Part 10 (1/2)
”For me?” said Lucrezia. Her curiosity piqued, she stood and came to the window. ”What is it?” she asked, gazing out.
Peppi reached down to his feet and picked up a small but hefty ceramic mug, the kind used to hold pens or paper clips or whatever else one might keep on a desk. It was splattered with mud from being left out in the rain, but otherwise it was in good repair.
”Here,” he said, offering the mug up to her by way of the same broken window pane through which it had originally exited the building. ”I don't know how it managed to find its way out into the garden, but I thought it might make a good paper weight.”
Lucrezia gasped and broke out in an embarra.s.sed, but delighted smile when she saw it. ”I've been looking all over for that thing!” she exclaimed, taking the mug. ”I made this when I was a little girl. It's one of my favorite things. How on earth did it ever manage to get out there?”
”I can't imagine,” said Peppi.
Lucrezia wiped the mud off the mug and inspected it more closely. ”It doesn't seem to be damaged at all,” she said with relief. She turned her gaze to him and smiled once more. ”Grazie, ”Grazie, Signor Peppi.” Signor Peppi.”
”Prego,” he replied, ”but please, just call me Peppi.” he replied, ”but please, just call me Peppi.”
”D'accordo,” she said, still smiling. she said, still smiling.
”And you should do that more often.”
”Cosa?”
”Show people your smile,” Peppi said. ”It's a shame to keep it hidden all the time.”
”I'll try to remember,” said Lucrezia. Then she went back to work and Peppi went off to buy a new pane of gla.s.s.
Pedalling into town and returning to replace the window pane took longer than Peppi had antic.i.p.ated. As it turned out, the pane of gla.s.s he purchased was too big to fit securely in the basket on his bicycle. He had no choice other than to balance the gla.s.s against the back of his saddle while he walked the bike home. Along the way he stopped now and then to chat with the villagers he had come to know since returning from America. Everyone knew everything about everybody in a little place like Villa San Giuseppe. Invariably they asked how he was feeling and warned him about doing too much too soon.
By the time he returned to the factory and replaced the window pane, Peppi was feeling quite tired. After finis.h.i.+ng up, he decided to follow Luca's advice, not to mention everyone else's in the village, about pacing himself more sensibly. He ate a light lunch then went to his bedroom and stretched out for a nap. Peppi came down later that afternoon to inspect the landscaping job he had only just started in front of the factory. As he descended the stairs he saw Enzo and Fabio, one of his co-workers, by the front door. The two were on their work break, puffing cigarettes while they traded shop talk.
”Hey, Peppi!” called Enzo at seeing Peppi come into view. ”Come 'stai?” ”Come 'stai?”
”Eh, better than yesterday,” said Peppi with a shrug, ”but not as good as tomorrow, I hope.”
”Bravo,” said Fabio. said Fabio.
Peppi had always disliked the smell of cigarettes and he coughed when the breeze blew their smoke in his face. ”Uff, don't you guys know that those are bad for you?” he said, fanning away the smoke with his hand.
”Ayyy, you stayed in America too long,” laughed Enzo before taking another drag. ”You guys worry too much over there.”
”Maybe,” said Peppi.
”Hey, Peppi, what did you think of that storm yesterday?” said Fabio. ”I thought G.o.d was getting ready to knock down the mountains all around us.”
”It certainly sounded that way,” Peppi agreed. ”It was quite a storm.”
”Veramente,” said Enzo, nodding. ”Did you hear about that poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d in L'Aquila that got hit by the lightning?” said Enzo, nodding. ”Did you hear about that poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d in L'Aquila that got hit by the lightning?”
”No, I hadn't,” replied Peppi.
”Get this,” chuckled Fabio. ”The guy's up on his roof, trying to fix the television antenna so he can watch the soccer match last night. It starts storming like crazy, but he doesn't come down because he hasn't finished yet and he really wants to watch the match. He finally gets the thing all plugged in just as the storm is at its worst. That's when he finally decides that he'd better get inside quick. But then he gets all the way down to the bottom of the ladder when he remembers he left his tools up on the roof. So what does the dope do? He goes back to get the tools! No sooner does he reach the top of the ladder than a big bolt of lightning comes down out of the sky and knocks him to the ground.”
”That was G.o.d's way of showing him how stupid he is,” noted Enzo.
”Dead?” asked Peppi.
”No,” said Fabio, shaking his head. ”Broke both legs, though. Just the same, he wouldn't let them take him to the hospital until after he watched the match. Can you believe it?”
”I'd forgotten how dedicated Italian soccer fans are,” said Peppi.
They all shared a laugh, then Peppi went over to inspect the little garden he had started along the walkway that led to the front door while Enzo and Fabio continued to chatter. He knelt down and fussed with the soil around one of the flowers he had transplanted. Just then the door to the factory opened and Lucrezia came out.
”Ciao, Enzo, ciao, Fabio,” she said pleasantly. she said pleasantly.
”Ciao, Signora,” the two replied respectfully. They were accustomed to a more brusque greeting from Lucrezia and they glanced at each other with suspicious eyes. the two replied respectfully. They were accustomed to a more brusque greeting from Lucrezia and they glanced at each other with suspicious eyes.
”Ciao, Peppi!” she called, walking past them. she called, walking past them.
Peppi called back a greeting.
Enzo and Fabio watched with great interest as Lucrezia strolled over to Peppi. She stopped beside him and bent over his shoulder to take a look at the flowers. As she did so, the two strained to get a closer look at her backside.
”These are beautiful,” she said, leaning over to breathe in the fragrance of the flowers.
”I hope to plant more soon,” said Peppi.
”That would be nice,” said Lucrezia. ”Thank you for fixing my window, by the way, and also for finding my mug.”
”Piacere mia, Signorina,” said Peppi, smiling. said Peppi, smiling.
”Please, just call me Lucrezia,” she said returning his smile.
”Okay,” said Peppi.
Lucrezia hesitated for a moment as if she wanted to say something more. Instead she straightened up and started to walk away.
”Ciao, Peppi,” she said, casting a glance over her shoulder. she said, casting a glance over her shoulder.
”Ciao-Lucrezia,” he replied. he replied.
Peppi knelt there in the garden and watched Lucrezia as she stepped into her car. When she drove away, he stood and kept watch until the car was out of sight. Then, humming a tune, he turned his attention back to the garden, completely forgetting that Enzo and Fabio were still there, observing the whole scene.
Enzo took a last puff from his cigarette and tossed the b.u.t.t to the ground. ”Know what I think?” he said, nudging Fabio with his elbow.
”What?”
”I think that guy in L'Aquila wasn't the only one to get hit by a thunderbolt.”