Page 37 of The Man with a Treasure

Still applying pressure to his head, I wrapped an arm around him to warm him and settle his broken heart. “For Giordano Hell.”

Did we need a doctor? Most likely. But we didn’t want one. We only wanted quiet. A moment to adjust to the world we had just been ‘officially’ shoved into.

So, we sat there. In silence.

Until… Gasp!

Our eyes snapped over to the side to see Noemi. She was in slacks and a plain hooded jacket but looked like an angel to me as she ran toward us. “You’re here.” I think my heart was reaching out to her before my eyes begged for her touch.

Sal’s head hung forward before his shoulders started to shake. His cry wasn’t sad like his earlier words. It was full of relief. “Noemi.”

She dropped to her knees in front of us. “Oh, my Rossi.” She quickly put an arm over his back and kissed his head, next to the shirt I was still holding to him. “It’s alright. I’m here.”

Not with the mindset to ask questions—how she knew where we might be, or why—I just stared at her like she was the breath I needed in my exhausted lungs.

A soft hand caressed my cheek and wiped away tears I didn’t know I had shed. “Angelo.” She pressed her lips to mine. “Do you know you are also bleeding?”

That is when I realized Sal and I must have been exhibiting shock. She spoke so gently it was as if she knew she was speaking to the young-hearted boys who loved her, not the men we were being forced to be. All I could reply with was, “His matters most.”

Lips pressed to mine again. “You have made me so proud. Never stop being his best friend.” Taking off her jacket, she told me, “Don’t let him go.”

My eyes were locked on my petite savior. “I won’t.”

Noemi tried to lay her jacket over our shoulders, but it was too small, so I told her, “Cover him.”

As soon as Sal was covered, soft lips smashed to mine once more. Then she whispered, “I will always love you, so dearly.”

In too much shock to comprehend all that she was saying, I smiled, believing her finding us at the river, when we needed her most, was more divine intervention.

Tears gathered in her beautiful green eyes. “Don’t move, alright. I need to tend to your wound.”

“You are so beautiful,” is all I said in reply as I watched her remove her shirt to be in only a little lacey undergarment.

She ran to the river. “Are you flirting with me, Angelo Bianchi?” Her nervous rapid actions weren’t matching her flirtatious words. Before I knew it, she was charging back to me.

As she pressed her shirt to my head, I noticed… “You have a smear on your face.”

With the back of her hand, she quickly wiped it away. “Just a little dirt.”

It had been my blood that Noemi dismissed in order to keep us calm. She was such a beautiful soul. Had I not had a head injury—and had the ability to understand this would be my last time alone with her, I would have said so much more. But, instead, I only said, “Thank you.”

Maybe thank you was enough. Maybe that one simple phrase was all that was needed. This young woman had given us her body, heart, and a piece of her soul that would always be ours. She had carried us through some rough moments and given us Heaven on Earth, while we walked a path so close to the Devil’s ice, cold fire.

Yes, maybe thank you was the best thing I could have ever said.

With Noemi between us, Sal and I laid down to rest and held the girl we cherished beyond reason. There was no sex or sexual tension. Only compassion and pure love.

Who would have ever guessed these young men she was holding in return, now so vulnerable and exposed, would ever become deadly, and sometimes as cold as the fire we despised? Luckily, we didn’t at the time, so we were able to relish and relax in the last totally innocent moment our lives would ever know.

Whack! A large, strong hand slapped me across the face, forcing my eyes to flutter open and see my father. He gripped my chin. “Who am I?”

It was dark. I was still next to the river, and I was confused, but I replied what I knew. “My papa.”

He exhaled relief, then told someone, “They are both awake. This is good.”

At the time, I didn’t understand they were speaking of worry about our head injuries, but I did immediately search for my best friend.

Sitting next to me on the riverbank, Sal was staring past me, his expression almost grave.