The Chitchat shop has become my refuge, just like the tree house for Huey, Dewey, and Louie. I get back there every chance I have. Today I brought Corrado and Umberto with me too. This gave my old friends a chance to meet Massimiliano and Giannandrea. As a pilot, Corrado has plenty of free time when he isn’t working, and I know that Umberto is taking more time off from his clinic so he can spend it with me. I really appreciate that.
The afternoon takes an unexpected turn when Massimiliano pulls a Subbuteo set out of a closet. The word Subbuteo alone, I feel sure, will send a thrill of excitement down the spine of any male reader over forty. While in females of any and all ages, it will instill a note of commiseration for the manifest inferiority of what is laughingly called the stronger sex.
No Italian in his forties can resist a game of Subbuteo football.
We lay the cloth out on the floor, make up a list of matches, and with five players that’s no simple matter because you have to draw up a genuine Italian team chart with a complete ranking and the differentiated number of goals. Three unforgettable hours of play, crowned by a victory for me in the decisive match against Giannandrea, who turned out to be a wizard of the finger flick.
The more the days pass, the clearer it becomes to me that the small amount of money I’ve set aside won’t do me any good in this life and will only be useful in ensuring a comfortable life for Paola and the kids. In any case, I’m happy when I play. And playing, luckily, doesn’t cost anything.