Strangers on Florentine Streets

Reading Time: 12 min

Strangers on Florentine streets is a story of two people with a shared love for gelato and candid conversations.

The accidental meeting

“It is on your nose”, she said with a grin.

She wiped the gelato off his nose with a paper towel. A week had gone by since they met on Ponte Vecchio bridge in quite a remarkable fashion. The weather was dramatic with clouds and light rain. He was determinedly eating four scoops of gelato on a cone while trying to save his umbrella from flying away when he bumped into this tall girl busy taking a selfie along with the columns. He dropped the scoops on her. His anxiety kicked in; he expected a flurry of expletives to follow the few seconds of awkward silences. Instead, she burst into a peal of hearty laughter.

He smiled, “I am sorry”.

“No, no, it was my fault, I was busy looking at my own reflection, but can you really blame me”. Before he could say anything else, she grabbed his arm and dragged him along, “Come now my new friend, I owe you four scoops”.

Twenty minutes and six flavours later, they stood watching raindrops falling on the Arno river at the exit of Uffizi gallery, gnawing on to the last vestiges of gelato on their cones. “You amateur gelato eaters! You have absolutely no idea how to eat gelato, you just add whatever you feel like adding,” she teased him with a flamboyant smirk. “There should be some harmony to the flavours you eat, you know.”

“And you are what, gelato police?”

“Oh look, the gelato lover speaks.”

He answered with just a smile.

She scrunched her nose up.

“You look cute when you do that.”

“I know”, she replied, her eyes twinkling playfully.  “Hi, I am Delilah, and you better not be making any song jokes. “

He chuckled, and before Delilah could question him why, he responded, “Hi, I am Alfie!”

She stared at him for 5 seconds straight and burst into that delightful laughter again. He could not resist either. It had been weeks since he had smiled, let alone laughed. The laughter took them through the night.

A captivating conversation

The sun peeked out of the clouds next morning as they were seated outside a Pasticceria for breakfast. “How can you be so happy in the morning, that too without any coffee. I need 3 espressos at least before I can converse with any human. Yet here I am sitting with you. You should be grateful.”, she said in one breath.

He broke out in cold sweats; he always had trouble identifying such humour, or if this was humour. He hesitatingly replied, “Thank you.”

Delilah looked at him amused, “I am joking dummy. You are exempt from the three-coffee rule. So, tell me what else is Alfie hiding behind that stoic smile?”

“I am not hiding anything,” Alfie said indignantly. “I don’t hide anything. What do you want to know?”

Delilah had her Cheshire-cat smile on her face.

“Interesting.” She cracked her knuckles. “Rapid-fire. Get ready, Indoors or outdoors?”

“Indoors”

“Figured. Last book you loved?”

“The Name of the Wind.”

“Never heard. How many siblings do you have?”

“One. Younger sister. High school, 7 years younger.”

“A musician you never get bored of listening?”

“Beatles, wait, no. I will go with Pink Floyd.”

“Oooh, finally we agree on something. Favourite dessert?”

“Banoffee pie.”

“Eeeks, really? I am judging you right now. What are people surprised to learn about you?”

“That I can dance. Tango, salsa, bachata, contemporary. Mom is, umm, was a dancer. She made sure my sister and I learned.”

“Alfie, a man of surprises. Listen. Cancel your plans for tonight. My best friend holds a weekly dance night at her bar. You and I are going dancing. I already love this. Okay, next question. Why don’t you ask me a question?”

“I don’t need to. You will tell me everything anyway.”

“Ha-ha, witty as well. Where was this human when we met last evening? No no, do not answer, that is not the question.” She nibbled on her croissant as she thought for a moment, “What is the most important quality you seek in a human?”

“Kindness”

“I like that answer. Morning person or night owl? I already know that. Morning. Who is the most fascinating person you have met?”

“You”

“Ha, you make a girl blush. Thank you. What are you doing in Florence?”

This was the question he was dreading. He took a deep breath, trying to control his heart rate. “I was enrolled in an exchange semester in Rome. It finished 3 days back. I am spending a week in Florence before I fly back home to New York.”

The mere seconds of silence that followed felt like hours. In the last 12 hours since he had known her, not even once did he see her not being cheerful. So, when her smile faded as she struggled to find her words, he felt a pang of guilt. Before he could say anything, Delilah mustered her wide smile and said, “You are in Florence for a week and you want to waste time eating pies? You are dumber than I thought you were. There are so many things to see and even more things to do and we are not going to waste a single minute doing nothing when we can be doing something else. Move.”

Sunny dispositions

The next week was a whirlwind. Delilah was the best company that he never hoped he would meet. She was a local girl and the entire city was her backyard. They spent hours running through museum galleries, had lunches in trattorias facing the Duo mo, sampled flavours every evening from every gelateria Delilah suggested. It was an uncharacteristically warm day when she took him to her favourite winery in Tuscany. Sipping wine with Delilah while watching the sun set over the Tuscany hills might be his new favourite memory.  

But not even once the topic of his leaving came up. It was like an unspoken agreement between them. Every time he tried starting the conversation, his throat clammed up. He could not say the words why is it so urgent to go back. She never asked either. They just let it be as the days slipped by and just like that the week was coming to its end.

Strangers on Florentine streets

Finally, it was tonight.

He was leaving. This was the last time they were supposed to be meeting. He was more silent than his usual self; she talked enough for both of them. Any silence was filled by the sound of a downpour. She rambled through the evening jumping from topic to topic, as he silently acknowledged every word with a smile while staring into her brown eyes; he realized he may never see again.

He had a few minutes more with her. They were supposed to bid farewell when his four-scoop gelato finished. He lingered over that cone willfully hoping he could squeeze some more time, unfortunately, ice-creams are funny that way – whether you eat or not, they melt.

There was no goodbye; they just hugged. They held on to each other for what could have been an eternity. The last seven days had been cathartic for him. He came to Florence for a week to avoid going home for just one more week, but in doing so he realized he cannot run from his responsibilities. He did not want to let her go, but he had to. He withdrew, gave an awkward half-a-smile, “I… will not forget you, Delilah.”. Before she could say anything, he walked away. He could not face her. Maybe he was afraid to see the tears in her eyes; maybe he was scared to show his tears.

He reached the corner and stood there to hail a taxi. He fought the urge to turn and see her one last time. He wondered whether he meant anything to her; he wondered if she is still there; he wondered would she miss him. He could feel tears trickling down his cheeks. He did not cry when 2 months back he was flying home for his mother’s funeral. He stood strong when he had to leave his sister alone since he had to return to finish college.

Today his tears were not in his control. He did not wipe them off. The rain masked them anyway. He was going home; he was at peace. He just wished he were happy as well.

Florence is one of my favourite cities in Europe. For more pictures of the city, check out my Portfolio and Instagram.

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