Sand Castle: Chapter 2

The next day, I arrived at Piazza Tre Martiri, twenty-five minutes earlier, and I feared. What if Tom doesn't show up? What if he thinks that I'm not pretty or funny enough? Or what if he met another girl last night, prettier and smarter than me, and he forgot about our plans for today? This was a real agony.

I was torturing myself with these questions for twenty minutes, and after twenty minutes of waiting, Tom showed up on the corner. In his ripped jeans, a white T-shirt, a black backpack on his back, and a camera in his hand, he looked like a Greek God.

"Hi!" he said.

"Hi!" I said with a big smile on my face.

"I'm sorry for being late and keeping you waiting," Tom apologized.

"No, you're not late. We are both early. It's not even ten o'clock yet," I said, and it was true, it was 9:55.

"These are for you," Tom said, and he gave me a bouquet of sunflowers with a blue string.

"Thank you! How did you know that yellow is my favorite color?"

"Are you serious?" Tom said, surprised.

"Yes."

"I don't know what I was thinking, but I shouldn't have bought you flowers. The weather is too hot, and soon they will fade."

"Yes, you're right. But buying flowers to someone is always a beautiful gesture."

"So Nina, where do you want to go?" Tom asked me.

"I don't know. I'm leaving it all to you."

"Let's go this way, and we'll see where the road will take us," he said, and took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"Okay!"

"Do you smoke?" Tom asked, offering me a cigarette.

"No, thank you."

"Smart girl!"

"They're terrible for your voice."

"I know, and not just for my voice. I should stop smoking. I tried to quit smoking a few times, but I obviously didn't succeed. All my friends from the band are passionate smokers, and they introduced me to this horrible habit."

After a five-minute walk from Piazza Tre Martiri, we arrived at another square, Piazza Cavour. The architecture fascinated Tom, and he especially liked the town hall and Teatro Galli. With his camera, he photographed the people on the streets, houses, flowers on the balconies, shops, and me.

"Please don't take pictures of me, Tom! Every time I'm exposed to the sun, my face turns red, and on your photographs, I'll look like an alien."

"No, you look wonderful! Your face looks natural. Look!" Tom said, and he showed me my photographs.

We continued our adventure searching for locations to take more photographs of the narrow streets of Rimini. I didn't care where we were going. I trusted him, and I was following him everywhere he took me. I was here for two weeks, and he arrived three days ago, but he already knew Rimini better than me.

"Have you visited this part of town before?"

"No, never. To practice our Italian, from school they take us every day to restaurants, on sightseeing, cultural events, but I've never been here before."

"The best way to learn a foreign language is to communicate with the locals. Nina, don't you have lessons today?"

"No. On Monday we don't have lessons," I lied, and Tom looked at me suspiciously.

"Hey look, Nina! Ice cream! Do you want one?"

"Isn't it too early for ice cream? Practically, it's still morning."

"Come on, Nina! We're on vacation, and we can do everything we want. If we want, we can eat ice cream every day for breakfast. Who is going to stop us?" Tom said, relaxed.

"Okay!" I agreed.

"What's your favorite flavor?" he asked me before he went into the shop.

"Vanilla."

Tom bought us two ice creams in the shop, vanilla for me, and chocolate for him. We sat in front of the shop to eat our ice cream, and later we continued to explore the magnificent Rimini. Like yesterday on the beach, Tom was talking all the time, and I was listening. He was telling me about New York, his band, his friends, his family... In his family, he's the only one interested in art, and everyone is teasing him that someone switched him at the hospital when he was born. His parents are chefs, and they own a restaurant in Manhattan. His older brother Christian works at an advertising agency and his younger sister Nicole is still in high school, and she wants to become a journalist one day.

He broke my heart when he told me about his struggle to find a record label, to record his first album. By now, he has written over a hundred songs, but he still doesn't have a contract to record an album. He performs in small clubs with his band in front of forty people, and to pay the bills, he works in his parents' restaurant. It's so sad because the arts have turned into a business today. It's all about profits, and no one really cares about talent.

"We're walking for two hours. Are you tired?" Tom asked me.

"No, I'm not."

"Are you sure, Nina? If you want, we can take a break. Don't look at me, I'm a New Yorker, I can walk all day."

In one of the streets where we found ourselves by accident, there was a quiet restaurant. We took a short break from walking and we had lunch there. I was starving. This morning, before I left my room, I had no time to eat, because I tried on all the clothes I had. I wanted to look nice for Tom.

The waiter was friendly and understood what we wanted, even he wasn't speaking any English. I was happy because I could use the few Italian words I had learned in my course. We ordered a typical Italian specialty, pasta and a tomato salad, and in the end, we shared a piece of tiramisu. I suggested splitting the bill, but Tom refused. He continued to be a perfect gentleman and paid the full amount.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day, Nina? You probably want to get rid of me, and do something by yourself, or with your friends?" Tom asked when we walked out of the restaurant.

"No. I'm having a great time with you," I said, and I was telling the truth.

The weather was too hot for walking, and Tom suggested we should go to relax in one of the several public parks in Rimini. I accepted his proposal without hesitation because I didn't have a better idea where and how we should spend the rest of the day.

At the closest park to the restaurant where we had lunch, we were lucky to find a free bench. The sunflowers Tom gave me faded a long time ago, but I continued to carry them as something valuable. To me, this bouquet of faded sunflowers had a higher value than all the priceless pieces of art in the world. Tom was sitting too close to me, and I could feel the heat of his body.

"All day I'm talking about myself, and you must be tired of listening to me," Tom said, and he looked at me.

"No, not at all! Please continue."

"But I've told you everything about myself, and I know so little about you, Nina."

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me more about your family?"

"Well, my father is a book publisher, and my mother owns a shop for shoes."

"Do you have siblings?"

"What?" I asked, confused because I didn't know what the word sibling meant.

"Do you have brothers or sisters?" Tom asked me again, and this time I understood what he was asking me.

"Oh, no, actually, yes, I have. My father has a daughter from his first marriage, but we're not very close. I've met her only twice in my life. She lives in Germany, and she has two children, but I've never met them."

"I'm sorry," he said, with sadness in his voice.

He stopped asking me questions about my family and me after he saw how painful it was for me to talk about my sister. It was better when he was talking about himself, and we continued to talk about general things, like literature, music, movies, art...

"I came to Italy to find inspiration for new songs, but I've become lazy, and I brought my guitar with me for nothing," Tom said.

"Besides a piano, you play and a guitar?" I asked him, mesmerized.

"I think it's very useful for every piano player to learn to play guitar. I use a guitar when I'm writing new songs or when I'm traveling, because I can't take my piano with me everywhere I go. Plus, the apartment I'm living in is tiny, and there isn't enough room for such a big instrument. If I want to play on my piano, I have to go to my parents' apartment, in Manhattan."

"It must be very difficult for a piano player like you to live in a place without a piano."

"Yes, it is, but I have no other choice. For now, the Bronx is the only place in New York where I can afford to live. If prices go higher and the Bronx will become too expensive for me."

"Tom, I would like to hear your songs."

"Well, I have my guitar in my hotel room, and you can come whenever you want."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I'll have a private concert just for you. I'll play my greatest hits," Tom joked with me. "I can bet in one million dollars that you've heard none of my songs on the radio."

At that moment, the streetlights turned on. That was a reminder that the night was slowly approaching, and my perfect day with Tom was ending. I enjoyed every second of the time I spent with him, and I didn't want this day to ever end.

"Nina, I know a fantastic pizza-restaurant near my hotel. They make the best pizza in the entire world, trust me. If you don't have other plans for tonight, we could go there for dinner?"

"Okay! Today you are my guide, and I'll come with you everywhere you take me," I said happily.

"After dinner, I'll walk you home."

"Tom, there is no need. You must be tired from walking all day."

"I want to be sure that you'll arrive safely at home."

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a small family restaurant. When Tom entered the restaurant, the entire space brightened up, and everyone started looking at him.

"I'm a simple pizza guy; I love a pizza with extra cheese and sausage," he said while we were sitting at our table, waiting for our orders.

"I'm a simple pizza girl, too. I also love cheese, and I love mushrooms, a lot."

We were eating our pizzas without talking, and from time to time, we would look at each other. Tom was right. In this restaurant, the pizza was really something special.

"Be honest and tell me, Nina, wasn't this the most delicious pizza you ever tasted in your life?" Tom asked me after we left our plates empty.

"Yes, you were right; thank you for bringing me to this place."

"It was my pleasure. Nina, do you see that hotel across the street?"

"Yes."

"That's my hotel, so if you haven't changed your mind, and if you still want to hear my songs, you can come to a private concert, any day you want."

"Can I come now?" I asked him directly.

"Absolutely!" Tom said, a little surprised because he didn't expect that I'd want to hear his songs tonight.

We left the restaurant, and I could see that Tom was feeling a little nervous. When we got into the lobby of his hotel, the guy at the reception saw me, and he realized I was not a guest. He said nothing. He just smiled kindly at us.

Tom's room was on the second floor. From his backpack, he took the key and unlocked the door. He opened the door, and then he let me in.

"Welcome to my room, and sorry for the mess," Tom said moving his clothes quickly from the bed.

"Nice room."

"Make yourself at home. Can I offer you something?"

"No thanks! I'm good!"

"I only have a bottle of cheap wine from yesterday and plastic glasses. Wait, I can't offer you this," Tom said, and he picked up the phone from the nightstand. "I'll order something else."

"No, please don't! We just had dinner, and I'm full," I said quickly, and I sat down on his bed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but if you insist on offering me something, the wine in a plastic glass is the perfect choice," I said, and I smiled at Tom.

"This is so rude. I'm not treating my guests this way," he said embarrassedly while he was giving me a plastic glass of wine, and with the top of his fingers he touched my hand.

I'm not a big fan of wine, but this wine was the worst I ever tasted in my life. Tom looked me in the eye, a little bit longer than usual, and he touched my face with his soft hand. He put my hair behind my ear, and he gently kissed me. I tasted the red wine on his lips, and the horrible wine on his lips had a divine taste.

"I wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you on the beach," Tom said, and he looked me in the eye.

I said nothing because I didn't know what to say. I was trembling under his fingers while my heart was beating like a drum.

"Tom, I have... never... before... in my life…" I hissed, and he understood what I was trying to say.

"Oh, okay! I'm sorry! That's not why I brought you to my room. Sorry! I feel like a complete idiot right now."

"Tom, you have nothing to apologize for."

"I feel horrible. I know what this looks like to you. You think I brought you into my hotel room, with only one thought, to have sex with you. I'm sorry! That wasn't my intention. I swear!"

"Tom, you didn't invite me to your room. I invited myself, do you remember?"

"Yeah, you're right! But I'm still feeling bad. Okay! I'll sing you some of my songs, that's why you're here, and I'll walk you home, I promise. We won't do anything else..." he said nervously, and got up from his bed.

"I want to make love to you," I said, not letting him finish his sentence, and I surprised myself by saying this.

"I'm flattered, but we don't have to do it tonight. We met yesterday, I understand, and this is too fast for you. Think about it again. I won't go anywhere. I'm here for the rest of the week, and if you are still sure that you want to do it with me..."

"Yes, I am sure. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be here," I said, and Tom sat back next to me.

I was sure. In fact, I had never been this sure about anything in my life before. I kissed him, and he kissed me back. His lips gently continued to kiss my neck, my shoulders, my back, and his long fingers touched every part of my body. I was afraid that all this was just a beautiful dream, and I was dreaming about his kisses and his touches.

We stayed up all night, not talking much. He was just holding me in his warm embrace, and in his embrace, I found paradise. It was the warmest and safest place in the entire world for me. I didn't want to fall asleep, not even for a second. I was afraid that if I fell asleep when I woke up in the morning, he wouldn't be there, and I was dreaming the whole thing.