Elise left Francis and I at the bar but I kept an eye on her silhouette. She sat in the kitchen on a wooden table, gossiping with friends as cooks and waiters erased her image every few minutes. Then she jumped off, came back to us and announced it was time to sit down for dinner. We congregated at a small table and Chef Claudio came over to explain the choices. Several items were discussed at length as he took our temperature, gaging the precise mood. Appetizers came and went along with the black squid pasta until it was finally time for dessert. So small and simple but that dark chocolate tort filled with warm chocolate sauce satiated every part of my body. If happiness wasn’t my goal it was unavoidable on that night.

Past midnight, finally time for the local gossip, it was understood Claudio must be the narrator so we waited until he sat down with a glass of red wine…