He was a young chap like Severino and she was not in awe of him because he always wore his overalls and some years before he used to take hold of her wrists and ask her if she’d like to be whirled round. Now he looked at her with his tongue between his teeth. Ginia went there because Amelia’s door could be seen from his shop, but Massimo certainly had no idea why she stopped for a chat and a joke and then returned next day as well.

They were looking at the red and blue lamps and she was playing the fool. They could see people passing by through the shop-window and Ginia asked him if it was true that Amelia went about in a white dress. ‘How should I know?’ asked Massimo. ‘There’s such a gang of you girls. Severino will know’. ‘Why Severino?’ ‘Severino is fond of fillies. Is it the girl who goes about without stockings?’ ‘Did he tell you?’ asked Ginia. ‘What, you his sister and don’t know?’ replied Massimo with a laugh. ‘Get Amelia to tell you. Doesn’t she still come to your place?’

This was all news to Ginia. The idea that Severino was sweet on Amelia, that they had talked about it and had been seeing each other ruined her day. If it was true, all Amelia’s ‘crush’ on her had been put on. ‘I’m just a kid’, thought Ginia, and to contain her anger, she remembered how disgusted she had been seeing her in the nude. ‘But is it true?’ she wondered; she found it impossible to imagine Severino in love with anyone, and she was certain that if he had seen her posing that time, poor Amelia would have lost her appeal for him. ‘But would she in fact? But why have we to be nude?’ she thought despairingly.

Towards evening she began to feel calmer and persuaded herself that Massimo had said it merely for something to say. When she was at table with Severino, she looked at his hands and broken nails, knowing that Amelia was used to something very different. Then she remained alone when the lights were out and her mind went back to the wonderful August evenings when Amelia used to come and call for her. Just then she heard her voice at the door.

Penguin Books

FIVE

‘I’ve come to look you out’, said Amelia.

At first Ginia did not reply.

‘Are you still angry with me?’ asked Amelia. ‘Let bygones be bygones. Isn’t your brother here?’

‘He is out at the moment.’

Amelia was wearing her old dress but her hair was well styled and had coral combs in it. She went and sat down on the sofa and suddenly asked her if she was going out. She spoke in the same tone of voice as of old but it was huskier, as if she had a cold.

‘Is it me you want or Severino?’ asked Ginia.

‘Oh, those people. Take no notice what they say. I only want to be distracted, are you coming along?’

Then Ginia changed her stockings and they hurried down and Amelia got her to tell her all the month’s news.

‘What have you been up to?’ asked Ginia. ‘What do you think?’ replied Amelia, beginning to laugh, ‘nothing at all. This evening I said, “Let’s go and see if Ginia is still thinking about Barbetta” ’. She could not pump any more out of her, but Ginia was satisfied. ‘What about going to have some refreshments?’ she suggested.

While they were having a drink, Amelia asked her why she had never come and dug her out.