Sitting on the terrace of his apartment, against the background of a red sunset crisscrossed by hundreds of swallows, Renzo was very understanding. He said he should have known from the start that it wasn’t the right job for me. It was embarrassing: one minute more and he’d be apologizing to me.

“Anyway,” he said, “it was a nice dream. Let’s forget about it.”

Viola’s little laugh came out a tad forced. “I fear you’re really incorrigible, Leo!” she said, before once again devoting her attention to the bare foot with which she was pushing the swing seat she was lying on, drinking grapefruit juice.

In the silence that followed, I had the feeling this whole business had cost Renzo more than he was letting on.

“Is the gentleman staying for dinner?” the servant asked, appearing among us with his usual murderous silence. He made no secret of his sympathy for me and at table always insisted on serving me twice.

“No,” I said, “I have an appointment.”

It wasn’t true, but when you smell gunpowder in the air, a dignified retreat is the best solution. Neither Renzo nor Viola insisted, so I stood up and took my jacket. Renzo simply asked me when I might be available for a game and Viola walked me to the door. “Phone Arianna,” she said before I left.

“Has something happened?”

“No, nothing,” she said, “but you know how she dramatizes.”

So I went to Signor Sandro’s bar to summon up the courage to call her. I spent the whole day trying, but always stopped before dialing the last digit. Despite a stiff pick-me-up, I just couldn’t do it, not even from Sandro’s, so I had a burger and went to the movies. Then I went back home and started reading again and it was two in the morning when, despite the hum of the radio, I heard her steps on the stairs. I went to the door and opened it before she could ring the bell and bring the house down. She must have poured a whole bottle of perfume over herself. I saw immediately that she was hysterical.

“I’m hysterical,” she said as she came in, then looked at me. “I thought the TV people must have given you the night shift. I was waiting for you outside here until five.”

Why didn’t she drop it, she knew perfectly well what had happened. “Drop it,” I said, “you know perfectly well what happened.”