“
Sebastiano and I arrive, breathless and laughing, on the stone oval of the dance floor. I’m delighted to see that Kelly’s there too, dancing with the dark stocky guy, Gianbattista; she shoots over to my side, yelling:
“Did you see the donkey?”
“No,” I say, deadpan, “what donkey?”
She takes a moment, then howls with laughter. I think she’s a bit tipsy by now.
“You’re soo funny!” she yells. “You’re hilarious! Soo funny!”
She whirls away, dancing like a dervish, and I give Gianbattista a narrow glance, the one that means My friend is a bit drunk, but if you try to take advantage of her, I will remove my heels and hit you over the head with them. He looks taken aback, and I think the message has got over loud and clear.
”
”