We search their eyes for all the secrets they can’t give us.
The truth of ourselves.
Their love affair began as they always do with moonlight and roses.
Steven had noticed her earlier at the Pasticceria Salza’s Tea Room on the via Borgo Stretto 46 street in Pisa, Italy. She had a vivacious laugh and sparkling eyes. He asked if she would have coffee with him. She said yes. They purchased their beverages and went to a small round table outside. Coffee for him. Hot tea with lemon for her. The big white awning protected them from the beginning hot sun.
The morning sun was just beginning its climb over the Tower of Pisa and made for the beginnings of a fine May day. Their conversation was effortless and they found they had many things in common. He was glib and complimented her on her dress, her hair style, and her demeanor.
He liked to travel and had even been to America. She said one Summer she had spent with her aunt off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. It was a bucolic time of swimming and sailing, she recalled. They belonged to different Catholic churches in the area. They did not trust the current government and had even been participants in previous election cycles. They were close in age with similar values, it seemed.
It seemed.
But that was a patchwork of lies and deceptions, Sandra was to find out later. She wished she had seen that much earlier to save herself the keen disappointment and loss of companionship with Steven. She was sorry she had ever believed in him and trusted him with some of her most hidden secrets.
Their first few months of dating were free of argument, with two young people just enjoying their time together. They travelled by motor car to the Mediterranean seaside. They both were good swimmers and had taken a picnic of cold chicken and fresh fruits to enjoy later. He brought her bouquets of roses and letters on heavy stationery. He came to her door with small gifts, including a beautiful crystal rosary from Grimaldi’s in Pisa and fresh pastries from Salza’s.
He comported himself as a gentleman who opened doors for her and helped her with her chair in restaurants. Steven was a player who had perfected his technique.
When he began to ask her for money, she knew. When he did not introduce her to close family members. When he was too busy to see her consistently. When he began to make excuses for leaving her earlier than planned. The money issue became quite a bone of contention.
Steven seemed to have plenty of money for Steven. He wore a fine new watch and had the latest in electronic gadgets. His car was one year old with fine Italian leather upholstery. His clothing was from the finest of Pisa men’s shops and he had quite a collection of fine Italian shoes. He held memberships in some of the most exclusive Pisa organizations. He liked to take lunch at The Grand Palace where the cost for a lunch was extraordinarily high. Sadly, Sandra concluded he was a narcissist. She decided it was time to part company.
But Steven decided to end it first by sending a messenger to her home and saying he would never see her again. Saying he would always love her which she considered quite the joke. The man knew nothing of loving another, nor how to grow up and act like a man and not a small boy begging for favors from everyone he met.
The moonlight and roses sadly, had faded to black.