“What do you mean?”
“It’s absolutely hideous. It looks like a Versace dress exploded all over my room.”
Lucie laughed. “Well, I kind of like the giant gold octopus headboard.”
Charlotte continued to rant. “It’s your first time on Capri, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I’ll be fine, really, but it’s totally unfair that you should be deprived of a room with a decent view.”
Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them. “Miss, excuse me, miss.”
Lucie and Charlotte turned around to see an Asian lady in her fifties smiling at them. She was wearing a fuchsia sarong wrap dress and an enormous black-and-white-striped hat.
“Yes?” Charlotte asked.
“My son and I have rooms that look out at the sea and the Faraglioni rocks. We should swap rooms!” The lady gestured at the youth—a boy of twenty—sitting across from her.
Charlotte paused, momentarily caught off guard by the offer. Who was this curious woman with the flying-saucer hat, too much eye shadow, and quasi-English accent? And why would she give up her own rooms? “Um…that’s very kind of you to offer, but we’ll manage, thank you.”
“Don’t just manage. If you’re so unhappy with your rooms, you should take ours.”
Charlotte smiled stiffly. “We’re not unhappy.”
“Oh? You’ve been complaining nonstop for the past ten minutes.”
Charlotte felt put out by the woman’s statement. “Well, I’m sorry if we’ve disturbed you…”
“You haven’t disturbed me, not really. But if it matters to you and your friend so much to see the sea, I want you to have our rooms. Actually, they are suites—deluxe suites—and they each have a nice living room, a bathroom with a huge Jacuzzi, and adjoining balconies. The view is amazing, I can assure you.”
“Then it really wouldn’t be fair,” Lucie spoke up. She noticed the boy gazing at her with an intensity that she found a little disconcerting. Unlike his dramatically outfitted mother, he was dressed in khaki denim shorts, a black tank top, and Birkenstocks. But the simple nature of his outfit did nothing to camouflage the fact that he was strikingly, almost unbearably handsome. Their eyes caught for a moment, and Lucie felt a strange, almost electrical charge. She quickly averted her eyes back to his mother, who seemed relentless in her campaign.
“Fair or not doesn’t matter to me. We have been to Capri before, and we come from Hong Kong, where our flat overlooks the harbor. And we have a house in Sydney, in Watsons Bay, where we can see whales do backflips, and another beachfront house in Hawaii, in Lanikai. We get to see the ocean till we’re sick of it, so this is nothing to us.”
Charlotte let out a little gasp. The woman turned her attention to Lucie, and she could feel her giving her the once-over. “Are you here for Isabel Chiu’s wedding?”
“We are,” Lucie answered.
“So are we! How do you know Isabel?”
“She’s a friend from childhood.”
“Oh, you are from Taipei?” The woman looked surprised.
“No, I’m from New York. I knew Isabel when she lived in New York.”
“Ah, New York, I see. I love New York! Isabel’s mother and I are cousins. I’m Rosemary Zao [Maryknoll Convent School / University of Sydney / Central Saint Martins], and this is my son George [Diocesan Boys’ School / Geelong Grammar / UC Berkeley, Class of ’15]. We should all be friends, and you really should take our rooms!”
“May I ask what the rate is for your deluxe suite?” Charlotte asked, not wanting to be stuck with an exorbitant bill at the end of their stay.
Rosemary waved her hand dismissively. “Hiyah, don’t worry about the money. It’s my treat!”
“No, no, that would be much too generous of you,” Charlotte said.
While the two older ladies continued their pantomime of protestations, Lucie noticed George beginning to fold and twist the paper napkin on his table with a Zen-like calmness. Within a few moments, he had fashioned the napkin into a long-stemmed rose. He held the origami rose up and tilted it toward Lucie, as if offering it to her, before placing the flower on the brim of his mother’s hat while she was turned around talking to Charlotte.
Weirdo, Lucie thought. Confused by his gesture, she pretended like she hadn’t seen him.
Meanwhile, Rosemary’s voice had gone up several decibels. “No, no, it’s your first time in Capri, you should have a view of the sea. You must see the sunrise, and the sunset, and, oh—the seagulls! They are so cute; they come flying right up to my balcony and try to steal my toast! Come on, I know you’ll love it. You must take our rooms!” Lucie saw that everyone was staring openly at them now.
“We simply cannot impose,” Charlotte said firmly.