Ulysses took them along the lungarno heading east. With the river on their left, kid and Cress pointed to the sights. Uffizi, the national library, Palazzo Vecchio, Institute of the History of Science. The first chronometric devices are in there, said Cress. The first telescopes, astrolabes and maritime instruments. The first portable representations of the night sky; and, of course – Cress catching his breath – Galileo. The father of modern physics.
Peg turned to Ulysses and winked. I’ve missed this, she whispered.
Cress said, Galileo didn’t invent the telescope as people think he did, but it was the way he used it. He experimented. He observed. He deduced. His discovery of the satellites of Jupiter proved the Copernican view that the earth was in fact a satellite of the sun.
Heliocentrism, said Pete.
And the great bothering it unleashed, said Cress.
I wrote a song about it, said Pete. ‘Not All About You Any More’。
Pete hummed the chorus as Betsy carved through the undulating Viale Michelangelo into – appropriately enough – the Viale Galileo.
From the church of San Miniato, the group looked out across the city. Peg took off her sunglasses to brush a fleck of mascara out of her eye and Ulysses was relieved to see the slight red of tears and not a bruise. Cress began to talk about Arnolfo di Cambio. Architect, sculptor, designer, city planner, he said.
But could he make a bacon sandwich? said Col.
Shut up, Col, said Peg.
Cress ignored him and pressed on. He said, It was Arnolfo’s vision of 1284 that encapsulated what we see before us. The outline over there of his circuit of walls. （Do you see? We see, they said.） This new city boundary not only highlighted the importance of the river and bridges, but it brought inside the churches of the mendicant orders. Fixed points of the compass – or the cross, let’s say: Santissima Annunziata in the north, Santo Spirito in the south, Santa Maria Novella over in the west, and Santa Croce in the east. And there in the centre, in all its majesty, drawing the eye towards it: the cathedral. Il Duomo. Representing the glory of the city itself.
Peg found Ulysses in the cemetery.
This him? she said.
Yep. Arturo Bernadini.
She sat down next to Ulysses. You come here often?
Not often. A bit of peace now and then. He changed my life, Peg.
You saved his.
I’m not really sure I did, he said.
But you were who he remembered. You more than anyone. That’s the effect you have on people, Tempy.
Aw, I don’t know, he said and lit a cigarette. Thanks for coming, he added. I know it cost you.
Peg quiet. She took the cigarette and said, You know me more than anyone.
How does that feel?
Peg didn’t answer.
Christmas tomorrow, he said. I hope it snows.
Ted hates snow, she said.
She leant down towards the grave. Make it snow, Arturo. Make it snow for this boy here.
It was Cress who drove Peg and Col back to the pensione. Pete wanted to walk and kid wanted to be with Pete so Ulysses led the way down the steps into San Niccolò. The city was wrapping up. Trams were packed, and the last of the shoppers were rushing by with parcels or bags of food. Kid telling Pete about La Befana, the old woman who brings presents to children. But not on Christmas Day, Pete. On Epiphany, 6 January. But I’ll get mine at Christmas, won’t I, Ulysses? – You will – And if the children are bad, she said, they get a lump of coal. That’s a bit harsh, said Pete. A bit close to the bone, that.
They stopped along the embankment and leant over the wall. Ponte Vecchio up ahead. The slow movement of the river below. The hills surrounding the city were dark with a scattering of lights. Somewhere, music. Ulysses lit a couple of cigarettes and handed one to Pete. He liked being with Pete. Pete had quiet junctures.
They turned into Via Guicciardini and Pete said, Mind if I go in there, Temps, and light a few candles? Only time me and the church are at peace.
Course not, said Ulysses and they veered off towards the open door, past the sentinel Christmas tree, and into the gloom. The church felt warm from bodies, and the strong scent of frankincense lingered. Pete stuck his fingers in the font and dabbed his forehead. Can’t have too many blessings, he said. I want to do that, said the kid and Ulysses lifted her up and she stuck her hand in the bowl. She flicked water at Ulysses and he tried to dodge her and as he did, he caught sight of a painting behind her and his heart skipped. So there it was! After all these years. Kid slid down and walked off with Pete. Ulysses dug a coin from his pocket and in no time the gated chapel flared with light and the luminosity of colour. Darnley saying— Ulysses Temper, Miss Evelyn Skinner, I’d like you to meet Pontormo’s Deposition from the Cross.