They came out of the bus, thirty of them; mostly raggedly looking women and a few elderly men. They stood taking in the beauty of the Vatican city looking like lost sheep.
It was quite easy to differentiate Americans from the British, the British were snubbish looking while the Americans were mindlessly gaping without a care in the world.
"I'll take this bunch", said Roberto, other tourist guides about to argue but another bus came and dropped off another set of tourists.
"Now, this is my party" said Santiago looking at the tourists with disgust.
"Wait, hold on, let me take them off your hands, you certainly look a little bit under the weather and since we're good friends, it wouldn't be a problem for me" I said
"Go away, you're not even an official tourist guide and you look particularly unkept today " Roberto said and walked away laughing. I looked at my clothing, ripped in multiple places and my shoes had holes in the sole but I was more worried about my shoes that my shirt, I noticed a rat had chewed off the tip this morning and my toes were a bit too visible. Had I been born Roman instead of American, I'd have no problem becoming an official guide easily, I shook my head in self pity and walked away.
A few hours later, I circled around a few tourists but they all looked away in disgust and now I was becoming quite very desperate and hungry as lunch time was fast approaching.
Just as I was about to give up and go back to my one bedroom home, I spotted a woman probably in her mid twenties coming in my direction, moving lightly and elegantly. I scanned the area and noticed about three other unofficial tourist guide making their way towards her and I quickly approached in two strides and the other tour guides fell back.
"Sorry to disturb you, domina" I said giving her an elaborate bow.
"Perhaps, you would be interested in having a tour guide to show you around the Great Vatican city" she looked at me and smiled.
"How much would it cost?, I'm only willing to give you three hundred euros and nothing more"
"Shall we visit St Peter's Basilica first then?" I said.
We walked side by side and I turned and said, "Maybe you shouldn't have dressed so charmingly, I just noticed about five pickpocketers staring at you hungrily waiting for an opportunity and that diamond ring I'm afraid may be a little too tempting for them to resist" she looked doubtfully around us just as we turned up a corner to the staircase and said, " Maybe I shouldn't have worn it out, anyways, may I hold your arm? These stairs look a little steep especially with my heels". Halfway up, she tripped and I pulled her into my arms to prevent her from falling, her face was a few inches away from mine and it was then I noticed her hazel eyes and succulent lips and how beautiful she was, I leaned in
"we shouldn't be doing this" she whispered while leaning in too. I kissed her and she kissed back, I heard a meow a few feet away and I released her while breathing shakily and heavily.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me, I really am sorry"
She touched her lips and looked at me, "Don't apologize, I liked it. Let's get away from here, shall we?"
We walked back outside to the glistening sun and the noise of the tourists. "I'm starved, shall we go to a restaurant? I have something I want to discuss with you. I've also put the three hundred euros in your pocket" she said.
I stared in disbelief and was about to talk but she beat me to it and said, " Please don't argue as I'm only here for a limited time".
I pondered on what it could be that she wanted to talk to me about, I couldn't believe she was serious.
"Lead us to a popina, a working man's place where the food is good", she said.
I took her to the nearest one, about sixty yards away from the Vatican city.
We got seated at the table and an odd looking waiter came up to take our orders.
"Order something please, what's best here?" she said to me
"You should try the Pasta carbonara, it's a classic and this restaurant serves it best in the whole Rome, so I've heard paired with Filetti di baccalà fritta and a bottle of Falernum", the waiter took our order and left.
" I know you're curious as to what I have to say, all will be explained soon. What is your name?" she said while staring at me intensely.
"Adrian Smith. What's yours?"
"Clairè Garcia"
"Wow, I assumed you were American too because of your accent. Garcia is definitely a very popular Italian name".
"I am American but my husband is Italian"
I looked at her surprised.
"Husband? You're married?"
"Does that matter?"
The waiter then came with our wine, water and 2 wine glasses and informed us that our food will soon be ready and left.
"You are married and you allowed me to kiss you? where is your husband?"
"His whereabouts is certainly not important, he got into a horrible accident a few years ago and has been confined to a wheelchair unable to move or speak ever since"
"I'm sorry, I wouldn't have kissed you if I knew you were married" I said uneasily.
"Why did you do it?" she said while looking at her wine glass
"I don't know, you just have a sort of magnetic pull"
"Hmmm, so do you"
Silence hung over up for a minute, the waiter then brought our food while looking at us wearily and left soon after.
"I can't seem to understand why a man like you is a guide, an unofficial one at that", she said
"There is no other work I can do, I'm an alien in a foreign country without a passport"
"Why do you live in Rome then?"
"I've been living here basically my whole life, my mother and I snuck through the borders when I was about thirteen years old, she died a few years later and I've been living here ever since. I have nothing anywhere else so I haven't felt the need to move to a different country, that's my life story in a nutshell now tell me about yours."
She looked at me and looked away, then took a sip of her drink and said, "There's not much to say, I once worked as the personal assistant to Anthony, my husband. I worked for him for about three years and he asked me to marry him, by then I was already sick and tired of working and he is extremely rich so of course I agreed to marry him. A year later, he got into an accident and has been in a vegetative state ever since, only able to open and close his eyes".
"So what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with him?" I asked curiously
"I got tired of staying home, the atmosphere there is so depressing so I decided to come look at the Vatican city and I'm glad I did". She said while scanning my face.
I thought of her husband, who is probably wondering where she was and what she was doing when she was out of his sight.
"He trusts me, he believes in loyalty, self control and duty"
I was startled she had seen so easily what was going through my mind.
"I have never given him a reason to doubt me but I'm beginning to think I'm a fool, it's been four years and I don't know how much longer I can do this with him and it's really not as if he could ever find out".
My mind kept on going back to the image of her husband she painted in my head and I kept putting myself in his place.
"I wouldn't be sure about that, some people are very aware and sensitive to their environment and he might catch on quickly"
"Well even if he notices something, he can't say or do anything about it, she said.
We then ate our meal in silence, giving me time to ponder her words. A few minutes later, she look at her wrist watch and picked up her bag, getting ready to leave.
"Are we ever going to meet again?"
She laughed and her eyes were genuinely amused
"I don't think you'd be interested in my troubles but it all depends on you"
She was standing against the light, and I could see the outline of her shape under her blouse
"Hold on....."
But she had already left before I could complete my statement.
The sunlight framed her silhouette as she walked away without looking back. I sat down empty and a little angry at myself, I noticed her diamond ring on the ashtray half hidden in with the napkin and I suddenly realized what she meant.
I knew she wouldn't have forgotten such a priceless item, she certainly left it there deliberately for me to find it.
I quickly paid the bills and went home.
My apartment was on the first floor of a big building, it didn't have much in it but at least it was clean and a place to rest my head. I sat by the window and pondered on what to do about the situation although the decision wasn't a difficult one, I could either return the ring or sell it to get money. After a few hours, I succeeded in making a decision: I wouldn't sell the ring and take the money.
Did I want to see her again?
I pondered on this question as I laid on my bed in the hot, stuffy room.
I thought about her crippled husband, and I couldn't fight the urge to see her again, I swung my leg across the bed and stood up.
I then went down the passage, to the phone booth. It took a little while but atlas, I eventually found her phone number under the last name of Garcia. She answered almost immediately as if she had been patiently awaiting my call.
"Hello"
"This is Adrian" I said, speaking quietly
"Oh! how clever of you to have found my number"
"I have your diamond ring"
"My what?"
"Your diamond ring"
"But how can you? It's in my handbag"
"You left it on the table, I found it soon after you left"
"Oh, how forgetful of me"
"Should I post it or should I bring it to you in person?"
"Well, I don't think it's a good idea to post it"
"Alright then, I'll bring it to you"
"Where do you live?"
"7 via green street, about 5 miles from the Vatican city"
"I will come to get the ring tomorrow Adrian by seven, Good night"
"Good night Claire" I said