Page 23 of Palazzo
“So am I. But at least I have an excuse to see you,” he said grimly, with a wintry smile. “I’m glad we’ll be there together.”
“What’s the hearing for?”
“I’m not sure if it’s to register their plea, or if they’ll be sentenced then if they plead guilty. It won’t be good, whatever it is, for either of them.”
“Maybe they’ll go easier on Max,” she said, trying to give him hope, but both situations were fairly disastrous. Neither Olivier nor Cosima had much hope for either one.
Olivier told her he would come to Rome the day before the hearing, and they could fly to Venice together, or take the train. At least they would have each other.
Two days before the hearing, Cosima got bad news from the insurance company, which didn’t surprise her.
They told her that since her brother and an accessory were charged with the arson in the palazzo, whether they pled guilty or were convicted the insurance company would not pay for the damage. The family would have to pay for all repairs themselves. It seemed only fair, but it was a terrible blow. They would either have to pay for the repairs or adjust the price accordingly for the Johnsons and sell them the palazzo at a greatly reduced price. It was not good news toCosima, who decided to tell Sally Johnson after the hearing. She could only deal with so much at one time. The hearing was weighing heavily on her mind.
—
The day before the hearing, before Olivier arrived, Allegra said something to Cosima about the hearing, which surprised her.
“You’re planning to come?” Cosima didn’t think she would. Allegra had said nothing about it until then.
“Of course. He’s my brother too, but I’m not going for him. I’m going for you.”
“Can you do that? With the chair and all…” Allegra laughed when she said it.
“Obviously. I’m in a wheelchair, not on life support. I’m coming with you.”
The same thing had happened to Olivier, he explained to Cosima later. The day before he was to leave, Basile had announced that he was going to Venice with his father. He had even bought a suit for the occasion and cut his hair. He didn’t want to embarrass his father in court. One bad son was enough.
Cosima had had a call from Luca’s attorney that morning. Max had given the prosecutor a statement, blaming Luca for everything. Max had sold him out to save his own skin, just as Luca had done to him, which had gotten Max arrested. There was nothing honorable about either of them, not even honor among thieves. They had agreed to lighten the charges against Max in exchange for his statement, and Luca was now likely to face a heavier sentence. The nextday, Luca’s lawyer said that Luca was considering pleading guilty. He had finally accepted that he couldn’t win.
—
Olivier and Basile came directly to Cosima’s apartment when they arrived. They had a light lunch in Allegra’s kitchen. They were flying to Venice later that afternoon, staying at a hotel together, and Olivier had suggested they have dinner at Harry’s Bar that night to cheer them up and calm their nerves. Cosima and Allegra wanted to visit Luca, but he had refused to see them. He was furious with Max, and hated his sisters too. He told his lawyer they had thrown him to the wolves and abandoned him.
“Your sister Cosima is paying my fees,” his attorney informed him.
“She can afford to.” Luca had expected her to lie for him and she wouldn’t. He tarred Allegra with the same brush as her older sister. Max was too ashamed to see his father and half brother and had refused too. The two men weren’t being sentenced to death, “only” to prison. They could see their families after the sentencing if they wanted to.
When Olivier and Basile arrived in Rome, Olivier put his arms around Cosima and kissed her. He looked happy to see her, and he introduced Basile to both sisters. Basile was tall and handsome and athletic-looking, and his eyes lit up when he saw Allegra. He told his father that he had never met a more beautiful woman. They talked nonstop through lunch, as Cosima and Olivier smiled at each other and could hardly follow the rapid-fire conversation about music, art, social media, films they had seen, places they had been, where they’dgone to school, the meaning of art. It was like watching a forest fire begin.
They chatted all the way to the airport, where Basile offered his help to get Allegra into her chair, but she refused. She preferred to manage on her own, which he understood immediately, and he didn’t offer again.
Allegra and Basile sat next to each other on the plane, and Cosima and Olivier sat across the aisle from them. Olivier whispered to Cosima halfway through the flight.
“Whoa…those two are like a tornado together. They haven’t stopped talking and laughing since we got to Rome.”
Cosima nodded with a smile. “Allegra is usually pretty lively, but she’s lit up like a Christmas tree with him.”
“Long may it last,” Olivier said in a whisper, and Cosima smiled. Men were often impressed by Allegra, but it rarely went further than that. Her disability scared them. But Basile seemed undaunted by it. He saw who Allegra was, regardless of the chair.
When they got to the hotel, Allegra offered to show Basile around Venice, and she let him push her chair while she gave him directions. He nearly ran her into a statue once while they were talking, and she teased him about it.
“You’re a terrible driver, but you know a lot about Renaissance art.”
“I majored in art history. They didn’t teach street art then,” he said proudly.
“Do they now?”
“I teach a class at the Beaux-Arts,” he said, grinning, and she wasimpressed. He was two years younger than she was. She was twenty-nine and he was twenty-seven, which didn’t matter at all.
