Page 85 of Capuleto

I poured a couple of glasses of wine and noticed the distant expression on my husband's face; I could almost hear the speed at which his thoughts were traveling.

"Drink, it will do you good. You need to disconnect, even if just for a while."

Romeo exhaled with worry. "It's hard to disconnect when everything is falling apart."

"Yes, but even when things are at their worst, it's necessary. It gives you perspective." My husband nodded in agreement.

"Tell me something that has nothing to do with now," he murmured, catching me off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"If I have to stop thinking for a while, I need a different stimulus, a funny anecdote from your childhood, for example."

"Let me think." I turned over a few memories while I went to the microwave and arranged the reheated food on the plates. I found one that was quite embarrassing and debated whether to tell it or not. "I have one, but I'm going to feel pretty ridiculous if I tell you."

R pouted.

"I need it."

His eyes pleaded with me, and I steeled myself.

"Okay, fine, but you have to swear it won't leave this room."

"I'll lay down my life for your secret," he swore playfully. That was enough for me to proceed.

"It was during a school trip. I remember there was an area with giant grass, and the boy I liked wanted us to separate from the group."

"Did he want to steal a kiss? Or find a barn?"

"I suppose both, although that’s not what happened. My parents had bought me a new phone with a camera that, back then, was the best. And he suggested I take some artistic photos of him."

"I can imagine the artistic part."

"He was the captain of the gymnastics team, so he started doing impossible poses without his shirt."

"A full-fledged show-off."

"Yeah, I remember it was incredibly hot. I was focusing the camera very intently while he did a handstand on a rock, and I felt something splashing on my legs. I didn’t pay much attention because there was a stream in the area, and I thought I had gotten too close without realizing it. Besides, with that heat, it was a 'how nice, a bit of water' moment. Anyway, I turned to see the water and came face to face with the backside of a huge cow that was very comfortably creating its own stream at my feet. The water wasn't water, but cow piss! I had just been peed on by a giant cow!"

My husband started laughing like crazy.

"That's what you get for taking sexy photos of a guy."

"They weren't sexy, just a little risqué! The poor guy kept asking if he could stop doing the handstand because the blood was rushing to his head, and I was dying of embarrassment."

"He probably didn't mind. With your face and body, the cow's golden shower would be the least of it."

"I didn't stay to find out. I left him there and ran to find the real stream to wash myself."

My anecdote led to one from Romeo. We nibbled on the vegetable lasagna and kept a light conversation filled with trivial situations that brought more than one smile to our faces.

"I'm curious. What did you do to get Adriano to tell you the origin of his nightmares?" he asked, putting the plates in the dishwasher.

"Let's just say your sister gave him a version of your accident that didn't match reality, and I offered him a truth exchange. Adriano is a kid, but not an idiot."

"Agreed."

"What I never expected was that Adriano's grandfather was the source of the nightmares."

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