She felt excited for no particular reason, in anticipation of exactly what she wasn’t sure. It was sort of like everything—the rumble of the boat, the ocean spray that misted her face, the sight of Venice receding in the distance and the warm, bright morning sun that promised a day filled with possibility—contained in this one moment held all the best moments of all the best summer days she’d ever known.“That’s the Lido,” said Stefania, pointing to the approaching shore. She had short, tousled hair and a cute, wide-eyed face, and she looked as vibrant as the morning, in a white cotton blouse and a pair of yellow capri pants. She glanced up and smiled, and Gwen noticed the smattering of freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose.The crowd on the vaporetto pressed forward as the boat docked. Stefania and Gwen were first off, Gwen following closely as her new friend walked briskly along the road that paralleled the water. They turned right onto the Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, the Lido’s main street, which led from the lagoon to the seashore, and soon they were seated on a couple of springy red seats at the back of a bus, peering out the windows at the tree-lined boulevard and the luxurious storefronts.The beach stretched on for miles in a beautiful, unobstructed arc and was lined with two rows of blue-striped canvas cabanas.
