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"No worries," he told me. "I'm not in a hurry." I smiled at the way that he echoed my own words back at me.
"Good," I said. We started walking north on the Esplanade, away from the market. We were heading towards a playground. There were two guys on skateboards zooming past us and a little girl on a scooter with a helmet. We were passed by sweaty joggers who weren't wearing much clothing.
"What kind of business brought you to Cairns?"
"I'm not actually staying in Cairns," he said. "I'm in Townsville."
"Interesting," I said. "I've never been there. I've heard it called Brownsville."
He shook his head. "It's different, that's for sure."
"Why are you in Cairns, if you're staying in Townsville?"
"I wanted to get out, get some sunshine...get away from my responsibilities for a little bit." A little bit of cloud passed over his face. "And I wanted to see the ocean."
"Those are all good reasons to sit at the Esplanade."
"Where do you live?"
"Parramatta Park," I said. "I used to live next to the Botanic Gardens, but I've moved a little closer to the CBD, what we call downtown in America."
"Yes," Massimo said. "That sounds good."
He moved to the side to let two kids on roller blades through. Then he came back and smiled down at me. Even though I was sweaty and sticky from the humidity, the warmth of his smile melted me inside.
“Why did you come here from Italy? You’re a long way from home.” I wiped my forehead.
“There are opportunities in Australia that are prohibitively difficult in Italy. Australia is rich in natural resources.”
“So you’re interested in the mines? I’ve been told that the boom is over.”
He shrugged. “Maybe for some things.” He sounded very polite, which meant that I was probably sounding like an idiot.
“What are you here for, specifically?”
He looked down. “I’m taking over the family business.” He cleared his throat. “How would you feel about taking this somewhere private?”
Trust
I didn’t know why. I knew better than to step into vans where strangers offered candy. But there was something about Massimo which made it less sketchy to get into his car with him.
We were quiet as we drove to the Doubletree Hilton in Cairns. We were quiet as we made his way into his suite, which was pretty huge. The two of us were on a couch that overlooked the Esplanade. He talked for the first time since we’d decided to go to the hotel. He looked at his hands. "My father is very sick."
"I'm sorry to hear that. My dad recovered from his prostate cancer and is okay now. I know that your father will pull through."
He swallowed hard. "I hope so. Or I will inherit far more responsibility that I am ready for."
"Massimo, you're thirty. Surely you're old enough to handle what you need to. You’re some kind of executive and have an MBA, right?"
I could see the flicker of a smile. "Yes."
"So if you have to take over the family business, you'll be okay."
"My father doesn't approve of my decisions."
"If he's dead, he doesn't really get a say."
"That's true," he said. "That's comforting. But what if I run the business into the ground?"
