taller than both his parents by the sixth grade. But still. Shouldnât Howard and I look at least a little bit alike?
I kept my eyes glued to the ground. Youâll adjust in no time. Heâs really a nice man. That from my grandmother, who as far as I knew had never even met Howard. At least not in person.
An enormous blue bus went whooshing past, sending a blast of hot air into my face, and when I looked up, I gasped. What the  . . . ? Was I running through a scene from an Olive Garden menu? It was so idyllic . The road was lined with trees and curved gently past rustic-looking houses and buildings painted in soft, buttery colors. Patchwork hills stretched out into the distance and there were honest-to-goodness vineyards behind half the houses. So this was the Italy people were always talking about. No wonder people were always losing their minds over it.
Another vehicle came roaring up behind me, honking loudly and jolting me from my Italian moment. I sprang away from the road and turned to look back. It was a small red car that looked like it was really, really trying to come across as more expensive than it was and as it neared me it slowed down. The driver and his passenger both had dark hair and were in their early twenties. When we made eye contact, the driver grinned and started honking again.
âCalm down . Itâs not like Iâm in your way,â I said under my breath. The driver slammed on his brakes, like heâd somehow managed to hear me, then came to a stop right in the middle of the road. Another guy, maybe a year or two older, rolled down the window of the backseat, a big grin on his face.
âCiao, bella! Cosa fai stasera?â
I shook my head and started running again, but the driver just pulled ahead a few yards, coming to a stop on my side of the road.
Great. After four years of running I knew all about this breed of guy. I donât know who told them that âout running aloneâ was code for âplease pick me up,â but Iâd learned that telling them you werenât interested wasnât enough. They just thought you were playing hard to get.
I crossed to the other side of the road and turned toward the cemetery, taking a second to tighten my shoelaces. Then I inhaled deeply, hearing an imaginary starting pistol in my mind. Go!
There was a shout of surprise from the car. â Dove vai ?â
I didnât even look back. If properly motivated I could pretty much outrun anyoneâeven Italian men in cheap red cars. Iâd scale a fence if I had to.
By the time I got back to the cemetery the guys had passed me twice more and then given up, and Iâm pretty sure even my eyelids were sweating. Howard and Sonia were standing with their backs to the gate, but they both turned quickly when they heard me. Probably because I sounded like an asthmatic werewolf.
âYou werenât gone long. Are you okay?â Howard asked.
âI . . . got . . . chased.â
âBy who?â
âA car . . . full of guys.â
âThey were probably just smitten,â Sonia said.
âWait a minute. A car full of guys chased you? What did they look like?â His jaw tightened and he looked toward the road like he was considering charging out there with a baseball bat or something.
It kind of made up for the Sheâs so quiet comment.
I shook my head, finally catching my breath. âIt wasnât really a big deal. Iâll just stay inside the cemetery next time.â
âOr you could run behind the cemetery,â Sonia said. âThereâs a gate that leads out behind the grounds. Those hills would probably give you a great workout, and itâs beautiful back there. And thereâd be no cars to chase you.â
Howard still had steam curling out of his nostrils, so I changed the subject. âWhere are the Jorgansens?â
Sonia grinned. âThere was a bit of a . . .