Page 26 of Three Times You

Then Gin stands up and greets him affectionately. “Don Andrea, what a lovely surprise! I didn’t know you were coming, or we’d certainly have waited for you.”

He pulls back a little after the hug and gazes at her curiously. “So you couldn’t find a little church any farther away? I practically melted my Simca’s engine to get up here!”

As Gin sits down, Pettorini laughs. “I can just imagine all the wrong turns!” The two men shake hands. Then Pettorini points at him. “You can’t imagine how many weddings he and I have done together!”

“And they’re all still rock solid!”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, absolutely. I always have a nice little talk with my bride and groom before I marry them. In fact, have you two had too much to drink?” He looks at us with a smile.

“I’d definitely say not.”

“Just the right amount,” I toss in.

“Have you had a nice hot espresso?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s have a nice little chat. I’ll start with you.” And he points at Gin. “Do you have anything you need to tell me?”

Gin blushes, perhaps thinking about her belly. I smile, but I act nonchalant. Don Andrea must see all sorts of things.

“Well, now, let’s not waste time here. Let’s head over there, where we can talk more comfortably.”

“Don’t you want anything to drink?” asks Gabriele.

“No, no, I never drink while I’m on the job.”

“At least an espresso…”

“No, otherwise I just won’t sleep tonight.”

Gabriele shrugs, defeated.

Gin gets up from the table, and before walking away, she looks back at me and gives me a smile that I’m guessing meansI think I’m going to tell him. She follows Don Andrea to a table at the far end of the garden. There they sit down together.

Now I see their silhouettes as if sketched against the lake behind them. The waters of the lake seem to have turned into a violet blackboard. Gin is waving her hands, laughing, and moving her head. She’s cheerful, buoyant, and above all happy. What about me?

How am I? And it almost comes natural to me to reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone and look at it, as if I were looking for my answer there. Nothing, no messages. Silence.

This, too, is an answer, after all. So I get a small glass, I pour myself a little Amaro del Capo, and I sit back down. I sip it slowly. Not far away on my right, Gabriele and Francesca are talking to Pettorini. He’s showing them tablecloths. Then everyone looks at a cloth sample, they nod, and they seem to have come to a final decision on that choice. Manlio Pettorini nods too.That’s the best one. You’re right, he seems to be saying without words.

“Hey, everything all right?”

I turn around. Gin is right in front of me.

“Yes, just perfect. Really a wonderful evening.”

“Yes.” Then Gin sits down beside me. “I told him.”

“You did the right thing, if you wanted to tell him.”

“Yes, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

I don’t know what she means. I don’t know how it can be the right thing to do, but I say nothing. I take another sip of Amaro del Capo and sit in silence.

Then Gin picks up my glass and drinks a tiny sip of her own. “That’s strong.”

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