It consumed me. It consumed him. I cried out at the same time he spilled into me, and his mouth slammed against mine again, swallowing it down.
We stood that way for a while, both of us breathing heavy, my head pressed against his chest. When he pulled out of me, I winced, always craving the feeling of being one with him.
“Vertiginoso.” His voice was raw. Dizzy.
I looked up and met his eyes. This time, I wasn’t sure who he was talking about. I held up four fingers. “How many?”
“Eight,” he said, and put my fingers to his mouth, biting them. He used my underwear to clean me up some. After he was done, he stuck them back in his pocket.
A little boy chasing another ran past our secret spot. They were laughing, still trying to fling water on each other. By unspoken agreement, we left the abandoned villa hand in hand. When we got back to the garden, the kids were still at it, the adults still laughing. Nonno was still after them with the hose.
Capo stood with me for a minute, watching, and then letting my hand go, he took a seat next to his grandfather. He pointed out kids to spray, egging the fun on. Nonno started laughing even harder when a little boy slipped and went down in the mud. Capo grinned as he directed his grandfather’s hand to spray the poor kid while he was down.
Our absence hadn’t lessened the joy, but since we were back, it felt even more complete. My heart raced when Capo took his grandfather by the head, pulled him in, and kissed him there. Then he said something in his ear. Nonno’s smile was immediate. Then they both looked at me, before Capo pulled him in once more, shaking him a bit. Maybe the joy of living had lessened the hurt of saying goodbye, in the only way Capo could.
A butterfly garden.
Where the plants to create one came from, I had no idea, but when I stepped out of the villa, a cup of espresso in my hand, they were at my feet. Capo was unloading them from a cart with four wheels. It had a handle like a wagon. He wore a tight white tank top, khaki pants, and work boots. His top was already smeared with mud.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
He was usually somewhere in the villa when I woke up, but that morning, he was gone. Since our second wedding, he hadn’t left me alone. The first thing I thought was that something had happened to Nonno, and I started to panic. But I knew Capo would’ve woken me up, so I calmed down and fixed some coffee before I found him in front of the villa. Unloading.
The muscles in his arms and back flexed when he took a humongous rock, which looked older than the mountains surrounding us, from the bed of the four-wheeled cart. Then he thought better of it and set it back.
“Where do you want this?” He looked between the rock and me.
“Did Nonno send all of this over?”
“No.” He wiped a line of sweat from his brow. It was early, but the sun was already baking the earth. “Where do you want it?”
We had stayed up the night before, all night, so Capo had only gotten, maybe, two hours of sleep. I felt tired to my bones. So I had no idea where I wanted anything.
“Capo.” I took a sip of coffee. “I’m confused. Where did all of this come from? And why would I want to put it anywhere? I don’t live here.”
“You do,” he said. “When we come to visit. This is my villa. We can have it redone. The look of it never mattered to me. It was just a place to sleep.”
“The plants?”
“A garden. For you. You need to plant all of this.”
Ah. He had done it, but he didn’t want to come out and admit it. Hardheaded capo.
Judging by the amount of plants already unloaded, he had already made a trip or two. I didn’t recognize all of the flowers, but I figured they had to be what Nonno called nectar plants. They’d attract butterflies. Capo had enough of them to create a border around the villa. Maybe even more.
Walking further out in my slippers, I surveyed the land. He walked with me, both of us quiet. When we returned to the front of the villa, I nodded.
“I want to go around the villa with all of the different flowers. I want an arbor in the backyard for grapes. We’ll do a bigger butterfly garden back there, too. We’ll place the rocks in different spots so the butterflies can bask in the sun. We’ll need a birdbath, or something similar, to put the sand in. We’re not supposed to fill it, only soak the sand in water. Nonno said butterflies like the moisture.”
I tapped at the coffee cup, thinking. “I’ll ask Nonno where he thinks we should put the plants. I mean, which spots would be better for each one. How about you go and get him for breakfast? You can bring him back on the four-wheeled contraption—” I nodded toward it “—and we’ll get to work after we eat.”
Capo didn’t move. He looked at me like I was a new person.
“What?” I had the strongest urge to fidget. I felt like I had grown an extra head and had no idea she was sticking her tongue out at him.
He shook his head. “You’re bossy.”
“Who knew?” I grinned.
“Me.” He hesitated. “I knew it was coming.” Even though his lips pinched, something about his tone seemed satisfied.
After he unloaded the rest of the cart, he pulled it back toward his grandfather’s villa. Before he left, he gave the men that stuck around orders to keep an eye on me. He never left me unattended. He had more men around ever since the uninvited guests had showed up.
I hurried inside and quickly dressed for the day. I had no time to worry about how I looked, not when I wanted to freshen up the villa and make a delicious breakfast. It took me five minutes to clean and twenty to make the meal. I made more coffee (café latte), croissants (cornettos), and a simple omelet. I set out numerous different spreads on the lazy Susan on top of the table. I even went outside and picked fresh wildflowers to put around the house. There were no vases, so I used old jam jars.
The sisters had taught me so much.
I heard Nonno chuckling over the crackling wheels of the cart as it rolled over the rough terrain. I untied my apron and ran outside. He sat in the back, surrounded by more plants, still laughing. The sight of him made my smile grow wider.
“It was a bumpy ride, Farfalla, but I have made it!” He wiped his face with the handkerchief he kept in his pocket.
Zia Stella strode up right behind the men, a smile on her face. “You should have seen him!” She came toward me as Capo practically picked his grandfather up and set him on his feet. Capo held on to him while they made their way toward us. “He demanded that Amadeo take him all over the property. And if there was a hill, he wanted to go faster! He carried on like he was on one of those scary rides and he was seven again. He lifted his arms in the air and went, weeeeee!”
Close enough to grab me, she kissed my cheeks and then entered the villa. I kissed Nonno on each of his cheeks and gave him an arm to help him inside.
“A woman’s touch,” he said softly, looking around, “makes all the difference in a home.”
We had an enjoyable breakfast. Zia Stella and Nonno made over how much they loved everything. Capo said nothing, but when he got up to wash his dish, he kissed me on the cheek and said, “This time, I tasted all of the ingredients.” He’d even gone back for seconds.
We spent the rest of the day planting. Nonno helped me decide where to place all of the different flowers so they’d prosper in their new homes. When Capo wasn’t looking, he nudged me with his elbow and said one word, “Radici.” Roots.