Totally gorgeous foreign chick

I was in Milan.
In the Grand Galleria
Trying to take a picture
Of the amazing glass ceiling.
I stared up so long
That I lost my balance
And dizzy,
Fell.
I heard laughture around me
As the stars moved from my eyes.
I felt a hand on my shoulder
And I rose to my feet.
The most beautiful
Italian woman
Was standing by my side
And asking if I were ok.
I laughed at my fall
And thanked her
For her help.
She looked at me blankly
Obviously puzzled
By my language.
I started to walk away,
But thought better
And thanked her in Spanish.
She smiled and replied
In Spanish
That she was happy to help.
I asked her name
And she answered
Victoria Alanza Luzi.
I loved the lyrical sound
And felt diminished
Returning mine.
But she smiled
And asked where I was from.
I said Texas
And watched as her smile
Grew wider.
She said she had family
In Texas.
An uncle and his family
In San Antonio.
I smiled and said
I went to school in San Antonio.
At this point
Her two friends
Approached her and tried
To pull her away.
She resisted
And asked me if I had plans
For the day.
I didn’t
And she asked me to join
Her and her friends.
I accepted her gracious offer.
We went to a café
And drank wine
And smoked cigarettes.
Victoria peppered me with questions
About Texas
And the US in general.
I answered as many
As I could
And asked her about Milan
And Italy in general.
She talked about her home
In Lecco, outside of Milan.
It was mostly farm country,
But there was a beautiful lake
That she had grown up by.
Sometimes my Spanish
Was a little spotty
And I had to ask her to slow down.
She seemed so delighted
That I could speak a language
That she could
That she never seemed to mind
My mistakes.
Toward dusk
Her friends grew restless
And Victoria had to say goodbye.
I asked if I could see her again
And she smiled
And proposed to meet
At the same café the next day.
We hugged
And went our separate ways.
I returned to my hostel
And faded off to sleep
Wondering what Victoria’s
Lips might feel like.
I spent the morning at
The Santa Maria delle Grazie Church
Viewing DaVinci’s Last Supper.
I was amazed at how lifelike
The figures looked in the painting
And humbled by the sense of history
That I felt.
At noon, I abandoned the church
For the café
And waited for Victoria to appear.
I drank wine
And smoked
And whiled away the hours
In my travel journal.
By four o’clock
I realized she would not show.
I was disappointed,
But understood
That such a random encounter
Had no traction in real life.
Still I hoped.
I tore a page from my journal
And left a note for Victoria.
I wrote my name,
my email,
And my phone number
Back in the states.
I explained to the waitress
How important it was
For me to get this message through.
She looked at me knowingly,
Sadly,
And promised to deliver
the message
I flew out of Milan the next day.
My friends threw a party for me
Upon my return
And I showed my pictures
And annotated my trip
Until I came to Victoria.
When I saw her dark skin
And beautiful eyes,
I skipped over them,
But my friends cried fowl
And I had to back up
And tell them about her.
By the end of the night
I was happy
And tipsy.
As I drove home
I heard my cell phone ring
But didn’t touch it
Because I don’t answer my phone
While I’m driving.
When I got home
I checked the phone
And saw a number
I didn’t recognize.
I returned the call
Curious as to who it could be.
It rang and rang then I heard
Her voice.
Victoria’s voice.
She laughed and apologized
For missing me at the café.
She said she got my note
And was very happy to.
We talked awhile longer
Before hanging up.
I marveled that such a beautiful woman
Had made such an effort
To reach me.
And hoped that
She would reach me again.