By Mariya Karimjee
The man walks in when the afternoon rush in Villabate-Alba has receded. Three of the employees are wiping down the counter tops with dishrags that look as though they’d be making more of a mess than anything else. He stops square in front of the espresso machine, removes his track jacket, resting it on top of the trash can. He points towards the machine, something state of the art and Italian.
The girl behind the counter moves towards it, grabs a cup and holds it up. He shakes his head. She holds up another, this one’s a different size, larger.
“Where’s your wife?” she asks. He tilts his head. She holds up the last cup, the largest size. He nods once and she begins packing the espresso grounds, pulling the shot.
A woman walks into the store and stands next to the man, their shoulders brushing. A tattoo on his right shoulder spells out Gina in the bud of a rose. The girl behind the counter pours the espresso into a porcelain cup, adds a few dollops of foam. The man gives her a smile. She adds some more foam, pours in some steamed milk. Laughing, she pushes it towards the man, who grunts and signs something.
“I don’t understand,” says the girl. He signs again. Someone yells something at her in Italian. She takes out a piece of paper and he scribbles on it. She passes him sugar, which he pours into the cappuccino.
As he sips the cappuccino while standing in front of the counter, his wife steps towards the gelato and taps on the glass, then points to her molar.
“Strawberry?” the girl asks. She repeats it loudly and points to her molar. The wife points to her molar again. Then the girl smiles, opens the gelato counter and scoops gelato into a paper cup for the woman.
Four customers walk into the pasticceri and loudly begin ordering bread and pastries. Someone appears out of the kitchen holding a tray of cannolis. Ricotta drips onto the floor. The girl slips out from behind the counter to mop up the mess. The man hands the cappuccino to his wife. She hands him the gelato. He has a bite, she has a sip. The wife pays, he picks up his jacket, and they walk out of the store.
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