Isabel turned to Lucie. “I think you and George are at the same hotel. Have you met him yet?”
“Um, we’ve crossed paths,” Lucie said, feeling her face flush. She hadn’t told Isabel about switching rooms with the Zaos yet, and now she didn’t think she was ever going to.
“He’s maybe a year ahead of you, I think. Goes to Berkeley,” Isabel continued.
“Does he? He doesn’t say much,” Lucie said, feeling a mix of emotions begin to well up inside.
“He’s very quiet, isn’t he? He’s always been that way,” Isabel said, watching her cousin as he swam back to shore. He padded over to the outdoor showers directly opposite from where they were sitting on the terrace and began rinsing himself off.
Amelia stared brazenly at him. “Yes, definitely a ten!”
“I’d give him a nine, minus one point for the Speedo. I’m not a huge fan of them—you can practically tell his religion, even from up here,” Daniella commented.
“Speedos are disgusting! They remind me of my fat uncles or Don Johnson on Miami Vice,”*4 Talitha chimed in.
Sophie giggled. “In Australia, all the lifeguards on the beach wear them. We call them budgie smugglers.”
“More like a falcon smuggler in his case,” Amelia said.
Lucie stole a quick glance at George and then looked away. She felt so embarrassed for him, and at the same time she felt something else, something unexpected that took her by surprise. Anger. What in the world possessed him to wear that ghastly Speedo? Why would he want to put himself on display like that? To open his body up to assessment, to ridicule? And then to show off to the whole world with that attention-seeking dive. Obviously, he thought he was God’s gift! Why was she even surprised that George Zao was just like his crazy mother?
*1 Podarcis sicula coerulea, the famous blue lizard of the Faraglioni that scientists believe developed its distinct color to camouflage itself with the surrounding waters and blue sky.
*2 Rhode Island School of Design, which, incidentally is where three members of the Talking Heads—David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz—first met.
*3 Even though Emma Watson majored in English literature, Duncan Sheik studied semiotics, and JFK Jr. chose Ame
rican studies, biology is tied with economics as the most popular major at Brown University.
*4 Don Johnson, to my knowledge, never wore a Speedo on television. Talitha is obviously confusing him with David Hasselhoff on Baywatch.
VI
Da Costanzo
CAPRI, ITALY
Olivia insisted on taking Charlotte and Lucie shopping for sandals when they had mentioned it the previous evening, but at the appointed time after lunch, only Lucie appeared in the hotel lobby.
“It’s just going to be me,” Lucie said as she got out of the elevator.
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”
“She can’t even get out of bed. I’ve never in my life seen Charlotte hungover until today.”
“Should we even be going out when she’s like this?”
“Yes, she urged me to go. She said she just wants to sleep.”
“Poor Charlotte! Now I feel awful. I should have stopped her,” Olivia said with a little laugh.
“How much did she have to drink last night?” Lucie asked. She had been seated at Isabel’s table during dinner at Le Grottelle, a restaurant set partially inside a cave at one end and on a hillside terrace with sea views at the other, so she had no idea what Charlotte and Olivia had been up to at their end of the party.
“Oh, I can’t remember. You know when wine is that good, it just tastes like candy and you lose track of how many you’ve had.”
“I only had a few sips.”
“A few sips? Lucie, they served two Château Lafites and a Haut-Brion last night! It was brought in specially from the De Vecchi cellars. Don’t tell me you only had a few sips!”