Page 112 of Two Chances With You

“You know her?”

“Yes, you have excellent taste. In other words, she’s the one who chose you, and you’re the one who messed everything up.”

“But how on earth do you know her? I mean, how did you manage to pull that off?”

“How didIpull it off? No, she was the one who wanted to get to knowme. I always saw this young woman waiting downstairs outside the building. At first, I just assumed she was waiting for someone who lived in the building. But then, whenever I drove away, I saw her leave.”

“And then?”

“Then one day, I spotted her at the supermarket, and we ran into each other. I can’t say if it was a coincidence. We made friends. We started talking.” She coughs. Then she looks at me, and her eyes are full of love.

“Okay, will you tell me the whole story?”

“Yes. We made friends. She didn’t know that I’d already seen her waiting outside. Well, come to think of it, I’m not so sure of that anymore. The fact remains that I talked to her, told her a few things about me, about Papà, about Paolo, and about you.”

“What did you tell her about me?”

“That I love you, that I missed you, that you’d left the country, that you’d be coming back. In the end, she seemed especially curious to know more about us. And she was always asking whether you’d called, if I’d heard from you.”

“And what did you say?”

“What could I tell her? That I never got any news of you. Then I heard that you were going to return that same day, when Paolo told me that he was going to pick you up at the airport. And so when Ginevra and I talked on the phone…”

“Wait, what do you mean, when you talked on the phone? Did you have phone conversations too?”

“Yes, we’d exchanged phone numbers. What’s so strange about that, excuse me very much? We’d sort of become friends.”

I can’t believe it. It all seems so very strange.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Nothing, I just told her.”

“And what did she say?”

“Oh, she went on chatting as if it were the most inconsequential thing, of no importance, just mentioning that she’d joined the pool and was going to swim regularly. Oh, also, she made me laugh because she asked if I wanted to go with her, but now that I think about it, there is one strange thing…”

“What?”

“Since you’ve come back, I’ve gone to the supermarket many times.”

“And so?”

“Well, since you returned, I’ve never once run into her.”

I look at her. I remain silent. Then I nod and smile. She tries to smile back, but another wave of pain makes her shut her eyes. Longer this time. I take her hand. She squeezes hard on my hand, an unexpected show of strength. Then she releases her grip and opens her eyes, weary, wearier than before, and she makes a faint stab at a smile.

“Stefano…please…” She points to a glass on the side table. “Would you bring me some water, please?”

I take the glass and stand up. I take a few steps but then I hear her call me again. “Stefano…”

I turn around. “Yes?”

“This friend of mine, Gin…would you send her some flowers, some beautiful flowers?” She sits up on her pillow and smiles at me.

“Yes, Mamma, certainly.”

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