Page 30 of Nantucket Reflections
ChapterSixteen
July 2025
Positano
But as Julia and Charlie rubbed the sleep from their eyes and got ready to go out for the night, Julia’s phone rang with another surprise. Gregor was in town.
“I know. It’s crazy timing,” Gregor said over the phone, laughing that funny German laugh of his. “I completely forgot to say something when we met in Paris. I’m going to price a few arti pieces in Positano and a few surrounding towns on the Amalfi Coast.”
Julia smiled into the phone. She’d read online that Gregor was one of the most sought-after art critics and dealers in Europe, which was why she’d reached out to him in the first place. “You live a life of glamour, Gregor,” she said, teasing him.
“It’s something of a life, I guess,” Gregor said with a laugh. “But I’m surprised you’re still here! I figured you’d swoop in and swoop out.”
“We’re biding our time to see if we discover anything else,” Julia told him. “We don’t have super high hopes, but we’re American. You know what that means. Nothing can ruin our optimism.”
Gregor laughed again. “That’s what they always tell me about you Americans!”
Gregor went on to say that he was staying in a quaint hotel not far from the church in the main square. “It’s where I always stay when I’m in town,” Gregor confessed, which meant he’d probably spent a lot more time in Positano than he’d initially let on. “The husband and wife duo who own it are stupendous. They force-feed me more pasta and meat, and desserts than anyone could eat in one sitting, and they get angry if I don’t eat everything on my plate. Sofia, the wife of the couple, still calls me a growing boy! I’m approaching forty!”
Julia cackled, trying to imagine the scene. “I guess that means you can’t meet us for dinner?” She was suddenly anxious to tell Gregor all about the Eastern Europeans, the photographs she wanted to show the server at the hotel, and more about their strange encounter with Lucia’s mother.
“I told them I have friends in town,” Gregor said, “and they’re insisting that you come over. After that, we’ll go to a family party for a traditional Italian meal. They say that every restaurant in Positano takes advantage of tourists, which is nothing they’d ever do to their guests.”
To Julia, it sounded like a good line and a little lie, but she didn’t want to tell Gregor that.
“They’re insisting you come as soon as you can,” Gregor said. “Where are you staying?”
Julia explained that they weren’t far, that her sister had nabbed them a gorgeous apartment that belonged to one of her modeling friends. When she checked the map to chart a course between their apartment and Gregor’s hotel, it was a laughable distance of three hundred feet. “I guess we’ll see you in a couple of seconds,” she said.
Charlie was game, just as he always was.
“What a strange trip this all is,” he said.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Julia warned him. “Gregor says these people stuff you up!”
The hotel where Gregor was staying was more like a bed-and-breakfast, humble and quaint, but beautifully decorated, with a homey feel in every detail. Cozy couches filled the main room, which was lined with numerous paintings of the coastline, naturally, as well as local people and types of Italian food. When Julia and Charlie entered, a woman of about seventy bustled in, smiling beautifully as she extended a hand and said in accented English, “Welcome to Positano! You must be friends with our Gregor!”
Julia stood to greet the woman, whose dark green eyes seemed strange in a sea of blacks and browns.
“You must be Italian,” the woman said as she assessed Julia. “All that dark hair!”
“Not that I know of,” Julia confessed, wishing she could say yes.
“Ah, but maybe you are Italian in spirit. We’ll see how much you can eat!” she said.
The woman introduced herself as Sophia and her husband as Marius, named after one of the great Roman generals. Marius was very short and squat with a kind smile and olive skin. By the time Gregor finally emerged from downstairs, Sophia and Marius had set Charlie and Julia up on the porch overlooking all of Positano and made them two Aperol Spritzes, which were tangy and hydrating. Sophia was talking quickly, telling them story after story about how long their family had been in Positano and how long they’d owned the hotel.
“We took it from one of her cousins,” Marius explained, “but only about two years ago.”
“That was when Gregor started coming to Positano more regularly,” Sophia explained with a smile, reaching up to fix Gregor’s tie, as though she were his mother. “We just fell in love with him when he showed up at our door. And he’s so knowledgeable about art!”
“You flatter me as always,” Gregor said, blushing.
Together, the five of them enjoyed their spritzes, watching as the sun dimmed. Julia kept expecting Sophia to announce that they were leaving for the family party, and was embarrassed when her stomach growled. But not long after that, Sophia said they were on their way.
“We’re going to my brother’s daughter’s restaurant!” she said. “There is a party, and it’s going to be the best food you’ve ever had. She is a better cook than even me.”
“She never says that,” Marius told them.
