The preeminent waiter

We were slandering along the main street of the small town, enjoying the smell of the new town. We felt the exhilaration of a being away for the day, leaving our town, strolling the not-the-usual-streets and observing new people. We felt it on our skin, in our lungs and in our legs.

We entered the gelateria. The waiter looked up and smiled her shy welcoming smile at. Then she looked around, searching for something else to put her attention to. When we arrived at the counter, ready to order, she paid her attention to us again to take our order. She reached for in the ice-cream boxes to fill the round spoon. It took her half a minute; her uncertain moves told us she was still new in the business.

So, what brings you to Nocera? Her colleague looked at us with a broad and flirty smile. Somehow, we knew that the question didn’t ask for an answer. We felt her voice meditating in our head. In any case, be sure to go to see the old castle. You are lucky, it is open today from 9-13.00, and local volunteers give free tours. It is not included in any touristic promotion, and those kids do an amazing job.

The waiter gently set the ice cream on the cones like a kid building a tower. She looked again at us. Five Euros, please. Her voice was soft and sweet, and her smile was the same shy smile we saw when she entered. Quickly she looked over to her clearly more preeminent colleague, longing for confirmation of her customer interaction.

We stepped outside with our ice-cream cones. He looked at me with a smile that was half-joking and half-serious. Shall we go to visit the castle? Pause. You do want to go there now, do you?