Seeking Sara Summers by Susan Gabriel Page B

asked.
    “I’d love to,” Sara said. She welcomed a less intimate venue. Having Julia’s undivided attention after so many years was exhausting.
    “While we’re out, I’ll show you around a little bit,” Julia said.
    Sara grabbed her purse and Julia took keys off a hook near the door, calling goodbye to Roberto and the unseen Bella.
    They walked down the marble steps. “Remember that cat you had when we were girls?” Sara asked.  “I can’t remember his name anymore. But half of one ear was missing.”
    “Oh, that was Vincent,” Julia said. “I haven’t thought of him for years.” She paused on the dimly lit second floor landing, as if recalling the past. “Vincent had been in one cat fight too many, but he was a sweetheart. He lived to be some ungodly age, like twenty-one or something. He stayed with my parents after I left for college.”
    “Animals always loved you,” Sara said. “At one point you had Vincent, the cat with one ear, and that poor dog that chased his tail until he fell over.”
    “That was Picasso,” Julia laughed. “I can’t believe there’s someone in the world who remembers my childhood besides me. It’s been years since I’ve thought of Vincent and Pico. I guess I was destined to be an artist if I named my pets such silly names.”
    “It wasn’t silly,” Sara said. “The names fit them perfectly.”
    Sunshine greeted them as they entered the street. Within seconds, the cathedral bells began to toll. Their foreign, sacred sound stopped Sara in the middle of the sidewalk.
    “Oh, Julia, this is amazing.”
    “If you think that’s amazing, just wait. We haven’t even begun to reach amazing yet.” She locked her arm in Sara’s as they walked through the narrow streets of Julia’s neighborhood. They crossed the Arno River into the main section of town. With Julia’s leadership they moved through the crowds with ease. Sara observed her surroundings as if a camera documenting every frame. If this was her farewell tour, she was determined to make the most of it.
    Julia squeezed her arm. “You act like someone who has been living off bread and water and is suddenly introduced to elegant food.”
    “You don’t know how true that is,” Sara said. She stopped and looked up at a building in the square. A relief of the Virgin Mary graced a stone shelf above a large wooden doorway. “From what I’ve seen so far, she seems to be everywhere,” Sara said.
    “She watches over the city,” Julia said. “If you like this, there’s a fountain at Max and Melanie’s that you’ll absolutely love.”
    They crossed a square to admire the famous doors of the Baptistery. The doors opened up into a glorious round room with a domed ceiling. Characters from the stories of Sara’s childhood catechism classes looked down on them from every angle; classes that Sara had stopped when her mother died. Angels and saints in gold watched over the font where wealthy Florentines had baptized their infants. As Sara took in the gilded sight, Julia watched her.
    “Relax Sara, you don’t have to take it all in on this one trip.”
    But I do, Sara thought. She had no idea of how to tell Julia that she might be dying. As long as she was in Italy she wanted to pretend that everything was all right. She had gotten good at pretending. Except that a part of her actually wanted to tell Julia the truth. When they had been friends they had always been truthful with one another, even if it hurt. If there was anyone Sara could be real with it was Julia. But did she even know what real was?
    They crossed the piazza to the Duomo, a cathedral with one of the most famous domes in Europe. Sara had had a photograph of this dome posted on her wall as a girl. Before going to sleep, she would imagine herself there. And here she was! Her imagination could have never dreamed up how spectacular it was.
    “You know, we just don’t have anything like this in New England,” Sara said.
    Julia laughed. “You sound just