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Cora Breakfast and Lunch
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Bedford


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March 30, 2025

A matchmaker named Natasha – Chapter 7 (conclusion)

Might I find a gallant man here on earth, amiable and kind, like Grandpa Frédéric? Dear Grandpa, how I loved him! I helped him harvest the hay, dig up potatoes and pick corn and hazelnuts at summer’s end. When my mom’s eczema flared up, Grandpa would often take us to school. He was there for us too when our parents fought. Could I have fallen for a man who had all my grandfather’s virtues? In the blink of an eye!

Today, the men who might stand by me are as old as I. They don’t pretend to be 30 or even 50. I secretly watch them every morning at the coffee shop, examining and comparing their attributes. I try to convince myself that the friendship we’ve built through all our mornings together is much stronger than love’s embrace. My faithful friends will very likely notice my lapses in judgment; hopefully they’ll show me leniency. Even a woman as bold as I occasionally jumps the rails and strays from common sense. Drunk love is tempting at any age, dear readers!

When Natasha, my professional matchmaker, informs me there’s one last chocolate left on the plate, I’m tempted to cancel the entire thing. This lovers’ posturing annoys, irritates, horrifies and exasperates me.

Dring, dring!

– “Hello, Mr. Renato. How are you? Natasha insists that you and I have a little talk before we meet in person.”
– “Va bene,” I hear the man with the Italian accent murmur.
– “Do you still work? Forgive my rudeness, but how old are you?”
– “Bambini celebrate 75, on Sunday,” he replies in his charming broken French.
– “May I ask where you live?”
–  “Condo, but want to find good woman for villa in Italy and house in Florida.”

He goes on, but the man of a few words fails to pique my curiosity. I’m not even tempted to meet him. But Natasha the matchmaker insists on doing her job until the end, so she plans a lunch meeting for us in a popular pizzeria at Marché Central, not too far from the suitor’s condo. And I say YES! Certainly not because I want to see his face or condo, but because I love the restaurant Natasha picked: Pizzeria Giulietta.

And so, as agreed, three days later, I’m at the pizzeria at noon sharp. I take off my jacket and order a tall latte to warm up. When my date arrives, I realize he’s as short as his French vocabulary and, for my taste, short too on physical charms. I want to leave, but I remain calm.

The man removes his overcoat, which is tailor-made I’m sure, and an attentive waiter helps him get settled at the table. He orders an amaretto sour, served with a small bowl of mixed nuts on the house. Could he be a regular at this place? My smiling knight in shining armour tells me the name of the singer we can hear over the speakers as he taps his foot and eats his nuts.

– “Not very hungry,” he claims, “but really like songs from my country.”

I, on the other hand, suppress the desire to bolt with every bite I take of Giulietta’s excellent pizza. But of course I stay out of politeness. I ask for another hot latte. Some 30 minutes later, I make up an excuse and leave.

Outside, the day is fading. Up there, in a purple-blue sky, two small clouds face each other. Could they be in love with one another? What will I do with all the handfuls of “I love you” I’ve been piling up all these years? Turn them into more fudge, jams and Sunday letters? As for my loving heart, broken into a thousand crumbs, I’ll probably have to throw it to the wind for the angels to catch.

Cora
💖

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