“In the strangest places,
“In the strangest places,treasures may be found.”
treasures may be found.”The gaping balcony doors reached out as if begging for a breeze. The sharp, florid aromas of high summer held sway—the earthy scent of sun upon stone, the sharp sweetness of purple peonies. Inside, veal simmered in its pot; Viviana simmered in jitters.
She was far more nervous for this Sunday dinner with her sons and Carina than she had been for the last. That time it was Marcello and his lovely young women who had felt the pressure of hoped-for acceptance. Today it was Viviana.
The food came in waves, the wine flowed, and she talked. Viviana talked too much and of the most inconsequential things. She dropped her two-tined fork twice. She fiddled with the edge of the embroidered tableclo
