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‘Do you know anything about him?’ Oliver asked as he sat at the far end of the Perlman’s swimming pool.Elio, who was laid by the water, deep into Norwegian Wood and not taking much notice, answered, ‘Hmmm?’ without looking up.Oliver used his index finger and jabbed it into Elio’s ribs to force the attention he demanded and received a yelp and a shove in return. ‘Anchise. Do you know much about him?’Elio followed Oliver’s eyes over to the orchard where Anchise was puling a small trolley behind him that had upon it a whicker basket, half full of pears. Harvesting fruit was a hard task for a man of indeterminate age but the canopy of the trees kept him in dappled shade from the late summer sun. ‘It’s Anchise, what is there to know?’ he asked and went back to his book.Oliver furrowed his eyebrows. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you sound more bratty.’Elio’s lip curled upward. ‘I’m sure you have.’ he replied with a half smile and as punishment had his book ripped away from under his fingers. ‘Hey!’ he grumbled in protest but Oliver had already thrown it onto the sun lounger which was further away than Elio would countenance moving for.‘You’re telling me that in your twenty four years of life you’ve not even given the man a thought?’ he asked sincerely.‘What and you have?’ Elio asked sarcastically which earned him a flick of water over his stomach.‘One, yes I have, in fact I’m doing it right now and two, I’m not the one whose spent half my life with him.’Elio pushed his sun glasses up into his hair. ‘Hardly half my life. We come for six weeks in the summer and four over winter. I can’t be bothered to do the math, be my guest if you can, but it won’t add up to half my life.’Rolling his eyes Oliver replied. ‘You’re being obtuse, you know exactly what I mean.’ He sighed. ‘I’m guilty of it too.’ he said. ‘I’ve known your family seven years and have barley spoken two words to him.’Elio slipped in to the pool beside him, giving it some thought. ‘Well what do you two talk about when you go fishing?’ he asked.Oliver shrugged. ‘Fishing.’‘Yeah, fishing.’Oliver laughed, ‘No I mean that’s all we talk about. Fishing, tackle, boats. It’s mostly silent contemplation’Elio’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. ‘Good God it sounds thrilling.’ and got his under thigh squeezed in retaliation. They were about to dive into a fully fledged brawl when Annella walked over with some fresh lemonade and so their play fight ended before it began.‘Compliments of Mafalda.’ she said and sat down the tray.‘Annella can I ask you something?’ Oliver asked, taking hold of one the ice cold glasses.‘Ovviamente.’ Of course.‘What do you know about, Anchise?’The look on her face was down right comical, it was like she’d been given a formula to answer with no hope of an outcome. She blew out her cheeks that had gone slightly red clearly, like her son, never given it much thought before. ‘Gosh, how embarrasing. You know I’ve never given it much thought.’Elio pushed at Oliver’s shoulders as if to say See, it’s not just me!‘We inherited him with the house after my Uncle died. Mafalda and Manfredi were here also but they had been employed not long before his death. So I knew Anchise a little bit from my childhood when we came to stay in the summer but he was already established here.’‘So has he always been the gardener, handyman of the villa?’ Elio asked.Annella nodded. ‘My recollection of him from when I was a younger is very much the same as now.’ She let out a little laugh. ‘Anchise...just is.’ A soft smile came on her face as she watched the old man work on the trees, testing and pulling off one piece of fruit at a time. ‘He’s as much part of the villa as the foundations or the walls.’‘So never married?’ inquired Oliver.She shook her head. ‘Oh no, never. He was a young, strapping man in his youth from what I’ve heard. It was never mention he’d ever been engaged or courted even.’The boys looked at each other trying not to laugh. Annella was the fountain of all knowledge gossip based so if she’d heard Anchise was a strapping youth then a strapping youth he had been and seemingly a confirmed bachelor.‘Interesting.’ said Elio nodding his head slightly.‘Anyway, lunch will be ready in around half an hour so make sure you’ve changed out of your wet things by then.’ she directed and walked back towards the villa.As soon as they were alone again, Elio turned to Oliver and said, ‘You don’t think he’s…’ and wiggled his eyebrows consiprationally.‘What?’ Oliver asked, genuinely confused.‘You know, like us?!’ Elio was suddenly reminded of Oliver’s first visit and the idea Anchise had leered over him.Oliver laughed so hard he nearly slipped under the water. ‘You think Anchise’s gay? Really?’Elio shrugged. ‘You heard what mama said. A strapping young man who never courted. It was unusual back then not to get married and have a family.’Oliver mulled it over for a moment. ‘Well that’s true but it’s still no reason why we should jump to that particular conclusion.’‘Oliver is right.’ came a voice from the ether that made them both jump in unison and both turned round to see Samuel standing there with his own glass of lemonade in his hand.‘Gesù, papà, ci hai spaventati a morte.’ Jesus, Papa, you scared us half to death.‘Serves you right for gossiping.’ he replied. ‘Just because a man has never married or has decided to live somewhat of a solitary life does not automatically mean he has certain persuasions and even if it did that would be no reason to talk about him behind his back.’‘Well I’m hardly likely to start that conversation with an old man a I?’ Elio stated.Samuel laughed. ‘Old man? He’s not that much older than I am.’ he said.Oliver raised a brow. ‘Really? I would have said he was much older.’Samuel waggled a finger. ‘Sometimes the eyes see what they want to see and not what is true. You look upon a slightly older man than your father, who is greying a little before his time, mostly unshaven, somewhat portly and you assume.’Oliver looked abashed, Elio unconcerned at his fathers admonishment.‘How about you think all that he has done for us over the years rather than whisper about his private life, hmmmm?’ And with that, Samuel took his leave.Oliver dunked his full body under the water and came back up again as to wash away his sins. Elio stared at the ‘old’ man who was still studiously harvesting. ‘He has done so much for us.’ he said, finally feeling some what ashamed of himself. ‘The garden wouldn’t look like this without him. Mafalda would never cook with such fresh fish.’‘He always gets the electricity back on when we have a thunder storm.’ Oliver interpolated. ‘Keeps our bikes in perfect order.’‘Keeps the villa in perfect order. I’ve never once heard him complain, or take a day off.’ Elio’s head bowed in discomfort and he rested it on Oliver’s shoulder. ‘He’s been part of my family for so long I can’t believe it took me this time to even notice him properly.’ he whispered.Oliver kissed his riot of curls. ‘I think we’re all guilty of taking people for granted.’ he said.‘I know that’s true but it you asked me if I loved Mafalda I would instantly say yes. I wouldn’t have known what to say about Anchise.’‘And now?’ Oliver asked.‘I guess I do.’ he replied. ‘In a different way but yes, I do. I’m happy he’s here. I’d be so sad to lose him if he ever left us.’Oliver put his arm around Elio and pulled him in tightly. ‘Anchise suddenly reminds me of something Proust once wrote.’‘Which was?’ Elio inquired.‘Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.’‘That’s kinda perfect.’ said Elio.‘Yeah, it kinda is.’