Piccoletto

Love from Luca

Luca waved goodbye to Alberto, quickly turning to go up to the market street where Giulia had taken him to earlier. As Luca walked past the closing marketers, he couldn't help but let out an excited laugh. He had reached down into the pockets of Alberto's old shorts and pulled out a gold coin. This was Luca's plan.

Unbeknownst to Alberto, Luca had reached into Portorosso's fountain a few hours earlier. Giulia had explained that he needed those gold coins to get flowers. Luca figured the coins in the fountain would be able to get him some. He had to be careful though. Luca had quickly dipped his hand to grab the biggest coin he could find and pulled it out, hiding it behind his back from Giulia.

Alberto would be so excited! Luca could already imagine him handing a big bunch of flowers to Alberto, and watching Alberto's face light up at the gesture. It would be a way to say thank you to Alberto for everything he's done. For getting Luca on land, for letting him borrow his old clothes. For training so hard so they could finally get that vespa. And to show Alberto he loved him. . .

That's what Giulia had said. And Giulia was completely human, so Luca knew he could trust her. Maybe Alberto knew about flower-giving too. He'd be so impressed when Luca knew what to do! Luca smiled as he entered the plant shop at the top of the street, going through the green canopy of ivy that fell from above. As he entered, he took a deep breath and smiled. Maybe people liked receiving flowers because they smelled so nice.

"Ciao!" a voice came from the back of the market. Luca looked up. A man behind the counter was setting down a big bouquet of flowers down into a pot. Luca smiled timidly and walked up to him.

"Hello," Luca said. "I want to buy some flowers."

The store owner man gave a hearty laugh behind his bushy mustache. "You came to the right place, Piccoletto!"

Luca eyes widened as his heart skipped a beat. In an instant, he was transported back to the night prior, flinching as Ercole's foot made contact to his stomach as Luca laid on the ground. Luca remembered the pain. It was as if he couldn't breathe.

"Oh, poor little Piccoletto."

That's what Ercole always called him.

"Hello?" a voice came from above. Luca snapped out of the trance and looked up. The store owner was looking at him weirdly and Luca knew exactly why.

"Oh, s-sorry," Luca stammered. "I'm just going to look for some flowers. Do you have yellow ones?"

The store owner pointed past Luca and Luca turned. In one of the corners of the stores were bouquets of flowers arranged by color. Luca thanked the man and went to pull out a bouquet that stood out from the rest. The bouquet held all different types of flowers, but they were all yellow, which reminded Luca of Alberto's shirt. Luca pulled out the bouquet, but quickly pulled back from surprise.

He didn't know that the flowers were wet. Big droplets of water slid down the plastic wrapping and dripped down onto Luca's bare feet, making a small spot turn a minty green.

Luca immediately dropped the bouquet back into their pot and wiped his hands on his shirt. He turned, hoping the store owner hadn't seen. Fortunately, the man was ducked behind the counter, spraying some mist over the flowers situated on the floor.

Luca let out a relieved sigh and looked back at the bouquet. Maybe it was worth the risk of the store owner seeing his hands get wet. Besides, it was only his palms. Maybe the man would think he had been painting.

This was for Alberto, and Luca had to show him he loved him! Luca took a breath, and brought the bouquet of flowers out of the pot. As soon as they made contact with his hands, he could see the inside of his palms turning green. Luca skipped to the register, almost throwing the delicate flowers down on the counter. The thump alerted the man and he looked up to see luca wiping his hands on the back of his shirt with a nervous smile.

"Who are these special flowers for?" the man asked as he pressed the buttons of the machine next to him. "Are they for your mother?"

"No," Luca said. "They're for my friend."

The store owner chuckled. "Must be some friend."

Luca nodded. "Definitely. I want to show them they mean a lot to me."

The store owner smiled and held out his hand. "I bet they'll love it. Giallo is a beautiful color."

Luca dug into his pocket and pulled out the fancy golden coin and dropped it into the man's hand. The man pulled back and looked down at the coin, then back at Luca with a disappointed face.

"Mi dispiace," the man said. "This isn't enough. Do you have any more money?"

Luca stepped back. Not enough? He couldn't buy the flowers?

"No," Luca said. "I'm sorry. I can get more! If I work more for Massimo, I could-"

"Do not worry," the man said. "There actually is something you can buy with this."

Luca watched as the man pulled out the prettiest flower, centered in the middle of the bouquet. He gave it a deep smell and sighed before holding it out for Luca.

"The yellow rose," the man said. "One of the most lovely flowers of this bouquet. I'm happy your friend has you."

Luca gently took a hold of the flower, admiring it's beautiful colors and the small petals which layered over one another in a perfect circle. It was perfect.

"Thank you," Luca said quietly, smiling up at the man. "Thank you so much!"

The man chuckled once again as he watched Luca exit the store. As soon as Luca made his way back through the ivy door, he put the rose over his lips and took a deep inhale. The scent was wonderful. It was nothing like the seaweed of the ocean. Luca giggled as he gave it another sniff. It was perfect for Alberto.

The sun had almost set now. Luca began walking down the cobblestone street, taking care to hold the rose as delicately as possible. From far away, he could see the window of Giulia's kitchen light up, and he knew he had to get to dinner very soon. Luca decided he'd put the flower at the top of the tree hideout beforehand, and then give the flower to Alberto in private.

"Here Alberto, I bought you a flower," Luca whispered to himself. "I thought you'd like it."

Luca shook his head to himself and started again. "Alberto, I bought you this- no, that's the same thing."

He had to find the perfect words, or else he'd ruin everything!

"This is for you, Alberto," Luca practiced out loud. "It's yellow, like your shirt and-"

Luca shook his head once again. Everything he said came out wrong. He had to really show Alberto how much he meant to him.

"I got you this flower," Luca finally said. "It's because you mean a lot to me. I want to show you that I love you."

Another voice echoed from behind him.

"Awww, Piccoletto's in love!"

Luca stopped in his tracks, as his body stood petrified by the familiar voice. Luca's heart began racing in an instant as the footsteps from the voice got louder and louder until they stopped right behind.

Luca swallowed, terrified to turn around. A big hand grabbed his shoulder and did it for him. Luca was face to face with Ercole.