The weaknesses in this line of syllogistic thought had become quite evident early on that previous Wednesday evening after he had sat down to begin his first official lesson with Giancarlo Rosa. The professor quickly disabused him of any notion that this course of study was going to be a pleasure cruise of any sort. If anything, it was more to the contrary.

It was all business.

Carter had arrived on time, just barely, after a long hard day of construction work. He was tired and hungry, but excited nonetheless, to finally be starting his preparation for the journey to come in three months’ time. During the forty-eight hours since he had last come to the house, Carter had faithfully listened to the Italian language cassette Rosa had lent him, playing it over and over again, repeating the words and phrases as prompted. He listened to the tape when he awoke in the morning. He listened again during his lunch break, later after dinner, and again in bed just before he dozed off for the night. True, he had yet to make a trip to the library or video store to track down some Italian movies or other media, as Rosa had suggested, but still he felt as well prepared for the lesson as one could reasonably expect.

Rosa had greeted him cordially enough when he showed up at the door. He ushered him into the living room, where the two sat across from one another at the coffee table. Even though he had never before taken private language lessons of any type, it struck Carter as a bit odd to find only a pad and a pencil on the table. For some reason he had expected something more elaborate now that the professor had taken him on as a student: a book, a dictionary, perhaps some pictures with Italian labels under various objects. Something. Considering the cost of the lessons—and it was considerable—he had expected a few bells and whistles to go with the show. He would come to learn, however, that there was great virtue to be found in simplicity, and that what he was paying for was not a show. It was the real thing.

“Remember what I told you,” Rosa had instructed him with great gravity before they got started. “When you sit in that chair, you must become like a child again, and learn as a child would learn.You understand, yes? Very well. Now, ascolta!”

And so the lesson had begun.