Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 17

I turned around and said to Gert, "It does not seem to me as if you really enjoyed yourself that much."

"I can't wait to be with Roxana again," Claudio interjected.

"Hey guys," I said. "Get back to reality, it's over and forgotten. You don't want trouble at home, forget about everything."

"Look who's talking. You were attached to Mirella like a puppy to its master. The first thing you are going to do as soon as you get home is to call her and tell her how much you miss her," Claudio said laughingly.

"Believe it or not, I don't even have her telephone number," I said.

"I have both Silvia and Mirella's phone number," Elia said.

I suddenly felt an incredible feeling of happiness. I thought that Mirella was forever gone from my life, and here she was, back in full force. The mere knowledge that Elia had her phone number and that I could contact her at any moment, gave me intense joy.

"Guys, let's meet at Caffé dei Costanti, in a few days," I suggested.

"Okay, no problem. Let's just meet before Gert returns home," Elia said.

"I'm going back home on Saturday evening," said Gert.

"In that case, let's meet on Friday at four o'clock. Is that fine with everybody?," I asked.

Everyone agreed.

When I got home, Sara, my wife, was not there, so I decided to take a shower. I changed my clothes, and dumped the entire contents of my suitcase into a laundry bag. I then lay down on the couch in the living room and turned on the television.

After about an hour, I called Elia to get Mirella's phone number. I was afraid that he might lose it or inadvertently throw it away, and then Mirella would disappear forever.

Elia answered the phone after the first ring and laughingly said, "You miss her already, brother-in-law."

I spoke to Elia in a low tone, lest somebody come home and hear me. "Well, can I have it?"

"I'll give it to you when we meet on Friday night," he answered.

What happened?" I asked curiously.

He lit a cigarette and took another one from his box and offered it to me.

"Giorgio," he began. "I don't sleep at night and I lost my appetite. I see Roxana in every corner. I spoke with her yesterday and she was crying, telling me how much she misses me. I don't know what to do."

"Claudio, calm down and be reasonable," I told him. "She's younger than your twins. You are old enough to be her grandfather. Pull yourself together."

I said what I said, but I really didn't mean it. Claudio was going through the same crisis that I was going through at the moment, and probably all of our friends were going through.

We entered the Caffé dei Costanti and looked for a quiet corner. We moved to the back of the cafe as most of the tables in the front were occupied. We told the waitress in the front that when our friends arrived, she should direct them to our table.

One by one they arrived, first Gert, then Elia and finally Fabrizio. We sat around the table and just looked at each other. No one said a word. We all knew what was going through our minds.

The waitress came around and we ordered Ciambelle[ donuts] and coffee. The atmosphere was very tense and nobody was in a mood for jokes.