“My feet are getting tired,” complained Purity.  “Can we ride in one of those?” She pointed to the several horse drawn carriages parked nearby.

“Why not,” said Prudy.  They went to the nicest looking one and paid the driver.  Before long, they were trotting along as the eternal city whizzed by.  They drove by the Pantheon, the Trevei Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

After their carriage ride, the girls decided to do some serious shopping.  Prudence wanted to get some Venetian glass goblets for her new house, Purity wanted a skirt to go with her new sandals and Bea wanted…something, but wasn’t sure what.

They had been left off by the carriage at the Via Veneto.  This was one of the most posh shopping areas in all of Italy.

“It reminds me of that shopping street in Paris,” said Bea.  “Everything is crazy expensive!”

But they did manage to get some nice items.  Purity found a sapphire blue hi/low skirt and Bea got a delicate Venetian lace blouse.

“That will look great with the black leather jacket I gave you, remember? Very chic!” said Prudence.

“I’m hungry,” said Bea “And… I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Me too,” said Prudy. “Nowadays, with all the water I drink, I’m constantly running to the bathroom! We’ll need to stop somewhere where we can go to the bathroom and I can get some fish.  I’m only able to eat fish this week as this is the last week of the challenge,” said Prudence.  “I don’t want to give up now!”

They walked over to a nearby restarant and looked at the menu.  They were seated quickly after Prudy saw fish on the list of items to eat. Prudy and Bea went to the bathroom and Purity stayed back at the table.

The music, coming from a nearby outdoor theater set a romantic mood. She was not fond of opera.  But she listened politely.

Once Prudy and Bea came back, sitting around the table was fun.  They talked about everything: school, boys, shopping, boys and…boys.  They had so many questions for their oldest sister.

“How do you KNOW if a boy really likes you?” asked Bea.

“Well, little things.  He keeps finding excuses to see you,” said Prudy. “He communicates with you often.  He tries to protect you and he wants to provide for you: he wants you to have a better life.  He wants to take you out to dinner.  He wants you to have a good cup of coffee so he buys you a nice coffee machine.  Stuff like that.

“But how do you know if you should…you know…REALLY love him?” whispered Purity.

“Are you talking about emotionally or physically?” asked Prudence.

Purity just shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, you should probably not give into the physical until you are 100% sure of the emotional,” said Prudy. “How do you know if they are ALL in?  I’ll be honest with you, ladies – I’m not married so I wouldn’t be the one to ask.  But I’ll tell you about a bit of advise I’ve ignored up until now.”

“What’s that?” said Bea.

“You gotta be equally yoked,” said Prudence.

“What does THAT mean?” asked Purity taking another bread stick.

“Oxen are yoked together to pull a plow.  So you wanna be involved with someone who pulls his weight in the relationship,” said Prudence.  “If you are finding that you are doing all the pulling, it isn’t much of a relationship.  You gotta find a man who can love like you do.  Not like a woman, of course, but with the same capacity to give and receive as you have.

“I’m going to have to chew on that one for a bit,” said Bea and she took the first bite out of her breadstick.

They ordered their spaghetti. Bea started to eat quickly.  But as the conversation became more interesting, she realized she could take all the time she wanted.

The girls saw a gypsy woman selling red roses at the next table over.

“Would you like a red rose, pretty girl,” the gypsy woman asked Bea in a thick Ukranian accent.

“We can’t take it home,” said Bea. The gypsy woman looked at Prudence and was puzzled.

“Trust me, you can,” said Prudy.  She bought each of her sisters a single long stemmed red rose.

“How can we take it with us?” asked Bea, her hands starting to shake.  Prudy clasped both of Bea’s hands in hers.  She looked deep into her younger sister’s hazel eyes.

“These roses will not go home with you, but they will show up in a safe place.  I always send some little token with you to remind you of the reality of my love for you.  This will be no different.  I promise you sweetheart – I will not do anything that gets either of you into trouble,” reassured Prudence.

Bea let out a deep sigh.  Prudence understood.  And Bea knew that Prudence would not break her word.  Bea could enjoy her evening with the rose in her hand. It would be taken care of.  They finished their wonderful supper.  They even got to share a piece of molten chocolate cake with gobs of whipped cream running over the sides. They giggled and joked long into the evening.