At the Duomo

 

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/cheerslyrics.html

Yesterday's afternoon was a thing of beauty.  It was warm and sunny and it, being the day after the end of Pasquetta, was quiet and peaceful in town.

I arranged with an old friend to meet for an aperitivo at a bar that we both hold dear, the Duomo, adjacent to the Piazza Rufino. A "bar" is not a "bar" here in Italy.  Of course, if you wish to have a drink, you will find many here but they usually open early in the morning with coffee and pastries awaiting their patrons. 

During November of 2018, the Duomo bar welcomed me within minutes of its opening each morning and became the background daily posts I made to my blog at the time.  In one piece, I wrote about how the Duomo became for me, the "Cheers" of Umbria.  Every morning, the same cast of characters presented, one by one.  There was Patrizia, the hairdresser (she always brought her own pastry), the little group of retired school teachers and the taxi driver relative, the man with the tie who quickly stopped by to deliver the handful of newspapers, the utility worker and, last but not least, the elderly couple on their way home after daily mass at San Rufino. They were all polite and every day we exchanged a buongiorno or a buon giornata (giorno is for one-time use, with giornata used to wish one a whole day of goodness). It was at the Duomo that I made a lovely friend of the sweet and gracious barista, Isabel. I told her that she was the "Sam Malone" of Assisi and she was delighted at the reference. She knew "Cheers" well.  She looked forward to my morning arrivals and each day, we had a little chat, some Italian lessons, and, as I wrote, she tailored her play list especially for me. Over the speakers would come Leonard Cohen tunes to start my day and hers. To this day, Isabel is a friend. When I arrived in town, she was one of the first people I got a huge hug from in fact.

I don't have to opportunity to visit the Duomo as early in the day any longer.  It's on the opposite end of town. Isabel doesn't work there now. I've learned in life that it's impossible to "go back". Those days were precious and I hold them in my heart forever.  Joe and I have been to the bar several times since our arrival and the new people who run it recognize us and make us feel very much at home. Sadly, the little woman who came with her husband after Mass, died from Covid I was told. I can still picture them. 

So, yesterday, my friend Josie and I sat in the afternoon sun and caught up. We, of course, hadn't seen each other in a year, but it was like the gap didn't exist. Josie is a passionate woman, very filled with the spirit, always. She's an artist who makes the beautiful silk scarves about which I have talked over the years. We met here in 2012. Yesterday, our conversation was filled with the ways in which the Pandemic has changed the world, how this town has changed, how Italy has changed. The changes have not gone by unnoticed. Our conversation was tinged with sadness, our maturity and wisdom having informed us that things will never be the same. But, for a smiling, shining hour, everything seemed right again at the Duomo.