Chianti and The infamous photo
Okay so I didn't handle that very well. I wasn't sure how to make it up to him, because I could see him looking at me sitting in my dinner seat now and then...Riccardo announced he was going to sing a song made famous by a Sicilian who lived in New York so we all gathered around him. I thought my heart was going to melt as soon as I heard the first beat. He began singing Frank Sinatra's song, "My Way".
To everyone's surprise he sang quite well. I felt so embarrased for the time when we were in Venice and I teased him about being our singing gondolier and that is when he started turning away from my photos. I felt so stupid for if I had known he could actually serenade us, I would have implored him to do so. I just stood there trying to find a way to record the event with my camera, but despite my greatest efforts I could not make my camera work. I just listened to him. I saw a woman next to me throwing coins at him, which he tried to catch while singing. I asked the lady if Riccardo was her husband and she started laughing and said no. She knew that I had spotted them together at dinner. I looked back at him and I could sense some feelings brewing inside, but I wasn't sure what they meant. I knew that we couldn't possibly have feelings for each other, but then why did I feel like we had some kind of emotional attachment? I wasn't sure if all the travelling was getting to me and I was reading into nothing or whether it seemed so clear. I am sure Riccardo did not know that My Way has a huge emotional and sentimental meaning to me nor did he know that it was my ulitmate favorite Frank Sinatra song, but there he was doing everything perfectly.
He asked us to board the bus and so after he was done singing we all wandered to the bus. Tony and Riccardo took us to the piazza michealangelo where we saw David lit up at night and Flourence sparkling like stars twinkling on a romantic night. I was one of the first off the bus and so therefore always within reach from where Riccardo was standing. Someone suggested we take a group photo and we handed all our camera's to our drunken tour director. Although he did look funny with ten cameras dangling from his arms and neck, he tried his best to take the photos. People would make fun of his prolonged delays in pressing the button and how he would keep staring into the screen, but I kept defending him saying that he had a lot of camera's. When he tried to return the camera's, he actually dropped the Australian woman from Brisbane's camera on the ground. luckily, it did not break!
I thought it might be nice to have a picture with the tour director since we were taking good bye photo's anyways. I walked over to him and asked if he would mind taking a photo (also hoping that would make up for me kinda running away from him earlier in the evening). He agreed and said he wanted to do a serious pose. (Think Nek) I laughed and said I would tickle him if he did that. This is where reality and memory travels on two different paths. It is funny how we can percieve a event entirely different than how it occured and how our sense of truth can be altered.
I thought we were standing beside each other shoulder to shoulder when he said "I want to take a picture like this" and then he had an intense stare, but his face softened slightly so that it was mainly his eyes that felt like they were penetrating my soul and that there was something he wanted to say. Our faces were so close that I could feel him breathing. Our lips seemed even closer like if either were to move one inch, we would be locked in an embrace. I forgot about everyone and everything around us and all I could do was feel his stare. Although I could hear him whispering to me, I can no longer remember what he was saying. Finally, "I said I don't think my mom knows you want the picture to be taken this way" and I thought we turned our heads completely to face the camera and we had regained our standing beside each other shoulder to shoulder pose. I could hear someone saying "aaawwwwwww" in the background and I sensed some people were looking at us posing for the picture.
It was a very funny drunken ride back home to our hotel, but the next morning seemed a bit strange. I sat down with everyone for breakfast and when I say everyone I mean David from Melbourne, Peter and Lucy, Shuyan and Ruth and my mom. Everyone went upstairs, but David and I remained behind talking about our time on this trip and how his wife wanted specific deodrant which he was trying to find in Venice and how I was trying to ask those people to wax my eyebrows and lips. I could see Riccardo watching us while sipping on his espresso and he had such a serious expression almost jealous or angry look. I thought David and I must be running behind schedule so we both agreed to go to our rooms, which happens to be next door to each other. We got up and started walking to the elevator together. The doors opened with my mom inside. I was trying to hold the door open for David when I saw Riccardo charging towards our direction with that look again.
I observed Riccardo that morning and still he seemed upset about something. I wasn't sure whether he was just tired from last night or perhaps something happened that morning to make him upset, but I didn't think I had much to do with it. I knew something happened between us during that photo shoot and that we shared a moment, but still had no idea what it all meant.
Whatever happened I noticed had some affect on our relatioship, because once we returned to Rome things were a bit different.
I noticed that something happened in Assisi that he was not very proud of and that for whatever reason I had taken some preference in the pecking order. If someone had a question for him, he would tell them he wanted to talk to me first and would brush them aside. It was not until that I specified he could handle the other people then assist my mom and I that he didn't do that. I noticed that we both seemed wanted to say something when we were alone together on the couch, but for whatever reason said nothing.
Then that night, we were having our last dinner and Joe and Drina told me that they saw Riccardo check into a hotel with a woman in Assisi. I am not sure why that upset or shocked me, but it did. I noticed Joe went silent after that and later went to talk to Kiery. It took me a few days to put it all together when my mom sent me the infamous photo.
I examined the body positioning and facial expressions and I concluded that we were never standing shoulder to shoulder. We were standing facing each other with our arms wrapped around the other's waist. I recalled how he said twice to my mother, "You shouldn't leave your daughter with a Sicilian man, because she will become pregnant in two minuites" and how there must have been some sexual tension between us. Now I understood why my mom didn't know when to take the picture, because it would have looked like two people staring at each other and why would you take a picture of two people gazing into their eyes? It made sense why Riccardo charged to the elevator, because he probably thought I was running with David after this romantic moment in the piazza. It made sense why I seemed upset, because although nothing physical happened, I guess you could say it was like an emotional affair and so therefore reason enough to get upset. It made sense why Joe would seem awkard afterwards.
So next email will go further into what I think of Riccardo although I do believe I must have covered the Sicilian connection. There are a lot of things that happened and this picture was only the tip of the iceberg.
To everyone's surprise he sang quite well. I felt so embarrased for the time when we were in Venice and I teased him about being our singing gondolier and that is when he started turning away from my photos. I felt so stupid for if I had known he could actually serenade us, I would have implored him to do so. I just stood there trying to find a way to record the event with my camera, but despite my greatest efforts I could not make my camera work. I just listened to him. I saw a woman next to me throwing coins at him, which he tried to catch while singing. I asked the lady if Riccardo was her husband and she started laughing and said no. She knew that I had spotted them together at dinner. I looked back at him and I could sense some feelings brewing inside, but I wasn't sure what they meant. I knew that we couldn't possibly have feelings for each other, but then why did I feel like we had some kind of emotional attachment? I wasn't sure if all the travelling was getting to me and I was reading into nothing or whether it seemed so clear. I am sure Riccardo did not know that My Way has a huge emotional and sentimental meaning to me nor did he know that it was my ulitmate favorite Frank Sinatra song, but there he was doing everything perfectly.
He asked us to board the bus and so after he was done singing we all wandered to the bus. Tony and Riccardo took us to the piazza michealangelo where we saw David lit up at night and Flourence sparkling like stars twinkling on a romantic night. I was one of the first off the bus and so therefore always within reach from where Riccardo was standing. Someone suggested we take a group photo and we handed all our camera's to our drunken tour director. Although he did look funny with ten cameras dangling from his arms and neck, he tried his best to take the photos. People would make fun of his prolonged delays in pressing the button and how he would keep staring into the screen, but I kept defending him saying that he had a lot of camera's. When he tried to return the camera's, he actually dropped the Australian woman from Brisbane's camera on the ground. luckily, it did not break!
I thought it might be nice to have a picture with the tour director since we were taking good bye photo's anyways. I walked over to him and asked if he would mind taking a photo (also hoping that would make up for me kinda running away from him earlier in the evening). He agreed and said he wanted to do a serious pose. (Think Nek) I laughed and said I would tickle him if he did that. This is where reality and memory travels on two different paths. It is funny how we can percieve a event entirely different than how it occured and how our sense of truth can be altered.
I thought we were standing beside each other shoulder to shoulder when he said "I want to take a picture like this" and then he had an intense stare, but his face softened slightly so that it was mainly his eyes that felt like they were penetrating my soul and that there was something he wanted to say. Our faces were so close that I could feel him breathing. Our lips seemed even closer like if either were to move one inch, we would be locked in an embrace. I forgot about everyone and everything around us and all I could do was feel his stare. Although I could hear him whispering to me, I can no longer remember what he was saying. Finally, "I said I don't think my mom knows you want the picture to be taken this way" and I thought we turned our heads completely to face the camera and we had regained our standing beside each other shoulder to shoulder pose. I could hear someone saying "aaawwwwwww" in the background and I sensed some people were looking at us posing for the picture.
It was a very funny drunken ride back home to our hotel, but the next morning seemed a bit strange. I sat down with everyone for breakfast and when I say everyone I mean David from Melbourne, Peter and Lucy, Shuyan and Ruth and my mom. Everyone went upstairs, but David and I remained behind talking about our time on this trip and how his wife wanted specific deodrant which he was trying to find in Venice and how I was trying to ask those people to wax my eyebrows and lips. I could see Riccardo watching us while sipping on his espresso and he had such a serious expression almost jealous or angry look. I thought David and I must be running behind schedule so we both agreed to go to our rooms, which happens to be next door to each other. We got up and started walking to the elevator together. The doors opened with my mom inside. I was trying to hold the door open for David when I saw Riccardo charging towards our direction with that look again.
I observed Riccardo that morning and still he seemed upset about something. I wasn't sure whether he was just tired from last night or perhaps something happened that morning to make him upset, but I didn't think I had much to do with it. I knew something happened between us during that photo shoot and that we shared a moment, but still had no idea what it all meant.
Whatever happened I noticed had some affect on our relatioship, because once we returned to Rome things were a bit different.
I noticed that something happened in Assisi that he was not very proud of and that for whatever reason I had taken some preference in the pecking order. If someone had a question for him, he would tell them he wanted to talk to me first and would brush them aside. It was not until that I specified he could handle the other people then assist my mom and I that he didn't do that. I noticed that we both seemed wanted to say something when we were alone together on the couch, but for whatever reason said nothing.
Then that night, we were having our last dinner and Joe and Drina told me that they saw Riccardo check into a hotel with a woman in Assisi. I am not sure why that upset or shocked me, but it did. I noticed Joe went silent after that and later went to talk to Kiery. It took me a few days to put it all together when my mom sent me the infamous photo.
I examined the body positioning and facial expressions and I concluded that we were never standing shoulder to shoulder. We were standing facing each other with our arms wrapped around the other's waist. I recalled how he said twice to my mother, "You shouldn't leave your daughter with a Sicilian man, because she will become pregnant in two minuites" and how there must have been some sexual tension between us. Now I understood why my mom didn't know when to take the picture, because it would have looked like two people staring at each other and why would you take a picture of two people gazing into their eyes? It made sense why Riccardo charged to the elevator, because he probably thought I was running with David after this romantic moment in the piazza. It made sense why I seemed upset, because although nothing physical happened, I guess you could say it was like an emotional affair and so therefore reason enough to get upset. It made sense why Joe would seem awkard afterwards.
So next email will go further into what I think of Riccardo although I do believe I must have covered the Sicilian connection. There are a lot of things that happened and this picture was only the tip of the iceberg.
posted by Ophelia Pace at 6:32 PM
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