Sunday, September 7, 2008

I wake up way too early for how late I was out. It’s insanely hot and I’m pretty sure I’ve been sweating all night. I get up and eat breakfast and then lie about the house trying to find any place with cool ventilation. It’s impossible, even the fans seem to make it worse. The weight of the humid air is oppressive and I miss the beach in Spain terribly. I’m feeling sorry for myself when Alice asks me if I have seen one of the cats. Piggy is missing and we can hear him crying, but he’s nowhere to be found. Paola, Alice, and I look all over the apartment for almost an hour. Then I hear sounds of triumph and Alice consoling the poor cat. Davide left early this morning for the south of Italy, where he will begin training with the National Military Service. He slept on the pullout bed in the living room last night and apparently when Paola folded the bed up, Piggy was inside the couch and was trapped there for hours this morning! I’m the only one who thinks this is hilarious, so I laugh to myself about it.

Paola goes out to walk Billi, and when she returns she tells me that it’s too hot to go out and no humans are outside. Later in the afternoon, Dave and I venture out for gelato and discover that Paola is in fact right. There are almost no people out. The stores are closed, the streets are deserted. It’s like the scene after the zombies attack.

We enjoy our ice cream and then go back to the house to be miserable in the heat. It’s a long way to dinner and it’s too hot to eat anyway. I’m relieved that dinner is light, lox, ricotta and grilled eggplant. Then I hit the sack, trying to ignore the weather.