Page 20 of Ciao, Amore

“Wow,” she exclaimed with her brows lifted. “I would’ve taken you for a Fordham guy.”

She was teasing him again. Fordham was the Bronx’s big-name university.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nico groused. “There’s no law that says I have to stay within the limits of Bronx County, you know.”

They walked, dodging a family gawking at architecture to the point where the woman nearly knocked into them.

“I got accepted at NYU,” Dani said after a minute. “It was my dream school, but you know, sometimes things don’t work out the way you want. Story of my life.”

“Really? Why didn’t you go?” he asked.

“We didn’t have NYU money. My godparents offered to pay my way, but my parents are kinda funny about accepting money like that from them. Either we make it on our own, or we’re not doing it. They were proud that I got in, though. And City was cool. The important thing is the degree, at the end of the day.”

Dani was smiling as always but only showed him her profile. Her regret was palpable despite her determinedly upbeat attitude, and he commiserated. Family honor and pride dictating life choices was something he understood implicitly.

“That’s too bad. If you’d gone to NYU, we probably would’ve met way back then.”

And probably would have been married with four kids by now.

“Maybe. But your loans must be crazy. One thing I’ve been wondering about. When your grandfather asked you to take over his shop, did you want to quit FDNY?”

Nico shrugged. “It was a dangerous job. I did like being in the department with my brothers, but barbering is cool. I get to talk shit all day. The customers are good guys, for the most part. I could do worse.”

It was Nico’s turn to pretend he wasn’t bothered about accepting his grandfather’s request. And as for the other grandfather that they’d be seeing that evening…

Maybe now was the right time to tell her what lay ahead in Naples. But he decided to wait a little longer. Things felt good right now. He didn’t want to ruin it.

Dani was all eyes as they set about their journey on foot that took them blocks away, past the old Forum, with its dilapidated columns and tumbled-down buildings, where the Senate used to debate.

“Hey, let me stand here for a minute and look sad and shit like Matt Damon inTalented Mr. Ripleywhen he had to see Rome all by himself.” She struck a sad pose, her bottom lip stuck out with her hand on her chin while he took a pic with his phone.

Nearby, at the Colosseum, she gazed with wonder at the structure as they approached. The line to get in wasn’t too bad, but it was not quite so picturesque with modern construction equipment lining the road.

“Roma victa,” she shouted over the exposed rows of seats and underground chambers.Echoing through the theater, her loud voice drew the disapproving stares of some other tourists. “What the hell are they looking at? People and animals got murdered here by the thousands purely for entertainment, andI’macting unruly?” she complained, climbing down from her stone perch.

Next, they strolled aimlessly for a while, people-watching, then stopped at a colorful restaurant for a quick bite of what Nico declared as “real Italian pizza” with its super thin, crispy crust and toppings Dani found questionable.

“Stop being such a New Yorker. It’s still real pizza even if it doesn’t have pepperoni and four inches of cheese on it,” he said, pushing her arm playfully.

Dani ate with gusto after the first bite, which he knew she would. “Okay, you got me, that was delish. Eggs on pizza? Who knew? So, what’s next?”

“To eat or to see?” he asked. Together, they exclaimed, “Both.”

“We should hit the Steps and the fountain next. But before we do,” Nico said, looking at his watch. “It might be a good time to check in back home.”

He called Gina to let her know he’d arrived and to ask how she was feeling.

“Fat and farty,” Gina said. “Hi, Daniela. You’ve survived almost a whole day with my brother?”

“I’m managing somehow,” Dani responded with a grin.

After a short chat with Gina, Dani video called her sister, who’d waved at him on camera. Nico plucked the phone out of her hand and said, “Hey, Terri. How’re Ken and the kid?”

“Good,” Terri responded, beaming at him. “Ready to show my sister a good time?”

“Oh yeah, already workin’ on that,” he said with a dirty grin at Dani, and she shoved his arm, making a face. “Tell your dad I’m already on the lookout for a good domino set for him. It’s on next time we come over.”

“He’ll be waitin’. Alrighty, have fun. Let me talk to my sister before you go.”

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