"You were away for a while. Couldn't find your book?"

The question came from Robert, seated with Eliana and Marco at a tall table in the solarium bar. It was past two, and they had skipped lunch in favor of Thai snacks and translucent cocktails with floating sweet lime slices.

"I decided to look for another book in the library but didn't find anything interesting," Marisa responded in a casual tone, sitting on a vacant stool between the men.

"I'm glad you skipped The Clockwork Orange," Marco said. He clarified to their friends: "She had a nightmare because of that novel."

At the allusion to her dream with Robert, Marisa crossed her legs uncomfortably as though her secret had been unveiled before them.

"You're brave." Robert gazed at her without disguising his admiration. "The Clockwork Orange is one of my favorite books, but I admit it's challenging to decipher the made-up slang used by Burgess."

"I found the story instigating. It's just that it may not the best choice for a summer read."

"Which version are you reading? The American or the British?"

"The American."

"Switch to the British. It includes the last chapter with the ending idealized by Burgess. The American publisher removed it for commercial reasons. Burgess disowned that version, arguing it promotes an impoverished vision of the human being."

"How impoverishing?" Marisa questioned.

The answer was long.

Marco jumped ahead of Robert: he too would have suggested the British edition had he known Marisa was reading the other. The purpose of fiction, Marco affirmed, was to show the hero's change and growth. And without its last chapter, Burgess reasoned The Clockwork Orange was just an allegory of evil, ignoring people's ability to change and therefore grow of their own free will.

Robert bypassed Marco: in the introductory note, Burgess emphasized the free-will power of the human being for choosing between good and evil. To portray a human being as a creature controlled by good or evil was equal to reducing it to a clockwork orange—luscious and succulent on the outside, a mere mechanism in the inside for God or the Devil to wind up.

"He referred to the imposition of a mechanistic morality upon a living organism full of juice and sweetness," Marco elaborated.

"A mechanical morality dictated by God, the Devil or the State," stressed Robert.

"And today the State is replacing both God and the Devil. Burgess was prophetic," Marco interposed.

Stunned in the middle of that crossfire, Marisa began to suspect Marco was jealous of Robert and wanted to prove he also had something to say. He liked intellectual debates for exchanging ideas, never to show off, and he definitely didn't have the habit of interrupting his interlocutors. That Marco would try to impress her signaled their fight was over. Marisa cheered up. It didn't last long.

Raising her hand, Eliana interrupted the two men: "Easy, boys. I couldn't read past the first part of the book and I agree it's not the best choice for a cruise. Nobody wants to read about violence, good and evil by the pool. I'd recommend to Marisa a classic such as Steinbeck's Cannery Row or its sequel, Sweet Thursday. Maybe even East of Eden."

Marco's face brightened.

"I didn't know you liked Steinbeck, Eli."

"I love him. Robert just gave me a box set with his complete works."

"Well, East of Eden precisely illustrates the reasoning of Burgess on the human capacity to choose between good and evil."

"You're right, Marco. I thought of Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday because they're light stories." Eliana then addressed Marisa: "Have you read East of Eden? It's Steinbeck's masterpiece."

"No. But I've read the entire Spider-Man collection."

The others laughed, and she laughed along to hide her uneasiness.

"As surprising as it may be, Spider-Man also fits this discussion," concluded Marisa, rounding up the idea that had just occurred to her: "One of the famous lines in his story is that with great power comes great responsibility. In fact, abstaining from doing something you can get away with is a laud to free will and a sign of greatness."

Everybody agreed, and Marisa was relieved to have given at least one contribution to the conversation. Even though she had been raised amid books thanks to her father's incentive, she felt inept among the three of them, who inhabit such a different world from hers: the world of thirty-something people, cultured, experienced and successful. People who had already defined their lives and read the Steinbeck classics. Moreover, Marco and Eliana's endless chats got on her nerves. Marisa thought of the letter she had written. Maybe Marco would find it juvenile compared to Eliana's sophistication. And now he called her Eli. It dawned on Marisa that his display of knowledge about The Clockwork Orange might be actually aimed at Eliana.

"You'll like East of Eden," Robert assured her, touching her arm lightly.

His touch brought Marisa comfort and an undefinable nostalgia. She didn't have a chance, however, to absorb that sentiment or comprehend its meaning, for Eliana pushed a tray in her direction, insisting she tasted the shrimps with chutney. Marisa thanked her and nibbled on one half-heartedly, annoyed at Eliana's excessive courtesy. Now she babbled that they had scheduled a massage session at the spa adjoining the solarium.

"You're coming, Mari?" Marco asked. "Our session is in half hour."

"I can't. I have other plans."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What plans?"

"It's a secret. Now I'd better go." Marisa smiled, rising from the table. She turned to Marco: "I'll see you later."

With a wave, she deserted the bar, the sweetness of the chutney still in her mouth with a sour aftertaste. Being around the three of them oppressed her—Marco with his dismaying inconstancy, Robert whose touch took possession of her, Eliana implacably stealing Marco's attentions. To that was added Madame Lefèvre's prediction, which Marisa pushed away from her mind.

She advanced on the deck and didn't take notice of Zoe approaching. iIf the friend didn't call her,  she would have bumped into her. Marisa halted, covering her mouth to suppress a startled exclamation.

"Whoa, you're with your head in the clouds. Where's Marco?"

"In the solarium with Eliana and Robert."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I had to get away from them or I'd go crazy."

Dropping onto a nearby beach chair, Marisa pressed one hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Hey, what's up?" Zoe sat next to her, patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm losing Marco."

Marisa emptied her heart but did not muster the courage to mention Robert's feelings for her. Nor that he was affecting her more than she would admit even to herself.

"Why didn't you give Marco the letter?"

"The others were around. I'll wait for him to go back to the cabin. But to be honest, at this point I'm not even sure it's worth the shot..."

"Of course it is. Listen, I'm going to the beauty parlor to have my hair done for the ball. Why don't you come with me? You'll feel pretty and perk up. And afterward... Marco better watch out."

Marisa was about to pass on it. Then she had an idea.

___________________________

Any idea where this is going? Have the story events surprised you so far?  xoxo