Venerdi Pesce

A lot of Italian showers, especially those on islands and ours included, are set up to conserve water. I’ve often referred to our hot water heater as a “dental floss container” size. The process: Rinse down. Turn off water, soap up. Turn on water, rinse off. Repeat as needed for shampoo/conditioner. If you have a constant, steaming hot, American style shower, the next person will not have hot water for theirs. I now know to always get in first. Ahem.

We saw Elena, Mariella, and Matteo on the way out to run errands. Elena asked me to stop back afterward, as she wanted to tell me about her new business venture.

We took the car to get water and wine and some groceries, but Joe drove home while I walked. It’s a warm, sunny day; a t-shirt suffices. I need the Vitamin D to help bake out this cold, which is annoying me.

I saw the burgeoning crops along viale dei fiori, near the spot where sheep and goats grazed yesterday. I stopped into Forno di Delizie to get bread, and my “friend” was once again smiling, although not effusive. I saw a panino that looked excellent, so I got that as well. 

Walking now past my recipe-giving ortofrutta vendor, I picked up more wild asparagus, just because.

Coming back, I saw Andrea as she was leaving, remarking again at how tiny she’s gotten.

“Non è vero,” she said; it’s not true.

“È vero!” I said, “tu sei piccola!” It’s true! You’re tiny!

“Ma soffro” she said, with her big eyes and beautiful pouty mouth. “Soffro di dimigrire”.

But I suffer… I suffer when dieting.

“Per me, godersi la vita è mangiare”. For me, to enjoy life is to eat. 

She soulfully nodded, and we hugged.

I popped down to hear about Elena’s business idea, which, in addition to her two full-time high-power auditing jobs, dovetailing in to take over her (very successful) dad’s accounting business, raising two kids, and being part of the family’s restaurant, is a side gig. She’s hoping to spread the wealth of Usborne books to kids of all ages. I feel super lazy next to her.

Joe and I had a nice but simple lunch; he fried up the long “corno” peppers, low and slow, to eat with various good salami and cheeses, and the bread I brought home. Both my grandpa and my sister would’ve loved the lunch.

With an hour to spare before Ettore arrives, even though it’s beautiful outside, I had to shut my eyes for a bit. A few minutes after waking, a calm and pleasant Ettore came up with Mariella.

We played. We painted. We ‘fenced’. We made pancakes. There were a couple of escape attempts, but I was able to divert his attention. At one point, I was about to give up, when—God bless her—Agnese appeared. She was helpful, and I appreciated her time with us today. And of course, Joe adores her.

Later, Elena and Matteo came up and hung out with us for a while. When Joe and Agnese kicked around a soccer ball, baby Matteo was interested in the other soccer ball, and wanted to push it back and forth.

“MY ball!” Ettore said, grabbing it.

And I love Elena’s parenting:

“But what is the use of a ball, Ettore? It is to play with someone else, or it is useless. If it were a sandwich, and someone wanted it, you might say, no, this is my sandwich! But a ball? It is meant for sharing!”

After some time, Mariella and Giovanna made their way upstairs. Giovanna is such a “Bren”. She is all vivacity and friendship, and I adore her. She heard I’m making pasta with pesce spada and eggplant tonight, and interrogated me on my preparation, checking with Mariella, who gave the nod.

After their joyful commotion, they left us “sposatini” (almost marrieds) to our evening. It was a little sad to see them go.

I began preparing the supper. Everything about it was great. The ingredients are superb, and Joe and I wolfed down the finished product.

The trouble with a cold is that my head fog is there from the outset, so I don’t monitor my wine intake as well as when I’m not sick. Normally when I start to feel foggy, I stop the wine. But I’ve been foggy all day, so I didn’t. Water, Zyrtec, Advil.

I’m in my fresh and clean pjs, just two winks shy of a deep sleep. 

And scene.