Luca's POV
"Ecco a lei, gente." Massimo sets a platter of bruschette down on the table. Bruschette are kind of like tiny pizzas that you can eat in two bites. Mom told me they're one of her favorite human foods.
"Grazie." Mom and Massimo give each other a nod before he walks back into the house.
At the table with me are Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Riccardo. Giulia's over at the other end of the patio with the two elderly sea monster ladies. Guido and Ciccio should be here soon.
Alberto's in the kitchen helping Massimo make Penne allá Bolognese. I hope he sits across from me.
"So you're a sea monster like Alberto, right?" Riccardo asks me.
I nod, grabbing my glass of water and dipping my finger in it. "See?" I say as my finger turns green with scales.
"Wow." Riccardo rests his elbows on the table and leans forward. "That's really cool."
His tone of voice, I've noticed, is always really flat. He always seems unimpressed by everything. But it's kind of funny. It makes me laugh inside.
"Luca, enough of that." Mom reaches over Riccardo and pulls my hand out of the water. "Where are your manners?"
"Sorry, Mom." I fold my hands in my lap and sink down a bit. "I'm just bored. How long till it's ready?"
Honestly, I really only care about Alberto. He's only been gone twenty or so minutes, but I always get excited to see him again. My stomach does a little jump at the thought of him.
"Might be another ten minutes," Grandma replies for Mom, before taking a quick sip of water from her own glass. "Maybe fifteen if he's giving your friend instructions."
I look up at the house, then move my legs over the table bench and stand up. "Mind if I do something real quick, then?" I ask, but not really asking a specific person.
"Luca, we're with company." Mom frowns at me, silently telling me to sit back down.
But Dad saves the day. "Daniela, he's fine. He's probably going to change shirts or something."
"Uhh... yeah!" I smile and nod, holding my hands in front of me. "That's what I'm doing."
Now Mom's frowning at Dad. "I'm not entirely sure Massimo would appreciate Luca entering without permission."
"Honey, during the week, it's just as much Luca's house as it is theirs."
I look awkwardly to the side, then carefully shuffle away from the table and hurry into the house while Mom's focused on Dad.
I haven't written in my journal in days, and I want to jot down a poem about Berto's eyes before I forget the ideas I came up with. This is also why I try to be quiet while going upstairs—I don't want Alberto to know I'm here and follow me up there.
I know it's silly to feel so close to a journal, and to risk anyone seeing the contents by writing in it a lot, but it's nice to write down my feelings. I want them to exist somewhere other than my mind. If I can't tell someone, I want to at least tell something. I like knowing I have a secure place to keep my feelings.
I creak the door open and walk over to my pillow. I look behind me just to be safe, then reach into my pillowcase and slip my journal out.
I grab the pencil I had tucked away in its rings.
Your eyes remind me of the grass
Because they have natural beauty
Just like them
When I look into your eyes
I feel safe
Even if there was a thunderstorm,
I would feel safe
My eyes don't sparkle like yours
Unless I'm looking at you
Because when I see you and your eyes
I feel happiness I never have before
There. Done. It may not be very good, but it's mine, and I'm proud of it.
I smile down at my poem, rereading it a bunch of times. I get lost in my daydreams.
... Then the door flings open.
"Luca!"
I immediately slam my journal shut. "Nothing!"
I nervously turn to Giulia, who's leaning through the doorway with her hand still on the knob.
She breathe-laughs through her nose and smirks at me, then stands up straight. "Dinner's ready," she says, then heads back downstairs.
Embarrassed, I look down at my journal... then put it back in its hiding place and follow Giulia down the stairs.
* * *
"Where'd you sneak off to?" Alberto asks me as I sit back down in my spot at the table. For some reason, Alberto's sitting where Riccardo was, and Riccardo's the one sitting across from me. I don't question it, and I definitely don't complain.
"Stuff," I say, which isn't really an answer that makes sense. Alberto looks at me, confused.
"I thought you were changing shirts," Mom said suspiciously, setting her cup down and glaring at me.
Oh, no. I forgot to change shirts! "I, uh, forgot," I admit quietly as Massimo sets a plate of pasta down for me.
"Luca, for goodness sake." Mom puts her fingers between her eyes and shakes her head. "You were up there for ten minutes."
Beside me, Alberto giggled. "I know my Batman figurines are cool and all, but don't go stealing them," he jokes.
I laugh with him, but kind of awkwardly. Thankfully, Mom drops the subject because Grandma starts talking to her and Dad.
Giulia sits down to the left of Riccardo, setting her plate and glass of water down. "So, boys," she says, grinning at us, "how's the first week been for all of you?"
"First week?" Riccardo asks.
"It's Luca and Giulia's first week back," Alberto informs him, patting my chest (which makes me want to smile). "And it's been really awesome. I can't believe I went so long without you two."
He swirls his forchetta in his pasta and lifts up a scoop. He bites into it. I noticed a few days ago how much better he is at table manners. I know we were both really bad at it last year.
"Well, who knows? Maybe papà will let you come to school with us this year," Giulia says, clasping her hands together and grinning at the thought.
That would really be the dream. I tap Alberto's shoulder with my palm and shake his arm a little. "Do you know how awesome that would be?" I ask him excitedly, hoping he'll like the idea as well.
He smiles at me and holds my wrist, rubbing his thumb on it a little before letting go.
... Did that just—?! ... How can I stop myself from squealing right now?
I stare down at my hand, probably not being very secretive about it.
"I'm flattered, really, but, I'm more of a sleep-in kind of guy," Alberto says, placing his hand on his chest smugly. But then he puts his other hand on my shoulder. "Besides, I've got Luca to tell me all the stuff I wouldn't usually care about."
Oh, well. Maybe I can convince him another time.
Machiavelli suddenly hops up on the table, distracting us from the topic.
"Machiavelli! Psst! Gatto cattivo, off the table!" Giulia tries to shoo him off, whereas Machi is making himself comfortable.
"Hey, that reminds me," I turn to Alberto, "where's Rosa?"
Alberto pauses mid-forchetta-swirl. "Hey, Mas," he calls, leaning over to see the other end of the table. "Where's Rosana?"
Massimo tucks a napkin in his collar before answering him. "She's asleep in my room," he answers simply, then continues his conversation with the elderly ladies.
Oh, wow. It just occurred to me that I've never seen Massimo's room before. I wonder what it looks like.
Giulia is finally able to shove Machiavelli off. "Santa mozzarella, that cat." She looks up at us apologetically. "Sorry about him. He doesn't even like most pastas; he's just being a meanie."
"Good thing Rosana takes after her mother." Alberto smiles proudly. "And me, kinda. I'm like her other dad, if you think about it."
The four of us continue to chat and eat. Even after we finish our pasta, we stay at the table, talking about school and our favorite animals and Riccardo's vinyl collection. Fifteen minutes go by, and I swear that Alberto's closer to me than he was before. A lot closer. And he even patted my hand a few minutes ago. It almost makes me think that maybe....
... Oh, jeez. Silenzio, Bruno. You're wrong.
Before I can get into another argument with myself, the sound of two familiar voices makes us all look up.
"Ciao!" Guido and Ciccio say in unison, hurrying into the patio. They both seem out of breath from running.
"Guido! Ciccio!" Alberto greets as they approach the table. Giulia gives them both a welcoming high-five. "What took you so long?"
"There's still some Penne allá Bolognese left," Massimo assures, standing up to prepare to enter the kitchen.
"Oh, it's fine, Massimo." Guido holds up a red kickball, smiling kind of shyly. "We were just looking for Ciccio's brother's kickball. It took us a while, but we were determined to find it."
"Anyone want to play?" Ciccio asks, looking at each of us.
The four of us kids glance at each other, then grin and stand up, walking with them to the doorway.
"I'll pass, but thank you," Mom says. Then she yelps when Dad pulls her away from the table and leads her over to us. "Ugh, Lorenzo!"
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Lorenzo urges, then winks at her. "Remember last summer?"
Mom gets a face of realization. "Ohh. Yeah, let's play!" She rushes to the outside of the patio, motioning us to follow her to the mountain. "I'm ready to kick some human butt!"
I grin, running over to join her. It's nice to see my mom let loose and not stress for once.
We all start a game of kickball—I'm in a team with the other kids, and Guido and Ciccio teamed up with my parents. Massimo, Grandma, and the ladies come out to watch us, betting on which team they think will win. Mom's super good at kickball; she's even able to knock Giulia and Riccardo right into the fountain. Luckily, they find it funny.
At one point, I almost get hit in the face with the ball, but Alberto catches it before it does. Then he passes the ball to me, and I kick it. I don't kick it very well, but Alberto cheers for me anyway.
* * *
An hour later, we're all back in the patio, roasting marshmallows by a fire pit Massimo drug out. We're making these things called s'mores. I ate one already, and it was the most delicious thing I've ever had. But the marshmallow made my hand sticky.
While everyone else is chatting with each other, Alberto—who's sitting beside me—nudges my arm to get my attention. "Luca," he says quietly, leaning towards me. "There's something I want to show you."
"Oh. Okay." I set down my roasting stick and stand up with him.
"We'll be right back," Alberto tells the others, holding his thumb up. The others just nod and forget about us within a second, too interested in their conversation about sports.
Alberto leads me to the backyard. Somehow we never got the chance to come out here yet. All the memories come flooding back, and I smile at my surroundings. This place holds a special place in my heart.
I walk up to the big tree, placing my hand on the trunk and smiling bigger. "Hm," I laugh to myself, remembering last summer and the crazy times we had.
"It's even better up here," Alberto tells me as he starts to climb the crooked wooden planks. "Come on."
I follow him up the steps to the little wooden hideout. As soon as I reach the top, I gasp in awe, feeling my cheeks start to hurt from smiling so big. "Wow," I breathe out, crawling to the middle of the hideout with Alberto. "It looks exactly like it did last year."
Alberto rests his elbow on his raised knee and smiles up at the scenery. "Yup. I couldn't find myself to really change it, so...," he shrugs, "figured I'd leave it how it is. These are even the same pillows." He pats one of the two striped pillows laying on the wood. "I always forget to bring them inside after I sleep out here."
I giggle at him. Then I lie down on the other one, placing my arm on it and feeling my head slightly sink in the softness of the pillow. "It's just like last year all over again."
"For sure." Alberto doesn't say anything for a little bit, and when I look up, I realize he's already looking down at me.
"What?" I ask softly, sitting back up.
Alberto blinks and shakes his head. "Oh, nothing, I just, uh...." He looks at me for another moment before continuing. "You're right. The memories."
I nod in agreement. Then a small breeze blows through, causing me to shiver and clutch my arms.
Alberto looks at my arms, then back up at me. "Be right back," he says, then walks on the branch leading to Giulia's room.
While he's gone, I stare out at the ocean. The lights from the houses and boats brighten it enough to see, and I can hear distant waves crashing against rocks. It's so strange to look out there and know that I've lived there my whole life. That none of this would be happening if I didn't let my curiosity get the best of me.
I smile to myself.
I'm glad I took the chance.
Soon Alberto comes back with something in his hands. When I look closer, I notice it's the jacket he wore last week at the train station. "What's that for?" I ask, watching him pick a speck of dust off the Batman patch and throw it out.
"I noticed you were cold, so...." Alberto looks nervous as he places the jacket over me. "It's my favorite clothing thingy. But I only use it on special occasions."
"Wow, Alberto...." I slip my arms through the sleeves and feel the material. "Thank you so much. But what about you?"
He's wearing a yellow tank top, so he must be cold. But he just waves the concern off. "I'm not cold at all. Some of us can handle the weather." He grins teasingly at me, and I roll my eyes.
"Whatever you say, weirdo." I scoot closer to him, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging my legs. "It was still really nice of you."
Alberto seems happy from the praise, and smiles down at the leaf he's carefully pulling apart. "Thank you. And you're welcome." He brushes the leaf pieces off the hideout and watches them fall. Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the seagrass blade I gave him earlier. "Hey, do you still have that rock?"
I dig into my pocket for the rock Alberto found earlier, and give it to him.
"Perfect," he says, then crawls to a corner of the hideout. "We need to make a memento of our first night back here. This rock might be able to resist the wind, so if we just...." Alberto sets the seagrass down, then carefully places the rock on top of it, still leaving a bit of the grass sticking out. "There."
I laugh a little and join him at the corner, grinning at the objects. "That's amazing! It's our exact eye colors together."
I think about Alberto's green eyes then, and sneak a look at them while he's still focused on the rock and grass. So pretty.
"And these can be our good luck charms," Alberto adds, turning back to me and smiling. But this time there's no added playfulness to it; it's a completely genuine smile, which is something I don't often expect from Alberto. "When we're up here with them, everything is okay. And we're okay. And nothing bad can happen to us."
His words are so beautiful that all I can do at first is smile back. "Our good luck charms," I repeat, reaching over and touching the rock with one finger. "They're perfect."
Alberto opens his mouth to say something in response, but stops himself; in fact, it almost looks like he's upset at himself for saying what he was about to say. "Yes. They are," he says instead.
There's a small silence. I feel heat start to rise to my face, but I don't know if it's from awkwardness or from my feelings making themselves known again. Probably both.
Soon, he lies down on his pillow. I join him.
"There's lots of fish tonight," he murmurs, resting his hands on his stomach.
I chuckle lightly. "Stars, Berto. They're stars."
"I know. But I still like to call them fish sometimes."
We lie there in silence, admiring the stars and the crescent moon. I try to find some constellations, but I can't find any. I guess my mind is focused elsewhere.
I hear Alberto yawn, which makes me yawn. Then I clutch the jacket closer to me—not because I got cold again, but because I really love wearing it.
Soon it becomes hard to keep my eyes open.
Giulia's POV
"Nice seeing you again!" I wave to the guests as they start to leave. Riccardo comes over to give me a fist bump. "I'll see you around, small fry."
I laugh. He really is short. Shorter than Luca!
"One day I'll be taller than you, Giulia," he promises, holding his hand flat above him. "Mark my words."
We giggle and wave each other goodbye, then he heads out of the patio.
Once he and the old women are gone, Luca's dad starts to help my dad stack the plates together. "Where's Luca and Alberto?" Luca's mom asks, putting her knuckle to her lip and looking around worriedly.
"I saw them go to my treehouse place a while ago," I tell her. "Maybe they're still up there."
"Alright. Let's go get them, 'cause Luca's coming back with us tonight."
She, Luca's dad, and Luca's grandma all follow me and papà to the backyard.
"Wait right here," I tell them, before climbing up the steps to the hideout.
Once I get to the top, I end up just standing there.
Luca and Alberto are asleep. And not only that, but they're almost cuddling. They both have their arm draped over each other, and Luca's forehead is resting on Alberto's chest.
I don't know if they planned this, or if they somehow got like this after falling asleep, but I do know one thing for sure: Luca's wearing Alberto's jacket, and that didn't just randomly happen.
Smiling to myself, I climb back down the steps, making sure to stay quiet.
"They're sleeping," I tell the adults. I decide to leave out the details. This isn't a good time for them to find out what I've been suspecting for a long time.
"Oh." Daniela looks over at Lorenzo. (Those are Luca's parents, by the way.) "So what should we do?"
"Well, it is pretty late." Lorenzo scratches the back of his head and looks at my dad. "What do you think, Massimo?"
"As long as Daniela doesn't mind Luca staying here another night, I am fine with it."
"I'm okay with it, too." Daniela smiles a little. "I know he's safe here."
"Alright. Well, thank you, Massimo. Thank you, Giulia." Lorenzo gives us a smile before leading Daniela out the door.
Luca's grandma (who we call G) smiles up at the tree for a second, then follows them out.
"Come, Giulietta." Papà walks out the door and over to the table. "Let's get these dishes inside and head to bed."
A little while later, after everything is inside and papà kisses me goodnight, I sneak out to throw a blanket over the two boys.
"Sweet dreams, boys," I whisper to them after climbing back in my room. Then I shut the window and turn off my light.