Erik Pethersen - The Ball

«Come on, Lavi» she replies. «Wait, I’ll put it on for you» she says placing a hand on my left shoulder and bringing the buttery thing to my mouth.

«If you really want to. Just once, please» I try to say but Serena has already started it regardless of my words.

«Yes, but if you don’t speak it will all be easier» she says, sliding the stick over my lips.

I hear the lift coming and the doors open: inside it, behind Serena playing with my lips, I see a man dressed in a grey suit.

«Here, you look all nice and buttered up» she says, screwing the cylinder back on, then putting it back in her pocket and turning around. We get into the lift.

«Good morning. Are you going to the ground floor too?»

«Hello, yes, thank you» I reply.

We both turn towards the door, with our backs to the other guy.

«It’s good, isn’t it?»

«Yes, very pleasant» I reply while I feel a hot flush rising up my face.

Serena holds back a laugh and her face turns really pink: she moves closer and hits me with the hip. Fifteen seconds of silence and the lift reaches the ground floor.

«Goodbye» we say almost with one voice, without turning around.

We get out of the lift and we walk along the corridor. The other man follows us and, at Mauro’s station, which is unattended, turns towards the door of the stairs leading to the car park; we keep going to the left towards the glass door and we get out of the building.

«You are really silly!» I say laughing.

Serena bursts out laughing saying: «What a great impression we made.»

«Really great.»

«That thing you smeared on my lips is really greasy: I feel all furred.»

«Come on, it’s not true, it’s so good» Serena says still giggling.

We cross the street and head to the bar.

«But how many minutes can you be okay outside dressed like this?»

«I don’t know, now it’s almost hot: maybe I can resist for ten minutes without freezing to death.»

«Besides, I’m the stupid one... Come on, let’s go in right now, before you get frozen.»

Serena pushes the glass handle, I follow her and we find ourselves inside the room.

«Hi girls, is there just the two of you?» a boy in a black and white striped apron welcomes us, holding some menus in his hand.

«Yes» Serena replies, «where can we sit?»

«How about down there towards the glass window? Or would you rather sit more on the inside?»

«It’s fine there» I reply, looking at Serena for approval as she nods her head in agreement.

«Follow me, please» says the waiter, walking towards the back of the room.

«Good morning, guys, have a nice lunch» Serena says in front of me, turning to a table hidden from my view by some greenery. I go past it and discover the senior guys enjoying a seafood risotto.

«Morning» I say.

«Thanks for calling us boys» Umberto replies, laughing. «You too» the others reply, overlapping the voices.

We are heading for our table at the bottom of the room. The boy leaves the plastic menus he was holding on the square table. «Three minutes and I’ll be back to you, girls.»

«Thanks Gigi» replies Serena.

We sit down taking up two orange-glazed wooden chairs. I browse through the dishes and, considering that I will have to move all that stuff in the afternoon, I decide that not a quick but a rather nutritious lunch can be a happy thing. I rule out tagliatelle with stewed hare, which seem a little out of place to me, I also rule out Milanese-style risotto, and I nonchalantly scroll down the other dishes.

«Lavi, what are you having? I’ll go for a beef carpaccio with parmesan and artichokes.»

«I’ll go for hot octopus with potatoes and olives» I reply a little doubtfully.

«But why do you think they write hot? Can you also have a cold or freezing octopus option?»

«Maybe, if you ask politely, they can also do it flambéed» I suggest. «I don’t know, maybe they mean that it’s not that cold, like when you find it in salads, cut into slices.»

«Yes, it could be» she replies, somewhat perplexed.

Serena looks out of the window and I throw a glance myself out the bar window, in the opposite direction: on the sidewalk a short distance from us I see a man of about sixty, black suit, greenish tie, low gaze with a cigarette in his hand. He is about to cross paths with a girl dressed in an elegant grey suit that comes in the opposite direction: they go past each other and continue in their opposite directions. Behind the man there is another man, about forty-five years old: he takes his eyes off his smartphone and glances inside the bar as if he was looking for someone.

«Lavi, why do you think everyone is going around with such sad faces?» Serena suddenly asks.

«Why do you say sad?»

«I don’t know, but looking around they all seem angry, unhappy: sad... don’t you think so?»

«I don’t know, you’re a bit right though. There doesn’t seem to be much joy around or, in any case, Sere, not everyone has the energy and joy that you always have: you are in this mood every day. If I didn’t know you I would think you use some drugs.»

«How do you know if I don’t?»

«The problem is that you are really this way, without any additions» I reply, amused. «It’s not a problem: it’s a beautiful feature, actually.»

«You mean that I’m, how can I say, kind of frivolous?»

«No, why would you be frivolous?» I ask staring at her.

«I don’t know, it seemed you were saying so.»

«No, not at all: frivolous would be the last adjective that could come to my mind to describe you.»

«And if you were to describe me, what would the first adjective be?»

«But what is it, a game? Is it a lunch break for unlikely questions?»

«Sorry girls, what can I bring you then?» interrupts the striped boy.

«Octopus and carpaccio, a bottle of still water and then two coffees, please» Serena replies quickly.

«All right, girls: five minutes and I’ll drop everything over» he says. He turns around and goes off.

«Here, exactly.»

«Exactly what?»

«But why do you keep staring at me like that for?»

«Because I’m waiting for an answer» replies Serena smiling.

«I meant light-minded, not frivolous, is that alright?»

«As light as a feather?»

«Well, not quite like a feather» I reply, pushing my torso over the portion of table that separates us. «In short, you are light-minded in the sense that you do not let yourself be harmed by anything you don’t like or don’t care about. You overlook any negative situation and focus only on what really matters.»

«Okay, it is fine, it was enough light-minded, anyway, I got the meaning.»

«Just as well! So is the lunch break question time over?» I add, while she remains silent. «Good. Tonight as well I’ll have to bear with Amedeo’s usual questions, as it has been happening for the last few months, during every dinner. If I also have to put up with your delusional questions during my lunch break, I think I might not even get to finish the day in good mental health.»

«Sorry Lavi, I didn’t want to bother or annoy you. Sorry, sorry, sorry» she whispers as she reaches over the table to my hand and strokes it.

«Yes, Sere, you are excused» I reply laughing and pushing her hand away with my fingers.

«Why does Amedeo keep pissing you off? He didn’t even take it well after all the money you managed to put together for those losers of Banano rental estate?»

«I don’t know» I reply a little hesitant. «As for the Banano issue, he just said that it wasn’t that difficult to find money anyway. It has been like this for quite some time now: I think it is down to his job. Actually, he doesn’t do anything all day: he keeps saying that he has to sell all of it, but nobody wants it anyway.»