A Tuscan Summer Romance

Would Andrew really be there tonight? Did she look good enough? Would she have a good time at the ball? All these questions circled Margherita's mind that afternoon. The Bovinelli's ball would be her first party without Giacomo. He would always make sure that she had a good time by making her laugh or by introducing her to people. Yet now Margherita was all by herself.

The evening had come, and Margherita sat in the living room waiting for Matilde's driver to pick her up. She had taken an eternity to get ready. As Dario pulled up in front of the house, Margherita took a deep breath and reassured herself that she would be fine.

There must have been at least 400 people at the party Margherita thought. Entering Palazzo Bovinelli, everyone seemed to stare at her. She felt terribly lost and lonely. Some girls threw arrogant looks at her and whispered in each other's ears. She recognized several American soldiers from Monteriggioni standing in the hallway. Some of them smiled at her and asked her to dance, but Margherita politely refused. Very soon, she wished she had never come to the ball.

Just when she thought that things could not get worse, Margherita heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw a short brunette girl standing in front of her "You must be Margherita. I'm Livia Bovinelli. My mother told me that you were coming to my party tonight," she said in a snobby tone. Margherita smiled politely and said, "Nice to meet you". The girls standing next to Livia examined her from head to toe as if she were a bizarre object. "Let me show you around," Livia insisted giving her a fake smile. Margherita followed the three girls all around the Palazzo. There were guests in every corner of the house. Couples were dancing in the ballroom while other guests strolled around the garden. Livia seemed delighted to show off her house. Margherita did not understand why Livia was trying to intimidate her. "Things sure would be easier if Giacomo were here," she thought. When they entered the buffet room, Margherita spotted a group of American soldiers standing in a circle. One of them particularly drew her attention. It was Andrew! She started panicking and her heart began beating loudly. He looked so ravishingly handsome that for a second Margherita wondered whether she was dreaming. Livia and her two friends had closely observed Margherita and the handsome soldier exchanging glances and when Andrew started walking over, one of them jealously asked, "You know Andrew Beckson?!" Before Margherita could reply he was standing right in front of her taking her hand. They walked to the corner of the room and Andrew whispered in her ear, "You look absolutely gorgeous, every man in this room seems to be in love with you". Margherita blushed.

The rest of the evening turned out magical. Margherita forgot all about Livia and her rude friends. She and Andrew danced for hours in the ballroom where everyone seemed to admire the beautiful couple. Eventually, they went outside into the garden. Walking along the grass, Andrew told Margherita about all the horrors he had witnessed during the war and how much he missed his home. In a strong voice, he said, "Seeing my friends die next to me on the battlefield made me feel so empty and confused. Yet I have learned that the only way to recover from loss is to move forward and to always try to see the best in things" Andrew's words deeply touched Margherita. She could understand him perfectly. It was then that she poured her heart out to Andrew about Giacomo and how his death had opened a terrible void inside of her. She began crying as all the painful memories of her brother's death reappeared in her mind. Andrew took Margherita gently into his arms and kissed her on the head, reassuring her that time will heal her wounds and that Giacomo will always continue living inside of her.

At that moment, Margherita knew that she loved Andrew with all her heart. Within two days, he had shown her more love and affection than anyone in her entire life. She loosened herself from Andrew's arms and turned around to face him. Glancing into his emerald green eyes she took a deep breath and kissed him passionately. As their lips softly met, she could feel Andrew's arms wrap around her waist. The kiss seemed to last an eternity. Then Andrew uttered the three words that would change Margherita's life, "I love you. Margherita felt tears creep into her eyes, never had she been so overwhelmed with happiness.

Just before she could open her mouth and tell him that she felt the same way an earsplitting siren went on from a distance. Andrew instantly shouted, "bombing raid". The party broke out into panic. Andrew took Margherita by the hand as they ran back into the house. They could hear planes advancing by the second. Just as they entered the house, the first bomb fell just a dozen miles away. Screaming and crying, all guests rushed down to the cellar. Andrew held Margherita tight promising that he would not let anything happen to her. As they entered the cellar, they heard a second bomb fall so close that it could have been right above them. Margherita was shivering in every part of her body. She thought about Matilde and Lorella, fearing she would never see them again. Two soldiers ran up to Andrew telling him that their friend Theodor and the girl he had been with all night were missing. Apparently, they did not make it down to the cellar. They had to go look for them. Margherita panicked. She held on tightly to Andrew shouting, "Don't leave me! I can't lose you too". He looked firmly into her eyes and said, "Nothing will happen to me; I will be back in an instant". Before Margherita could say anything, he ran upstairs with the two other soldiers. Margherita started crying hysterically.

The rest of the night was a blur. It was early in the morning when they were let out of the cellar. Andrew and his comrades had not returned. A dozen bombs had fallen that night making it seem like they had destroyed every single town in the area. Margherita returned home that morning running through the fields barefoot sobbing and barely being able to breathe. She had no idea whether anyone in Monteriggioni was still alive. As she arrived in the town, the main square with the town church and Margherita's bench had been destroyed. Running up to Matilde's house, Margherita's heart dropped out of relief when she saw that it had not been hit. Just as she entered the gate, Matilde came running out of the mansion sobbing hysterically and taking her niece into her arms. Both were so grateful that nothing had happened to each other.

Margherita spent the entire day in bed. She stared at the ceiling with the same feeling of emptiness she had experienced after Giacomo's death. She felt guilty about Andrew's death, blaming herself for not having stopped him from leaving the cellar. "Why does everyone that I love leave me?" she thought to herself beginning to cry incessantly again. Margherita knew that she would never recover from her grief. Losing Giacomo and Andrew was too much. While she told Matilde all about Andrew and what had happened last night, she felt herself turn into a stone. Her pain and sorrow numbed her entire body.

The evening came and the sun had long set. As Margherita stared at the moon from her bedroom window, she suddenly felt the urge to step outside the house for a moment to get some fresh air. She sat down on the pebble road and realized just how exhausted she was. At that moment, she spotted a figure leaning against the entrance gate. Margherita's heart stopped. She could feel her pulse weaken and her breath shorten. "It couldn't be," she thought. Just as she approached the gate, the person standing there turned around. "Andrew!" Margherita screamed running towards him. Tears filled her eyes as she jumped into his arms. Still wearing the same clothes from last night, he held Margherita in his arms and kissed her passionately. Then he whispered into her ear, "I promised nothing would happen to me" and before he could say anything else or explain what had happened the previous night, Margherita took his hands and said, "I love you too".