Hurry Up and Wait
Joe and I woke up early and he got dressed right away, as we weren't certain what time Padre Giuseppe would arrive. I was about to take a very quick shower, when Elena texted to ask if I want to go to Centro Sicilia. Sure! What time? When is Padre coming here? Crickets. So I got in the shower, got dressed, and headed to first floor to do something with my hair.
I met Mariella and Elena on the third floor. Ready to go? they asked. Now?! I asked. Give me five minutes, I said, and ran downstairs to get my shoes and quickly brush my hair. Running back upstairs to them, I saw Matteo at Elena's side. Oh, Matteo! Hi! You're coming with us today? Elena said no; she's taking him to school and will be back soon. I don't understand, I thought. Did I actually have time to do my hair? Father Giuseppe's not on his way? No; Elena and the kids were too tired. They're rescheduling.
Mariella backed the car out for Elena, Lilo the chihuahua ran out into the street, and Cettina, Giuseppe's mom, arrived and stepped out of her car as Ettore and his cousins Iside and Leonardo ran toward the foyer. Cettina caught Lilo and brought him in, coralled two of her grandkids into her car, and Mariella escorted Ettore inside the door, where we waited for Elena on the landing.
You could tell the cousins sleepover had little sleep involved. He threw his coat on the floor, laid on it, put his feet up on the wall. He went up and down the staircase and was being sassy. I asked if he thought he was a teenager? Why all the lip? This went on for what felt like a very long time. Wailing commenced.
When Elena returned and told Ettore to go to the car, he went into full blown meltdown. He wanted to decorate the tree today. Ok; fair. He's only five, almost six years old, and expectations like that loom in his mind and are a big deal. But that disappointment, combined with a lack of sleep the night before, sprinkled holy terror over all of us, only to be amplified within the small confines of the Renault Cleo.
Elena called Giuseppe and interrupted Ettore's loud wails to say Talk to your dad. Ettore kept on wailing, and next thing we knew, Mariella pulled up to Giuseppe's workplace, where Elena dropped him off. Giuseppe is working round the clock on orders for Christmas.
As she got back into the car, I asked Elena if Andrea were there (she helps out at Giuseppe's business). No. Not today. And Giuseppe can work and watch Ettore? Yes, well, I do it all the time, and also help with his homework. So Giuseppe also does takes his turn. WOW. I never in a million years could've gotten away with that. I had to allow and give an hour of "decompression time" after my kids' dad got home from work (and his "working" happy hour) and still have supper on the table after a day of three kids under 5 (two of them infants)! How different life would've been with help like that. I applaud Elena and Giuseppe.
At Centro Sicilia, we went first to Primark, where Mariella and Elena immediately disappeared into the crowds, and I was an island. I didn't buy anything at Primark. After quite a while, I texted Elena, saying I'm hanging out by the entrance, if they're looking for me. About 15 minutes later, she wrote back, saying they're in line to pay. We met up and finally headed out of Primark. Then they saw some things in the display window, and Mariella wanted to go back in to buy them. Elena decided to get the sweater for Ettore she had spotted on the way out. We got back into the lengthy serpentine queue and waited. Elena, fed up with waiting, said she was going to use the pregnant woman excuse, and jump ahead. It worked.
I had wanted to find a faux fur jacket for Maria's wedding. We saw one a few stores later, somewhat reasonably priced. I'm not sure about the color, but the store's display modeled it with the exact color of my outfit. Elena selected bronze metallic shoes to go with the ensemble, which look perfect, but the wedding is "mountain formal," and I don't know what the hell to wear! Although I'm pretty sure metallic shoes won't fit the mountain aesthetic.
I wavered back and forth on getting the jacket and, on a last-minute impulse, decided to get it. Elena grabbed it, saying there's something to ask about it in Italian, but what she really did was buy it for me! Now I'll have a "hug" from her throughout the wedding.
At home, Joe and I had lunch before he had to meet Vincenzo for tennis. They needed to leave early to meet the harvest guy for Nonno's olives. They're almost ready to take to the frantoia to be made into oil.
While he was at tennis, I rested a little, then walked down via Scuteri to check out the house listed for €62000. I continued to the belvedere, where I saw a backhoe excavating for something, and the revamped kiosk is almost done. Then back up to via Vittorio Emmanuele to see if the other Deco had gin for Joe and a crostata for my pumpkin pie. I got some butter, but forgot to buy spices.
Joe's tennis games went well. He had fun. And it was a gorgeous day today.
Joe called his sister Ginny, who's always fun and has a great take on any news. As I was finishing cooking dinner, he called his brother. Lastly, he tried his youngest sister, but she was en route to a burial.
Tonight, an easy supper of pasta puttanesca and a salad, and some really nice white wine, new to me, that I picked up the other day.
Now lounging and writing; tomorrow will be more food. I hope we see Lilliana and family. It's been a while.
Random photos to end the night:
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