by Lucy Scala
“Alberto, it really was a pleasure. Come back and visit us whenever you want,” my mother flirted with a broad smile.
I retrieved my bag and turned around one last time. Another evening spent in the total absence of affection. I really missed my grandparents. Everything was different with them. They were my mother’s parents and their death had amplified the gap in our family. I couldn’t swear to it, but I perceived a trace of dejection in my mother’s soul.
Maybe she had realized too late the terrible emptiness they had left.
Alberto opened the door and held it open for me to leave.
From the window, I saw my mother’s silhouette watching me from behind the curtains. Maybe she thought she was invisible. Unfortunately, she couldn’t count that amongst her powers.
“I think it’s better to get away from here. Shall we take a walk?” I asked Alberto.
He looked at the watch on his wrist and I sensed some hesitation. “Why not?”
We took the smaller road that followed the avenue, it had old and wrinkled tree trunks that stretched skywards. The wind made the leaves dance, lifting them from the ground. Surrounded by the light of a fine moon, I heard the sound of our steps.
“Your mother’s certainly quite a character,” he said, smiling.
“That was nothing. I could spend hours telling you about thousands of other scenes. I’ve seen worse. Take it or leave it, that’s my mother,” I said bitterly. I could have told him many things about myself and my childhood, but I preferred not to.
“I appreciate that you put the record straight, despite my presence. I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve it. From what little I’ve seen, you’re a very smart woman. Not everyone has your determination.”
I shrugged. “You’re very kind, but not everyone has the same opinion.”
“I don’t think so,” he went on, looking into my eyes. “That day in the hospital I saw a confident woman. You want to help others and I’m sure that those children will worship you. You’ll bring a bit of happiness into their lives and it will be successful.”
“Thanks for the nice words, I forgot how pleasant it is to receive compliments.”
“I just think it’s fair to recognize certain merits. As you know, I work in the hospital and I know the three children that the Director has chosen to try the pet therapy with very well. They are really special, you’ll see for yourself.”
“I have no doubt. All I want to do is to make myself useful, I don’t know why I feel this urge.”
Alberto’s phone rang and he took it out of his jacket pocket, risking dropping it twice. His expression changed instantly and his brow furrowed. Then he turned it off and put it back in his pocket. It reminded me of something in the past but I pushed that thought from my head. It was really inappropriate.
“No problem. You could answer…” I said.
“It wasn’t important,” he replied seriously. He seemed sincere.
I talked to him a bit about everything, my studies, my work and my passion for books. What I discovered about Alberto pleased me. He returned with anecdotes about his profession, about his travels around the world and the yoga classes he’d been attending for years now. Then we moved onto a completely different field.
“If you’re free, one of these days we could go out. We could go to the centre and you could bring your colleague, because my friend seemed to really enjoy her company.”
I blushed slightly and accepted. “Sure why not? I’d love to,” I said smugly.
“Perfect,” he said. “I only ask you this as a favour. Given the situation in the hospital—” he caught his breath “it would be good if this remained between us.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly,” I said, a little surprised, while mixed emotions stirred inside me: the Mia of the past would not have attributed any weight to his request whereas the Mia of today wanted to know more. “Yes, the coincidence of you and I in the same department, it might look as if I had been recommended…” I murmured, unconvinced, but decided not to pursue the conversation.
“I knew you’d understand.”
For a moment there was a strange silence.
“I don’t know why, but before you mentioned the centre, I imagined you were more the type that would go to a luxury restaurant in the hills rather than a night out in the city,” I said, to lighten the conversation.
“Don’t I look like the night life type?”
“No offence, but not really. You’re always dressed flawlessly and appear so professional even outside work.”
He smiled. “Is that bad?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s that I’m not so perfect.” I slid my fingers down my dress. “This is not me, it’s all a pantomime and I can’t wait for Cinderella to go back into the pumpkin.”
Alberto held back a laugh and turned serious. “Does Cinderella still have some time to spare?”
“Enough, before the spell wears off…”
Chatting, I totally lost track of time and when I stood beside my car, Alberto blocked the door to stop me from getting in.
I looked at him in amazement. The light of the street lamp lit up his face and the play of light and shadows redesigned his features. It softened them. His half smile that I found so fascinating re-appeared.
“I really enjoyed your company tonight.” He pulled a rebellious strand of hair that had escaped from my chignon away from my face. He held me by the arm and leaned towards me. For my part there was no hesitation, even when he touched my lips.
I returned the kiss and stepped back, looking him in the eye. “I’ll see you soon, then,” I whispered in his ear and opened the door to get in.
I drove away observing Alberto in the rear-view mirror, while a smile appeared on my face. It had been three months since my last date with a man and I wasn’t used to that kind of contact.
It felt good not knowing what fate had in store for me.
Perhaps, the man of my dreams was closer than I thought.
I returned home happy. Bubu was waiting for me to come back, going in and out of every room. I undid my hair, I took off my black pumps and put on a pair of white sneakers to take him for a walk before going to sleep. I could have changed out of my dress but didn’t bother.
I had just left the house when the roar of a motorcycle made me wince.
“Mia, what are you doing out all alone at this time of night?” said a male voice.
My eyes widened: it was Diego. I shrugged. “I’m walking the dog, is that a crime?” I asked, annoyed. He raised an eyebrow and looked at my clothing. “What the hell…” he exclaimed in surprise.
I had totally forgotten that I had left the house wearing the most unusual mixture of clothes, it was almost ridiculous. Another gaffe to add to the archive.
“It’s a new style, you know?” I informed him, doing a pirouette.
Bubu approached Diego and licked his hand, then put his front paws on his legs to jump up.
“No, Bubu. Get down now!” I called him back. “You’ll make him dirty.”
Diego shrugged. “I do own a thing called a washing machine.”
Bubu began to squirm, he rolled in the grass on his back and Diego stroked him.
“What an independent man,” I replied tartly. “Rather, what are you doing out at this time?” I asked curiously. “Have they promoted you to my personal stalker?” I added with a wink.
What was happening to me? Was I flirting with him or was I letting him flirt with me?
“Reconnaissance round the area and then I’m off to the centre of Turin,” he explained. “You know, it’s part of my job, or have you forgotten?” he replied defiantly.
I bit my lip. He wanted to provoke me. I thought of a retort, but the trill of Diego’s phone anticipated me.
“Yes, I see. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“I have to go…” I said, pretending to look at the watch on my wrist. He nodded, and I walked away briskly.
*
Half an hour later I w
ent home and instinctively went to retrieve the keys from my pocket, but my dress had no pockets. And no pockets, meant no keys. It took me a moment to realize I had nothing with me. What a shitty idea. Going out without a jacket or a bag.
“Oh, no! no! no…!” I screamed in a rising crescendo, “I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe it. I locked myself out—” I left the sentence hanging, looking down at Bubu.
He tilted his head slightly, he seemed confused, and lay down. I wanted to stamp my feet like a three year old. The situation was really ridiculous. Without meaning to, I found myself running back and forth, swearing.
Ok, don’t panic. I looked around trying to find a solution. My parents had a copy of my keys, but I didn’t want to call them and admit that I needed them. A bad idea to have even thought about dialling their number. On second thoughts, I wasn’t thinking clearly, even my phone was inside the house so I had no way of contacting them anyway.
I sat on the doorstep, wondering what to do.
I could climb up the back of the house and get in through the window I always left slightly ajar, but it required quite a feat of athleticism. I wasn’t really the kind of girl that climbed through windows, especially wearing such a tight dress.
I tied Bubu’s leash to the porch, and called upon all the saints I knew to help me reach the window by climbing on the wood pile.
The situation was so absurd that I couldn’t have even believed it possible. My fitted sheath dress was most unsuitable for this kind of activity. I pulled it up in the hope that it wouldn’t get in the way and get ruined.
I turned the waste bin upside down and scrambled onto it, then tried to climb, but the wood pile was too unstable. I only needed to get up a few more metres to place my feet on a small concrete frame from which I could slip through the window, but each time I slipped back down. I was paying the price for all the physical education classes I’d skipped with the excuse of having a period, obviously lasting ten days.
I realized that the situation was more complicated than expected, and it took several more attempts before I could get my foot on the ledge and climb up. I congratulated myself.
Behind me rose a chorus of shouts.
“I saw it from the road, officer, someone is trying to sneak into the property, back here,” came a woman’s voice from not far away.
“Oh great, a thief is trying to get inside my house and I’m stuck in this position?” I murmured, agitated. “I shouldn’t have left Bubu tied up, damn it.”
One more effort, I convinced myself, and I would reach the window. I scrambled with the other leg so I could pull myself up and the movement was accompanied by the sound of tearing cloth. A split right up to my thigh. And that was the position in which Diego found me.
“Mia? Thank God it’s you, you frightened the lady,” he exclaimed, pointing a flashlight at me.
The light blinded me and I contorted my face into a strange smirk. Bubu began to bounce on the spot.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked, trying to recover my composure as best I could.
I turned slightly, but enough to see his expression.
“Signora Stella, are you here as well? The place is getting crowded,” I said, in a cold sweat.
“May I ask you what you’re doing?” said Diego. “I received a call, we thought it was a thief.”
“Uh no. As you can see, it’s me and I would appreciate a hand to get down from here.”
“She seemed like a thief. I went out to empty the rubbish. I’m elderly, I shouldn’t go out at certain hours, but I had cooked fish. My husband likes it so much. And well, the whole house would smell unless I threw the rubbish out, and then I saw that black figure. So, I thought I’d call the police,” said Signora Stella. “Thank God it wasn’t a criminal! You have to be careful these days, they even use the excuse of wanting to check the meter.”
“That’s awful,” said Diego.
“Excuse me …” I hissed.
“I’ll take you home myself, madam. So that your husband doesn’t worry,” said Diego, encircling Stella’s shoulders, as she stood clutched in her shawl.
“And me?” I muttered bleakly.
A few minutes passed and I heard footsteps behind me. “I’ll report you. Couldn’t you have helped me first and then taken the old woman home?” I snarled at Diego.
“You’re really rude. You say ‘elderly’ not ‘old’.”
“Don’t just stand there giving me etiquette lessons.”
Diego gave me a clear look: you’re on your own.
He reached down to pat Bubu and walked away. “So, good luck then! You have a cute heart-shaped birth mark on your butt.”
I counted to three before replying. “Then I might as well answer: cheers! Wait, no. Come back and help me or I could be stuck here for life.”
“I demand an apology.”
“As well?”
“As far as I’m concerned, you can stay up there.”
“Ok, sorry. Excuse me very much, but now I implore you… please get me down.”
Diego came over and studied the situation. “When I get to three, let go.”
“Holy Cow,” I whispered softly. A few seconds that seemed to me like an eternity went by. I wanted to back down, but it was too late.
Diego repeated himself. “Come on, Mia. I’ll catch you.” It wasn’t very re-assuring. “If you drop me…”
“One, two three…”
I closed my eyes and let go. Diego caught me and I found myself in his arms. I could feel the tension in his muscles through my back and legs. I wasn’t initially aware that I was clinging to him like ivy.
“You can put your feet on the ground, now.”
“Oh,” was the only thing I muttered, releasing him. Having remained in the same position for ages, when I got up my legs ached. I met his gaze and saw him smile, enjoying the humour of the moment.
“All right,” I said, with a moment of clarity, “Can you give me a ride to the clinic so I can get my spare keys?” Meanwhile, I tried to re-arrange the ruined dress.
“Sure,” he said simply, moving towards the car. “And you don’t need to cover up, I’ve already admired what there was to see,” he concluded with a grin.
I froze and looked him straight in the eye. “You know what? You’re an asshole.”
“Even if I helped you—”
“You acted like a jerk before and now as well.” The words slipped out of my mouth as if I had no control over myself.
Diego tried to calm me down his way. “Do you want me to arrest you for insulting a police officer?”
“Don’t touch me and I’ll repeat it endlessly. You. Are. An. Asshole. And if it’s too difficult for you to comprehend, I can spell it for you!” I snapped, losing my patience.
Diego let go. “I’m really impressed. Keats? Okay, I only just realized I’m facing a poet. Now you’re talking like this because you’re angry. Rightly so, I would be if anyone had seen me without pants, but to be honest, no one, unlike you, has ever complained. I thought about it, and maybe you’re right, I was a bit unfair,” he said innocently.
“Then there is a thread of humanity in you. I would like to see you in my place…”
‘Well, of course. Thinking about it, the problem isn’t the torn dress, but your ass peering out. You know, my grandmother wore similar underwear.”
I flared up in embarrassment and covered my face with my hands.
“Oh, so we’re blowing the lid off! So you’ve always been a little pervert.”
“Good heavens, she was my grandmother.” Maybe I had gone a bit too far.
“All right,” I began in a shaky voice. “I admit that was a low blow, but you embarrassed me. Just don’t think about it when you see your grandmother.”
I grabbed Bubu and climbed into his car.
He turned right, following a road that runs downhill towards the city centre. For the first few minutes I wasn’t interested in anything but the asphalt in front of me. Then I turned round to l
ook at Diego, and watched his stern profile illuminated by the dashboard lights. He sighed, but said nothing to break that unnatural silence. Neither of us knew what to say.
He turned on the music and began to beat the rhythm on the steering wheel with his hand. Without further guidance, he reached the clinic.
I moved a tile to retrieve the spare key. “Want to come in?” I asked, as I opened the door.
He looked around and nodded. “Thank you,” crossing the threshold. “Lovely little place.”
“Would you like a coffee?”
He accepted my offer, walking back and forth with his hands crossed behind his back. He stopped to look at the photos on the wall. “I really like this one”, he said, indicating one in particular, with a white frame. “You look very happy.” His voice betrayed a certain coldness.
I looked at him, puzzled. He was referring to the picture of me with Bubu and my ex-boyfriend, taken during a trip to the stream. Bubu was framed with lolling tongue and Davide was looking at me with dreamy eyes and hugging me. We looked really happy and fulfilled.
“It was a long time ago,” I said, offering him a steaming cup of hot coffee.
“Why, has something changed now?”
“Where do I start? Well, relationships often start well and end badly, but that picture brings back good memories and I like to have it there.”
“The important thing is not to have any regrets because it’s not fair to be with someone who doesn’t make you happy. Everyone deserves the best in us.”
That sentence puzzled me, and for the first time I felt a note of bitterness in his words. “I agree. And you, how come you moved over here? Was Gallipoli so terrible?” I brought my cup to my lips.
Diego was clearly uncomfortable with the question. “I wanted a change of scenery, I get bored staying too long in the same place,” he replied, without looking away. It seemed like a lie to me, but one told with good intentions.
“Did you come with company… You know, the girl at the bar…” I said, imitating the shape of a woman.
Diego leaned back against the wall, laughing. “Who, Mara? Absolutely not. She’s a friend of mine. Perhaps a bed friend, but still just a friend.”
I winced at the tone he had used. “I see. Do you miss your home town?” I asked, trying to change the subject.