Novelties
Lillian hadn’t broken anything, yet. Viola was on bar duty. And - with Uncle Bill off handling deliveries - the other half of the waitress quartet, Kami and Cri, were scheduled for bussing and serving.
The voices of Marilyn’s regular customers bounced off the walls, in a mixture of modern Italian and local dialects. The linguistic fusion made it nearly impossible for me to understand them - I’d long accepted that to make out more than a word, you simply needed to have been born here.
The only person amongst the waitress crew who shared this little struggle with me was Kami, as she was originally from Ecuador, thus making us two some of the very few local Americans in Corbetta. When I’d hear her heels clicking around the shop, I knew that if I looked up, I’d be greeted by her unapologetic immense dark curls, far before anything else.
Well, either that or her contributions to the symphonies of clashes and crashes - her clumsiness undoubtedly rivalled my cousin’s.
As always.
It was a relief that nothing ever seemed to change.
Another evergreen character who was a part of my routine was Salvatore, the park keeper. Ever since I’d moved here as a kid, he had looked the same every day, wearing worn out wool vests, whilst large smudged glasses dangled from his chunky nose.
Our local park was full of all sorts of animals, donated by the Corbettesi: swans, geese, chickens, roosters, turtles, squirrels, peacocks, and many other big birds - someone had to keep an eye on all of those creatures, and that someone was Salvatore. He owned the park’s coffee shop, but hadn’t run it himself in ages, more than happy to live the retired life, coming in most mornings to start his day off with a glass of vinello and chats with whichever other elders decided to show up.
Sometimes, it would just be him, which would then lead to him talking to me - I didn’t mind though, it was nice.
Currently in the company of two others his age, I couldn’t catch what they were all talking about - you know, dialect - but, whatever the topic, their spirits seemed particularly heightened.
Lillian dumped her weight in the seat across from mine.
“Mikey, I am so tired!”
It was time to cast my books and notes aside.
“I can imagine”
“Thank goodness the new waitress is starting soon!” she groaned “I want days off again!”
“Oh wow, you’ve already found someone, that’s great”
In Corbetta everyone knew everyone, so I assumed I’d know whoever would be coming in.
“Yeah, some new girl in town” huh, come non detto “I haven’t met her, yet - Mom and Dad interviewed her right after you left yesterday”
“Was it that blonde signorina who came in?” a croaky voice yelled - it was one of Salvatore’s friends.
“Yeah,” Lillian confirmed “it was”
“We were just talking about her! She really is something!”
“Keep it in your pants, Giuliano!” she groaned “She could be your granddaughter”
“I know, I know! But, a bella figliola is a bella figliola!”
Bursting into laughter, he returned his attention to the other old men.
Lillian slumped back towards me.
“I hope the newbie’s ready to deal with this, jeez”
“If Uncle Bill and Aunt Cel hired her, she must be”
It was a matter of fact.
“Speaking of new girls” oh no, I knew where this was going “Any news on that side of things?”
I reached for my notebook, intent to get back to work.
“You know the answer to that, Lils”
“Urgh, you’re so boring. Don’t you want a little love in your life?”
Diverted, I teased her right back.
“I don’t see you dating, day in and day out”
“Hey, you try having a dad as protective as mine and see how that helps you date. Besides, you know me, guys can’t handle me and-” her voice lowered to a whisper “-the girls around here are too scared to come out of the closet”
Slouching and dropping her forehead against the table, the spoon that kept her hair in a bun - my cousin tended to use unusual utensils to keep her hair up - knocked over my coffee.
“Not again! Goddamnit-!”
She jumped up, but I was already dabbing the coffee stains with a napkin, completely used to it.
“Sorry, Michael! I’ll get you another one-”
“It’s ok, Lils” an entertained grin was unavoidable “I was almost done with it anyway”
Regardless, she went up to Viola and ordered up another cappuccino for me, on the house. I ate one of the mini sugar-powdered cookies, which came with the coffee, and got back to scribbling notes again. Until, Cri came by to change the tablecloth, smile as firm as ever.
Thankfully, she was always ready to help and clean up after the other girls, no matter the messy situations they would get into. She’d simply smile cordially and shrug it all off, used to the three balls of energy she’d grown up with. Her aesthetics reflected this innate sense of order, thin hair tied up in tight and complex hairdos. I had no idea how she would manage to do them herself every single day, but she did - it certainly complimented her classic northern Italian features.
“I sometimes wonder how this place would manage without you, Cri”
“It would, don’t worry” she chimed, light-hearted “Besides, I’m sure whoever they’re bringing on board has been hired with Lillian and Kami in mind”
“Yeah,” I laughed at that “they’d have to”
Before I knew it, my table was perfectly cleaned up, orderly, as if the spilling incident had never occurred.
Cri swiftly spun towards the entrance and proceeded to remove the ad.
“We won’t be needing this anymore, the new girl starts on Monday… Just one last crazy weekend, and we’ll be able to breathe”
“That’s good” I nodded and smiled “Good luck, until then”
“Thanks, Michael”
More regulars came in - so, she picked up a tray and got back to work.
……
On my walk home, I took in the town’s livelihood.
Across from Marilyn’s were Zio Beppe’s two businesses: his flower shop and his boutique of fur coats - both colourful and always bustling with customers, coming and going, adding life to the high street. He was known all over town, for walking up to people and greeting them with either a hug or a very loud “Ciao, amore!” each time. Eccentrically joyous and giving, he’d even bought the swans for the park.
Further down the road were the bakery and the pharmacy, equally filled with elders in line for their daily doses of breads and meds.
There was no real shortcut to get to my courtyard. I lived behind the main church - all the sampietrini paved roads went in circles around it, making every way the long way home.
I opted for walking past San Vittore church, letting some bikes pass me by before crossing the road to reach the square. It was barely past noon, so I had fifteen minutes before the bells would go off again.
In front of the grandiose neoclassical architecture was yet another florist’s and another coffee shop.
Each coffee shop had its own ambience and social groups. This one in particular was mostly populated by elders with habits dabbling in gambling and nicotine. In fact, to my knowledge, it was Nonna Rosi’s go-to place for scratchy tickets and cigarettes.
The midday sun was starting to hit, forcing me to push my sleeves beyond my elbows, while fighting the temptation to jump into the church’s fountain - I believed that was reserved only for children and pigeons.
My mind wandered back to Lillian’s questions…
I’d always been considered odd in that department. This one time, when I was fifteen, Uncle Bill had sat me down to give me a talk about supporting me no matter who I loved. He thought I was in the closet, but I wasn’t - I just didn’t feel anything for anyone. The support was still very much appreciated. My cousin simply enjoyed the occasional tease and she knew I could take it.
Without realising it, completely lost in thought, I’d found myself already in my house.
Once I’d put down my bag, I was ready to cook lunch and get back to work.
As always.
…….
Outside, the bell tower let the whole town know it was 2.30pm - two dongs, one per hour, and two dings, one for every fifteen minutes.
My phone buzzed.
It was an SMS from my brother.
That wasn’t too unusual, coming from Jeff.
Luckily, being a freelancer meant that I could take any liberties when deciding how to use my time. An aspect of my job which was wasted on me, due to my over-appreciation of routines.
After grabbing my keys and my wallet, I headed out. Like all places in Corbetta, I’d only need to go around a corner to get there.
One of the many ways to enter the park, consisted of going through city hall’s court door. It was all connected, as the building had once been a family villa, which made the park its former private garden.
I walked by a rooster, plucking at the ground, and a squirrel, who ran up a tree as soon as it heard my steps sinking in the gravel path.
Jeff was sitting on one of the concrete tables - a typical hang out spot for a young truzzo, such as himself.
With a small wave, I made my way over.
His jeans were baggy, sagging far below his behind and held up by a thick belt with a big cartoon buckle, which left his neon briefs in full view. His spiky hair, gelled in every direction considered trendy, was all squashed by a sports head band and an obviously oversized cap.
Very different compared to my meek everyday mono-colour sweaters, for sure.
I sat down next to him.
“I’m all ears”
“Ok, so again, today wasn’t great” he harshly started “After ditching yesterday, they made sure to have a bidella keep an eye on me when they kicked me out of class today. Can you believe that? I’m seventeen and they treat me like a child! All I did was set the corner of a desk on fire with a white-out and a lighter! It was an experiment! For chemistry! Science! You’d think they’d like that! But no, I’m a danger to the rest of my class and get kicked out. So, I told Martinelli to go fuck himself and threw my diario in his direction. I didn’t even hit him. It was a lousy shot on purpose. The guy’s a poor sport”
These kinds of scenarios were common with Jeff. He would act out, as he hadn’t grasped his authentic value yet, and got himself in trouble by rushing to compensate. While, Uncle Bill and Aunt Cel went ahead with their ‘tough-love’ approach, I didn’t think that was what Jeff needed.
“I’m seriously thinking about dropping out, Mikey” he huffed beside me “It’s not worth it… All the humiliation and backlash I get from these people, for what? A lousy piece of paper that says how good I am at memorising shitty facts I’ll never use in real life. I mean, c’mon-! It’s pointless, and a stroke to the system’s ego! I bet profs like Martinelli jerk off at night thinking about us repeating facts word per word. But, I refuse to, so that’s my explanation to why he’s such an ass to me”
“Uncle Bill and Aunt Cel won’t allow you to drop out”
“They always say that as long as I’m living under their roof, I have to follow their rules” his stare dropped to the ground “But, er, what if I moved out?”
“You’re not even legally an adult, yet. Please, explain what your plan is”
Shuffling a bit, he abashedly fiddled with his shark tooth necklace.
“Well, the cumpa’s all planning on dropping out, too… We were thinking about renting a place together. Somewhere in Magenta, maybe-?”
“Rent needs to be paid, somehow”
“The Bisio family is always hiring new builders-”
“Illegally”
“Which is why I’d be able to get the job as a minor and pay for rent! Gosh, Mikey!”
We sat in silence for a few minutes.
Despite the tough and reckless front, he was still my baby brother, clearly hoping to get my approval.
The trees rustled, squirrels chasing each other from branch to branch.
I took in a deep breath.
“Jeff, I’ll always support you and your choices. If you think school isn’t the way for you right now, that’s fine. You can always come back to get your diploma later in life, outside the context of high school - it’s never too late when it comes to academic education. But, I need to know that you have a solid plan and that you won’t get yourself into more trouble than getting kicked out of class for lighting a desk on fire-”
“It was only the corner”
“Still, though” I insisted “Be careful who you go work for and consider whether it would be worth it or not - you know they aren’t exactly trustworthy. Also, consider how Uncle Bill and Aunt Cel would take all of this”
“I don’t care” his frown tried to hide his inner afflictions “I’m done living according to their expectations”
“They love you, you know that”
“Yeah, but they’re suffocating as hell!” he burst “I feel like I have to walk on egg shells, all the time! No matter what I do, it’s never any good - why do you think I’ve stopped trying?”
“Give it some serious thought, Jeff - don’t rush into anything for the wrong reasons, trust me”
Clenching the shark tooth around his neck, he was frustrated and, possibly, a bit scared, slowly realising the weight of having to make a choice so big and deal with the real-life consequences.
It was a lot.
“Dai” I patted his shoulder “Let’s go get a coffee”
And with that, we headed towards Marilyn’s.