small park where a grey-haired woman was pushing a young child on a swing.
‘And what was he like?’ I said softly when she seemed calmed.
She laughed with a wheeze.
‘Ricky? He was all show, just like Umberto. Only he didn’t have his luck. He was a real charmer. He could talk and talk, and make you laugh. But when he went out the room you couldn’t remember a word he had said.’
‘When did you meet him?’
‘When I was a barmaid at the Hotel Palace.’
‘The one on the waterfront?’
She nodded.
‘Doing what?’
‘He was working there for the summer as a lifeguard and poolside assistant. By the end of the second week Ricky was asking if he could fix drinks for the guests. Sometimes he came in wearing only flip-flops and a beach gown, like he owned the place. The manager hated him, but the guests thought he was a hoot. I think it was because he was seventeen and full of dreams. People loved his infectious confidence. We ended up visiting each other’s rooms off duty and you can imagine. By the end of the summer I was pregnant. We were only together properly for a couple of years. At the Palace in the summers, at my caravan in the winters.’
‘How was he earning his dough?’
‘Same as before: working poolside, opening deck-chairs, fixing drinks, making friends.’
‘And in winter?’
She shrugged. ‘I suppose you would call him a hustler. Only he got blown around because people had more bluster than him. He was never successful in business because they always pulled something on him.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Go on.’
‘Oh, everything.’ She sighed heavily. ‘He tried to make fitness videos.’
‘And?’
‘He spent millions of lire hiring the equipment and the girls and never made a single video. I can’t remember why. He invested in a company that built swimming pools that couldn’t hold water. He imported sandals from an Austrian he had met in a bar. He paid two million up front and received seven of them. It wasn’t even an even number. He got three pairs and an odd one.’ She laughed bitterly.
‘Did he have debts?’
‘He didn’t, the rest of us did.’
‘Who?’
‘Me, his mother, Umberto. He called himself a professional gambler, as if it were something to be proud of. He borrowed from his mother constantly. That was why he had gone round there that weekend, to ask for money. He borrowed from me. Usually he would tell me about some sure project that would make us wonderfully rich, if only we could get in there first and invest before anyone else. And each time he got burnt it only made him more keen to keep trying, to prove them all wrong.’
‘And he borrowed from you?’
‘Sure. Only he knew I was drying up. I didn’t have anything left to give him, not if I wanted our child to eat. So he went after anyone who would listen to him.’
‘Umberto?’
‘Sure. It was the same with all of us.’
‘Where did he go to lose it?’
‘The same place he earned it. The Palace. He would spend more money there in a night than he could earn in a month.’
‘Cards?’
She nodded.
‘Scopa? Blackjack?’
‘Anything. He would play anything as long as there was money involved.’
‘And he ran up big losses?’
‘Like I said, we did. Not him.’
‘You always paid his debts?’
‘I had no choice. What would you have done?’
‘Doesn’t seem to have made much difference. How much?’
‘A few million lire.’
‘How often?’
She moved the top of her head from side to side as if to say that it was a regular occurrence.
We watched the grandmother lifting the child out of the swing. Ricky sounded like the usual, unreliable rover. He had settled down with a woman only long enough to get her to open her purse. He ran around Romagna trying to spin cash out of get-rich-quick schemes. He had bad debts and worse friends. The most likely scenario was that an angry, impatient creditor had caught up with him and made him pay in the highest
‘And what was he like?’ I said softly when she seemed calmed.
She laughed with a wheeze.
‘Ricky? He was all show, just like Umberto. Only he didn’t have his luck. He was a real charmer. He could talk and talk, and make you laugh. But when he went out the room you couldn’t remember a word he had said.’
‘When did you meet him?’
‘When I was a barmaid at the Hotel Palace.’
‘The one on the waterfront?’
She nodded.
‘Doing what?’
‘He was working there for the summer as a lifeguard and poolside assistant. By the end of the second week Ricky was asking if he could fix drinks for the guests. Sometimes he came in wearing only flip-flops and a beach gown, like he owned the place. The manager hated him, but the guests thought he was a hoot. I think it was because he was seventeen and full of dreams. People loved his infectious confidence. We ended up visiting each other’s rooms off duty and you can imagine. By the end of the summer I was pregnant. We were only together properly for a couple of years. At the Palace in the summers, at my caravan in the winters.’
‘How was he earning his dough?’
‘Same as before: working poolside, opening deck-chairs, fixing drinks, making friends.’
‘And in winter?’
She shrugged. ‘I suppose you would call him a hustler. Only he got blown around because people had more bluster than him. He was never successful in business because they always pulled something on him.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Go on.’
‘Oh, everything.’ She sighed heavily. ‘He tried to make fitness videos.’
‘And?’
‘He spent millions of lire hiring the equipment and the girls and never made a single video. I can’t remember why. He invested in a company that built swimming pools that couldn’t hold water. He imported sandals from an Austrian he had met in a bar. He paid two million up front and received seven of them. It wasn’t even an even number. He got three pairs and an odd one.’ She laughed bitterly.
‘Did he have debts?’
‘He didn’t, the rest of us did.’
‘Who?’
‘Me, his mother, Umberto. He called himself a professional gambler, as if it were something to be proud of. He borrowed from his mother constantly. That was why he had gone round there that weekend, to ask for money. He borrowed from me. Usually he would tell me about some sure project that would make us wonderfully rich, if only we could get in there first and invest before anyone else. And each time he got burnt it only made him more keen to keep trying, to prove them all wrong.’
‘And he borrowed from you?’
‘Sure. Only he knew I was drying up. I didn’t have anything left to give him, not if I wanted our child to eat. So he went after anyone who would listen to him.’
‘Umberto?’
‘Sure. It was the same with all of us.’
‘Where did he go to lose it?’
‘The same place he earned it. The Palace. He would spend more money there in a night than he could earn in a month.’
‘Cards?’
She nodded.
‘Scopa? Blackjack?’
‘Anything. He would play anything as long as there was money involved.’
‘And he ran up big losses?’
‘Like I said, we did. Not him.’
‘You always paid his debts?’
‘I had no choice. What would you have done?’
‘Doesn’t seem to have made much difference. How much?’
‘A few million lire.’
‘How often?’
She moved the top of her head from side to side as if to say that it was a regular occurrence.
We watched the grandmother lifting the child out of the swing. Ricky sounded like the usual, unreliable rover. He had settled down with a woman only long enough to get her to open her purse. He ran around Romagna trying to spin cash out of get-rich-quick schemes. He had bad debts and worse friends. The most likely scenario was that an angry, impatient creditor had caught up with him and made him pay in the highest
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