Republic
Day, a lovely and welcome respite from the vigor of work. The perfect day for a
family outing. The man was tall and dressed as a dad head to toe: clad in a plaid
short-sleeve shirt, loose slacks, and a fedora. As he walked across the Piazza
his face lit up to the sight of a little girl in a yellow dress scootering
towards him. He quickly jumped in her way and lifted her in the air as she
giggled and hugged him all while quickly chattering in Italian. Clearly, this
man had not seen his daughter in some time, the reason for this became all the
more apparent as the girl, on her feet once more, grabbed his hand and pulled
him towards a bench. On the bench sat a woman engrossed in her phone, paying
little attention to her surroundings until the voice of the man reached her.
She quickly sat up and styled her hair much as she styled her smile, in an attempt
to hide her nervousness and exhaustion. As he approached the man began to beam
at her. They had recently spent some time apart, perhaps a break in their
relationship which would explain the tangible awkwardness of the encounter or just
an innocent trip. However, whatever the case was it was clear that they wanted to
be around one another again. As the daughter continued to scooter around them
their awkward small talk gave way to laughter and slowly but surely the few
feet of room they had given each other on the bench began to close.
Piazza Cavour: 6/2/19
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