Florence: Where It All Began

Chapter 8

Tony smiles and grabs your hand as you walk to the elevator. You wait silently for the doors to open and then get in and he presses the button for the lobby.

"What restaurant are we going to, Tony"

"It's a little Italian place only about a 5 minute walk from here. I went once when I first got here and the food is great."

"Sounds yummy. I've been wanting some authentic italian food."

"I'm glad you'll finally be able to try it," he says smiling.

The elevator brings you to the lobby and the two of you walk towards the restaurant. You pass a gelato shop on your way which catches your eye. You try your best to peek in and catch a glimpse of what they have but then realize how dumb you must look. You look out the corner of your eye to see if Tony saw you and he's just got a small grin on his face so you don't think he did. Once you arrive, you're seated by the hostess and look at the menu. The both of you order the classic spaghetti and meatballs and a side salad to enjoy while waiting for your pasta.

"Did you get a lot of work done today, Tony asks.

"Yes I did. Pretty boring," you say with a laugh. "Did you make it through the day without falling asleep?

He chuckles, "Yes I did. Had a lot of coffee but I made it. I had a really good time last night, by the way. It was nice being around someone other than actors. And especially nice being with you," he says with a gentle smile

Your heart nearly beats out of your chest. What's he trying to do? If he keeps this up I'm gonna faint.

Doing your best to keep yourself composed, you smile back and say, "I had a nice time too. I'm glad we get to have dinner tonight."

"Me too," he says.

"Tony, how far away from the hotel are your shooting locations?"

"Not too far. But it does vary because we are almost constantly moving locations. It's really interesting though seeing all of the sights and actually working there."

"Oh I bet. I think I would get too distracted by everything around me to be able to focus on my work.

He laughs, "Shooting on location versus on a set is much different so it just takes time to adjust. But you do get used to it."

"I'd love to see it all. I'm going to have to figure out a time to do some sightseeing."

"I'd be happy to show you around. I'm pretty familiar with how to get around now and maybe we can do that on the weekend or something."

"That would be great!"

Your meals arrive and you continue chatting while you eat. After you finish, Tony pays the bill and you get up to leave.

Once outside you turn to him and say, "Thank you for dinner."

"Of course. Do you want to take a little walk and see what all is around here," Tony asks.

"I'd love to."

The two of you start a leisure stroll around the same little square the restaurant is in. There are a couple shops that you pass and decide to browse around in, one being a hat store. You both start trying on all of these fancy hats, just being silly. You look over your shoulder to see some long feather looking thing on top of Tony's head.

Laughing, you turn around and ask, "What in the world is that?"

"Well it's a hat," Tony says back to you with a cheeky grin. "How do I look, does it accentuate my features," he asks, posing for you.

In the most sarcastic voice you can muster in between laughs, you say, "Oh yea, it sure does. The pink feather especially."

Tony just laughs and takes the hat off putting it back in its place.

"Oh, hey, look at this one."

He grins proudly and puts a hat on, a white fedora looking one.

"I wear one like this in Hannibal."

"Oh, well you actually look good in that one."

You both just start laughing as he puts the hat back and the two of you walk out of the store.

You walk for a few more minutes and then Tony says, "Hey, lets get some dessert."

Without realizing it, you've somehow made your way back in front of the gelato shop that you spotted on the way to the restaurant and Tony grabs your hand and leads you in.

"I'm glad you chose this place, I saw it on our way to dinner and kinda wanted to try it."

He looks at you and smiles, "I know."

You're not sure whether or not it's the smile or his attentiveness to you, but that absolutely makes you melt. You look up at him, smiling widely and squeeze his hand. Somehow you thought you'd be embarrassed for him to notice that, but you aren't. He makes you feel normal, even when you act like your usual weird self.

You stand in line to order and when you get to the front, you ask for a chocolate chip gelato and Tony gets just plain chocolate.

"Do you want to walk as we eat," Tony asks.

"Why not" you say.

You start walking in the general direction of the hotel and after a minute you feel a drop of water on your head. You wait a moment and then you feel another one and then another.

"Uh oh. I think it's starting to rain, Tony. How far are we from the hotel?"

"It's probably just a couple minutes away. Hopefully it will hold off for us."

Just as soon as he finishes his sentence, it starts to rain and is getting heavier by the second.

"Here, let me have that," pointing to your gelato. "Let's make a run for it," Tony says.

You hand it to him as you both start running towards the hotel. You ended up being closer than what he thought you were so you don't get too wet. You both enter the lobby a little out of breath, a little disheveled and holding melting ice cream. You look at each other and start laughing because you can't believe your luck and then you realize people are staring at you. You both do your best to compose yourselves as Tony hands you your gelato back. Trying not to let your shoes squeak as you walk along the marble floor, you head for the elevators. You enter the car and as soon as the door shuts, you look at each other and bust out laughing again.

"Well, wasn't that fun," Tony asks.

"Almost too much."