Fate and Plans
It was Saturday. So again, local market, yelling children, a myriad of smells, nonne bargaining for better deals, and so on.
My weekly passive socialising activity.
There was still time before my meet-up with Jeff, so-
I knew who that was.
Zio Beppe zeroed any personal space I’d had until that moment, accompanied by several older ladies, dressed in fur coats and flashy jewellery - some would call them ‘sciure’.
“I’m good” I nodded and grinned politely “Thanks, Zio Beppe”
He was putting on one of his shows for his friends, always ready to impress.
I let him do his thing.
“Ladies, this is my dear friend, Michael Baston! He works for a prestigious poetry magazine, and he’s only twenty-two! Isn’t he talented? And, he’s from the United States!”
The ladies gasped and murmured compliments. I thanked them.
“Embeh! Ciao, Michael! We’re off! Ti voglio bene!”
He blew a few kisses at me and led his small army of sciure to his next trophy acquaintance. I smiled to myself and shook my head. He was such a character. Some people might’ve found him obnoxious, but I thought he was one of the people who made Corbetta what it was.
Now, I could finally go back to-
“Hey, Michael!”
And, more active socialising.
Ìspirah, along with a few bags of freshly bought produce, appeared before me.
“Looks like you have a bit of a fan club”
“More like I was being shown off to Zio Beppe’s fan club” I laughed off.
“Yeah, I’ve met him” she shrugged “He’s an interesting guy”
“‘Interesting’ is much nicer than how most people would define him. But, I definitely agree with you”
“What are you up to?” her feet shuffled, getting closer to me.
“I do this every Saturday morning. I just look around”
“Really? You don’t buy anything?”
“Nah, I simply enjoy the crowd”
“Huh, curious”
“I guess” I gestured towards her bags “I see you've made your rounds, though”
“Yeah, I’ve never tried most of this stuff before. Like arancini, what even are they? I bought loads of different foods - we don’t have anything like this where I come from”
“I’ve been told you’re from Sweden”
“More or less”
She fiddled with her bags, unlikely to add anything else.
“I’ll let you enjoy your day off, then” I nodded at her “Catch you around. It was nice running into you”
She glanced back at me.
“Yeah, it was nice running into you, too”
We shared polite little smiles and went our separate ways.
It was almost half past nine.
…..
Marilyn’s was as full as it could be.
My cousin and her friends barely managed to greet me when I walked in. A glass crashed somewhere in the shop - probably by the hands of either Kami or Lillian - crowds were loud, voices bouncing off the walls.
Jeff was sat in the corridor section, staring into nothing, lost in thought. I sat down, knocking him back to the present.
“You said you wanted to chat”
“Uhm, yeah. I, er, uh- How are you doing?”
“I’m good, got dragged out by the crew last night to get Chinese”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep - Ìspirah was there, too. Also ran into her this morning at the market. She is what people say, unusual”
“Good unusual or bad unusual?”
“The charming kind - from what I can tell - which, is the best kind”
“Addirittura? The best?”
“Well, yeah”
“You gotta thing for her?”
“No”
“Mikey, if it were anyone else, you would’ve ‘decoded’ them by now, found just as many pros as cons about them, and then distanced yourself”
“I’ve still got time. She’s very secretive, that’s for sure”
“It’s been three weeks. What? Is she a challenge?”
“You could say that. But, it’s not like I’m putting much thought into it”
“So, you’re just enjoying her company?”
“Jeff, it was one evening out, as a group. I would barely declare that I’ve been having that much of her company to begin with”
“Hey, just sayin’, dude-” he paused to think “Would you like to get more of her company? One on one?”
“Oh my gosh, Jeff” I groaned “You’re starting to sound like Lillian-”
“You never take your time with this kind of thing, Mikey! You usually meet someone, analyse them, and then that’s it. You just take it in and go back to your little notebook”
Crossing his arms, he leaned back into his chair.
“Speaking of which, how did they even manage to get you out of the house last night? You never accept invites”
“I-” I knew this would add fuel to the fire “I was interested in what a conversation with Ìspirah could offer” I ignored Jeff’s widening eyes “She started asking about what I was reading, so we got into talking about literature and, uh-”
“Brooo-!” Jeff slammed his hands on the table “You’re interested in her! Admit it!”
“Well, yes, but not in the way you’re clearly implying! She’s-”
“Special?” he smirked, sly expression insinuating.
“You could say that” I huffed “Everyone’s been saying that”
“Whatever, dude - I know you and this is not like you. But hey, I’m sure you’ll figure it out”
“Urgh” I rubbed my eyes “I hope this isn’t what you wanted to have a chat about”
“Oh, yeah! Almost forgot!” his mood quickly switched from ornery to excited “I got a job and a plan, just like you told me to - I will be dropping out of school”
“Let’s hear it”
“Well, I went to a Bisio construction site and asked where to send my CV. I sent it, got called in, got interviewed by Bisio himself and he gave me a job. He’s gonna hire the other guys, too. Then there’s an apartment in Magenta for 400€ a month - it’s small, but me and the boys will find a way to fit”
“You’re underage, you’ll need a guardian to sign the lease for you”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you…”
“Oh” I should have anticipated something like this “First, walk me through the full plan you have”
“I start working for Bisio in two weeks. I’ll save up and, eventually, I’ll consider whether to sign up to evening classes or not” he shrugged “I just really wanna get out of this system for now. Clear my head, away from all of those asshole profs”
I took a deep breath.
“Ok, now, for salary and how you’re gonna budget-”
We went through many and any details, for at least a solid forty minutes - he seemed to be truly convinced. Just as I had required of him, he had actually planned it out, having answers ready for any scenario we knew our aunt might throw at him.
“You’re going to have to tell Uncle Bill and Aunt Cel, sooner or later” I reminded him “Clearly sooner”
“Yeah…” he suspired “I don’t know how to break it to them”
“Well, you have a fully fledged out ‘Aunt Cel proof’ plan, start from that”
“And, you’ll back me up if she disagrees?”
“I promise”
I knew how risky this was, but someone in our family had to trust Jeff’s judgement. If no one did, then, neither would he. It was better for him to do what he wanted, yet with structure, and make mistakes he could learn from. If anything, they’d be his mistakes, and he’d come out of it all the more responsible.
That was how I saw it anyway.
Regardless, I would keep an eye on him, from afar.
“Fine, then I’ll tell her tonight, after dinner”
“Call me, if you need me. You have my fullest support”
“I know, thanks, Mikey-” then added, with a smirk and a wink “And, you can count on me, if you need help with the Ìspirah thing!”
“Urgh, Jeffrey!”
He laughed at my exasperation.
……
Later that evening, after sending my last email of the day, with the first draft of another book review attached, I got a text message.
Phew, that was a relief - a novel lightness reached my chest, as I quickly texted him back.
“Glad to hear it. Let me
know if there’s anything
else I can help with, or if
I need to sign the lease
for you.”
“She offrd 2 sign it 2 chck
the cntract, all gd”
“Lovely, well done.”
He was going to gain more control over his life - the step forward he needed to mature.
And, it would be in his own way, which was just as good as anyone else’s.