Page 32 of Ciao Bella
“It’s our best-seller,” smiled the saleswoman. “Would you like a bottle?”
“Yes, please,” she smiled. Turning, she spotted four little heads that looked familiar. Grabbing Mary’s arm, she nodded toward the aisle.
“What on earth?” frowned Mary. She walked toward the children, blocking their exit, while Tory and Sara blocked the other end of the aisle.
“Alright, children. What’s going on? How are you following us from place to place?” asked Tory. The kids shook their heads, looking around for someone or something. “You have nothing to fear from us. You’re not in trouble right now. But if you’re in danger or running from something, maybe we can help.”
The boys stared at one another, then shook their heads again.
“Are you stealing?” asked Grace. The boys didn’t deny it, but they didn’t admit to anything either. They just simply looked away. “If you’re stealing, you’ll be caught, and then you’ll really be in trouble. If you need money to get home, or if you need us to call someone, please tell us.”
The boys just stood there, and then Enzo walked in, smiling at the women. When he saw the four boys, he frowned.
“Enzo, will you please tell these boys we’re only trying to help them? If they need something, they need to tell us. We won’t turn them in to the police.”
Enzo spoke softly to the boys in Italian, but the boys said nothing.
“Do they understand you?” asked Sara.
“I believe so. I think they are scared, but I don’t know of what,” he said, huddling close to the women. While they were speaking, the boys ran around them, running out of the store.
“Damn,” muttered Grace. “Enzo, don’t tell the men about this. We have our reasons, and they’re good reasons. Just don’t let them know about the boys now being in three different locations that we were in.”
“Of course,” he nodded. Before they left, he asked the owner of the store if she’d ever seen the boys before. She looked at the group of women with a strange expression.
“What boys? I’m sorry. I did not see any boys.”
Stepping into the sunlight, the women immediately saw the men watching the building. They waved, smiling at them.
“Everything is perfectly normal,” grinned Faith. “Nothing is going on.” Erin laughed at her friend.
“Nope. Nothing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Over the next few days, they explored more of Florence, Bologna, and Verona. Everyone took a photo at the balcony of Romeo and Juliet, laughing as they quoted their best Shakespeare.
While the men began to relax more and more, the women were becoming more and more anxious. It seemed no matter where they went, the four boys, who had followed them all the way from Rome, were right there.
“I don’t get it,” whispered Ally, “it’s not like these kids can drive. Someone is dropping them off near us or giving them money for bus fare. What is happening?”
“I don’t know,” said Tory. “I asked Enzo to do a little investigating, but he said no one knows anything, nor have they seen these children. He said that if they are in Venice when we get there, something is terribly wrong. You don’t see a lot of children in Venice, and it’s difficult to get to.”
“I’m wondering if we should tell the guys,” whispered Rose. “I mean, what if something is seriously wrong with those boys.”
“We’ve given them every opportunity to tell us that there’s something wrong with them,” said Erin. “I don’t know what’s going on. Have they said anything at all to you, Enzo?”
“Nothing. They just stare at me as if I were not real.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lena.
“I mean, they just stare at me as if I shouldn’t be there. If you haven’t noticed, their clothing is strange as well. It’s like they’re wearing costumes or something.”
“No,” said Alexandra with a gasp. “No. Tell me this isn’t so.”
“What? What am I missing?” asked Montana.
“Where did we first see the boys?” asked Erin.