“Bad breakup.”
“The worst. He told me that I had no idea what I was doing in the lover department.”
“Cazzo di stronzata. Motherfucker must be crazy,” he says, as if exasperated by the idea.
“So, I set out to prove him wrong with a man,” I continue, shrugging my shoulders.
“You found him,” he says, squeezing my fingers of my hand still in his.
“In every country,” I whisper.
He regards me carefully. His gaze skeptical.
“Barbados, Paris, London, Ireland, Giza,” I said, my voice trailing off.
“So, you found a man to help you in each country?” he asks.
“Yes,” I agree.
“So, I really was a stamp on your passport?”
“My penis passport.”
“Penis passport,” he reiterated.
I pull my hand away from his and placing them on my hips to face him. I shake my head in complete disappointment and how crazy the story sounds.
“You must think so differently of me. I completely understand if you want to take off. I can take a taxi,” I said, pointing behind me towards the exit of the garden.
“No, no, I think you are the bravest woman I have met. That takes a lot of guts, Amelia,”
He holds my hand limply in his and runs soft kisses across my knuckles.
“Excusa,” a voice says from behind us.
We turned around to see the most beautiful bride and groom came walking towards us. The rhinestones from her strapless bodice glistened against the shining sun. Her full tulle skirt she held up with her fingers in on hand while other was tightly wrapped around her groom’s tan-colored suited forearm. The breath caught in my throat.
What an amazing place for a wedding. The absolute beauty is perfection.
They start to walk towards us, giving us a thankful smile with a nod of gratefulness in our direction.
“Bellissima,” I whisper.
“Bravo,” Lorenzo says.
“Grazi,” the couple replied in unison.
He snaked his arm around my waist as they walked further down the path away from us. I suddenly hold his head between my hands and pull him to my lips. The kiss a chaste kiss and when I start to pull away, he pulls me back into the kiss. The embrace quickly turning passionate as his grip around my waist tightened. The feeling of magnetic chemistry intensified. As he pulls away, my teeth grazing across his lower lip and pulling it.
“Where are you taking me next?” I ask.
“Right here if you keep kissing me like that,” he whispers.
“I’m serious,” I scoff.
“So am I,” Enzo says.
“You asked me to give you the day, to show me the sights of Florence. I agreed”
“I did,” he concurs.
“So where are you taking me?”
“Where you can see heaven itself, baby girl,”
I look at him curiously before he placed a quick kiss on top of my head. His arm leaving my waist to be wrapped around my shoulders as we walk in the direction the bridal couple walked down.
* * *
As we turnedthe corner onto Conto Lungarno Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, there it was. The white marbled building that my Nonna dreamed of since she was a small girl.
The Uffizi.
I walked inside the Uffizi Gallery slowly, almost not being able to trust my steps. My state of shock palpable. As we slowly walked inside, I walked through the first floor on autopilot.
“Let me take you to heaven on Earth,” he whispers, his lips flush against my neck.
I numbly nod as he leads me up the grand staircase. He leads me inside with a renewed purpose. My mind and body still in shock. He stops suddenly in the middle of a room and pushes me in front of him.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
“You can’t go to Florence and not experience heaven on earth.”
He peppered the back of my neck with gentle kisses. The painted ceilings above my head were something I have never seen before. I slowly turn around, my body twirling in circles. My eyes never leaving the gold beamed and painted ceilings above me.
“I made it Nonna,” I whisper emotionally.
He walks in front of me and gently places his hands on both sides of my head. His intense gaze focusing me in on him. He grazes his thumb across my cheek as a lone tear escapes my eye and rolls down.
“Don’t cry,” he whispers.
“Thank you,” I breathe.
As I inhale a deep breath into my lungs, desperate to center myself and stifle the emotion inside of me. I am overwhelmed finally being in the Uffizi. All the walls, doorways, and ceilings are adorned with famous paintings.
Botticelli.
Da Vinci.
Michaelangelo.