Beyond

New hopes

The day of the meeting with the prodigious family came and I prepared myself for the great moment. I dressed like for a job interview and, waiting to be summoned by the headmaster, I dedicated myself to my daily activities, preparatory to the beginning of the school.

The telephone rang a half hour later.

"Good morning Giulia, could you please come in my office?"

"Yes, of course" I quickly answered.

I knocked on Andrea's door, ready for my performance; I saw before him, then the father and the mother of the guy.

The live show was even better than the web version.

He, Sergio Riva, was wearing blue suit and white shirt, cuff links to the wrists, blue shadings also for the tie. He was tanned of summer vacations, bright eyes, grizzled hair and athletic looking. No doubt a fascinating man.

The monotone portrait of the perfect manager.

She, Claire Green, was still a model. Bright eyes also for her, blond hairdo, golden tanning, light make-up, clothes and accessories equally impeccable, obviously haute couture style. Dress under the knee without sleeves, light blue, with an opened long jacket in the same tonality. Coordinated in the colours to the husband, impossible to know if intentionally or not.

While the serious handshake of him caused some permanent lesions to my phalanxes, she chose a more delicate approach reaching me just with a cordial smile.

I greeted in English, asking them if they preferred to proceed in Italian or in their first language; they appreciated my courtesy but opted for the Italian, which would have become soon their official language.

The conversation began.

The father told me again all the story and I nodded, showing maximum attention; I noticed he was seriously worried, the decisions carrying all them in that office hadn't been emotionally easy. I reconsidered him a bit.

The mother sporadically took part to the conversation, but it was clear she shared the same anxieties. She told me about their other two daughters, Kate, twenty-one, remained in London where she was attending economics at university for father's joy, and the little Emma, twelve years old, who followed them in Italy.

They weren't arrogant, rather humble and careful about the future of their sons. Good.

The father took then control of the conversation and, since time is money, didn't resist the temptation to involve me in a short job interview; I told him my story, the choice to leave the business to stay first with my family and then inside that school as teacher. He didn't looked at me up & down like I was a disabled or a scrap of the business world, as it often happened to me when I told about my professional past; on the contrary, he seemed seriously interested and impressed about my previous choices. Perhaps, if I had asked him, he would have hired me.

I saw a happy and reassured family of the school choice made for the son; I would have liked to assist to the same scene for another person.

I then illustrated them the insertion plan organized for the boy, the project 'Anna' and the father remained positively surprised. They had already recruited a private teacher but I confirmed them it wouldn't have been necessary. For them it was a beautiful novelty, I imagined the guy strongly disagreed.

The conversation was coming to end, the ideal moment to ask them a private talk with the son left in the waiting room.

They happily agreed, they liked my approach, and Andrea was satisfied of the meeting too. I came back to my office, while they reached the exit for a common tour of the school structures.