Part 25 (1/2)

It quickly became apparent that the apartment wasn't going to work out for a middle-aged man and two teenage girls. s.p.a.ce was limited and privacy absent unless Mitch.e.l.l kept to his cramped windowless cubbyhole. 'I may be used to small s.p.a.ces,' he told Sasha the following morning, 'but this takes the biscuit, sweetheart.'

'We like it here,' said Sasha. 'We like being in the middle of everything.' She was squatting in the midst of her unpacking; she and her dad were both waiting for Ruby to finish in the wet room.

'Well, I'm going straight round to the agency. They need to find us somewhere else.'

Alarmed, she said, 'We don't have to come with you, do we?'

'Not if you don't want to. But why are you getting all your stuff out of the bag? You'd be better off packing it up again so we can move promptly.'

'It won't take a minute to sort it,' said Sasha, scrabbling for a pair of socks. She was hoping he'd be the only one to move.

'So what are your plans for this morning then?'

'We thought we'd go to the Vatican. Ruby wants to see the Sistine Chapel.'

'I suppose she ought to see it,' he said, 'but you should have organised yourselves sooner than this. By the time you get over there the queue will be a mile long and you'll have to wait for hours to get in.'

'We don't mind. We like queuing. It's social.'

'It's a museum, not a nightclub.'

'We know that!' Sasha and Ruby had already agreed that pretending to be stuck in a queue and spending an eternity traipsing the Vatican corridors would give them an alibi. Sasha's objective was not sightseeing at St Peter's but a visit to the crypt of the Madonna of all Mercy. 'You'll be all right on your own, won't you, Dad?' After all, she was the expert now. It must have been years since he'd done anything other than touch down at Fiumicino airport. 'You won't be bored?'

'Not at all. I have some old haunts I might revisit.'

'Are they places you used to go to with her?'

'With who? Gina, d'you mean? I couldn't say. That far back, it's a bit of a blur. We'll meet up for lunch again, shall we?'

'Okay, I'll text you when we're through.'

It crossed her mind that his manner, his att.i.tude to Gina, was deliberately vague, but she wasn't going to let it bother her because she'd got what she wanted: another morning to track down Joe.

It was strange to be getting off the bus beyond the railway bridge in Via Ostiense and walking towards the waste ground. In fact she had to do another double take, for that's all it was: an empty piece of land. Yet her recollection of the nylon tents and cardboard shelters, the atmosphere of desperation, was vivid and indelible. If she shut her eyes she could still see the stained mattresses set out to air, the clothing, rinsed but not very clean, draped out to dry, a limp Afghan flag, a tumult of litter.

'It was here,' she said.

'What was?' Ruby looked around, not understanding.

'Where all the refugees lived, in a sort of camp.'

'Right by the street, you mean?'

'Yeah, it really freaked me the first time I saw it. But it was 'cos they didn't have anywhere else to go. There isn't enough housing.'

'They were, like, gypsies?'

'Afghani mostly. I told you before.'

'But... you don't mean to say...' Ruby was wrinkling her nose in disgust. 'This Joe of yours, you made out with, was actually a rough sleeper? Rank and smelly.'

'It's not a person's fault,' said Sasha furiously, 'if they haven't got sanitation.'

'But, Sash, really, that is gross.'

'You saw him in the photo. The only gross thing about that was Gina's nerve in taking it: Joe was totally buff. And anyway, he wasn't living on the street. He roomed with Sami and they had a shower and everything. He was earning a bit of dosh and applying for his doc.u.ments.'

It wouldn't have occurred to Sasha to keep any secrets from Ruby. They shared their most intimate experiences that was what best friends did. But those three weeks last summer, Ruby hadn't been able to share. She'd missed out and it was going to be difficult to bring her up to speed. 'I thought the same as you,' she said loftily, 'when I first came across those guys. I thought I was going to be mugged or something. But I wasn't. And n.o.body should have to live like that.'

She lengthened her stride and veered down the road that led to the church. Ruby stumbled after her, apologising. 'I wasn't disrespecting him,' she said. 'Or them.'

Sasha stopped so abruptly in the middle of the pavement Ruby almost crashed into her. Across the street was the dowdy bar where she and Joe had had their first halting conversation.

'You know what, Rube, if you'd've come with me it would all have been so different. Everything. We'd have hung out more with the other students. We'd have gone clubbing together over in Testaccio and found ourselves some cool Italian boys who wore Dolce & Gabbana and were ace on the dance floor. We'd have gone on day trips to the beach with them, or the lakes. Or maybe we'd even have hooked up with that k.n.o.b-head, Harry, and one of his mates, because they were so p.i.s.sing rich. We'd have got them to buy us loads of c.o.c.ktails so we could get absolutely blasted before we went back to their room and let them take our pants off. But the fact is, you weren't here and it didn't happen like that, none of it. Don't ask me why.' She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

'Hey... Sash. I'm sorry.' Ruby put one arm around her and fumbled in her pocket for a sc.r.a.p of tissue. 'Here, you can't turn up all snotty. The way you're talking, it sounds like you're glad I didn't come with you.'

Sasha sniffed and blotted her tears. 'That's not what I meant. It's just that if you're two mates you're more likely to hang around with your own crowd. It's because I was on my own things ended up the way they did. There it is, ahead of us. Do you want to have a look in the church first?' The closer they drew, the more she wanted to delay. Gina had warned her off, hadn't she? Don't ask, she'd said and that was precisely what Sasha was planning to do.

'Why?'

''Cos when my dad says what else have you seen, we can say the Madonna of all Mercy and we won't be lying and he won't know it's nothing special.'

'b.o.l.l.o.c.ks,' said Ruby, giving Sasha a little shove so that she almost tripped at the top of the spiral staircase. At the bottom, the doors of the crypt stood open.

Sasha paused on the threshold, scouring the vaulted s.p.a.ce for the Lion King, unsure whether she would recognise him. Balding? Gla.s.ses? A dog collar would help. Instead, a plump woman with soft white hands and soft white hair bustled up to them. In her sprigged linen dress she resembled a well-padded armchair. 'Buon giorno ragazze,' she said in a strong American accent. 'You've turned up good and early.'

'We have?'

'You are my volunteers?'

Sasha was trying to place the woman. She thought she remembered her from her first visit. Wasn't she the one who'd been running the language session?

Ruby said without hesitating, 'Sure. What do you want us to do?'

'Oh my Lord, you're British.'

'Is that a problem?'

'Of course it ain't. A good Catholic is a good Catholic. We have a whole heap of donations and we need to sort the bedding from the clothing and adult clothes from the kids', and then anything saleable that might raise us some funds can go into another pile. You've done this before, back home?'

'Oh yes, often,' said Ruby as the woman led them to an anteroom where a ma.s.s of black bin bags oozed their stuffing. 'Do you get a lot of English-speaking volunteers?'

'It depends. Mainly for teaching in the language cla.s.ses.' For the first time she seemed to a.s.sess them thoroughly. 'Though that requires some experience and you're a little younger than usual, I'd say. Now, I'm Annie and you are...?'

'Ruby. She's Sasha.'

'Oh.' She frowned a moment. 'My memory for names is like a sieve but I didn't think... Hey, but that's how it goes in this city. You never get what you expect!'

'Is Father Leone here?' said Sasha, finally finding her voice.