Chapter 15

            Julian had rented a car for them to go to the Vatican. It was only a twenty-five minute drive – almost thirty minutes with traffic. Chastity had gotten Julian up bright and early for their day in The Vatican. She was surprised he didn’t complain about being woken up at 6 a.m.

            When they arrived in the city, their first stop was The Vatican Museums. There were twenty-four galleries in total with the Sistine Chapel being the last within the museum. Chastity could have looked at the Sistine for hours – and almost did. She had forgotten she was with someone.

            “Oh, I apologize. You’re probably ready to go,” Chastity said. “We’ve been in here for quite some time.”

            “It’s fine. I love the Sistine Chapel as well. This is the sixth time I’ve been here.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes. My mother took her spirituality very seriously. She came here – with us as much as she could.”

            “Oh,” she chirped with surprise. Julian had never mentioned he had been to The Vatican before. Then again, she should have assumed he had. His family had been Catholics for generations.

            “Take your time. I’m in no hurry. This is the first time you’ve been here. Afterwards, we’ll have lunch before going to mass.”

            They were going to attend late afternoon mass at St Peter’s Basilica. Chastity had dreamed about attending mass at the iconic church for three years. Now, this was her chance. Unfortunately, the Pope was not scheduled to speak today. But one day she was going to listen to him in person – in The Vatican.

            They ate lunch at a restaurant called Segreto. Chastity had one of their signature dishes, grilled salmon sushi. Julian had roasted pork.

            “I’ll let you try my food if you let me try yours,” Julian said.

            Chastity agreed. His dish was just as good as hers.

            “I have to say, when you had said you wanted to attend mass before touring St. Peter’s, I was surprised,” Julian said.

            “Why?”

            “From what I understand, your family are Lutheran – very serious Lutherans.”

            “They are but we are in The Vatican. May as well have the full experience,” Chastity said. It wasn’t a lie. She did want to experience all of what The Vatican had to offer. But once again, she didn’t want to get into her conversion and her future plans of becoming a nun. It was like she was on vacation from being judged about her decisions concerning her faith.

            Julian nodded. “I understand you want the full tourist’s experience.”

            “Do you mind telling me about . . . your experience being Catholic?” She couldn’t help but be curious.

            He shrugged. “Nothing much to tell really. When my mother was alive, we went to mass about twice a week. After she died, we only go on holidays as a family. Cassandra goes to mass more often than the Beaumont men do. I got christened when I was a baby. I was an altar boy for a while. I attended summer camps three summers in a row.” He continued grazing over his early years as a Catholic.

                                                                                   ****

            Julian had attended mass at St. Peter’s before when he was a child when his mother had brought him and his siblings to The Vatican. Some of the ceremony was familiar to him. But like it was back then, he didn’t understand a word that was being said.

            But of course, Chastity understood what was going on. She seemed so mesmerized by the service. And if Julian didn’t know any better, he would have said she was a Catholic herself. It seemed like she knew every step of mass - what to do and what not to do.

            After mass ended, they were able to tour St Peter’s Basilica. They got to take a good look around the entrance, The Atrium. They were able to look at and appreciate other attributes of the building like The Nave, Pieta, St. Peter’s Tomb, etc. Chastity was enamored by all of it.

            It was five o’clock by the time they got back to Rome. They had to pack. They were going back to New York on the Beaumont jet late tonight. Plus, the Benetti’s wanted to have dinner with them before they left.

                                                                                   ****

            Dinner with the Benettis was enjoyable as always. Yet, Chastity thought they were all going to kiss her to death - literally. Marie and Alessia kissed her on both cheeks twice. Oh well, at least they liked her. But Chastity wasn’t big on . . . physical affection. She didn’t even kiss her parents on the cheek for heaven’s sake. The brothers told Julian they would be in touch soon with a decision.

            Julian and Chastity went straight to the airport in a cab when they left Luca’s villa. They had checked out of Bvlgari Hotel Roma when they left for dinner and sent their luggage ahead to the Beaumont jet.

            Once they were in the sky, they took off their seatbelts. If they made good timing, they should be back in New York before the sun came up.

            Chastity cleared her throat and looked over at Julian.

            He had a newspaper in hand. “What is it?” he asked without looking up.

            How did he know I was looking at him without looking up at me?

            Chastity pushed the thought aside and said what was on her mind. “The other half of the hundred thousand?” She had completed her side of the bargain. Therefore, she wanted the rest of the money for St. Barbara’s.

            Julian lowered the paper and looked up at her. “The funniest thing. I don’t have any more checks in my check book. I forgot I was on the last few.”

            “Ugh,” she grunted with annoyance.

            “I got some more at home,” he assured her. “I don’t renege on a deal, Ms. Van Dyke.”

            “Well, there’s no reason for me to think that you would. You did hold up your end of the deal last time.”

            He nodded and went back to his paper.

            After an hour, Chastity started to get sleepy. Julian had invited her to sleep in the bed in the back, which she took him up on. Next thing she knew, the flight attendant was waking her up, stating they were going to land in ten minutes, and she needed to go to the front to put her seatbelt on.

            Chastity went back to the lounge area of the plane. Julian was in the same chair she had left him earlier. He was rubbing his eyes.

            “Are you just waking up?” she asked as she took the seat across from him.

            “Yeah.” He yawned.

            They both secured their seatbelts and waited for the descent. All and all it was a good flight. No turbulence.

            They quietly got into the limo as the driver loaded their bags in the trunk. It took a few minutes for Chastity to realize that she and Julian were sitting pretty close. Their bodies weren’t touching but they were close enough to accidentally brush up against the other.

            Despite sleeping on the plane most of the way back, she still felt tired. Perhaps it was jetlag. It was dark out.

            The limo stopped at the gates of the estate. Chastity assumed the driver was talking to the security guard. After a minute, the car began to slowly move again.

            “Well, this is it. I’ll text you to let you know when I can get you the check,” Julian said.

            “That’ll be fine,” she said.

            “I know I paid for your assistance but I’m still going to say thank you.” Then he did something strange. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

            Why is everyone kissing me lately?

            But she didn’t seem to mind it as much as being kissed by the Benetti wives. But she was taken aback when Julian lingered next to her cheek.

            “You still look tired,” he whispered next to her ear. “Get some more rest.”

            “I will,” she whispered. The breathless thing was happening again. But this time it was obvious it was him. He was making her breathless.

            Oh, God. Please let it be his cologne that gives me temporary asthma.

            His breath felt warm and strangely pleasant on her cheek. She didn’t understand it. Men had breathed their hot breath on her before and she didn’t get short of breath. Matter of fact, she had hated it – but not now.

            “Sweet dreams,” his whispered and kissed her cheek again, but this time it was different.

            The kiss was slow and a little longer. The action actually made Chastity’s eyelids flutter.

            The driver opened the door, interrupting whatever Julian was trying to do.

            Thank you, God.

            Chastity cleared her throat and quickly collected herself. “Thank you. Goodbye,” she said without looking at him and hurried out the open door. As she emerged, she saw her father in a smoking jacket standing in front of the door.

            What in the world is he doing up this early?

            As the driver unloaded her bags she walked to him.

            “Welcome home, daughter,” her father greeted.

            “Hello, Father. What are you doing up?”

            “I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I figured I would stay up and get some work done. I was heading upstairs to take a shower, and I heard the car pull up.”

            “Oh.”

            “You look flushed. Are you well?”

            Her body did feel warm, but she didn’t think it showed. “Yes. I just got . . . hot in the limo.”

            In more ways than one, I’m afraid.

            “Oh. Well, let’s get you inside where the air conditioning is.” Her father raised his hand up all of a sudden. He waved.

            Chastity turned around to see that Julian had rolled down the window. If she didn’t know any better, she would have said he winked before the limo pulled off. Either way, him looking back at her made her tingly all over.