Lanterns in the Dark - 11. Chapter 11

For the next few days, when he wasn’t with Giacomo, Daniele looked for Marco.

There had been no response to the note he had put though Marco’s door; he saw no sign of the smaller boy in the square, on the belvedere or in the Municipio gardens. As far as he knew, Marco had made no attempt to visit him at home. When Daniele visited the secret clearing in the valley, it had an air of forlorn disuse, as if nothing had been disturbed there for several weeks.

It wasn’t until Friday, the morning before Claudia’s party, that Daniele found any evidence that his message had reached the other boy at all. It had suddenly occurred to him that, if Marco was willing to start over, he might be drawn once again to the one place their relationship – such as it was – had really started: the disused terrace at the Villa Cimbrone where they had fought their short, one-sided battle.

In the face of another hot, cloudless morning, Daniele made his way up a quiet, little-used flight of steps that led towards the Villa Cimbrone from the hillside neighbourhood where he lived. Amidst ancient olive trees and disused terraces, he trailed up the old concrete stairway. At the top of a particularly steep section, he paused for breath for a while, gazing out at a panoramic view over the sparkling coast at Maiori and the rugged mountains beyond. The faintest of sea breezes ruffled his blond hair, helping to cool him from the climb.

After a few minutes, he moved on, following a narrow lane with glossy green foliage hanging from its high stone walls until he came out at the top of the hill, overlooking the vegetable garden.

He exchanged a wave with the gardener Giovanni, who was tending the tomato plants once again, and then turned down the sweeping stairway that led to the villa gates. Following the leafy footpath beyond, he stepped through the great wooden doors and approached the ticket kiosk.

As usual, Viola Rossi was manning the desk. She smiled as he approached.

“Buongiorno again, Daniele,” she said.

“Buongiorno, signora,” Daniele replied. “I was wondering… have you seen my friend Marco this week?”

Viola frowned thoughtfully. “Marco… is that the boy with the mousy hair?”

Daniele nodded hopefully. “Yes, that’s him.”

Viola nodded. “He was here yesterday, as it happens,” she said. “The poor boy looked a little down. He came in during the morning, and I didn’t see him again for hours. Goodness knows how he passed all that time here on his own.”

“I’ve some idea where he might have gone,” Daniele replied. “Please may I come in for a little while, signora? I’d… like to check something out.”

Viola leaned a little closer. “All right, caro,” she whispered. “Just this once, there’s no charge. I won’t tell anyone.”

Daniele offered her a grateful smile. “Thanks, signora.”

She cupped his cheek briefly with one hand, smiling fondly back at him. “Please, just call me Viola.”

Daniele made his way straight down through the gardens, heading for the quiet surrounds of the lower terraces. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for… some sign, perhaps, that the other boy had been waiting for him to appear.

Daniele’s trainers scrunched on fragrant old pine needles as he made his way down to the chestnut fence. With the usual glance over his shoulders to make sure nobody was watching, he hopped over the fence and walked down onto the small expanse of bare earth with its one, tall pine tree.

Daniele was no tracker, but all the same, he crouched down and peered at the ground in the shadow of the tree, looking for evidence. It did look like there had been someone here: the pattern of fallen pine needles looked disturbed, as if someone had scratched idly at the ground as they sat in the shade of the tree.

Something else to the side of the tree caught his eye, and he realised it was the battered and chewed stub of an old pencil. The lead had worn down to a rounded nub, and it looked like it had finally become too short to be worth sharpening.

Following the trail left by the pencil, Daniele crept around the base of the tree. Stuffed into a cleft in the back of the trunk was a scrunched-up ball of paper. Curiously, he pulled it out and began to unfurl it.

It turned out to be two pieces of paper or, more precisely, a single piece that had been ripped down the middle. Sitting himself down in the same spot the other boy had occupied, Daniele smoothed the two fragments out and held them up together, trying to make out the subject.

Unusually, it looked like Marco had attempted a portrait. It was a boy of about Daniele’s age. It wasn’t a brilliant likeness, but it had soft, expressive eyes, and a lightness of pencilwork that suggested blond hair.

Daniele found his hands shaking a little.

Is this me…?

But why had the other boy torn the picture in two? Had he been unhappy with his drawing? Or was it Daniele himself he was unhappy with?

What if he came back? Daniele wondered if there was some way he could leave the other boy a message.

An idea struck him. Carefully, he tore a blank strip off the bottom of the picture. Using the pencil stub, he wrote a simple message:

I loved it. -Dani

Impaling the strip of paper on the pencil stub, he placed it back into the cleft in the tree, working the pencil into a crack in the dry ground to hold it in place.

Perhaps there was still hope after all.

* * *

That night, Daniele returned to the Villa Cimbrone accompanied, for the first time in weeks, by both Giacomo and Emilia.

The sun was dipping behind the mountains above Scala as they climbed the hill, casting Ravello into an early dusk. Right on cue, the decorative streetlights flickered into life as they passed under the porch of the convent.

Feeling like a change in style for the occasion, Daniele had opted for an outfit Giacomo had given him for his birthday: he wore a fitted t-shirt in stripes of white and navy blue, and a heavy denim shirt which he wore open over a pair of matching denim shorts.

Giacomo had grinned broadly when he saw it.

“Looking good, Dani,” he had said. Giacomo himself was dressed in skinny jeans, a tight white t-shirt and one of his trendy athletic jackets. Privately, Daniele thought he was looking pretty good, too.

Daniele had wondered whether Emilia might reappear in her new summer dress, but instead she arrived in her usual practical white blouse and jeans, with the addition of a denim jacket of her own. But as a gesture to the occasion, perhaps, she had pinned her hair up in the same style she had worn on their date.

Daniele couldn’t describe how good it felt to be walking flanked by two friends again. Combined with the hope that he might be making progress with Marco, his spirits felt the lightest that they had in weeks.

Daniele had been to two outdoor parties at the Villa Cimbrone before, and he knew what to expect. The venue would be the triangular lawn behind the Terrace of Infinity: it was a secluded space lined with trees, shrubs and rustic chestnut fencing. Beyond the fence, a stone staircase descended towards the lower terraces, overlooking the lower reaches of the Valle del Dragone as it made its way to the coast down at Atrani. Next to the terrace there was a bar, which served drinks to general visitors during the day but, tonight, would be reserved solely for Claudia’s party.

At this hour, the gardens were closed to the public and, as Daniele had expected, the large wooden doors were shut, leaving just a small wicket gate open. They stepped through into the quiet, dusky courtyard area, were a sign reading ‘Rossi party’ directed guests along the main central avenue.

Daniele halted in the shadow of the great umbrella pine, drawing curious looks from his friends.

“You go on, guys,” he said. “I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”

Giacomo gave him a curious look. “What’s up, Dani?”

“It’s… sort of private.”

Giacomo frowned in puzzlement. “If you say so.”

“You’re one strange boy, Dani,” Emilia remarked. “Come on, Giacomo.”

Giacomo shrugged, and the two of them set off along the earthen path, talking quietly with one another.

Once he was sure they wouldn’t look back, Daniele darted off along the side path that led to the lower terraces. In the gathering gloom, he descended through the pine needles and hopped over the low fence, walking down once again onto the empty terrace with its single pine tree.

Marco wasn’t there. Disappointed, Daniele paced around the tree and peered into the cleft at the back.

The note and the pencil had gone.

Daniele hoped this meant the other boy had got his message. More importantly, it suggested that he had been back to this spot, and that he might still try again. But for how much longer…?

As satisfied as he could be for the moment, Daniele hopped back over the fence and made his way up the perimeter path that he knew led eventually to the stone staircase. Sure enough, he began to hear music and cheerful voices floating down through the gardens, and he gravitated towards it.

Following the staircase, Daniele snuck into the party area from the back. As he climbed the last few steps, drawing level with the chestnut fencing that enclosed the clearing, he had a chance to survey the scene.

The shrub border on the far side of the lawn had been lined with big, colourful lanterns, which shone out over the proceedings with bold splashes of orange, blue, yellow and green. The narrow end of the clearing had been set aside for party games: Daniele saw giant Jenga, Twister and jumbo Snakes and Ladders. An area in the middle of the lawn had been marked out as a dance floor. And, at the wide end of the space, three trestle tables groaned with heaps of Da Rossi’s finest food. He saw several pizzas; mixed antipasti loaded with salami and grilled vegetables; fresh bread and bruschetta; piles of Caprese salad, layered with bright red tomatoes, white buffalo mozzarella and fresh green basil; and a variety of delicious-looking desserts.

A few guests were already scattered around the clearing in twos, threes and small groups, some standing, some sitting at smaller tables and chairs that spread out from the buffet tables. Giacomo and Emilia appeared to be exchanging pleasantries with Claudia, who had greeted them at the foot of the main staircase. Isabella hovered at her elbow. Daniele also caught sight of Marta, who was handing out water and soft drinks at the buffet table, ever the gracious hostess. Salvatore stood beside her, helping her out and chatting with her whenever she was free.

“What are you doing down there, Dani?” asked a familiar voice. “Training at infiltration?”

Daniele glanced up and saw Toto and Michele leaning on the rounded top of the chestnut fence, watching him with interest.

Judging by the grin on his face, it was Toto who had spoken. To Daniele’s pleasure, Michele seemed relaxed and cheerful by his side… a far cry from the tense scenes of the week before.

“Ciao, guys,” Daniele smiled back up at them. “How are you doing?”

“We’re doing great,” Toto replied.

Daniele glanced questioningly at Michele, who nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Claudia and Michele made me see the… ah… error of my ways,” Toto said.

“And now he has to make it up to me,” Michele added.

Toto nodded. “Bountiful gifts of ice cream, nightly massages, and, ah… other things,” he said, flushing slightly, “…at least when our parents aren’t around.”

“Toto!” Michele hissed. “Children present.”

A giggle burst forth from Daniele’s mouth, and he hastened to cover it.

“Bleurgh,” he managed, shaking with mirth.

“I know,” Michele agreed, elbowing Toto in the ribs. “You can’t take him anywhere.”

“But what about, you know… your future, and stuff?” Daniele asked, once he had got himself back under control.

“We’ve talked about it some more,” Toto said reflectively.

“…which is what we should have done in the first place,” Michele added, rolling his eyes.

“And when I eventually go to university, well… we’ll be split up a lot of the time, for sure, but Michele is going to try to come for visits.”

Michele nodded. “I’ve always wanted to travel a bit,” he said. “Maybe I can get some time off from, you know… whatever I end up doing here.”

“And even then, well… the holidays will always come round eventually.” Toto shrugged. “I’ll come back myself if I can in between times, but, well… it sort of depends where I end up going.”

“I guess, if you guys can survive that…” Daniele began.

“…then we can survive anything,” Toto finished with a nod.

“Hey, Dani!” Claudia called across the garden. Standing with her hands on her hips, she beckoned him sternly with one hand. Giacomo and Emilia stood a few feet away, watching with interest.

“Uh-oh,” Michele said amiably. “Don’t neglect our host, Dani.”

Daniele took a steeling breath. “See you later, guys,” he said.

Toto and Michele chuckled as Daniele trailed reluctantly across the garden. Isabella had circled round to join Claudia, smirking.

“Ciao, Claudia,” Daniele said as he approached her, with an attempt at a bright smile.

“Were you trying to sneak in without saying hello?” Claudia demanded. “I can’t allow such… reprehensible behaviour to go unanswered.”

“Ah… what do I have to do?” Daniele asked.

Claudia presented her right cheek to him and tapped it pointedly with one finger. “Make it a good one,” she insisted.

Reluctantly, Daniele reached up and planted a quick peck on her cheek.

“Oh, be still my heart,” she swooned, and the two girls moved away, giggling.

Nearby, Giacomo was also laughing.

“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, Dani,” he panted, clutching Emilia’s arm for support.

Daniele glared at him. Sensing a chance to exact his revenge, he strode up to the other boy and planted a kiss on his cheek, too. Emilia’s mouth fell open, and Giacomo’s laughter died abruptly in his throat.

“Jesus, Dani,” he gasped, and Daniele could have sworn that he actually flushed.

Emilia smirked. “Nice one,” she whispered.

Feeling strangely pleased with himself, Daniele led the way over to the buffet tables and the three of them each loaded up a paper plate with food. Giacomo created the biggest mountain of the three, while Emilia’s pickings were more modest. They each accepted a glass of Sprite from Marta, then adjourned temporarily to one of the tables to eat their meal.

Giacomo’s dark eyes gleamed as he admired his plateful of pizza and sweet treats.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” he said.

Daniele was just taking a sip of his drink to whet his appetite when Claudia passed by their table. She had her mobile phone clamped to her ear.

“You’re almost here?” she was saying. “Okay, I’ll tell him. Ciao.”

Claudia rang off and dropped the phone into her jeans pocket. She returned to Daniele’s table just as he was reaching for his first slice of pizza.

“You might want to hold off for a minute, Dani,” she said. “The guest of honour is arriving.”

Daniele placed the pizza back on his plate. “Aren’t you the guest of honour?” he asked curiously.

Claudia smiled. “All right,” she said. “The other guest of honour.”

She gestured towards the main staircase. Peering through the gloom, Daniele realised that Gianni and Angelo had arrived and were making their way down towards the party terrace. They were moving oddly slowly and carefully, and, in the low lighting, his first thought was that one of them must be hurt… but then the glow of a lantern picked put a third figure, and he realised they weren’t alone. Walking between them, one hand clutched tight to each of them, was…

“Sami…?” Daniele cried.

Before his friends could react, he had abandoned his uneaten dinner and was flying joyously across the clearing to the base of the stairway. Catching sight of him, Sami broke free of his two escorts and ran, laughing, down the stairs and into Daniele’s arms.

Delighted, but totally confused, Daniele picked the little African boy up. Sami closed his arms and legs around him while Daniele supported him by the seat of his shorts. The little boy was almost unrecognisable, freshly scrubbed and dressed in a smart new shirt. There was colour in his cheeks, and he looked the healthiest Daniele had ever seen him.

Soon, Toto had also appeared at Daniele’s shoulders. Sami made a happy noise, and the two of them exchanged a kiss on the cheek.

“Just… how…?” Toto asked Gianni and Angelo as they joined them at the bottom of the stairs.

Gianni chuckled. “It was Claudia’s idea, of course. The authorities struggle to deal with unaccompanied refugee children, so Sami got stuck at the reception centre. We made some calls and, after a bit of back and forth… they allowed us to foster him.”

“But… that’s amazing!” Daniele said.

“It’s just temporary,” Gianni explained. “We wouldn’t be allowed to adopt him, and anyway, we’re not the sort of family he really needs. Sami was raised a Muslim, and we know next to nothing about his culture, or how to support him in his faith.”

“Not to mention the fact that we can hardly communicate,” Angelo added with a half-smile. “But your friend got him off to a great start with the little Italian he does know.”

“The main thing, for us,” Gianni said, placing an arm around Angelo’s shoulders, “is that it’ll give us a taste of what it’s like to be parents in case it ever… you know… becomes possible.”

“It’s brilliant,” Daniele said earnestly. “Isn’t it…?” he added, turning his eyes back to Sami.

Sami regarded him adoringly with his dark brown eyes. “Dov’è Marco?” he asked.

“Marco isn’t here just now,” Daniele replied, shifting the younger boy’s weight slightly in his arms, “but he’ll be really happy to know you’re back.”

The little boy nodded slowly, and Daniele thought he had understood.

Toto reached for the little boy and lifted him out of Daniele’s arms. “Let me take this one off your hands for a bit, Dani,” he said. “Go and explain all this to your friends, then maybe you’ll have a chance to eat your dinner.”

* * *

Daniele returned to his table and, in between mouthfuls of food, explained happily to his friends about the arrangements that had been made for Sami. They were suitably impressed, but not half as thrilled as Marco would have been if he were here.

He SHOULD have been here.

In the background, Daniele was vaguely aware of Sami playing an enthusiastic game of hide and seek with Toto and Michele. Some things, it seemed, cut across all ages and cultures.

In the hour or so that followed, the party came to full, vibrant life as the remaining guests arrived. Pietro made a brief appearance to wish Claudia well and check on the catering, explaining that he couldn’t stay as they were having a busy night at the restaurant. Daniele caught sight of Viola Rossi, dressed eccentrically in a patchwork blouse; over a large glass of wine, she was talking animatedly with Rosa, another of the Rossi cousins, who worked at a ceramics workshop below the cathedral square. On Viola’s arm was Giovanni, the gardener, turned out in smart clothes for once. Daniele supposed they were probably married, and tried to remember whether he should have known this already.

Claudia cajoled the guests into trying the party games. Daniele swerved away from the Twister board, shuddering at the memory of a previous occasion when he had ended up at the very bottom of a pile of collapsed players with Isabella’s breasts poking into his back. However, he did press Giacomo and Emilia into playing a game of giant Jenga with Sami. The little boy turned out to be surprisingly thoughtful in his technique, prodding and probing carefully at each wooden block before he attempted to remove it, prompting Emilia to suggest that he had a future as an engineer.

In the end, it was Giacomo who brought the tower crashing down with a cry of dismay, eliciting a wild giggle from Sami. Daniele grinned, pleased to have found something physical that his friend actually wasn’t good at.

With most of the food gone, Marta and Salvatore cleared the buffet things away and Toto and Michele helped to shift the tables and chairs further towards the end of the clearing, signifying that the focus of the evening would soon be moving onto dancing. However, before the guests could populate the area, Angelo moved to the centre of the dancefloor and called the party to order.

“La vostra attenzione, per favore!” he called. “It’s time for the speeches.”

“What…? No!” Claudia cried, covering her face in dismay. She peeped out through her fingers in horror as Angelo launched into a good-natured retelling of all her most embarrassing moments, to chuckles, cheers and laughs from the assembled guests.

When Angelo described the doomed crush she had had on Gianni when she was a little girl, Claudia looked like she wanted to disappear into the ground where she stood. However, Daniele knew that part of her, even now, would be hard at work planning her revenge. At the edge of the dancefloor, he spotted Michele whisper something into Toto’s ear, and the two of them giggled.

Toto bounded onto the dancefloor after Angelo had finished, gleefully describing how Claudia had given him his first kiss when he was fourteen.

“I wish I could say it moved mountains…” he grinned, “but Monte Brusara stayed firmly put beneath our feet.”

When he had finished, Claudia glared at him, hands on hips. “Oh, you are so dead, Toto Friuli,” she said.

Marta finished up with a more heartfelt speech.

“As she has grown up since my dear Andrea passed, Claudia has become my rock,” she said. “I’m sure he would be proud to see the strong, independent young woman his daughter has become. And I think there are very few people standing in this clearing tonight whose lives haven’t been touched, in some way, by her boundless positivity and fearless support.”

Around the clearing, glasses were raised to cries of assent.

“Now, my baby girl is heading off to Rome to study art and design, but she needn’t worry about her old Mamma: I am surrounded by close family and dear friends. And, as for Claudia… I know she has what it takes to thrive in the big city, just as I know that she will return full of stories and bold new ideas. Good luck, my stella.”

Claudia came forward to embrace her mother. There was a round of applause, and then Angelo took the floor once again.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen… turn up the music!”

As the music switched to an upbeat number and swelled, Daniele tried to creep away, hoping to escape to somewhere inconspicuous with his friends, but his heart sank as a hand seized his own with a sort of stubborn inevitability.

“And where do you think you’re going, Dani?” Claudia said, a mischievous glint back in her eyes.

“Ah, c’mon, Claudia,” he grumbled.

Reluctantly, and not for the first time, Daniele allowed her to lead him onto the dancefloor.

* * *

Sometime later, leaving Giacomo and Emilia teaching dance moves to Sami, Daniele snuck away from the party for a break on his own.

He walked quietly up the main staircase until he came out on the Terrace of Infinity. He had half expected to find the terrace occupied by some loved-up couple or other, but it was deserted.

The terrace was a broad, terracotta-tiled platform perched vertiginously at the very edge of the clifftop. A stone balustrade lined with marble busts was all that separated visitors from a vertical drop of nearly a hundred metres to San Cosma below.

Daniele approached the balustrade and leaned on it, surveying the night-time scene below.

The stonework was still warm from the day’s heat, but the mild sea breeze kissed his brow once again. At the foot of the cliff, in the pale moonlight, terraced olive groves and plantations swirled around the slopes on the way down to the sea. Near the water’s edge, the bright lights of the narrow coast road dotted the foot of the landscape.

It had been a great evening for most of them, but somebody was still missing. He wondered where Marco was right now.

Probably at home, on his own again.

How would the other boy have felt when he found Daniele’s second message – assuming it was Marco who had found it. Would he come back to the disused terrace again? What would happen if they met there?

Daniele’s thoughts were disturbed by whispering voices. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Giacomo and Emilia lurking by a temple-like structure at the top of the stairs. They were watching him cautiously, seemingly uncertain whether or not to disturb him.

“Ciao, guys,” he said. “Come on out.”

Daniele’s two friends approached him. “We wondered where you’d gone,” Emilia said. “Is everything okay, Dani?”

He turned to face them. He thought, perhaps, it was time they heard the truth.

“Marco should have been here tonight,” he said.

Giacomo frowned slightly. “Marco again,” he said. “Why do you care so much about him, anyway?”

“He’s lonely,” Daniele replied. “I know how that feels.”

“He chose to be that way!” Giacomo protested.

“But did he, really?” Daniele challenged him.

“He’s the one who isolated himself, not us…” Giacomo argued. “He didn’t have to overreact like that.” He shook his head stubbornly. “I’ve never forgiven him for the way he treated you in the spring, Dani.”

“He was totally out of line,” Emilia agreed.

Daniele grunted in frustration. “Haven’t either of you ever wondered why he acted that way?”

Giacomo shrugged. “He was jealous, that’s all. He didn’t want to share us with you.”

Daniele advanced on the dark-eyed boy and took him by the shoulders. “It wasn’t just that,” he said fiercely. “It was about you, Giaco. Marco behaved that way because he was in love with you. He attacked me because he saw me as a threat.”

Giacomo laughed, staring at him incredulously. “What…?” he replied. “That can’t be right, Dani. Seriously… little Marco?”

Frustrated, Daniele shoved his hands into his pockets. “I guess you couldn’t see it, after spending so long growing up with him.” He sighed. “Neither could I, at first, but after I beat him in that fight, it all came pouring out.”

“Poor Marco,” Emilia murmured.

Giacomo looked stunned. “Is he still…?”

Miserably, Daniele turned back to the view and shook his head. “No… he’s moved on.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it…?” Giacomo’s voice replied. He sounded relieved.

“Is it…?” Daniele replied. “He kissed me, Giaco. He kissed me, and… I almost wanted to.” He smacked the stone balustrade in frustration. “But almost wasn’t enough. He ran off, and now he’s out there somewhere, and he’s even more hurt than ever.”

“Marco… kissed you?” Giacomo asked quietly.

Daniele turned back to face his friends. Giacomo’s dark eyes were troubled, as if he were fighting some inner battle of his own.

“What does all this have to do with us, Dani?” Giacomo said at length.

“I’ve been trying to make it up to him,” Daniele said. “I think I might be getting somewhere, but it’s not enough. Even if I can do it… I mean, look what happened to all of us this summer. Marco needs more than just one friend. Doesn’t everyone…?”

“What are you suggesting, Dani?” Emilia asked.

“We have to go and find him… together. He needs to know that he’s forgiven and that we all still care about him.”

“But… what if I don’t care, anymore?” Giacomo asked. “You know, after everything he did in the spring.”

“Can you really say that, though?” Daniele replied. “After you were all friends for so long, and now you know why he acted the way he did.”

Giacomo was silent for a moment, his dark eyes staring intensely at Daniele in the darkness, but then he shrugged.

“I guess not,” he sighed.

“So, you’ll do it?” Daniele asked them both.

“Of course,” Emilia replied.

Wordlessly, Giacomo nodded.

Daniele smiled gratefully. “Thanks, guys. Let’s do it tomorrow.”