Page 86 of Two Chances With You

“That’s the title of the book by Ammaniti.”

“Or the film by Salvatores, depending on how you look at things.”

“Anyway, youarescared,” Gin says.

“I told you I’m not.”

“Certainly you’re just taking advantage because we don’t have a lock of our own.”

“Stay here. Don’t move.” I’m back in a minute or so. With a padlock in my hand.

“So where did you find this one?”

“My brother. He carries a padlock with him, along with a chain, to fasten his steering wheel so no one can steal his car.”

“Right, and it just never would have occurred to him that the one who stole it from him would be his own brother.”

“Listen, you’re as responsible in this matter as I am. Among other things, you still owe me twenty euros.”

“What a money grubber.”

“What a thief!”

“A thief of what? Oh, what do you want? Money for the padlock? We’ll just reckon up at the end, one final payment…”

“You’ll owe me too much by that point,” I say.

“All right then. Enough’s enough. Let’s put an end to it here. Well, are you up to this or not?”

“Of course I am.” I put the padlock on the chain, I snap it shut, and I turn the key and pull it out. I hold it extended between my fingers while I stare at Gin.

She looks at me, challenging me, and then she smiles and raises an eyebrow. “Well?”

I take the key between thumb and forefinger and dangle it gently in midair, high above the water below, undecided.

She’s beautiful. I look at her amused smile, her defiant stance, her clear desire to put me to the test. Could she be my new true love? To fall in love with her, to lose myself…Yes, it would be a nice thing if this legend turned out to be true. A couple puts a padlock on a bridge, and then they’re bound together forever. There’s no doubt, no uncertainty, no memory of the past, no regrets, no new love story, no reckless impulse. It’s just Gin, and nothing else, no one else, ever.

Yes, it would be nice if a relationship worked like that: You snap shut a padlock, you throw away the key, and that’s the start of everything. And the love story that begins with that chosen person lasts as long as the steel of the padlock, impervious to any buffeting winds, never undermined by the pouring rain or the passing years. That padlock lasts forever. What if our legend turned out to be true?

Gin’s hair tosses gently in the breeze, her gaze, her dark eyes are so curious, so full of life and enthusiasm, so intense and beautiful. She feels so right. So I smile at her. Then, all at once, I drop the key. Down it hurtles, headlong, twisting in the air and then vanishing into the waters of the Tiber.

“You actually did it.” Gin gazes at me with a strange, dreamy look, and seems moved as well.

“I told you. I’m not scared.”

She lunges at me and jumps on, legs wrapped around me, hugging me, kissing me, shouting with delight. She’s crazed, she’s insane, she’s…she’s beautiful.

“Hey, you’re way too happy right now. You don’t think that this legend actually works, do you?” I ask.

“You jerk!”

And she kisses me again, at length, passionately, and I abandon myself, just settling into that kiss. I lose myself, and for a moment, I breathe in that kiss, and it’s as if…as if I were floating. That’s it, eyes shut, in a calm, smooth sea. Then when I open my eyes, I see that she’s smiling, and we pull apart. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s impossible.”

“All right, then, I’ll tell you. Here’s what I was thinking. If only you knew…” Gin begins.

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