Chapter 4
Sunday, August 31st
Miriam's home, 9 am
When the bell rang, Miriam hurried to open the door. After the school meeting, she had exchanged phone numbers with some colleagues and, the day before, Francine, the economics teacher, had called her to organize a trip.
Miriam saw the smiling faces of the colleagues and of a young girl. Francine had told her that her daughter Julia would come along.
“Come in!” said Miriam enthusiastically, “Can I offer you a cup of Italian espresso?”
Melany, a beautiful woman in her early forties, with soft copper coloured hair and showy golden-rimmed glasses, answered with a charming smile: “How can we refuse a good espresso?”
Maria shook hands with Julia, who looked like her mother.
“Nice to meet you. I am Miriam!”
“I am Julia. I am sorry, but I can't speak Italian at all! I would like to visit your country, Miriam!”
Miriam smiled and led her friends to the living room. They sat at the table, while Miriam prepared the moka.
“What a tiny house!” said Gloria, the Canadian history teacher. Miriam had immediately liked the plump woman, with a sweet smile and a motherly attitude. She judged her to be in her fifties, also because Gloria had told her that she had two grown-up children, who lived and worked in Ottawa. The friendly smile and the casual clothes made her look younger.
Miriam looked around and answered: “Yes, it is really small, but I like it. There is everything I need and I have never had a garden in Italy.”
“Do you come from a big city?” asked Julia with curiosity.
“No, I come from a small town, where there is a famous university and the basilica of St. Anthony. In thirty minutes you can reach Venice from my home!”
Francine intervened:
"Wow! When I got married, we wanted to go to Italy for our honeymoon. We would have liked to visit Venice, but we were young and penniless… We are planning to go to Italy for our 25th anniversary!”
" Obviously I am coming with you!” exclaimed Julia.
Miriam poured the coffee into the cups. She took a beautiful glass sugar bowl from the cupboard, one of the few objects she had brought from Italy.
Gloria took the sugar bowl in her hands and admired it for a few moments:
“It’s really beautiful. It comes from Venice, doesn't it? In Toronto there is a shop that sells glass objects like this.”
Miriam nodded:
" Yes, it was made in Murano, a little island in Venice which is famous for glass blowers. I was afraid it would break during the flight.”
While they drank coffee, Miriam asked:
“Where are your husbands?”
"Oh”, answered Melany, “I don't know if it is the same in Italy, but here, when the Blue Jays have a home game, our husbands never miss it!”
Gloria explained:
" The Blue Jays are the baseball team in Toronto.”
Miriam smiled and said:
" Oh, I didn't grow up in a family of sports supporters, but in Italy it is the same for soccer. My students went all the way to Milan or Turin to watch a match of their favourite team.”
When they had finished their coffee, Melany explained:
" Miriam, we would like to take you to a natural park on Lake Ontario, Mawautin Nature Sanctuary. It is a wonderful place with paths immersed in nature and marvelous landscapes.”
Miriam said with a dreamy expression:
“Fantastic! I love walking in nature. Is it far from here?”
" More or less an hour by car.” interjected Francine. “The weather is fine and we should be able to see some birds, because the park is a reserve. I have binoculars in my car…”
Now Miriam was really longing to explore the park. They decided to use Francine's car. Gloria sat in the passenger seat, while Miriam, Julia and Melany settled in the rear seats. The car was large and Maria smiled at the remembrance of her canary yellow Cinquecento, her trusted vehicle for many years.
After leaving Trinity, they traveled along a highway, which, to Miriam's displeasure, remained far from the lake. The landscape was flat and barren. After half an hour, Francine turned right towards a town called Coburg.
Melany told Miriam: “We will come back to Coburg for lunch, because there is a cozy little restaurant on the lake.”
Miriam noticed that Coburg was slightly larger than Trinity, with modern buildings. She could see a promenade on the lake to her right and a little harbour, but they remained on a street among houses and shops.
After another quarter of an hour the scenery became decidedly more pleasant and green. They took a road lined with tall trees, and they arrived at the lake shore. Francine parked by the side of the road. From the car trunk she took binoculars for her and her colleagues.
They started to walk along a path that bordered the lake. The scenery was really enchanting. The sun gave the trees a golden colour. Along the way there were some cabins with narrow windows, from which you could observe the birds without disturbing them.
Miriam was enchanted by that place immersed in an atmosphere of peace. Since her father's death, she had seldom gone for a walk, partly because she was brought back to the memory of her dad, and partly because she was busy with the preparations for her new experience.
Trinity, Steve Brown’s home, 11 am
Steve held the phone in his hands for a few minutes after trying, for the upteenth time, to call Jill without getting an answer.
‘What am I doing?’ he thought. ‘I am estranging the only person I really care for? What can I do? I don’t want to lose her…’
His phone vibrates in his hands. He looked at the caller id, hoping to read the name JILL. Instead, he saw the name of the only person he didn't want to hear, a person who was able to make him really nervous and scared.
“Hello!”
" I need that favour again next week. You must do everything as usual, ok?”
" But how can I do it? A month ago my colleague was on holiday with his family, and I was free to do what you ask, but now? He is in the same office…”
“Go to work early, stay after office hours, I don't care what you do. It’s your business! You MUST do what I ask. Remember that I am the person who pays your debts! Don’t forget!”
The phone call was interrupted before he could answer. What was he supposed to do? He had to play along, at least until he had paid all his debts. But… What if he stopped gambling? He could finally be free… Yes, that was the only way he could go back to Jill without feeling ashamed. He had to leave the Trucker and his so-called friends.
Coburg, sea promenade, 2:30 pm
After a pleasant walk in the park and a delicious lunch, the cheerful group of friends indulged on the small beach along the sea promenade in Coburg. The beautiful sunny day enticed everyone to stay outside, to enjoy the slight breeze coming from the lake and the warmth of the autumn sun.
“A friend of mine showed me the photos of her honeymoon in Italy", Melany was saying, “there was a wonderful lake, much less large than this. I don't remember the name…”
Miriam helped her:
" Lake Garda maybe?”
" Exactly, that’s the name. It was surrounded by mountains. She told me that they took a gondola to reach the top of the mountain. From the summit you could enjoy a breathtaking view of the lake…”
" Oh, yes. I took that gondola once. The mountain is called Monte Baldo. It is unique, because the gondola turns on itself so that you can admire a 360-degree view. Our northern lakes are all surrounded by mountains because they are just below the Alps.”
“I would like to visit Venice!” said Gloria dreamily. " It must be such a romantic town. Is it true that there are no cars?”
Julia, who had proved to be a lively girl with a lot of interests, was listening attentively.
“The streets are called ‘calli’,” explained Miriam, " everything is made on the water, using steamboats or ferry boats. Ambulances are boats, the police move on the water and the stadium is on an island.”
" It must be an incredible place”, interjected Julia, “one of my classmates has told me that in Florida, in the United States, there is a town that is called Venice and is a copy of the Italian city, but I think they haven’t been able to reproduce the charm of the original.”
Miriam asked:
" Are you all from Ontario? I think I heard, during the meeting, that someone is from Quebec…”
Gloria answered:
" I am from Mississauga, near Toronto. My children now live in the capital of Canada, Ottawa. My husband Joseph is from Quebec, from Montreal.”
“I come from Kingston and my husband Al is from Toronto,” said Francine, " but we have been living in Trinity since we got married.”
Melany added: “I am from Niagara Falls, just a few miles from the famous attraction. Oh, Maria, I must take you to see the falls before it gets too cold. They are spectacular.”
" Yes, they are one of the places I want to see. Oh, but, for me, everything is new and completely different from my country. And, I must say, I find everything absolutely beautiful.”
Julia asked:
" Have you been everywhere in Italy?”
“In the last few years, with my dad, we planned a trip every summer to a different place. We didn't have time to visit Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria. But I think I have seen the most interesting places in all the other regions.”
Gloria asked:
“I know it is an expectable question, but… are you good at cooking, Miriam?”
“My friends used to tell me that I am fairly good. There are some dishes that I enjoy preparing, like lasagne and tiramisu. Why don't you come to dinner next week? We could invite other colleagues…”
" That's a great idea!” exclaimed Melany enthusiastically, “we can make arrangements during the week…”
" Can I come?” asked Julia, who was beginning to appreciate the young Italian teacher.
“Of course!” Miriam answered immediately.
Francine intervened: " I think the only problem is the number of chairs. Do you have only that table?”
“Yes, but I have noticed that it is extensible. But I have only six chairs.”
Gloria said: " I have some folding chairs in the garage. I use them when we have a lot of guests at home. I can bring them!”
“Thanks! That is a great idea!”
The five women went on chatting pleasantly, until Francine's husband called to announce the men were coming back from the stadium.
They went to Francine's car and they drove back to Trinity. Maria was beginning to appreciate her new work environment and the country where she was living a completely new experience.
ns216.73.216.141da2
and then Add to home screen.