One Winter Weekend

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I n the morning Lucy located a café and sat down for a lonely breakfast. The skies were full of the promise of snow, much as they had been here this time last year.

She ordered a cappuccino and biscuits and gazed out the window of the café. San Marco was twinkling with holiday lights; festive greenery hung from balconies and decorated windows and shop fronts. All along the canals, glowing decorations were reflected in the water. Venice was well and truly ready for Christmas.

Other tourists were enjoying the morning, gliding down the canals in gondolas or hoofing it on one of the narrow cobblestone side streets. Some were shopping, enjoying an early morning cup of coffee, and others had their heads down, chatting on cell phones and planning out their day. Lucy watched idly as they passed her by. People were walking alone, but there were many couples or families out and about, too. It gave her a small pang to see so many carefree people happily striding by when she herself felt so down in the dumps.

She sipped her cappuccino and considered what she should do over the next two days. She truly adored Venice and would love nothing more than to spend more time exploring it, so she hadn’t booked her return ticket until Monday morning.

That gave her plenty of time to hit the major sites—St. Mark’s Square, perhaps a concert at the Basilica—and maybe just float around the city a bit on a gondola, looking at all of the lights and enjoying the gentle chatter of other tourists. It would be a nice, relaxing, and well-deserved weekend break.

Since the sun was peeking weakly through the clouds and the temperature seemed fairly moderate, Lucy decided to make her first stop at the Piazza San Marco—St. Mark’s Square—for a refreshing stroll and some more people-watching. She didn’t fancy lingering outdoors in the cold but as she was bundled up in a wool coat and cuddly scarf, she thought a little walking about wouldn’t hurt. Besides, she wanted to get a closer look at the architecture of St. Mark’s Basilica. She and Dominic had briefly visited it last year, but one visit was not enough.

Her memories of that visit with Dominic stabbed a bit. They had strolled through the square, surrounded by the cooing of pigeons and the lightly falling snow, admiring the cathedral but mostly admiring each other. Well, this time I’ll be alone, so maybe I’ll get a better look at the details, Lucy thought ruefully.

And the Basilica was magnificent, even if she had no one to share the view with. The murals on the outside and the gleaming domes were beautiful. She stood for a moment on the stones of the piazza, contemplating the work that must have gone into planning and building such a magnificent structure.

Other tourists nearby were talking about the cathedral and snapping pictures, and she amused herself by watching them, too.

One couple in particular caught her eye. Something about them reminded Lucy of Dominic and herself on their prior trip; something about their cosy posture that said clearly “We’re head over heels in love”.

The girl had red hair tumbling down under a knitted hat and was wearing a bright red pea coat that complimented rather than competed with her hair. The young man was clearly enamoured of her, though he also seemed a bit distracted. Lucy looked closer. Not distracted…nervous? Suddenly he slipped down to one knee in the crowd, and Lucy realised what he was about to do.

A proposal! The romance of it touched her as much as it hurt, and she turned away quickly, partly to give the young couple their privacy, and also to spare her own feelings. She wouldn’t deny that when she and Dominic had visited the city, she’d secretly hoped it might lead to a proposal. Clearly, it wasn’t meant to be.

Lucy decided to warm up a little by touring the inside of the Basilica. The interior was just as impressive; gleaming gold and bronze mosaics on the ceiling gave the cathedral a warm, shimmering appearance. Between the mosaics and the enormous paintings everywhere the eye could travel, Lucy had the feeling of being inside a Faberge egg. It was incredibly beautiful and a little overwhelming. She found a pew away from other groups of tourists and sat down to admire the interior of the cathedral.

She was still musing about Dominic when she had the oddest feeling of being watched. Turning, she glanced around the back of the pews, but it was so large and there were so many other groups of people that it was hard to tell if anyone in particular had been looking at her.

Nonsense, she thought sadly. You’re so lonely that now you’re imagining you might bump into a friend, at least for the duration of your trip. Snap out of it!

She looked back up to the religious paintings on the ceiling and resolved to put the feeling behind her. If someone could put so much effort into a project of this scale, I think I can manage the very tiny project of rebuilding my love life, she thought resolutely.

And with that notion, she decided to put Dominic out of her mind for the rest of her trip.

She would enjoy herself, unlock that padlock, and fly home again ready to start over fresh and enjoy her newly single life.