Part 33 (1/2)

”That might be Cardiac City.”

”That's begun to seem a little silly now. Anyhow, you're okay, aren't you?”

”I'm okay. I'm not sure whether that would hold true if we didn't put the converter back.” Dave was taking off his jacket. ”Shel, remember the Atlantic.”

”I know.” Shel sank into a chair. ”We're down to one converter now. So we're not going to be able to do this anymore, the way we have been.”

”Maybe.”

”What do you mean, maybe maybe?”

”Shel, I'm not sure, but I think I've found your father.”

CHAPTER 24.

Galileo was obliged to retract by those mitred marionettes who are today tyrants and the shame of Italy.

-VOLTAIRE, NOTEBOOKS NOTEBOOKS

”WE put the extra converter away too soon,” said Shel. put the extra converter away too soon,” said Shel.

”I guess,” said Dave. ”Let's hope this is the last time.”

Shel used the working converter to go back to the early morning and retrieve both units, for a total of three. That provided an additional one for his father, should they find him. He a.s.sured the Powers That Be that he'd replace them literally within seconds after their return from Italy.

Now they were ready to go after Michael Shelborne again. By then, both were convinced that the man in Florence would indeed turn out to be Shel's father. ”We're going to find out,” Shel predicted, ”that he dropped the converter. And got stuck. Just the way I did.”

They arrived in open country, in a field, on a cool morning in May 1640. Two young men, probably teens, were working in the field, about a mile away, and the first thing Shel did was look for dogs. The kids saw them. One waved. Shel and Dave waved back and started in their direction.

They were on their knees, doing something to the soil, spreading fertilizer, perhaps. One got up as they approached. ”h.e.l.lo,” he said. ”Are you lost?”

”Yes,” said Dave. ”We're looking for Careo.”

”You have to get back on the road.” He pointed in the direction from which they'd come. ”Go left. It's about a twenty-minute walk.”

DAVE stopped an elderly couple traveling in a cart and asked if they knew of a Michael Shelborne, who lived in Careo. stopped an elderly couple traveling in a cart and asked if they knew of a Michael Shelborne, who lived in Careo.

”Well, he used used to live here,” said the woman. to live here,” said the woman.

”Has he moved?”

”Oh, no, sir. He's dead. dead.”

Mrto.

Shel didn't have to wait for the translation.

”Are you sure?” asked Dave.

”Oh, yes. It was three or four years ago, wasn't it, Poppa?”

”Yes,” Poppa replied. ”He was a good man. Did you know him?”

Shel showed the photo.

”Oh, no,” Poppa said. ”Michael was much older than this man.”

The woman studied it. ”It could be him. When he was young.”

A young woman confirmed it. ”That's him,” she said. ”He's buried at Santo Pietro.” young woman confirmed it. ”That's him,” she said. ”He's buried at Santo Pietro.”

”A churchyard?” asked Shel, in English.

Dave translated.

”S.”

”He wasn't much of a churchgoer,” Shel objected. ”It must be somebody else.”

”Can you show us?” Dave asked.

The woman's name was Carlotta. She was attractive, with dark, luminous eyes and a quiet smile. She said it was only a short distance, and they fell in behind her. Shel walked almost in a daze. He wasn't sure what he'd expected to find in Galileo's Italy, but certainly nothing like this. For one thing, his father was immortal. Whatever else might change, he would be there, always ready to laugh, to demonstrate what living really meant. Carpe diem. Carpe diem. Make the most of your time because you will not forever enjoy the daylight. And that very att.i.tude had somehow imbued him with a cloak of invulnerability. Make the most of your time because you will not forever enjoy the daylight. And that very att.i.tude had somehow imbued him with a cloak of invulnerability.

Carts clattered past. People worked in the fields. Farm animals nibbled on gra.s.s. Occasionally, someone rode by on a horse.

Carlotta knew everyone by name, greeted every person they pa.s.sed, answered questions about her mother's well-being by saying she was all right. Coming along. Bene. Bene. When Dave asked, she explained that her mother had recently delivered another child but had had a difficult time for a while. When Dave asked, she explained that her mother had recently delivered another child but had had a difficult time for a while.

When she learned that Shel was Michael's son, she offered condolences. ”You look like him,” she added. The remark induced another chill.

They moved at a steady pace, around a curve out of a cl.u.s.ter of trees, and a town came into view. It was a small town, maybe a hundred houses. Carlotta pointed out an attractive villa with a broad deck and bright green shutters, atop a hill. ”That is where he lived,” she said.

”Michael Shelborne?”

”Yes.”

They pa.s.sed a winery and more houses. And finally they approached an old stone church. It was small and looked abandoned. Shel doubted they could have gotten fifty people into it.

”No,” said Carlotta. ”Santo Pietro's still has an active congregation. But they have no money.”