I wore my sunnies down to Pepe’s and I didn’t want to take them off. I dragged myself through the evening at work and slept until midday on Wednesday. Things got weird on Wednesday evening. Paolo was sitting in front of Fun-Da-Mental with an orange Bacardi Breezer in his hand. The bottle hung at such an angle that it almost poured onto the footpath. He didn’t notice me until I was almost standing on his toes. ‘Mahhhhdonnnnnnaaah,’ he sang, and reached for the leg of my jeans. I stepped to the side and he slopped his drink on his runner. ‘Looks like you’re in for a big night tonight, babe.’ Yeah, I thought. Wednesdays can get busy. I stepped inside and Bruna shushed her husband. Luce was carrying drinks from the bar to the kitchen. Her face lit up when she saw me but she didn’t make a sound. ‘Hello, Madonna,’ Pepe said, far too formally. ‘Good to see you.’ Bruna didn’t say anything, just smiled until I thought her dentures would pop out and hugged me. ‘What?’ I asked.
