#Chapter 196 – Hard Work

When we get to the top of the hill I grimace a little because… Frankie’s description of the place as “gone a bit to crap” is one hell of an understatement. We stop in front of the gorgeous old villa at the top of the hill, both of us hesitating as we look at the slumped and broken porch, the crumpled pergola, the weeds peeking through every piece of brick and stonework on the place. “Is there…anyone here?” I whisper, squeezing Frankie’s hand. He opens his mouth to respond but suddenly a woman appears in the door, old and bent, frowning at us. She stares for a moment and then begins to shout at us in Portuguese, waving a white napkin in our direction. And even if we don’t understand her words, her instructions are perfectly clear: get the hell off my property. I take a step back, eager to comply with her demands, but suddenly another man – much younger – appears at her side. He frowns at us too and then calls first in Portuguese, and then in English. “What do you want?” Fra