Was that what he called Italianization?
He rattled Cruz's bedroom door.
Time to butt in. I stuck my head out of the bathroom door. "The concierge locked the door."
"Augusta? Why would she do that?"
"I don't know. She was leaving with the key when I came back from my outing."
"Damn." He wasn't happy, but he didn't say the f-word in front of me. Not that I'm a prude, but there's something uncomfortable about hearing your offspring swear.
* * *
We headed to the first floor, where the concierge's office was located. Some of the initial reunion magic might be wearing off, but all in all, I could tell Kyle was glad I was there. Good.
The concierge seemed startled when Kyle swooped down on her without bothering to knock. "Good evening, Augusta. I understand you met my mother. I found Cruz's room locked. Do you know anything about it?" No chitchat, straight to the facts.
Her eyes met mine. I smiled.
"Huh—I—yes, I wanted to make sure all was—you know—perfect." Her glance darted from Kyle to me. If looks could kill, I'd have been a corpse.
"Not sure what you mean; my mother was the only one there." He shrugged. "Anyway, you told his agent Roberto you haven't seen Cruz since last night, but I've been asked to check on Cruz's Ferrari and the boat. Can I please have the keys? All the keys." He held her stare.
Her eyes mere slits, she opened her desk drawer, pulled out an envelope, and retrieved a set of keys on a chain. She handed everything to Kyle then slammed the drawer shut.
Kyle kept his cool. "Thanks." He turned to me. "Let's go, Mom."
Not sure why, but I felt proud of my son. He didn't raise his voice, yet there was a sense of confidence in his attitude, something I hadn't seen before. He reminded me of…Larry.
I wasn't looking forward to revisiting the aquatic dungeons below. Kyle headed in the opposite direction, still on the first floor. This corridor was well lit. He unlocked a door, and we entered a large storage area. It was divided into thirds by a chain-link fence. A dark, four-door sedan was parked in one of the spaces. Augusta's car? The area next to it looked empty at first, but at the very back in the larger space sat a black Ferrari, identifiable by the prancing horse on the hood. As for the car itself, it didn't look like any car I'd ever seen before. More like science fiction…time traveling into the future.
"Wow," slipped from my lips.
"Isn't it a beauty?" Kyle removed the padlock from the wire gate and went to look at the vehicle. I stayed outside the marked space. This Cruz seemed to find a way of annoying me even when he wasn't around. First the speedboat named Gemini , then the Ferrari.
No way I could forgive him for that stupid prank on Ponte Vecchio, not with all the reminders connecting him to it.
Kyle sat in the passenger seat and used one of the keys to open a few locked storage compartments. He reached over the rearview mirror, took down a pair of sunglasses, then put them back. He stretched his neck to look behind the seats. Finally he got out of the car shaking his head. "Doesn't look like he used the car at all since he got here. Well, let's see if he left by boat."
"You mean we have to go down into the stinky underground dock?"
"You've been there?" He seemed surprised.
"Yeah, I didn't tell you? Cruz dragged me down there late in the evening, had me climb up on the bow—get this—to look at the moon. Some scoundrel showed up, and we got out of the place as fast as we could."
"What? Looking at the moon? Scoundrel? What are you talking about?"
I told him the short version while he locked everything back up and we headed for the damn boat dock. Again when he opened the door to the underground channel, the cold air knocked my breath away.
But unlike Cruz, Kyle turned on all the lights, and while the smell lingered, the place wasn't as claustrophobic. He climbed up on the boat. I entertained myself by walking to the end of the dock. There were lights behind
He rattled Cruz's bedroom door.
Time to butt in. I stuck my head out of the bathroom door. "The concierge locked the door."
"Augusta? Why would she do that?"
"I don't know. She was leaving with the key when I came back from my outing."
"Damn." He wasn't happy, but he didn't say the f-word in front of me. Not that I'm a prude, but there's something uncomfortable about hearing your offspring swear.
* * *
We headed to the first floor, where the concierge's office was located. Some of the initial reunion magic might be wearing off, but all in all, I could tell Kyle was glad I was there. Good.
The concierge seemed startled when Kyle swooped down on her without bothering to knock. "Good evening, Augusta. I understand you met my mother. I found Cruz's room locked. Do you know anything about it?" No chitchat, straight to the facts.
Her eyes met mine. I smiled.
"Huh—I—yes, I wanted to make sure all was—you know—perfect." Her glance darted from Kyle to me. If looks could kill, I'd have been a corpse.
"Not sure what you mean; my mother was the only one there." He shrugged. "Anyway, you told his agent Roberto you haven't seen Cruz since last night, but I've been asked to check on Cruz's Ferrari and the boat. Can I please have the keys? All the keys." He held her stare.
Her eyes mere slits, she opened her desk drawer, pulled out an envelope, and retrieved a set of keys on a chain. She handed everything to Kyle then slammed the drawer shut.
Kyle kept his cool. "Thanks." He turned to me. "Let's go, Mom."
Not sure why, but I felt proud of my son. He didn't raise his voice, yet there was a sense of confidence in his attitude, something I hadn't seen before. He reminded me of…Larry.
I wasn't looking forward to revisiting the aquatic dungeons below. Kyle headed in the opposite direction, still on the first floor. This corridor was well lit. He unlocked a door, and we entered a large storage area. It was divided into thirds by a chain-link fence. A dark, four-door sedan was parked in one of the spaces. Augusta's car? The area next to it looked empty at first, but at the very back in the larger space sat a black Ferrari, identifiable by the prancing horse on the hood. As for the car itself, it didn't look like any car I'd ever seen before. More like science fiction…time traveling into the future.
"Wow," slipped from my lips.
"Isn't it a beauty?" Kyle removed the padlock from the wire gate and went to look at the vehicle. I stayed outside the marked space. This Cruz seemed to find a way of annoying me even when he wasn't around. First the speedboat named Gemini , then the Ferrari.
No way I could forgive him for that stupid prank on Ponte Vecchio, not with all the reminders connecting him to it.
Kyle sat in the passenger seat and used one of the keys to open a few locked storage compartments. He reached over the rearview mirror, took down a pair of sunglasses, then put them back. He stretched his neck to look behind the seats. Finally he got out of the car shaking his head. "Doesn't look like he used the car at all since he got here. Well, let's see if he left by boat."
"You mean we have to go down into the stinky underground dock?"
"You've been there?" He seemed surprised.
"Yeah, I didn't tell you? Cruz dragged me down there late in the evening, had me climb up on the bow—get this—to look at the moon. Some scoundrel showed up, and we got out of the place as fast as we could."
"What? Looking at the moon? Scoundrel? What are you talking about?"
I told him the short version while he locked everything back up and we headed for the damn boat dock. Again when he opened the door to the underground channel, the cold air knocked my breath away.
But unlike Cruz, Kyle turned on all the lights, and while the smell lingered, the place wasn't as claustrophobic. He climbed up on the boat. I entertained myself by walking to the end of the dock. There were lights behind
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