One Winter Weekend

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

S he had a bit of time in between tours to grab lunch and found herself munching on a hot panini and coffee at a tiny cafe.

Afterwards, she joined the tour through the Guggenheim collection and quickly lost herself in room after room of art. The variety presented made it impossible to get bored, and the tour almost seemed to end too quickly.

Outside the weak afternoon light signalled the close of day. Tourists were moving in groups to find dinner, attend an evening mass at one of the city’s cathedrals, or rent a gondola for a private cruise up and down the canals to view the holiday lights.

Not quite yet ready to move on to dinner so early, Lucy opted to hire a gondolier and relax on the canals.

She was glad she’d bundled up warmly because the air off the water was freezing. However, the view of San Marco at night by boat was worth the chill. One of Lucy’s favourite childhood memories was that of piling into the family car with her parents and siblings and driving around their hometown to look at the Christmas light displays on homes and businesses. Lucy and her sisters had given imaginary ratings to the displays as they passed and debated seriously about the merits of each display, awarding scores to the decorations based on imagination, colourfulness, and sheer size of the displays.

Some of their favourite houses went all out, with all of the trees in the front gardens ablaze in ropes of lights and lighted figures across the driveway and even on the roof. As a child Lucy had found it delightful; now she thought about how much work those displays must have entailed.

The displays in Venice evoked a similar feeling of awe.

Large lighted stars hung above her, seemingly suspended in thin air. Strings of lights outlined windows and doorways or encircled trees on balconies. Here and there a business had a brightly lit nativity or other display in their shop windows. Most of the bridges, too, were brightly lit for night, and the cathedrals all featured lighting of their own. Christmas music floated down the canals from nearby businesses; though most of it was in Italian, Lucy recognised the tunes and hummed along.

Her good-natured gondolier hummed too and occasionally sang along to the tunes.

By the end of her forty-minute boat ride, Lucy had pretty well lost the feeling in her nose and fingertips, but her heart and soul felt warmer. She asked the gondolier for a nearby restaurant recommendation and thanked him warmly, rubbing her hands together as she walked down the street. The joyful Christmas spirit combined with the obvious magic of the city was improving her mood more and more with every passing hour.

She ducked into a trattoria playing an Italian rotation of sacred festive music; Lucy recognised the tunes of “Silent Night” and several other hymns that had played on heavy rotation during her childhood. She smiled at the thought of how she had squirmed through Mass services at church while thinking ahead to opening presents!

The waiter brought appetisers and wine and soon returned to the table with a hearty order of seafood risotto, crusty bread and marinated anchovies. Lucy ate her fill and lingered at the table afterwards, enjoying a strong cup of espresso despite the late hour. She nibbled her tiramisu and asked the waiter to add an extra bottle of wine to her order; she could take that back to one of her sisters in Dublin as a Christmas gift.

Satisfied and laden down with a bag containing her wine, Lucy strolled down the street, lost in thought. She felt almost giddy from the fun of the day and of course, the delicious food. She was so lost in thought (and more than a little tipsy) that for a moment, she imagined Dominic standing at the corner of the narrow streets, waiting for her.

She sighed to herself and continued walking.

My imagination is just not going to let me be, she thought ruefully. Now I know what unrequited love means.

Even a full day of great fun and good food can’t get a person out of your head. You still see them everywhere you go.