Chapter 7

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Dominic retrieved his bags and looked for a cab. The airport in Rome was some distance outside the city, and it was a long cab ride. His apartment was on a narrow street, and as he got out of the cab, he looked up at the balconies with their hanging baskets of flowers mixed with freshly washed laundry put outside to dry.

There was no elevator, and he trudged the three flights up the narrow stairway with his luggage. The apartment was bright and airy, the morning sun streaming in the south-facing windows. He opened his bags and found a good deal of the contents to be wet from the time spent on the tarmac in the rain at JFK.

Oh well, he thought, when in Rome, live like a Roman, and he began hanging his clothes out to dry on the balcony as his neighbors were doing. He knew he should take a nap, as he had not slept much on the plane. But he wanted to get out and explore. He slipped on his coat and headed down the stairs and out the door.