Page 36 of Head Over Wheels

‘Have you got a coin? Come on!’

As I came closer, I saw still water shimmering in a pool through the arches, reflecting the vaulted ceiling. ‘What is this place?’ As many times as I’d been to Siena, I’d never stopped to look under this crumbling arcade. The water was clear and tinged blue. A flash of movement drew my eye – fish meandering beneath the surface.

‘A water source for the town from mediaeval times. Here, if you don’t have your purse, let me find one.’ He pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

‘I don’t see any other coins in there,’ I said doubtfully. ‘It’s not exactly the Trevi Fountain. Maybe we’re not allowed.’

‘Since when do you care about rules when winning is on the line?’

I scowled at him, but he had a point. ‘Okay, give it here.’ Holding out my hand, I waited while he rummaged in his beat-up leather wallet.

‘Ehm, I don’t have any,’ he said flatly. ‘Except—’ Opening a zip at the back, he retrieved a tiny brass coin. ‘This is perfect. It’s my lucky one cent.’

‘I can’t take your lucky one cent.’

‘It’s exactly what you need to do! And don’t worry, I definitely found it with the heads up for good luck and not the tails for bad luck.’ He pressed it into my hand and peered urgently at me.

With a sigh, I closed my hand around the coin. ‘Do I have to throw it over my shoulder?’

‘No idea. You’re not wishing to come back to Siena – although maybe you are, next year for the Strade Bianche, where you’ll win!’

Giving him a shove with my closed fist, I turned away and hurled the coin over my shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut. I heard a ping, but no splash. ‘Did it go in?’

‘Ehm,’ he hesitated, ‘not quite. Hold on. I’ll get it.’

With a groan, I watched him hop up the steps and press himself into the ancient brick wall. ‘Seb, no!’ I cried as he stretched out a foot and wobbled onto a moss-covered stone sticking out of the wall. Balancing precariously, he reached out for the next stone with a grunt of effort. ‘Stop! You’re going to—’

I buried my face in my hands as his foot slipped into the water with a splash.

‘For crying out loud,’ I muttered, but he turned to me with a triumphant smile, holding up the tiny coin, before sloshing back to the steps through the water. Luckily it wasn’t deep,but he’d soaked his trainers and socks and the bottoms of his jeans. ‘Next time we just beg a cent from a stranger,’ I mumbled.

‘Next time?’ he repeated slowly. With a swallow and a measured nod, he continued, ‘We’ll get your luck back and then there doesn’t have to be a next time, hmm?’

Why I experienced a sinking feeling at his words, I didn’t want to know. Watching carefully this time, I threw the coin gently into the old water source, letting it plop without fanfare.

‘How do you even know what’s heads and tails with euro coins? There are no people on them.’ I asked suddenly.

‘I think it’s the side with the map of Europe,’ he replied, tugging off his shoes and squeezing out his socks.

‘Youthink?’

His frown didn’t exactly inspire confidence. ‘Ihope? But we still have the next stop on Lori’s lucky tour of Siena.’ He grinned up at me, all dimples and gut-punching brightness, and I gulped.

‘Do you need to go back and change your shoes?’ I asked warily.

He shook his head, tying up his laces again. ‘Let’s just go up to the church. It’s not far now.’

‘Why this particular one? The cathedral is prettier.’

‘Don’t judge a church by its façade. It’s not the basilica we’re visiting, but what’s inside. Come on!’

Chapter 15

Seb

Maybe I really was a bad luck charm, because I screwed up again at the San Domenico Basilica.

We arrived before closing time, which felt like a miracle, given how much my legs screamed in pain as I hobbled up, squelching with every step. When we reached the top of the hill, the last of the day’s sunlight brushed the rooftops gold and a few lights had flickered on in the clustered houses of the city.

---