GOLDWING (ing version)

chapter 12

I couldn't believe I screwed up, again. And think that he left his girlfriend in Venice just to not let me down and I was at that moment devaluing his feelings made me feel even worse. In general, I hate having some misunderstandings with someone, especially with my best friend. But it's always difficult for Damiano to accept my apologies right away, because if there's one thing he is a too proud person, so I knew I had to give him some time.

A few hours passed, and it was already night. As we were all very tired, we decided to stay in the apartment to rest and order something to eat. Damiano still wouldn't talk to me, but he kept fixing his gaze on mine as if he had something to tell me.

"Is he... is he upset?" Ethan asked, whispering in my ear.

"I think so, he doesn't talk to me since 5 pm," I replied.

"You already know how he is, right? In a few moments, he'll understand."

The situation remained that way until the end of the day. It was 2 am, and my anxiety wouldn't let me sleep at all. The more I thought about that situation, the more my heartbeat was getting faster.

The next day I woke up at 5 am, startled by a small storm. Since then, I had never been able to sleep. From my bedroom window, I saw some movement in the streets. Paris is one of the cities I know that has traffic every day, and this time it wouldn't be different, since Christmas was just 2 days away. After 3 cups of chamomile tea, my desire to sleep slowly started to appear, so I ended up sleeping on the sofa of the living room. But 3 hours later, I woke up with the streetlight shining in my face. With world-sized dark circles under my eyes and 4 layers of clothes, I left the apartment to do something I hadn't time to do before: buy Christmas presents. Even though the mall was full of people, I bought some things: for Thomas, a guitar pedal; for Ethan, a pack of 10 Christmas socks and his favorite perfume; for Leo, a new Apple Pencil, since he was broken. I looked in lots of stores, but I didn't find anything for Damiano. Should I offer him something? That question was always in my head. After walking through some streets, I found at the end of a blind alley a small jewelry store, which was visibly old. I entered, and I saw a middle-aged man at the back of the counter, smiling.

"Good morning miss, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I came to buy a present."

"Hmm, for who?"

"My, my best friend, I mean..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's complicated..."

Yes, I ended up venting to a 70-year-old man I had known for just under 15 minutes. After a deep talk, he took a small box off one of the shelves and brushed off some of the dust on it.

"I kept this necklace on that shelf for a long time, and no one ever wanted to buy it, because it mixes 2 different tones: silver and gold. And in your case, the two of you are different, but end up complementing each other, just like this necklace."

"Can you explain that again?"

"I know it sounds strange, but I feel that this necklace matches exactly with the person you described to me. Can you trust me?"

"Yes, I can... And another thing, do you think that will he and me settle down?"

"If he isn't a real idiot, I think so."

I won't lie, that necklace was a little pricey, but it was beautiful. As I was crossing the road, I remembered one small detail: I hadn't told anyone I had left the hotel, not even to our security guards. I took an Uber as fast as I could and headed back to the hotel.

I got there, and I entered the apartment I saw Ethan, Thomas, Leo, and Dam sitting on the sofa. As soon as I took the first step inside, I saw Damiano walking toward me, giving me a big hug. He wasn't upset anymore.