Bella Italia Read Online Free Page A

again.

6
    “Are we going to get back on time, Dad?”
    Hans let out a heavy sigh. Niels had asked the same question about three times during the past hour.
    “Yes, Niels,” he answered, slightly agitated. “We’re going to get there on time, but this is the last time were going to discuss it. If you ask me again, I’m going to pull the car over and take a two-hour nap on the side of the road.” He glanced quickly at his son in the rearview mirror.
    “Don’t worry so much,” Petra shushed.
    “Okay, sorry.”
    “What did you enjoy the most today, son? And do me a favor and don’t say the new watch.”
    “The gondola,” Niels answered, after giving it some thought.
    “Well, that’s good considering what we paid for it.” Hans said. “Eighty euro for thirty minutes of floating around on a Venice canal. Those guys are raking it in.”
    He looked at Niels in his rearview mirror again. Their eyes met.
    “But it was actually really fun. What did you really think of the Golden Book?”
    “Hmm, not very exciting, but it was beautiful. I did think that all those pigeons on that Marco Van Basten Square were very cool. It was incredible how many pigeons there were, and they looked like flying poop machines.”
    Hans and Petra laughed. “You renamed Piazza San Marco into …” Hans laughed. “Just goes to show you what a great Dutch soccer player can achieve.”
    At seven o’clock sharp, Hans parked the car next to their mobile home. They agreed that this time Niels could shower first. Tonight would be his first night out with his friends.
    For Italian standards, the night began early. Just after seven thirty, Thijs, Conor, and Mats showed up.
    “Good evening, gentlemen,” Hans said, welcoming them. He assumed that the boys must speak some sort of mishmash of English to one another. Apparently, they understood him perfectly, as all three returned his greeting in English.
    Niels came out and greeted his friends with a casual nod as he grabbed his bike.
    “Hey, tiger,” Hans said. “You remember our deal, right?”
    Niels tapped on his brand-new watch, which he wore loosely around his wrist. “Home before ten thirty.” Then he got on his bike. “Bye.”
    “Bye, bye,” Hans said to the group as they departed. He smiled broadly on the outside, but on the inside he worried about the fact that Niels would be out all night.
    “Why don’t you take a load off?” Petra said. She knew him well enough to know exactly how he felt right now.
    Hans sat down across from her. “Okay, so now I get to worry for three hours straight.” Hans sighed. “I keep wondering if this is all such a good idea. I mean, this way we can’t keep an eye on him at all.”
    Petra stroked the back of his hand, which he had put on the table, with her fingertips. “There is no sense in sitting around worrying all night. We talked about this before we left, and we both agreed that this is the way we would do it. I know it’s difficult, but you have to let go. At home you never worry when he plays over at a friend’s house.”
    Hans nodded meekly. “Yes, I know. But this is not a house. These are new surroundings, which we don’t know at all. It’s a huge campground—they could get lost.”
    Petra chuckled. “It’s funny how things can go.”
    Hans looked at her inquisitively. Not understanding her.
    “I mean, shouldn’t it be me reacting the way you are? You know … being the worried mother and all.”
    “So what you’re really trying to say is that I’m a wimp?”
    “Yeah, well, kind of. No, seriously, that’s not what I meant. On the contrary, this kind of a reaction says a lot about you and really speaks to your character. You’re concerned. But you can’t control everything. They told us when and where they were going; we have to learn to trust him. If we don’t, he will start to do things behind our back.” She took her hand off the table slowly and raised her eyebrows. “So? Am I wrong or right?”
    “No,