MARTY found himself in the heart Florence looking for Jennifer. “Jennifer.” he said, “Where are you?”
People were looking at him. So he went up to one of them and asked “Hey, I’m looking for a girl named Jennifer. She’s got auburn hair and…” He was interrupted when the person he questioned replied in Italian.
Great said Marty to himself, I’m getting a response in Italian. He started to ask around
“Does anyone understand English?” But all he got were Italian responses.
Well, Doc doesn’t have to worry about me talking to anyone in this era. said Marty to himself, Nobody’s speaking the same language I am.
Then, he promptly put his hand in his pocket. When he did, he felt something. Pulling that something out of his pockets he saw coins with Italian inscriptions and a device. Marty recognized the device immediately. It was one of the translators that Marty used when he went back in time to Ancient Rome on rescue mission to get Doc.
A translator. said Marty to himself, This’ll help.
Immediately, he put it on and activated it. People started to speak English. It wasn’t perfect English thought. More than broken English, but Marty was able to understand enough to communicate.
Great. said Marty to himself, Time to start asking.
++++++
Jennifer was out of breath when she lost Marty. Resting awhile she looked around.
Looking at the style told her that Doc wasn’t lying. She looked at the buildings. Among them were the Cupola of Duomo complete with Giotto’s bell-tower.
Florence, she said to herself, If Doctor Brown thinks that a “romantic vacation” here would bring me and Marty back together, he’s crazy.
She was about to rant to herself more when she heard a voice.
“Simonetta”
Turning around, Jennifer looked to see who it was. It was a man in his late twenties. His hair, looks and style fit the time and his voice had an Italian accent.
He also spoke Italian.
“Excuse me.” said Jennifer, “You’ll have to tell me in English. I
don’t understand your language.”
The man laughed. He responded in Italian.
This isn’t going to be easy. said Jennifer to herself, The other me learned to speak Spanish. I wish I was in her shoes now.
Then she felt something under her blouse. Reaching in she pulled out something. It was a device similar to the translator Doc and Marty used while in Ancient Rome. She put it on and activated it. The man started to speak English. Not perfect English but English nonetheless.
“Simonetta.” he said, “You really have a since of humor-eh?”
“Simonetta?” exclaimed Jennifer, “There’s been a mistake here. My name’s not Simonetta. It’s…” The man would have none of this however. He took her by the arm and led her into a nearby building while she was saying “Wait a minute. What are you doing? Let me go!.” The man didn’t listen. He brought her inside where she looked around.
The interior of the building had a big room like that of an artist’s studio complete with an easel, paintbrushes and canvases. It also had a huge clamshell near a wall.
Jennifer was greeted by three more people: A man and two more women. One woman had a broom and seemed to be tidying up the place while the other man and woman seemed to be almost naked.
While the man who brought Jennifer in was talking to the woman with the broom, Jennifer herself looked at the canvas on the easel and recognized it immediately. The painting was in the sketch stage but it was unmistakably Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. The sketch stage itself wasn’t complete either. It lacked the Hours that was supposed to dress Venus after she made it ashore. But it did, have the man and woman blowing flowers and wind upon the goddess trying to dry her after she emerged from the sea. The man and woman were being posed by the man and woman who she saw were almost naked.
But the goddess was not complete. It only had the head of Venus. The rest of her wasn’t drawn. It was as if the artist couldn’t decide on how he would get her to pose. Jennifer took one close look at the face. The face had borne her own resemblance.
Oh my God, Jennifer said to herself, That’s Sandro Botticelli! And he’s just started to paint The Birth of Venus. And he’s mistaken me for his model.
Botticelli turned to Jennifer and said “Go into the changing room and get your clothes off.”
I’ve gotta get out of here! said Jennifer to herself. She turned to go to the door.
“Simonetta.” said Botticelli, “Where are you going?”
“I’m not Simonetta.” said Jennifer, “I’m…”
“Jennifer.” said a voice from outside. It sounded like Marty. A peek through a crack in the door told her that it was him.
Turning around, she said smilingly “I was just kidding around. I think I’ll get ready.”
She followed the broom lady into the changing room.
++++++
Marty kept looking for Jennifer and came across a tavern. Upon entering it, he kept asking for Jennifer but the bartender asked “What will it be?”
“I’m just looking for someone…” said Marty before he was interrupted.
“Aren’t you going to order something?” demanded the bartender.
“Okay.” said Marty hoping that buying a drink would help him get information on the whereabouts of Jennifer. So he asked “I’ll have a Tab.”
“A tab?” exclaimed the bartender, “I can’t give you a tab unless you order something.”
“Okay.” said Marty, “Give me a Pepsi free.”
“Hey Mister.” insisted the bartender, “I don’t know what a pepsi is but if you want something you pay for it.”
“Well then, give me something without sugar in it.” said Marty.
“Like what?” asked the bartender.
“Coffee.” said Marty.
“What’s that?” asked the bartender.
“Okay.” said Marty, “Ice water.”
“You want water, go dunk your head in the Mediterranean.” said the bartender pouring out a flagon for Marty, “Here we serve wine.”
“Wine.” exclaimed Marty, “Sorry but I won’t be twenty-one for the next two years.”
“What’s that have’ta do with it-eh?” asked the bartender.
“You mean the drinking age here is eighteen?” asked Marty.
“Eighteen?” asked the bartender.
“Well then, what’s the legal age of…”
Marty was interrupted when the sight over two boys around the ages of twelve or thirteen
being passed out drunk and under the table caught his eye.
Turning back to the bartender, he said “Do their parents know about this?”
“Yes.” said one of the customers, “I’m the papa of one of them.”
“Oh shit.” said Marty, “Excuse me a minute.”
He turned to go outside to find a policman or whatever kind of authority that enforces the law here. As he did, he saw more underage boys going in and out of other taverns drunk. “This is nuts.” he said to himself.
Then, he saw a woman approaching the tavern that Marty exited. He recognized her and approached her immediately. “Jennifer.” he said.
“I beg your pardon-eh?” said the woman.
“Sorry.” said Marty, “Wrong woman.”
“That’s alright.” said the woman. Then she looked at Marty very sadly.
“What is it?” asked Marty.
“You look like…” said the woman, “Oh no. Got to hide.” And she ducked into the tavern.
“Hey wait.” said Marty. He followed her inside to the bar. “What is it?” he asked.
“Someone’s following me.” said the woman, “Someone I don’t like.”
“Like who?” asked Marty.
Then a voice cried out.
“McFly!”
Marty turned around to see who it was. Who he saw was too someone familiar.
“Biff?” he asked himself out loud.
“I thought I told you never come in here.” said the man pushing aside a customer, “It’s going to cost…hey, you’re not a McFly. But, you sure look like one-eh?” Marty paused for a minute. But the man continued. “What’s your name?” he asked.
Marty paused. Then he remembered The Count of Monte Cristo and said “Dumas. Alexander Dumas.”
The bar exploded into laughter. “What kind of name is that?” demanded the man interrogating him, “Where are you from?”
“Monte Cristo.” said Marty.
The man looked at Marty again. “You don’t look French.” he said, “You’re talking Italian but you don’t look French. You look like an Irishman-like a McFly.”
Italian? asked Marty to himself, then he remembered that he was still wearing the translator.
Then, he saw the man turn to the Jennifer look-a-like and say “Well, lookie what we got here.”
“Leave me alone, Tannenio.” said the woman, “I’m now married to Marco Vespucci.”
“Maybe now, Simonetta.” said Tannenio, “But someday you’ll be mine even if I kill every last male on earth older than you.”
“In your dreams, Tannenio.” said Simonetta, “What if every male on earth gets you first?”
“Me a count?” laughed Tannenio, “Don’t make me laugh..” He grabbed her by the arm and said “C’mon, c’mon.”
“Leave me alone.” said Simonetta trying to fight him off.
“You want it.” said Tannenio, “You know you want it, and you know you
want me to give it to you. “
“Shut your filthy mouth.” said Simonetta as she slapped Tannenio across the face, “I’m not that kind of a woman.”
“Well maybe you are and you just don't know it yet.” said Tannenio,
“Get your meat hooks off of me, Tannenio.” insisted Simonetta.
Marty sprang into action. “You heard her.” he said grabbing Tannen by the shirt sleeve, “She said get your meat hooks off of her.”
“So what's it to you?” demanded Tannenio, “You know you've been looking for a fight,”
They were about to converge when Marty looked how tall Tannenio was. So he pointed to a spot in the tavern and said “Woa, hey Tannenio. Hey buddy, what’s that?”
Tannenio looked to where Marty was pointing. Seeing his chance, Marty landed a right cross and knocked the count over a table. Then, he made off with Simonetta only to run into three more men who had swords drawn.
“Count Tannenio’s men.” whispered Simonetta.
“Surrender Simonetta Vespucci at once.” demanded one of them.
“I could handle it.” said Marty. He confronted these men saying “Hey look.” The men did. Marty took Simonetta in tow and bulldozed the men.
Tannenio came out of the tavern demanding his men “Why did you let them get away?”
“The guy who made off with Simonetta tricked us.” said one of his men.
“Never mind that.” said Tannenio, “After them.”
Immediately, the four got on some horses and went after the two.
++++++
Marty and Simonetta looked back as they saw their pursuers gaining on them and tried to gain speed. Marty was looking around as Simonetta was asking “What are you looking for, Alexander?”
“A skateboard.” said Marty.
“A what?” asked Simonetta.
“It’s a board with four wheels.” said Marty, “And I just realized that it still doesn’t exist yet.”
Simonetta had no time to be confused by what Marty had said for three of the four men were approaching at a rapid pace. So she took him by the arm and said “We must hide.”
She took him into an alleyway where they met the fourth person of the quartet with his sword drawn. They turned back only to see the rest already upon them. Marty looked at Simonetta who was now very frightened, but very angry as well.
“Good work, Moe.” said Tannenio.
“Hey, wait a minute.” said the man who stood in the way of Marty and Simonetta, “I’m the one who stopped these two.”
“You’re the one who got suckered by the man who made off with Simonetta.” said one of the horsemen.
“Oh, wise guy.” said the man who stopped him.
“Never mind that.” said Tannenio as he pulled Simonetta up to his horse, “I’ve got Simonetta now.”
“I’ll never be yours.” protested Simonetta.
“Yes you will, Simonetta. It’s meant to be. Someday you’ll be my wife.” said Tannenio. Then, turning to his men, he said “About the man who just made off with her, take care of him. Make it look like an accident.”
At that, the count's men seized Marty and started to carry him off.