Georgetown

About a year ago, we took the visiting in-laws to Georgetown for a walk. The streets were lined with restaurants and antique shops. Somewhere close to the Potomac river on one of the busiest streets, we walked past an Italian restaurant. It was April, in early bloom of spring, and the windows of the restaurants were opened to the flow of tourists in the street. It was past lunch time and therefore no crowd in the restaurant.

Near the front door a dark and rather handsome man stood leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette. He looked between 30 and 35, dressed like a waiter, and appeared fittingly Italian. One of his eyes --- the left if I remember correctly --- was visibly bruised, giving him a slightly vicious and dangerous look. The sneer in his glance at passing pedestrians was hardly inviting.

I was intrigued. I guess I have not forgotten the look of that man at the Italian restaurant. What kind of a story could I fit him into? If it were a romance, maybe he had had a fight with the woman he loved desperately and violently --- It would be boring if he had a fight with another man over a woman, wouldn't it? If it were a thriller, he could have been a member of a seedy organization, or someone moonlighting as a hired muscle to do someone's dirty work. If it were a family drama, perhaps he had had a fight with an older brother over inheriting the restaurant.

I wonder.