We started out with the hot peppers, bread in one hand, fork in the other and a cold glass of water in front of us. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I sniffed myself into pure agony – there is such a fine line between pain and pleasure. Mona wanted to try some but was a little leery because of my reaction. I told her that they weren’t that hot but quite enjoyable.
Mona carefully picked through the dish as if she had some sort of power that allowed her to determine which peppers were the hottest. She picked up half a burnt medium-sized pepper and slowly brought it up to her mouth with her right hand. Her left hand was prepared for the worst, armed with a warm piece of Italian bread, ready to jam it into her mouth to alleviate the pain. She too a microscopic bite and flailed her tongue in horror. In went the bread, followed by the water, followed by the tears.
Mona quickly overcame the pain and decided that she’d like to have another. We ate and drank and enjoyed our meal, never letting a flavor escape our taste buds. I excused myself at least 5 times to go to the ladies’ room. I saw Umberto sitting there and didn’t want to disturb him, plus I didn’t even think that he’d know me because I had only been there with Gianluca. Boy! Was I wrong!
On my way back to the table for the fifth time, Umberto asked me why I didn’t say hello to him. I said hi and explained why. He said,
- I could never forget you with or without Gianluca.
I told him that it was Mona’s birthday and we were celebrating. I returned to the table and the next thing I knew, Umberto was standing beside me. I introduced him to Mona and he wished her a Happy Birthday. He offered us dessert and cappuccino – we declined the dessert.
Umberto vanished into the back and returned with 3 cappuccinos (one for him) and a huge plate of tartuffo covered with flickering candles. Everybody in the place started singing Happy Birthday while Mona kicked me under the table, half smiling and half scowling at me. I told her that it wasn’t my fault and that Umberto thought this one up all on by himself, though I don’t know if she believed me or not.
Umberto pulled up a chair and chatted with us for a while. He told me that he was going to go to Atlantic City tonight and asked us if we would like to join him. Mona refused saying that she had to get some rest tonight. I told Umberto that maybe I’d pop in later and we could go. Of course I had no intention of going back to Orange by myself later that night but I made it look promising anyway.
After 3 1/2 hours of indulgence, we left and headed back to my house. I took the scenic route through Orange and Bloomfield and Mona continued to comment on the scenery. Groups of loitering scum flanked both sides of the street while we sped off to a better area. Riding down Glenwood Avenue was way too temping. I had to show Mona where Gianluca lived. I made a left just before the overpass then drove to the end of the block and made a right onto his street.
I lowered the radio (a practice I adopted the closer I got to his house – I needed to concentrate) and slowed up a couple houses away. Gianluca and Frank lived in a big, brick building, housing a total of 3 families. Gialuca lived on the first floor in a modest 2 bedroom flat with Frank. Their next door neighbor, Sherrie, lived with her daughter Rachel and the landlord lived upstairs.
To be continued….
© 2011 The Not So Secret Diary of A Jersey Girl.
Related articles
- Umberto: Gianluca Overlap… Part One (thenotsosecretdiaryofajerseygirl.wordpress.com)
- Gianluca: Delightfully Depraved or Big Disappointment? Part One. (thenotsosecretdiaryofajerseygirl.wordpress.com)
- Gianluca – At The Restaurant: Part Two (thenotsosecretdiaryofajerseygirl.wordpress.com)
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