I hug into my coat and raise my coat collar to avoid the February cold, but it's all in vain. I had better have brought a scarf with me.
The terrace on the first floor of the restaurant offers a breathtaking view of Fori Imperiali, immersed in an unreal calm and in a penumbra torn by the yellow lights of the streetlights.
Miriam and Luigi are inside talking over a gin and tonic, completely unaware of the world around them.
After a rather embarrassing fifteen minutes, dinner turned out very pleasant. The food was great and the company couldn't be any better.
And no. It wasn't surreal at all.
Luigi has just moved from Milan to open a series of dental practices on behalf of the family business. He and Flavio met at the university. They were in different courses but they were on the same student council and they did so many crazy things together that we ended up with tears in our eyes from laughter. Like when they chained themselves in front of the bursary to protest against the tax hike for low incomes. I immediately imagined a young Flavio Moreno with a leather jacket, longer and more rebellious hair, displaying slogans and waving signs. Or maybe he was the intellectual of the group. Who organizes behind the scenes, thinks, writes press releases and letters to be delivered to the rector. Who knows? But I didn't ask him. I just enjoyed him and this evening, letting those moments of happiness not be tainted by any of my extravagances.
At first it was embarrassing to see him there, as if those hours spent together were just a figment of my imagination. But then that harmony that had been created in the elevator emerged all over again. Flavio was ironic and reserved, the right shoulder for his friend Luigi and I recognized in him a basic shyness that I did not suspect.
«I couldn't find you anywhere.» I hear behind me and I see Flavio approaching me with a cautious step. He has put his coat on but rubs his hands to create some warmth. «You know it's freezing here, right?»
I smile at him but don't answer, returning instead to contemplate the view from the terrace.
For some reason I managed to stay on track all night. I didn't get lost in my thoughts and I talked like a normal person. More or less.
«There was too much chaos in the bar.» Finally, I answer.
On the first floor of the restaurant there is a room to give guests the opportunity to linger longer after dinner. But at this time it was also filled with patrons who had just come for a drink and the air was becoming too heavy.
«Nice little fellow Miriam. Those two seem to be meant for each other.» After a moment of silence he says. «Do not you think?»
In fact, I've never seen Miriam so into someone. Could it be the right time for her? Miriam has always been a pretty extravagant girl when it comes to men. At the beginning, her passing from one relationship to another left me very perplexed but then I realized that she is simply like that. She has to look for and maybe leave behind some rubble. But because she wants to find the right person.
«I can never be sure of anything when Miriam and men are involved. If you understand what I mean. But I think Luigi has a good chance.»
«Then there are two of us. Luigi changes at least a couple of girls a year. Not to mention the stories of a few days.» And after a meaningful pause, he adds: «Contrary to me.»
I can imagine it, actually.
That slightly stereotyped vision I had of him at the beginning has thinned out. I still think that his life is light years away from mine but maybe not that much.
«I heard you want to leave the magazine.» His tone is so low that at first the synapses of my auditory pavilion struggle to transmit information to the brain.
YOU ARE READING
A very bad weekend
ChickLitVic lives in Rome and works at a periodical called "Dalla settimana" for which she is a proofreader and writes obituaries. She spends the day fantasizing about the dead she has to write about, dodging her boss and three evil colleagues and sharing h...
