Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 3

At age eighteen I was drafted into the military for ten months. I was sent to basic training where I was given an impressive uniform, including a hat with a black feather attached to one side. On one of my days off I was waiting for a train, and on the platform I met Sara Trevisan, whose parents hailed from the Veneto region. It was love at first sight. We got married at the end of my military service and a year later she became pregnant. When our son Davide was born, I joined my father in his jewelry business as a salesman. As part of my job, I had to do a lot of travelling, mainly within Europe and the United States.

We then had two daughters, Paola and Monica. My son graduated from the University of Florence, majoring in the history of the Renaissance period. Not long ago, I purchased the apartment where we now live: I had been renting it for many years. It is located just above the Cafe dei Costanti on the Piazza San Francesco in the historical center of Arezzo.

Opposite the apartment is the marble statue of Vittorio Fossombroni that for some strange reason gives him the titles of "Politician, Economist and Plumber." The last title makes me smile every time I leave my house and look at him. It seems that in 1850, a plumber was a very sought-after and a "noble" profession.

On one of my business trips, I visited Angelo in Bucharest on New Year's Eve. The city once known as Little Paris, which pride itself on it's own "Arc de Triomphe" similar to the original on the Champs Elysees, was turned into a sad, gray and dark city during the days of the Communist regime. Now it had suddenly burst into life. I don't know if it was because of the hypnotic twinkling lights wrapped round the treetops all along Boulevard Unirii,[The main Boulevard in Bucharest] or because of the myriad young and pretty girls walking along it.

The newest member of the group was Gert Hoffmann who was born in Bolzano in the Trentino Alto Adige region. His parents separated when he was still in kindergarten and, shortly thereafter, his mother met a man from Arezzo. They could not get married because she was unable to obtain a divorce - as it was still illegal in Italy in those days -but that didn't stop her from taking her young son and going to live with her partner in Arezzo. He raised Gert like his own son. Gert met his biological father many years later. He completed his medical studies at the University of Siena, and that is where he met Claudio and through him, all of us. At university he met Sabina, a beautiful girl from Luzern, Switzerland. They dated each other for a while and were eventually married in a civil ceremony in the presence of several students who acted as witnesses. He specialized in proctology at the Luzern University Hospital in Switzerland, where they remained. They had no children.

So today, in the cafe, I met Fabrizio, who came with his brother-in-law Elia, and of course, Claudio, who arrived late as usual.

"Let's talk seriously for a moment," I said, trying to make some order in the tumult.

"Ok. Tell us about your trip to see Angelo."

"I visited with him. He was very happy to see me and asked about all of you. At one point he suggested that we all come to Bucharest as his guests."

"Including the women?" inquired Claudio.

"No, it seems like he wants us to spend quality time together. We'll go solo."

"May I take along another friend?"

"No, nobody outside of our group can come."

"What about Dottore del cullo[Jokingly because he is a Proctologist: ass doctor] from Luzern and Fantasmino[A small phantom, nickname] from Australia?"

"Why suddenly Fantasmino? Where did that name suddenly come from?"

"Is Sabi Checker better?" I replied, to the wild laughter of all those present.

"We'll let them know today so that they can book their flights."

"How are we supposed to converse with them?" Claudio asked.

"In Polish, deficente.[Italian: Idiot] Don't you know Polish? "

Everybody but Claudio burst out laughing, as he didn't get my answer.

We set an approximate date for the trip.

That evening Claudio called Sebastian, and since he was not in, he left the following message on the answering machine. "Dear Fantasmino. Schedule a vacation for the beginning of August, because you are going to meet all your friends in Paradiso. If you are asking yourself whether this message is intended for you or perhaps it is a mistake, let me assure you that it is not an error: Right you are, Fantasmino. Arrivederci."

I was more successful with inviting Gert. When I called him, I reached him on his mobile phone. He was excited about meeting us all, and was even more enthused when he heard about the nature of the trip.

"How will we know who goes out with whom?" he asked worriedly of the students. "Flip a coin," I answered. He laughed and confirmed his joining.

Shortly before our scheduled departure for Bucharest, Sebastian told me that he would be arriving on the same day but earlier than the rest of us. Since it had actually been many years since he last saw Angelo, he expressed anxiety that they might not recognize each other. I advised him to hold up a banner with his name on it so that Angelo could identify him from among the arrivals.