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the right to say: 'I solemnly don't give a damn.' Not you. Because you have your whole life ahead. Out of respect for the name you bear: your father was a man of great worth. "I raise his glass to the window:" Nice color. Really great Tokai. What year did you say it was?"

"Nineteen hundred and forty-eight."

"Oh yeah, the year you met Papa. You see darling, your trouble is to be born in the wrong place. If you were born in New York you would be seen every day on television sitting on the leopard skin that Papa sent you from Africa to say: 'Renata or not Renata? This is the problem. For now I don't want to answer the question but I tell you... "and showing Across the River in one hand and a bottle of Coca-Cola in the other: '...I tell you that to fascinate a writer you must always and only drink Coca-Cola.' You would be famous and rich if you were born in America. But you were born in Venice."

For better and for worse I was born in Venice, I thought. You want to be my partner for better and for worse, Papa had asked me. Even if defeated, Death was involved between us. Death makes it clear what is really important and what is not. I was going to be his partner forever no matter what happened. In my heart I would always remain his partner and no one could have looked at or controlled my heart.

"Not only were you born in Venice. You were also born in this building and this complicates things," said Carlo. "You are young, you are still a girl and you have to be careful." 

All my life I've been told to be careful, I thought as I stood up and walked over to the window. I looked at the side of Ca 'Soranzo that overlooked the courtyard and remembered the glow, the crackle, the smell of the approaching flames on the night of the fire.

"The second crash, when we hit the ground, wasn't good. Having to ride 53 miles on a bumpy road...