Page 42 of Bella Rosa
He doesn't even look down at it. "I can wash it."
I laugh as I wipe my eyes. "The sadness still wins sometimes."
He smiles at me, the acceptance almost doing me in. "It's okay to let the sadness win sometimes."
I straighten up in my seat and pull down the sun visor to look at my reflection in the small mirror. I groan when I see my destroyed eye makeup. "I look like a panda."
Matteo laughs as he opens his car door. "You're a cute panda though."
I fix my makeup as best I can before I close the sun visor and open my car door. I take a deep breath as the warm air fills my lungs. The smell of the ocean surrounds me as I gather my bag from the back.
Matteo rounds the back of the car carrying a cooler and a small tote bag. "Just a warning, some of the guys around here can be a little rough around the edges. They're great guys, just used to spending a lot of time on a boat without socializing."
I nod my head as we walk to the dock entrance. "Good to know."
As soon as we step on the dock I hear a deep voice with a thick Italian accent yelling. "Matteo! You fucker! We've not seen you in months."
We stop walking in front of the boat the voice is coming from. It's an old sailboat that has seen better days. The paint is faded and chipping.The Wet Dreamis written in bold font across the back of the boat. I raise my eyebrows as I look up at Matteo.
I follow Matteo's gaze up the main pole holding the sail until I find a very tan man with snow white hair at the top. He is hanging there without a care in the world. My heart rate picks up just thinking about hanging there without any safety equipment.
Matteo shouts up at him. "Hey Jack! Good to see you. Been a while."
Jack yells back down at us. "Fucking right it’s been a while. We don't see you for months, then you show up with a pretty little thing on your arm like that?"
Matteo smiles down at me. "This is Rosalie."
I give a shy wave. I feel very out of place.
Jack gives me a nod and a grin. "Come stay for a while, Matteo! Let's catch up."
Matteo shakes his head and lifts the cooler toward Jack. "We can’t. We’ve got an entire day planned. Maybe next time." He starts walking off without waiting for a reply.
I quickly follow after him. We walk a few more minutes before we stop once more, this time because I think we have arrived at Matteo's boat. This boat is in much better condition compared to Jacks. You can tell this boat has been well looked after. It's mostly white with a blue stripe just above the water line. I reach my hand out to lightly trace the blue letters on the back of the boat. "Bella Sofia?"
"Sofia was my grandmother's name. My beautiful Sofia is what my grandfather would always call her." He reaches out to trace the letters with me. "That was his one condition in his will. I couldn’t change the name of the boat. I wouldn’t have anyway."
I look up at him and smile. "I wish I could have met them."
He smiles back at me. "Me too." He sets the cooler down and reaches over to unlatch the small gate to the entrance at the back of the boat. "Watch your footing." He holds his hand out to help me safely onto the boat.
After both feet are planted firmly on the ground I take a look around. I can hear Matteo behind me moving the cooler around, but my focus is elsewhere. The part of the boat where the captain would normally sit is covered. It seems to have been an addition to the boat instead of something that was original. I'm very thankful for the shade in either case. I feel like I got a sunburn just from walking to the boat.
There is built-in seating around the front of the boat. I can see two seats that appear to be slightly more worn than the others. That brings a smile to my face imagining Matteo sitting with his grandfather so many years ago.
The edge of the boat is lined with wooden railing. The deck flooring is a rich brown color that is in incredible condition. I turn to find Matteo leaning back against the railing with his arms crossed. "You said you haven't been here in months. How is the boat so clean?"
"I have a deal with the marina to clean the boat once a week. I recommend all my customers use this marina when they want to rent a boat. The marina takes care of my boat in return."
I nod my head as I continue looking around. There are ropes everywhere. I try to follow one to see where it leads with no luck. "This looks complicated."
He walks over to me. "It looks complicated, but this boat is actually set up to be sailed by one person. I can control almost everything from the cockpit."
"A cockpit? Like a plane?"
He laughs as he walks to the enclosed area in the middle. "Kind of. Want to see?"
Excitement takes over as I nod my head. I follow him into the cockpit to find an old fashioned steering wheel surrounded by screens.
