They walk towards the door together. Other people are waiting for their table. Roman bars are always crowded. “Can you give me your phone number?” Marco asks as he takes out his phone. “Yes, of course,” Giulia says.
51. Giulia
Giulia
parla
she speaks
lentamente.
slowly.
“Zero
Zero
sei.
six.
Dodici.
twelve.
Trentaquattro.
thirty-four.
Cinquantasei.
fifty-six.
Settantotto.”
seventy-eight.”
Lo ripete
she repeats it
ancora una volta.
one more time.
Marco
Marco
digita
he types
attentamente.
carefully.
“Ti mando
I will send you
un messaggio”,
a message,”
dice.
he says.
Scrive:
He writes:
“Ciao
“Hi
Giulia.
Giulia.
Sono
I am
Marco.
Marco.
L'uomo
The man
che combatte
who fights
le sedie.
the chairs.
Giulia speaks slowly. “Zero six. Twelve. Thirty-four. Fifty-six. Seventy-eight.” She repeats the number one more time. Marco types carefully. “I’ll send you a message,” he says. He writes: “Hi Giulia. I am Marco. The man who fights chairs.”
52. Il telefono
The phone
di Giulia
of Giulia
vibra.
it vibrates.
Ride
she laughs
al messaggio.
at the message.
“Perfetto!
“Perfect!
Ora
Now
ho
I have
il tuo numero.”
your number.”
Lo salva.
she saves it.
“Quando
When
possiamo
we can
vederci
see each other
di nuovo?”
again?”
chiede
he asks
Marco.
Marco.
“Sei
are you
libero
free
sabato prossimo?”
next Saturday?”
Giulia
Giulia
spera
she hopes
di sì.
so.
“Sì!
“Yes!
Sabato
Saturday
è
is
perfetto.
perfect.
A che ora?”
At what time?”
Giulia’s phone vibrates. She laughs at the message. “Perfect! Now I have your number.” She saves it. “When can we see each other again?” Marco asks. “Are you free next Saturday?” Giulia hopes so. “Yes! Saturday is perfect. At what time?”
53. La mattina?
The morning?
Alle dieci?
At ten?
Potremmo
we could
andare
go
a un mercato,”
to a market,”
suggerisce
she suggests
Giulia.
Giulia.
“Conosco
I know
un buon mercato
a good market
di libri
of books
vicino a Piazza Navona.”
near Piazza Navona.”
Gli occhi
The eyes
di Marco
of Marco
si illuminano.
they light up.
“Libri
“Books
e caffè
and coffee
la mattina?
in the morning?
Perfetto!”
Perfect!”
Sembra
he seems
molto
very
contento.
happy.
“Ci vediamo
we see each other
a Ponte Sant’Angelo?”
at Ponte Sant’Angelo?”
chiede
she asks
Giulia.
Giulia.
“Sì.
“Yes.
Alle dieci,
At ten,
Ponte Sant’Angelo.
Ponte Sant’Angelo.
Cercherò
I will try
di non
not to
sbattere
bump
contro il ponte.”
against the bridge.”
“The morning? At ten? We could go to a market,” Giulia suggests. “I know a good book market near Piazza Navona.” Marco’s eyes light up. “Books and coffee in the morning? Perfect!” He looks very happy. “Shall we meet at Ponte Sant’Angelo?” Giulia asks. “Yes. At ten, Ponte Sant’Angelo. I will try not to bump into the bridge.”
54. Escono
They go out
insieme.
together.
La sera
The evening
sta
is
iniziando.
starting.
I lampioni
The streetlights
si accendono.
they turn on.
“Vado
“I go
in metro,”
by metro,”
dice
she says
Giulia.
Giulia.
Indica
She points
a sinistra.
to the left.
“Prendo
“I take
l’autobus,”
the bus,”
dice
he says
Marco.
Marco.
Indica
He points
a destra.
to the right.
Devono
They have to
separarsi.
separate.
Ma
But
non si muovono
they do not move
ancora.
yet.
They leave together. The evening is starting and the streetlights are turning on. “I’m going by metro,” says Giulia, pointing to the left. “I’m taking the bus,” says Marco, pointing to the right. They have to say goodbye, but they still do not move.
55. “Grazie
“Thank you
per
for
un bel pomeriggio,”
a nice afternoon,”
dice
she says
Giulia.
Giulia.
“Grazie
“Thank you
per aver riso
for laughing
del mio incidente
about my accident
con la sedia,”
with the chair,”
risponde
he answers
Marco.
Marco.
Si danno
They give each other
due baci
two kisses
sulle guance.
on the cheeks.
Veloce
Quick
e
and
amichevole.
friendly.
“A sabato!”
“See you on Saturday!”
dicono
they say
insieme.
together.
Poi
Then
ridono
they laugh
per il tempismo.
at the timing.
“Thank you for a nice afternoon,” says Giulia. “Thank you for laughing about my accident with the chair,” Marco answers. They give each other two quick, friendly kisses on the cheeks. “See you on Saturday!” they say together. Then they laugh at the timing.
56. Giulia
Giulia
cammina
She walks
verso
towards
la metro.
the metro.
Manda
She sends
un messaggio
a message
a Chiara:
to Chiara:
“Marco
“Marco
è
is
meraviglioso!
wonderful!
Simpatico
Nice
e
and
gentile.
kind.
Ci vediamo
We see each other
sabato.
on Saturday.
Ha
He has
camminato contro una sedia!
walked into a chair!
Chiara
Chiara
risponde
answers
subito:
right away:
“LO SAPEVO!
“I KNEW IT!
Raccontami
Tell me
tutto!
everything!
Ha
Has he
parlato del suo terribile senso dell’orientamento?
spoken about his terrible sense of direction?
Giulia
Giulia
sorride.
she smiles.
C’è
There is
altro
more
da scoprire
to discover
su Marco.
about Marco.
Giulia walks towards the metro and sends a message to Chiara: “Marco is wonderful! Funny and kind. We will see each other on Saturday. He walked into a chair!” Chiara answers at once: “I knew it! Tell me everything! Has he talked about his terrible sense of direction?” Giulia smiles. There is more to discover about Marco.
57. Marco
Marco
aspetta
He is waiting for
l'autobus.
the bus.
Si sente
He feels
leggero
light
e
and
felice.
happy.
Manda
He sends
anche lui
also
un messaggio
a message
a Chiara:
to Chiara:
“Giulia
“Giulia
è perfetta.
She is perfect.
Abbiamo
We have
riso
laughed
molto.
a lot.
Grazie!”
Thank you!”
Chiara
Chiara
manda
She sends
cinque emoji
five emojis
a forma di cuore.
in the shape of a heart.
Marco is waiting for the bus. He feels light and happy. He also sends a message to Chiara: “Giulia is perfect. We laughed a lot. Thank you!” Chiara sends five heart emojis.
58. A casa,
At home,
Giulia e Marco
Giulia and Marco
raccontano
they tell
il pomeriggio
the afternoon
ai loro gatti.
to their cats.
Ai gatti
To the cats
non importa.
it doesn’t matter.
Vogliono
they want
solo
only
la cena.
the dinner.
At home, Giulia and Marco tell their cats about the afternoon. The cats don’t care. They only want dinner.
59. Ma
But
a Giulia e Marco
for Giulia and Marco
non importa.
it doesn’t matter.
Sabato prossimo
Next Saturday
arriverà
it will arrive
presto.
soon.
Roma
Rome
è bella
It is beautiful
quando incontri
when you meet
nuove persone.
new people.
But Giulia and Marco don’t care. Next Saturday will come soon. Rome is beautiful when you meet new people.
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