“It’s true. Babi is a special young woman. Listen, Claudio, is it okay if I call you Claudio? I’m already not that much of a talker. If I have to be all formal, well, then I really lose touch.”
Claudio smiled. “Certainly.” Deep down, this young man was likable enough. If nothing else, he still hadn’t tried to hit him.
Step stood up from the wall. “Listen why don’t we go sit somewhere else? We could talk more comfortably and maybe we could even drink a little something.”
“All right. Where are we going?”
“Not far from here is a little place some friends of mine opened up. It’s like being at home. No one is going to bother us there.” Step got on his motorcycle. “Follow me.”
Claudio climbed into his car. He was happy. His mission was starting to look easier than expected. That’s a relief, he thought.
He followed Stefano down toward the Via Farnesina. At the Ponte Milvio, they turned right. Claudio took care not to lose sight of that small red taillight as it raced through the night. If he made that kind of stupid mistake, Raffaella would never forgive him.
Step turned to look back every so often, making sure that Claudio was still behind him. Luckily, he thought to himself, this guy wasn’t one of those drivers who cling fearfully to the steering wheel and are terrified of using the gas pedal.
A short while later, they stopped on a small street just behind Piazzale Clodio. Step pointed Claudio to an empty spot where he could park his car while Step left his motorcycle right in front of the door to Four Green Fields. They went downstairs. The place was jumping. There were plenty of young people perched on stools in front of the long bar. Other people, some of them older, were seated at round wooden tables scattered throughout the room, talking animatedly.
The walls were painted dark brown, and light-colored columns divided the big room into sections. All around were paintings and logos of brands of beer from various countries. A guy with round wire-rimmed glasses and unkempt hair was moving frantically behind the counter, making fruit cocktails or simple gin and tonics.
“Ciao, Antonio.”
“Oh, hey, ciao, Step. What can I get you?”
“I don’t know. We’ll talk it over and decide. What’ll you have?”
As they were going over to sit down, Claudio remembered that he hadn’t had anything to eat yet. He decided to go easy. “A Martini spritz.”
“So a nice blond beer and a Martini spritz.”
They sat down at a table in the back of the place, on the left, where things weren’t quite so loud and crazy. Almost immediately a beautiful, dark-skinned young woman named Francesca came over. She brought what they’d ordered, and she stayed at the table awhile to chat with Step.
He introduced her to Claudio, who politely stood up to shake hands. Francesca was surprised at this show of chivalry. “This is the first time I’ve seen a gentleman in this place.”
She held Claudio’s hand a little longer than was normal.
He looked at her, slightly embarrassed. “Is that a compliment?”
“Certainly! You are distinguished, courtly, and charming.” Francesca laughed. Her long raven-black hair danced cheerfully around her dazzling white teeth. Then she walked off, sensually, well aware that his eyes would be following her.
Claudio took a seat, careful not to sit on the tail of his jacket. He decided he didn’t want to disappoint her.
Step picked up on that. “Nice ass, eh? Brazilian girls all have incredible asses. At least, that’s what I hear. I really wouldn’t know because I haven’t been to Brazil yet, but if they’re all like Francesca…” Step laughed and tossed back half his beer.
“Yes, she really is quite attractive.” Claudio drank his Martini spritz, slightly annoyed that his mind had been so easy to read.
“So, what were we talking about? Ah, yes, we were saying that Babi really is a remarkable young woman. Very true.”
“Yes, that’s right, and my wife, Raffaella…”
“Hmm, yes, I’ve met her. She’s a little powerhouse, shall we say.”
“Yes, true enough.” Claudio finished his Martini spritz. He was in full agreement with Stefano on that point too. At that moment, Francesca went by again. She tossed her hair, laughing, and shot a provocative glance at their table.
“You made a good impression, you know that, Claudio? Listen, shall we get something else to drink?” He didn’t give him time to answer. “Antonio, would you bring me another beer?” Then he turned to Claudio. “What’ll you have?”
“Why, no thanks. I don’t really want anything else…”
“What do you mean, you’re not having anything? Come on, now…”
Claudio decided that, at least for the moment, it wouldn’t be a good idea to push back too hard. “All right, then I’ll have a beer too.”
“Two beers and a bowl of olives, some potato chips, you know, bring us something to munch on.”
A short while later, their order arrived. Claudio was a little disappointed. Serving them now wasn’t Francesca but a black guy, slightly overweight, with a kind face.
Step waited for him to leave. “He’s Brazilian too. But a completely different kind of Brazilian, eh?”
They exchanged a smile. Claudio tasted his beer. It was good and cold. He drained another gulp. Stefano was a good guy. Maybe he was even more likable than his brother. In fact, no two ways about it.
And he took another drink of beer. “Anyway, like I was saying, Stefano, my wife is very worried about Babi. You know, this is her last year, and her final exams are coming up.”
“Yes, I know. I heard about her teacher, too, and the problems she’s been causing.” Step decided that it was probably wise not to mention the money they’d had to pay.
Claudio seemed surprised. “Oh, so you heard…”
“Yes, but I’m pretty sure that things will settle down.”
“I certainly hope so…” Claudio threw back a long slug of beer, thinking back on the ten million lire he’d been forced to pay out.
Instead, Step thought about Signora Giacci’s dog and Pollo’s efforts to teach it to play fetch. “You’ll see, Claudio, everything’s going to turn out fine. Signora Giacci is going to stop pestering Babi. That problem no longer exists, take it from me.”
Claudio tried to smile. How could he tell Step that the real problem was him?
Just then, a group of young guys came in. Two of them saw Step and came over to say hello. “Oh, ciao, Step! What the fuck happened to you? You have no idea, we’ve been looking for you everywhere. We’re still waiting for our rematch.”
“I’ve had other things to do.”
“Scared, are you?”
Step seemed slightly annoyed. “What are you talking about? Scared of what? We thrashed you two. And you’re still talking?”
“Hey, calm down, don’t lose your temper. We just haven’t seen you since then. You took our money, and then you disappeared.”
The other young man worked up his nerve a little too. “Plus you had a piece of luck on that last ball.”
“Just be glad that Pollo isn’t here. If not, I’d be glad to take the same amount of money from you, and we wouldn’t be talking about luck. We just made a series of incredible shots, one pocket after another.”