It was the first time a girl had spoken down to me in that way. Whereas the others, they…? It was not that I had girlfriends.
I looked out at the island with the castle to see if there was any sign of the motorboat, but there was nothing to be seen. On the other side, behind the headland along the coast, I noticed a black line running along the bottom of the lake.
‘Madonna!’ I exclaimed, ‘that’s the sign that the inverna wind is getting up, which means there’ll be a storm. It’ll be on us in less than twenty minutes … and those imbeciles on the motorboat are not even on the horizon!’ I stopped rowing and turned the boat round. I went at breakneck speed towards the centre of the lake, caught up with Lucy who was now agitated and in difficulty.
‘Lucky you came back,’ she shouted to me. ‘I’m getting cramp.’
‘Take it easy, I’ll help you onto the boat.’
‘Thanks, but what is that black strip down there?’
‘It’s a fierce squall.’
‘Does that mean a hurricane?’
‘Yes, but relax. There’s time enough before it hits us. But come on, get up here! There’s only one system to stop the boat from capsizing. We’ve got to do the crossbar balance.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘I’ll explain to you as we go. I stretch out full-length, sideways … like that, with my bottom on one side and my back propped against the other … perfect! Now I put my legs in the water, feet first, being careful to keep my balance, just like a set of scales … you see? Now you sit astride my feet … come on! Try to move up to my knees. Well done. Now see if you can slide forward on your front, holding onto the side of the skiff with both hands. Careful, now I’ll raise my legs very slowly until I can pull you on top of me. Like that, that’s it!’
I give Lucy a push and she flies into the boat with a cry. Her body was completely on top of mine, leaving us in an embrace: she laughed, I was out of breath. I would have stayed that way forever, but the wind was starting to howl menacingly. I turned her over gently, making her take a seat in the shell of the skiff. I took up the oars and started rowing in an attempt to get away from the swelling waves. The first gusts hit the boat, hurling flurries of foam over us. I decided to head for the port in Cannero, so as to get the wind at my back. We made it into the mouth of the port just in time to escape the first heavy blasts of the squall, and were swept powerfully onto the low bank. The boat slid bodily up the beaten-earth slope. ‘If I’d had to wait for my friends’ boat, I’d definitely have gone under like a stone,’ commented Lucy. ‘What can have happened to them?’
Among the people on the shoreline cheering us on, there was someone I knew, a schoolfriend of mine called Aristide. Lucy was trembling and could hardly stand. I too was exhausted, but like the valiant saviour I was, I lifted her in my arms. ‘Come over here,’ shouted Aristide, ‘let’s go into this bar.’ I took a couple of paces, and instantly my legs gave way. Two youths grabbed hold of me before I landed on top of the girl. My friend undertook to carry Lucy, and they moved smartly towards the bar. ‘Hey,’ I shouted, ‘and what about me? Are you abandoning me here like some poor son-of-a-bitch?’ It was all I could do, crawling on all fours, to make it on my own to the bar. They brought out a blanket and put it over me.
‘I can’t see Lucy. Where is she?’
‘The woman took her up to her bathroom for a hot shower.’
I asked if they had any news about a motorboat which should have berthed before the squall blew up. ‘Yes,’ they replied, ‘There is one which has docked down at the police jetty. It had broken down, the engine was completely seized up.’
Aristide appeared at the door and pointed out over the lake directly in front of him. ‘They’re taking the two strangers, the girl’s friends, over to the far side of the lake. Look, they’re circling round the spot where you were a little while ago. Obviously they don’t know you reached land.’ Aristide picked up the telephone and dialled the number of the police station. Someone needed to tell the people in the motor launch that the girl had been brought ashore. Aristide put down the receiver and said: ‘Everything’s OK. Unfortunately the launch can’t turn back to pick you up. With the waves whipped up by the squall, it might get battered onto the coast. They’re heading for the far side, where they’ll be able to shelter in Germignana Bay.’
In the bar, Lucy was now in tears on a chair, releasing all the accumulated tension of our adventure. She was worried about her mother who wouldn’t have seen her return, so I made an attempt to calm her down. ‘Don’t worry, I asked Aristide to get the policemen to let your parents know you’re safe and well.’
‘But you don’t even know where I live.’
‘Oh yes, I do. Villa Mainer, Castelvecchia, care of the Unner family…’
‘But look … how did you find all that out?’
‘I’ve been spying on you. I crept up on you a couple of days ago. I know everything about you. You have a sister and a grandfather, your mother’s from Milan and your father’s from Hungary and he’s a dentist.’ She laughed, untroubled.
By now, the big breakers from the lake were battering ferociously against the facade of the bar. The owners pulled the shutters down and reinforced the doors and windows from the inside with heavy tables. Still wrapped up in blankets, we went out by the back door with Aristide as our guide, and made for his house higher up, beyond the headland. Her mother greeted us with great warmth. When her son explained the dangers we had faced, she was close to tears. She took Lucy in her arms and hugged her. When she realised that under the blanket, the girl was wearing nothing but a wet costume, she took her by the hand upstairs to the bedrooms. I went with Aristide to his room and he gave me some dry clothes.
A short time later, we all sat down at table. The Signora took my hand in hers and then, looking at Lucy, asked: ‘You’re engaged, aren’t you?’
There was a moment of embarrassed silence, then Lucy took charge: ‘Yes, since this spring.’
‘Ha, ha!’ the Signora laughed. ‘Look at your boyfriend blushing! There’s nothing to be ashamed of, son. If you don’t fall in love at your age, when will you?’
After supper, the Signora took us to our two respective bedrooms. ‘You’re too young to sleep in the same bed!’ was her comment. ‘I’m sure your mother would never forgive me.’ Lucy smiled.
We retired. I lay down on the big bed, but I couldn’t get to sleep. Outside, the howls of the wind, as it twisted along the canal, were punctuated by the crash of uprooted trees. Lightning, followed by claps of thunder which sounded like explosions in a mine shaft, lit up the sky. A particularly terrible gust blew open the windows. I rose to fasten it, but struggled to get it closed. I turned round and in the doorway stood Lucy, clutching a blanket.
‘I’m so afraid,’ she said. ‘Can I stay here with you?’
I muttered something incomprehensible and made her a sign to come in. She went straight to the bed and sat down. After a brief preamble which made no sense at all, I asked her: ‘I saw you once with Jute’s brother. You were playing and laughing in the water…’
‘No,’ she stopped me firmly. ‘He’s not my boyfriend. He’s very keen on me, but I don’t like him.’
‘Except when he plays with you in the water and throws you in the air and catches you in his arms.’
‘Oh God, we’re only just engaged and already you’re throwing a jealous fit.’ We both laughed.