We're all connected

A girl I know from my yoga center, Donatella, asked me to come by her apartment today so that I could take pictures of her place. She and I had bumped into each other in centro (downtown) twice last week. The last time we saw each other, we planned that I would come over to take some pictures of her apartment for her. Donatella is hoping to rent it out while she's away in South America this summer.

I was introduced to Donatella through a mutual friend, Arcangela, last year and we've been seeing each other off and on at the yoga center. Arcangela and I have been friends since we met at the palestra (gym) when I was living in Florence back in 1997. We used to go out together quite a bit back then. Last year Arcangela broke up with her Florentine boyfriend and moved back to Pescara.

Donatella and I met in Piazza Beccaria at 6PM and walked to her apartment, which is near the Co-op. We walked up the two flights of stairs to her apartment. I was impressed with her place. She told me that her father did all the wood work. She mentioned that if I ever need anything I can go to her father's officina (workshop) in via de' Macci.

I told her that I live on the street parallel to it. While she was boiling the water for tea, she asked me, "Non conosci mica Simone?" (You don't know Simone, do you?) "Sì, è il proprietario del nostro apartamento e il mio amico." (Yes, he's the owner of our apartment and my friend). All of a sudden, I thought that I must have told her his name.

"Sai da quanto conosco Simone?" (Do you know how long I've known Simone?), she asked with a big smile. She explained that she's known him since they were both three years old. She said that their families even know each other. "Mi ha detto che aveva degli amici americani nel suo appartamento, ma non ho pensato a voi due." (He told me that he had some American friends in his apartment, but I didn't think about you two.

We ate the little paste (pastries) and took turns saying, "Non ci posso credere!" (I can't believe it!) How small Florence really is, I kept thinking. My two friends, Simone and Arcangela, are both friends with Donatella, but Simone and Arcangela aren't friends with each other and probably have never even met even though they both went to the same palestra that I did at the same time.

When I think about it, it is quite odd that here we are living in a city that isn't that small and yet some of my friends might be friends and I don't even know it.

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