted, “Stop! You can’t take her, I’ll call the police if you try!”
Elisa turned around and inhaled deeply like Luciano had taught her to do when faced with what seemed an insurmountable problem. She tempered the steel in her voice. “I’m going. If they don’t take me, I’m walking to Girona, or I’m hitching a ride. You can’t stop
