Her Wet Bikini

Chapter 13

Luigi spent the next hour talking about a French film about a guy with two girlfriends, one young and one old. The old one he took for granted-she also provided the roof and the cash, while the young one expressed his ideals of perfect love. The problem was that he couldn't do with only one of them. He needed to have both. Luigi finally concluded that such situations were unavoidable. People cheated on each other because they're unable to find everything they’re looking for in one person.

“So, now you’re looking for the younger half?” asked my aunt in one very bold move.

The way she said those words implied that she was the older half of the deal. At least that was how I interpreted it. There was also the possibility she was joking with him.

“My case is much more complicated. Compared to Alexander-the main character of the film I was just talking about-my situation is the reverse of his. The woman that takes care of me in Rome is a young film student. The problem is that there is a sort of generation gap between us. She is eager to learn from me but the simple fact that her life experiences don’t have the same weight as mine, doesn’t allow me to fall in love with her. I admit that she is above my league and that I should be grateful for having her in my life. The truth is that I long for an earthly type of woman, like those in Pasolini films. I want a real woman with real experience.”

I now realized he was talking about my aunt. She represented the ideal woman for him. Unfortunately, she was going to return to Canada in a few days and he would be returning to his college student.

“That’s funny,” said Angelo. “It reminds me of this Greek man I met in the U.K. He married a big lady who owns a restaurant. She’s probably double his size and weight. I guess he isn’t Tom Cruise, but I’m sure he could have scored something better if he really wanted to.”

“What an amazing story,” commented Luigi. “Straight out of the pages of Boccaccio.”

“The ways of the heart are as mysterious as the ways of the Lord,” said my mother.

“The Chinese have a better saying,” said Angelo. “If you want to reach a man’s heart you got to go for his stomach first.”

“Is that why your Greek friend married her? Because she feeds him well?” asked Paula.

“You know what he told me when we were having coffee together? Even if you get the most beautiful woman in the world, one day you’re going to get bored of her. By marrying the big lady, at least he got a roof above his head and a stable job.”

“There you are!” said my aunt. “How to go ahead when you’re abroad.”

“Pardon us,” said my mother and got up with my sister. “We’re going to go out for a while so Monica can meet her friend Miranda. You know how bored she gets with the things you’re talking about.”

“At least she is going to be smarter than the other kids of her age. The younger generation can do miracles if you put them in front of a computer screen but when it comes to critical thinking…”

“I want to say hello to Miranda and I’ll be back for more critical thinking,” said Monica and we all burst in laughter.

“Isn’t she lovely?” said Luigi. "I wish I had a daughter like that."

“People who don’t have kids usually display these kind of regrets for not having kids,” said my aunt.

“It’s too late for me,” commented Luigi.

My mother and sister waved at us and headed down the street towards Miranda’s house. I had seen Miranda before several times. She was the same age as my sister and our moms were old friends. Every year it was just the two of them. Monica had no siblings and her dad was never around. Sometimes they would drive out to our place and come with us to the beach.

“May I ask a question,” said Luigi pointing his finger to Karen.

“Go ahead,” she said. Her cheeks were red from the wine and she seemed amused by the discussion conducted in a combination of English and Italian-with Angelo translating the Italian parts.

“You previously mentioned that you were dating a Greek man. Does he happen to be the same man Angelo was talking about?”

“His roommate, actually,” said Karen.

“How come this one didn’t run away from you to marry a fat lady?”

“Not all Greeks want to marry big ladies. But this one was cheating on me. That’s why I dumped him.”

“That is the problem with Southern men,” said Luigi and twisted his thumbs. “Less reliable than their Anglo-Saxon counterparts.”

“Nobody’s perfect, I guess,” said Karen.

Paula and I were the youngest ones around the table and the ones that spoke the least. I felt good being with these people and I had to admit that I was getting used to Angelo. It occurred to me that we belonged to three different age groups-four if you counted my sister-and we were talking about all these adult topics.

Without Luigi, things would have probably been very boring between the seven of us. Luigi’s persona was the catalyst factor that made everything click together. Just by looking at Karen, you could tell that Luigi was good at making this foreign girl feel a part of the group. He also made Paula open up a bit and refused to treat me like a criminal when he found out that I got a crush on her.

“I got a wonderful idea,” said Luigi. “How about we all take a break. I need to get my afternoon nap.”

“Sounds okay,” said Angelo.

“There are five bedrooms in the house and some come with their own bathroom. Please chose anyone that pleases you. We can talk again in an hour or so. For whatever else you may need there’s aunt Lucia.”

With these words, Luigi took off for his nap. A few minutes later Angelo and Karen went in search for their resting quarters. I winked at Paula-my way of saying that those two were not going to get much sleep.

My aunt didn’t want to sleep. She decided instead to go out for a walk.

The only ones left on the balcony were Paula and I. It was out of the question we take a nap together in the same room.

I stroked her slender brown thighs with my finger, starting from the knee and going upwards until it almost disappeared under her shorts.

“Your bikini is still wet,” I whispered.

“It’s even more wet beneath,” she declared with an enigmatic smile.