I’m daydreaming about this when Shay asks me, “So how long are you planning to stay in Capri for?”
“Well, unless I can get a work visa or something like that, two months.”
“Oh, I thought you were traveling in Italy for two months. You’re going to be on Capri for that long?”
I nod. “I got a job as of yesterday. Teaching English to children. Of course, I don’t know the first thing about teaching or teaching English to Italian kids, but they seem to know enough already, so I’m hoping it won’t be too hard.”
“Where will you be living?”
I gesture in the direction of the Faraglioni Rocks. “Down the Via Tragara. Villa dei Limoni Tristi. House of sad lemons?”
She frowns and looks over at the Italian girls who are still nursing their beers and chatting away.
“Scusi,” Shay says in broken Italian. “Dove si trova Villa dei Limoni Tristi?”
The girls exchange a look and leave their chairs, coming over to us.
“Why do you ask?” The taller one says in English, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I’m staying there,” I tell her. I tilt my head at Shay. “I was telling her I have a job teaching English to the two children who live there.”
“Larosa?” the other girl asks. “Annabella and . . . and . . . Alfonso, yes?”
“Yes,” I say, somewhat excitedly. “You know them?”
Another brief exchange and then the taller one says, “Yes. I know their brother, Derio.”
Is that bitterness I detect in her voice?
“Oh,” Shay suddenly says. “That’s where the motorcycle guy lives! Yes, okay, I got it now.” Then she looks to me. “Oh my God, you’re living there? That house has so many rumors around it.” She catches the look on my face. “Sorry, don’t mean to put a damper on your new job.”
My eyes go wide. “What kind of rumors?”
“First of all,” the tall one says, “Derio has to be gay.”
“Gay?” I repeat. “But he was married.”
The woman raises her hand. “Gay. Not interested in women.”
Her friend elbows her and laughs. “Not interested in Lenora.”
Lenora rolls her eyes. “Anyway, he has mental problems.”
“So handsome, though,” Shay says somewhat dreamily. She grins at me. “Sometimes I see him riding his bike in the mornings. Danny hates it when I’m trying to sneak a glance.”
“The house is so ugly now that Sophie and Adamo are dead. They were their parents. Very nice people, very classy. Derio isn’t. He shouldn’t have been left in charge. The poor housekeeper, she’ll die next if she continues to work so hard.”
“Felisa?” I ask, not really appreciating Lenora’s callous tone. “She’s tough as nails.”
Lenora purses her bright pink lips and shrugs. “It’s all a shame. The children are orphans, all of them. Even Derio. They should be in the care of people who know what they are doing, not some divorced motorcyclist.”
“Ex-motorcyclist,” Utavia adds.
“That’s right. He doesn’t even make money anymore. You know, he was very good at what he did, very famous here in Italy. Had a beautiful wife. But she left him when he quit racing. Went for another racer. That must have hurt, but what did he expect? The money was gone except for what was left in inheritance. But what sort of man lives off of that?”
“And he’s gay. She probably left him for that, too,” Utavia says jokingly.
“Why, what happened?” I ask. “Why did he quit?”
Lenora sighs as if she’s suddenly tired of talking to me. “There was an accident. About a year after they died. He was racing and his bike spun out. He was favored to win the race but then it happened. He broke his arm and ribs. He wasn’t that badly injured but it was enough for him to decide to never race again. He wouldn’t really say why, but he quit. Lost the sponsorships, everything. And for nothing.”
“But he still rides on the island.”
“It’s a small island. He doesn’t race here. One of the rumors is that he hasn’t left Capri since then. Who knows why? That’s why we think he is not all right in his head. What kind of man gives up everything to take care of his brother and sister?”
Um, a really good man? I want to spit at her.
“Tell her about your date with him,” Utavia says.
Lenora rolls her eyes again. “I would rather not. We went out for dinner to a very nice place in Anacapri. He got too drunk and then ignored me. That’s another thing, he drinks too much.” She pauses and looks me up and down. “I don’t think you’re going to last long.”