Stolen Figs by Mark Rotella

Author:Mark Rotella [Rotella, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781429966061
Publisher: FarrarStraus
Published: 2011-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

Back in the Pagliacci piazza, a group of boys was playing soccer. Gatto, Vincenzo, and Giacomino joined in, thrilling the boys. I stood with the women.

“To judge by his work, Vincenzo likes to travel,” I said to Francesca.

“Yes, but he hasn’t really been much out of Italy,” Francesca said. “And wherever he goes, he always comes right back here to Gimigliano.”

“It’s pretty boring here, isn’t it?” asked Rosanna, the dark-haired woman. “Not like in New York?”

“New York can wear you down,” I said. “Here I can take in a village at a slow pace. I can appreciate it. And for me that’s exciting.”

“But for how long?”

The game continued. It began to rain. “O, dio mio,” Francesca said. “Do you want a ride home?”

I told her I’d stick around, and the two women took off without saying goodbye to the others. I stood beneath an arch that led to the main pedestrian road. Out in the piazza, the laid-back, self-conscious Vincenzo broke loose with the ball and scored a goal. He was much better than I had thought he would be, but then again he was playing against kids less than half his age. Gatto tended the other goal while smoking a cigarette.

The rain came down harder. A figure slumped its way across the stone; it was the gimpy brown-and-black dog from the procession, hobbling out of the rain.

Now it poured, and the players headed for cover under the arch. The kids dispersed.

Giacomino placed his hand on my shoulder: “We’ll see you tomorrow night for the Passion play, yes?”

I said they would, and the four of us walked out of the piazza and down a street called Corso America.

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