SUNNY HONEYMOON
651
And she looked at Giacomo out of the corner of her eyes as if
to say: From now on, I won't let anyone do that but you. Giacomo's
spirits soared, and he once more felt that there was a possibility of
love between them. He got up and said:
"Shall we go for a walk among the rocks?"
"Yes," she said promptly, following
his
example. And she added,
to Livio: "See you later ... We're going to explore."
"Have a good time," Livio threw after them.
Simona led the way through the passage which her husband
had shown her before. She made straight for the black beach, sat
down at the foot of a rock and said:
"Stretch out and put your head on my legs.... You'll be more
comfortable that way."
Overcome by joy, Giacomo threw
his
arms around her and
drew her to him. He gave her a kiss, and Simona returned it,
blowing hard through her nose, almost as if she were suffering. When
they had drawn apart, she repeated:
"Stretch out, and we'll snatch a bit of sleep together."
She leaned her back against the rock, and Giacomo,
his
heart
overflowing with love, lay down and put his head on her lap. He
closed
his
eyes, and Simona began to stroke his face. With a hesitant
and timid motion she passed her hand over his cheeks, under his
chin and up to the top of his head, where she ran her fingers
through his hair. When Giacomo opened his eyes for a split second
he saw that she was looking at him with childish intentness and
curiosity. Meeting his glance she bent over, placed a quick kiss on
each of his eyes and told him to go to sleep. Giacomo closed his
eyes again and gave himself up to enjoyment of the light touch of
her tireless little hand until finally he dozed off. He slept for an
indefinable length of time and woke up feeling chilled. Simona was
sitting in the same position, with his head on her lap. Looking up,
he saw the reason for his feeling so cold. The sky was filled with
heavy, black storm clouds.
"How long have
I
been asleep?" he asked her.
"About an hour."
"And what about you?"
"I
didn't sleep.
I
was looking at you."
"The sun's disappeared."
"Yes."
