Europe / Florence: June 25th, 2020.
It was a beautiful day for the world. The birds were chirping their songs as mankind went about their daily routines with smiles on their faces at the beauty of the city, but also tired and annoyed looks on their faces at the horror of it whether it be financially, emotionally or physically, yet if you were to look closely at florence. To be more specific, Inside of a small bustling cafe not far from the palazzo medici riccardi. You can see a man and a few other people with rather Interesting opinions of there own.
(Lorenzo Bianchi's POV)
*BAM*
A rough looking middle aged man slammed his coffee cup onto the table while wiping his mouth with his left hand and said with a serious look on his face as he stared at another man "Lorenzo did you hear that duke romeo fell down the stairs."
"I did…" Said lorenzo uncaringly while taking another sip of his coffee.
The rough looking man squinted as he stared at lorenzo for a moment and asked "Do you have no opinion of your own."
*BAM*
"What do you want me to say enzo. The city is broke, my electricity bill is late, my wife has been complaining about the price of groceries for two weeks and half of my cousins are either unemployed or living with there parents again. Romeo falling down some stairs isn't putting money in my pocket." Said lorenzo with a clenched jaw and his face in his hands.
The cafe was silent for a moment.
Enzo leaned forward slightly and said quietly "They say he didn't fall."
Lorenzo slowly looked up.
"They say captain-general bartholomew pushed him." Said enzo with widened eyes as he glanced around the cafe.
A old woman sitting at another table immediately said loudly "HE DID."
The cafe was silent.
Lorenzo and enzo slowly turned there heads towards her.
The old woman continued eating her pastry and said with a shrug "My niece works with a woman whose son knows one of the guards."
Lorenzo stared at her silently.
Enzo nodded slowly and said "Reliable."
"Very." Said the old woman seriously.
The cafe immediately became noisy again.
"People are saying romeo insulted his mother." Said another man from a nearby table.
"Which mother." Asked enzo with squinted eyes
"Belle." Said a random young man suddenly.
The cafe was silent again.
Enzo's eyebrows raised slightly.
Lorenzo sighed and said while rubbing his forehead "Well then he might have deserved it."
"LORENZO." Said a elderly man loudly from the other side of the cafe.
"What." Said lorenzo while shrugging.
The elderly man raised his coffee and said loudly "HURRAH BARTHOLOMEW."
"HURRAH BARTHOLOMEW." Said two younger men from another table while laughing.
"Quiet down you idiots. You don't even know if the rumor is true." Said a chubby woman behind the cafe counter with an annoyed look on her face as she wiped down a glass.
The elderly man shrugged and said "It sounds true."
The cafe bursted out laughing.
Lorenzo took another sip of coffee and looked outside of the window at the streets of florence.
Tourists were slowly returning but there weren't nearly as many as before. Shops that once stayed open late had begun closing earlier. Some had signs taped onto the windows. Others had not opened in weeks.
Beautiful city.
Broke city.
"What I don't understand is how the medici themselves are broke." Said enzo suddenly while leaning back into his chair.
Lorenzo looked at him and asked "What do you mean."
"They own palaces." Said enzo while picking his nose.
"So." Said lorenzo with confusion.
"Palaces." Said enzo as he blew a booger off his finger.
"And…" said lorenzo with confusion as he chugged his drink.
Enzo stared at lorenzo with an ugly look on his face.
Lorenzo sighed and said "Owning something doesn't mean you have the money to maintain it. My uncle owns three houses and can't afford to fix the roof on one."
The chubby woman behind the counter laughed and said "That's true."
Enzo scratched his beard and asked "So that is why all of them are living in palazzo medici riccardi."
The cafe was silent again.
The chubby woman leaned forward on the counter and said quietly "That's what people are saying."
"All of them." Asked the old woman wi surprise.
The café was silent.
That was enough.
Enzo blinked twice and said "That sounds horrible."
The cafe bursted out laughing again.
"Imagine being rich enough for people to call you royalty but broke enough that your entire family has to live together." Said lorenzo while shaking his head.
"That is not funny." Said the elderly man with a serious look on his face.
Lorenzo stared at him.
The elderly man stared back.
"It is a little funny." Said the old man quietly.
The cafe immediately bursted out laughing even louder.
The chubby woman smiled while pouring another coffee and said "I heard the old duchess has her own money. It was rumored that she paid a surgeon out of pocket."
"Lady honorable." Asked enzo with surprise.
"Who else." Said the chubby woman while looking around at unimportant people.
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed slightly.
The chubby woman sighed and said "My sister said somebody told her that lady honorable has enough money that she doesn't need the florence treasury."
"How much." Asked a younger man.
The chubby woman shook her head and said "I don't know."
Everyone turned towards her.
"What." Asked the chubby woman with confusion.
The elderly man shrugged and said "She was duchess for seventy something years. You think she was working for free."
The cafe became noisy with people speaking over one another.
"She modernized half of florence."
"My father still talks about her."
"My grandmother hated her."
"Your grandmother hated everybody."
"That is true."
Lorenzo looked down at his calloused hands for a moment before saying "Lady honorable was different."
The table became quieter.
Enzo stared at him.
Lorenzo sighed and said "My father worked maintenance when she was duchess. He always said the same thing. She didn't care if you liked her as long as the city worked."
The chubby woman nodded while placing a coffee cup in front of a customer.
"Romeo cares if people like him." Said enzo with a snicker.
"That is the problem." Said lorenzo with a sigh.
The cafe was silent.
A younger man at another table suddenly said "I heard he was giving away money for covid relief before he fell."
Lorenzo scoffed.
Enzo laughed but called down as he true thought slipped and asked "Is that bad."
"No. But where was all this concern before his name was in every newspaper." Asked lorenzo as he lifted his coffee.
The younger man became silent.
The chubby woman sighed and said "Money is money. If he wants to repair his reputation while helping people then let him."
Lorenzo nodded slightly and said "Fair."
"People still need jobs." Said enzo Immediately.
"People still need rent. People still need food. People still need the city to stop pretending everything is normal." Said the old woman while eating the last piece of her pastry.
The cafe was silent.
Outside, a garbage truck slowly passed by.
A man on a bicycle cursed loudly after nearly being hit.
A woman across the street argued with somebody on her phone.
A shop owner pulled down a metal shutter.
Florence continued moving.
Slowly.
Enzo looked out of the window and asked "You think lady honorable will do something to this patrimonial state."
Lorenzo remained silent for a moment.
"I don't know." Said lorenzo.
Lorenzo glanced towards the direction of palazzo medici riccardi and said with squinted eyes "That is what worries me."
The cafe was silent.
Enzo looked confused.
Lorenzo slowly finished his coffee and said "A ninety eight year old woman comes back into the middle of a broke city, her son throws the duke down the stairs, everyone in the family is fighting and now people are suddenly talking about her money."
Enzo gulped.
"When you say it like that." Said enzo quietly.
Lorenzo stood up and grabbed his jacket.
The chubby woman looked at him and asked "Where are you going."
"Work." Said lorenzo with a sigh.
"You still have work." Asked the chubby woman immediately with surprise.
"For now." Said lorenzo calmly.
Enzo laughed loudly and said "Lucky bastard."
Lorenzo looked back at everyone in the cafe and said with a sigh "There is no luck in florence right now."
The cafe was completely silent.
Lorenzo opened the door.
*DING*
He stepped outside.
The sun was beautiful.
The buildings were beautiful.
The streets were beautiful.
Florence was beautiful.
It was also broke.
It had no future.
For now.
…
THE END…