Page 54 of Two Chances With You

“Hold it right there! You have an odd expression on your face. What are you thinking about?” She takes something off the table and holds it up in my direction. “So smile, tough guy!” A Polaroid camera. I raise my eyebrow just as she takes the picture. “Come on. All things considered, you’d look fabulous between those two male models. Certainly, they haven’t lived the life you have, but they’d be excited just to spend a little time next to a living legend!”

“Well, sure, like the two thieves on the cross next to Jesus.”

“Well, the comparison seems a little exaggerated to me.”

“Sure, but they became famous too.”

“But they weren’t happy, that’s for sure!”

I grab the Polaroid camera out of her hand and take a picture of her.

“Hey, hold on there! I look terrible in pictures.”

I push the button and then pull off the photo as soon as it emerges from the camera.

“You look terrible inpictures? Well, what’s your explanation for looking beautiful in real life then?”

“Idiot, moron, give that back.” She does her best to grab it out of my hands.

Too late. I slip it into my jacket pocket. “Wait and see. If you don’t behave yourself, if you try to tell the story about the armoire, you’ll find your face on posters papering half of Rome.”

“Well, okay, I was just saying!”

“And what is this chart supposed to be?” I point to a sheet of paper hanging on the wall over the table, perfectly partitioned into days and weeks and months and covered with the names of various gyms and health clubs.

“This? These are the gyms of Rome, you see, one for every day. They’re divided up by trainers, lessons, and sections of town. Understood?”

“Well, yes and no.”

“Damn, Step, come on, it’s easy. A sample gym class in each gym, each day in a different place, and there are more than five hundred different gyms in the city of Rome, and they aren’t even that far apart. You can train and exercise completely free of charge!”

“So, for example, tomorrow…” I look at the grid, and I run my finger across to the date, as if I were playing Battleship. “You could do a lesson at Urbani and not pay a cent.”

“And so on! It’s a system I invented myself. Not bad, eh?”

“Right. It sort of reminds me of that trick where you use a padlock to fill your gas tank.”

“Sure, it’s all part of my great big money-saver’s manual. Not bad, right? Hey, look how nice your picture came out.” The Polaroid is clearer now. “Come on, I’ll put it between these two.

“But I’ve noticed how interested you are in my schedule. Do you want to freeload the same training sessions as me? I’ll write up a schedule just for you. I’ll offset you by a day, and you can slipstream without problems, and we’ll never have to run into each other.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Are you rich?”

“Not at all! It’s just that these days the gyms actually want to use me to build up their public image.”

“Of course they do, who could doubt it? Well, the guided tour is all done. I’d better walk you to the door because, before long, my folks are going to be home. Or would you rather hide in the armoire again? I mean, now that you know how to do it.”

She walks past me to see me to the door and glances back, raising an eyebrow. We remain together like that, in silence, for a moment. Then she starts. “Well, let’s not let this farewell drag out too long. Take care of yourself, taxi driver. We’ll see you around, right?”

“Of course.”

I want to say something else to her but I don’t even really know what. Something nice. Sometimes, if you can’t think of the words, it’s better to just go with your instincts so I pull her close and give her a kiss. Soft like the last time. In fact, even softer. Suddenly, there’s someone behind us…

“Excuse me, guys, okay? It’s just that you seem determined to say your farewells right outside the door.”

It’s her brother, Gianluca, who’s just stepped out of the elevator. Gin isn’t even so much embarrassed. She’s annoyed. “You sure have some impeccable timing.”

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