Voyeur: Piazza Cavour

Vincenzo stares at his crossword puzzle, his face dripping with sweat. He rolls up his sleeves and takes out a cigarette to smoke but then shakes his head and puts it back. He stares at his crossword again without ever looking up at the beautiful piazza surrounding him. He was doing anything he could to avoid talking to his ex-wife.

She was sitting on the bench beside him about a foot away, tapping her foot passive aggressively. Tap tap tap. “What’s an eight-letter word for public dishonor?” Vincenzo wondered. “When will that woman ever stop talking?” he also wondered

You see Isabella, Vincenzo’s ex-wife, has been talking to him this whole time and seemed to not find it necessary to breathe between words like a normal human being would. One day, every year, Vincenzo has to deal with this.

Their children had decided that on Republic Day they would all watch the military parade and then spend the day together. So now, the parade has been over for hours and Vincenzo still has to sit next to Isabella while his daughter and son have conveniently gone with their children to find gelato.

Tap tap tap. “Aren’t you worried about how old and decrepit you’ve gotten Vinny? You really should lose some weight. You won’t even make it to eighty-two at this point if you don’t start getting your life together. You know they say that juice cleanses really cleanse your soul as well as your body. You could use a good soul cleansing. Are you even listening to anything I’m saying?”

Ignominy. Vincenzo smiles. An eight-letter word for public dishonor.