DAWSON’S TRAVELS
Chapter Six
April 15, 1909
Florence, Italy
It had been six months since he
had said good-bye to Gabrielle, and three months since he’d said good-bye to
Paris after realizing that, since none of the galleries were accepting his
work, it was likely that he wouldn’t be becoming a famous artist there. He
thought that maybe he’d have a better reception in Italy.
He was in an old bar, listening
to a middle-aged woman talk about her long lost love while he sketched her
picture. He was just finishing the picture up when he heard a ruckus over on
the other side of the room where a poker game was going on. Curious, he got up
and strolled over.
"Can I join in?" Jack
asked, after the men stopped their arguing in Italian. It was a young man about
Jack’s age that answered. A cigarette dangled from his mouth.
"Got dinaro?"
Jack nodded and pulled out the
five lira he had made earlier that week by helping a woman carry her luggage to
the door of a hotel.
"Sit." The young man
nodded to a seat.
Jack sat and watched the
middle-aged man deal.
The table was split up into
teams. Two middle-aged men, one American, and Jack and the young Italian man.
The young man stuck out his hand.
"Fabrizio."
"Jack. Jack Dawson."
Jack grinned, instantly taking a liking to the young Italian man.
The game went on for about an
hour. Not really knowing the game of poker, Jack showed his cards to his
partner. "Is this good?"
"Dios mio! Yes!"
Fabrizio laughed.
The others looked at the two men
strangely. Something was definitely going on.
"My friend here said to play
this." Jack laid his cards on the table. The men got angry and swiped
everything off the table. They began to advance on Jack and Fabrizio.
Fabrizio grabbed Jack’s arm and
motioned for him to hurry and follow him. Grabbing his original five lira, Jack
and Fabrizio darted out the door and kept running until they reached an
apartment building.
"Dios mio!" Fabrizio
sighed with relief.
"Yeah. It looks like we lost
them." Jack nodded, looking around the corner.
"Close." Fabrizio
breathed.
"Sure was." Jack nodded
and looked around. They were in a pretty poor neighborhood, and the apartment
building looked pretty shabby.
"Come." Fabrizio
motioned for Jack to follow him. Shrugging, Jack followed Fabrizio up to the
top floor.
"Mama!" Fabrizio
exclaimed as he entered the apartment, Jack lagging behind him.
"Fabrizio!" A
middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen. She spoke in
Italian.
"Jack, Mama say you sleep on
couch tonight. She made big supper." Fabrizio grinned.
"Thank you." Jack
smiled.
Fabrizio turned and said thank
you in Italian, then led Jack into what must have been his room.
"You from America?"
"Yep. Chippewa Falls,
USA." Jack nodded, looking around the room. Everything was tidy and neat.
"It’s my destiny. Go to
America and become millionaire!"
Jack laughed. "Well, good
luck to you, pal."
"Maybe…me and you. Travel
together. You bound to reach America again someday. Right?" Fabrizio
asked.
"I guess. Okay. Fine. I have
been a little lonely on the road. Having you around will be fun."
"Me go tell Mama I leave
with you tomorrow. She will be sad, but understanding," Fabrizio left the
room.
Jack stared out into the hall,
definitely amused. Fabrizio certainly was something. Just invited himself
along, whether Jack liked it or not. But Jack didn’t mind. Like he had told
Fabrizio, he was lonely, and a traveling companion would be great. Jack walked
to the window and looked out onto the bustling streets. He wondered where the
road was going to take him next. Who he was going to meet. What kind of
adventures was he to take? He had no clue, and if he did…he’d wouldn’t have
believed it.
So the next morning, Jack Dawson
and his new friend, Fabrizio di Rossi, headed off for the horizon, off to
another adventure.