think. I know.
***
The kitchen of the farmhouse was upsetting. I didn’t understand how even a lonely scientist could live like this. While Rawn made a call back to Portland, I wandered through the house, trying to learn everything I could of Dr. Giordano. However, there wasn’t much to learn, other than the man did not clean up after himself. What photos he had of his wife were covered in dust. As for the pans in the kitchen—they were covered with more than dust, things I was trying very hard not to feel sick looking at.
Throwing on a pair of blue medical gloves, which I assumed he kept around for his inventions, I began cleaning, offering Dr. Giordano the only gift I knew to give him.
Midway through the chore, Rawn found me. “I didn’t take you for the domesticated type,” he said, smiling.
“I’m not. This is sad. I wanted to make it a little less heartbreaking.”
“He’ll probably never notice.”
“I’m not doing it so he’ll notice. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Understanding, Rawn also removed a pair of gloves from the box and started straightening up. It shocked me, more than anything else that day. I did not take him for the type who knew his way around a bottle of soap.
“Try not to look so amazed,” he said, almost playful, more so than I knew he could be when sex wasn’t involved. “It’s an insult.”
“I just thought…”
“What?”
“Never mind. I was wrong to assume. Let’s just get this over with. I wouldn’t mind going for a walk after. We need the fresh air after inhaling all this…I don’t even want to say. Plus, we’re in Italy!” I almost sang. “There’s no rain. There’s no fog. It’s just…sunny. And I don’t mean just the weather. The people here can’t seem to stop smiling. They’re so friendly.”
“Of course they’re smiling. They’ve been visited by the sun,” Rawn said, glancing at me as he put a stack of clean plates into a cupboard. “I’ve already lined a walk of sorts up. There’s a vineyard down the road that caught my attention on the drive up.”
“The one with the bronze statue on a hillside of a young peasant girl picking grapes?”
“That’s the one. I’ve just made dinner reservations, which will follow a tour of the grounds.”
We’d skipped lunch on the way out to the farm, so I was famished. “Sounds perfect,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warned. “You don’t know what I have planned for you.”
***
Tanned fields, golden like the sun, looked like patchwork next to the green fields of the vineyards. The hub of this particular vineyard was a sizeable stone lodge where tourists like ourselves could taste the wine and enjoy a meal. But Rawn had no interest in the wine when we arrived. He moved us quickly along to the tour, likely needing to stretch his legs as much as I did. Between the jet, our hotel suite, and the car, I was ready to move, despite how hungry I was.
Rawn took my hand as we walked. “So you don’t get lost,” he said, indicating the tall vines that acted like walls within a labyrinth.
I allowed it, releasing his hand only to take off my heels. They would make the tour almost impossible. The grass was soft against my now bare feet, much more so than the plastic within the heels. It felt so natural and made the tour even more enjoyable, as if I had somehow melded within the landscape and become part of its beauty rather than
***
The kitchen of the farmhouse was upsetting. I didn’t understand how even a lonely scientist could live like this. While Rawn made a call back to Portland, I wandered through the house, trying to learn everything I could of Dr. Giordano. However, there wasn’t much to learn, other than the man did not clean up after himself. What photos he had of his wife were covered in dust. As for the pans in the kitchen—they were covered with more than dust, things I was trying very hard not to feel sick looking at.
Throwing on a pair of blue medical gloves, which I assumed he kept around for his inventions, I began cleaning, offering Dr. Giordano the only gift I knew to give him.
Midway through the chore, Rawn found me. “I didn’t take you for the domesticated type,” he said, smiling.
“I’m not. This is sad. I wanted to make it a little less heartbreaking.”
“He’ll probably never notice.”
“I’m not doing it so he’ll notice. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Understanding, Rawn also removed a pair of gloves from the box and started straightening up. It shocked me, more than anything else that day. I did not take him for the type who knew his way around a bottle of soap.
“Try not to look so amazed,” he said, almost playful, more so than I knew he could be when sex wasn’t involved. “It’s an insult.”
“I just thought…”
“What?”
“Never mind. I was wrong to assume. Let’s just get this over with. I wouldn’t mind going for a walk after. We need the fresh air after inhaling all this…I don’t even want to say. Plus, we’re in Italy!” I almost sang. “There’s no rain. There’s no fog. It’s just…sunny. And I don’t mean just the weather. The people here can’t seem to stop smiling. They’re so friendly.”
“Of course they’re smiling. They’ve been visited by the sun,” Rawn said, glancing at me as he put a stack of clean plates into a cupboard. “I’ve already lined a walk of sorts up. There’s a vineyard down the road that caught my attention on the drive up.”
“The one with the bronze statue on a hillside of a young peasant girl picking grapes?”
“That’s the one. I’ve just made dinner reservations, which will follow a tour of the grounds.”
We’d skipped lunch on the way out to the farm, so I was famished. “Sounds perfect,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warned. “You don’t know what I have planned for you.”
***
Tanned fields, golden like the sun, looked like patchwork next to the green fields of the vineyards. The hub of this particular vineyard was a sizeable stone lodge where tourists like ourselves could taste the wine and enjoy a meal. But Rawn had no interest in the wine when we arrived. He moved us quickly along to the tour, likely needing to stretch his legs as much as I did. Between the jet, our hotel suite, and the car, I was ready to move, despite how hungry I was.
Rawn took my hand as we walked. “So you don’t get lost,” he said, indicating the tall vines that acted like walls within a labyrinth.
I allowed it, releasing his hand only to take off my heels. They would make the tour almost impossible. The grass was soft against my now bare feet, much more so than the plastic within the heels. It felt so natural and made the tour even more enjoyable, as if I had somehow melded within the landscape and become part of its beauty rather than
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