(Lola, my dear...wake up! Sorry, but we need for you to put some line breaks
in your dream to restore our format, please!)
=======================
(waking up next to champagne pool with George Clooney's head in her
lap, Eva spies littlek and Cosimo...or Lorenzo...whatever his name
was...you know, the gorgeous animal trainer...out by the newly completed
pavilion. Letting George's head slip ever-so-lightly onto the nearest silk
pillow, she wraps herself in one of the damask tablecloths and goes out to
examine Pietro's work...)
Hello, you two! What do you think of the new pavilion that Pietro has
made with Gautam's silk? It is fabulous, isn't it. Especially with that
multicolored Indian lantern hanging from the center of the roof. It looks
like a veritable rainbow in here...come inside and see!
(every color of embroidered silk, glowing in the light of dozens of tall
candles on stands in each corner...a small water lily pool in the center,
just under the lantern...and banquettes of pillows on all sides...)
Giulietta Osso starts murmuring about Limoncello. She'd heard of it for years. Various friends had been to Sorrento, or Amalfi, or Capri.... and mentioned the Limoncello right after the great view.
Years passed, yes, years. And then recently - well, a year ago - friends came to visit and brought housegifts, many things w/Limoncello among them. Sra. Osso has had it in her refrigerator all this time and just sampled it this last week. Dang, that's good.
But..we will need exquisite small glasses, don't you think? Perhaps some very intricately formed jewel-like glasses from the isle of Murano. Reduced versions of that chandelier over there.... The glasses and the limoncello will be cold, counter to the italian manner. Small cookies with that, very small thin cookies..
Lorenzo? No, this is his brother. Twins. Didn't you know that? Aren't they beautiful?
Giulietta, what was that? Ohhh, yes, definitely cold. And what sort of thin cookies were you thinking of..... Giulietta! Wake up sweetie, you're mumbling, I can't understand.
Well, we can't have florentines in Venice and they would be toooo wrong for limoncello. Thinking butter cookies, small, not very sweet but just sweet enough, and melting...
Maybe with roasted pignolis pressed into the tops of them?
Cav! Cav! Quickly! We need your assistance here!
What do you have that will complement the limoncello?
When I was in Capri, I tried it, but it was very, very strong,
and I didn't think it was very good. I think you're right, Giulietta,
perhaps iced would be better. I have these exquisite deep blue
Murano cordial glasses with the gold rims...what do you think?
(eyeing the twins in the corner of the pavilion, stroking the tigers)
...Twins! Well! That certainly clears up my confusion! Now, let's see...
we have Cosimo for littlek...but, what to do with Lorenzo?...
what to do...what to do...
how about the dolphinetta? or....
Poor Lorenzo, the hunky Sicilian animal trainer, is sitting all alone in a
corner of the pavilion. Everywhere he looks, he sees couples sharing
romantic moments and assorted flights of fantasy...
There are BBB and Roberto, sitting by the dark chocolate fountain. BBB is
dipping her delicate fingertips in the chocolate, and dashing Roberto is
licking them off one by one...
Lola is splashing in the champagne pool with Leonard Cohen and Johnny
Depp (ooh la la!)...
Vincenzo Gocchetto, Cav's kitchen assistant, and Lucinda Delfino, the
luscious young servant girl, are taking a midnight stroll through the
herb garden...
Giulietta Osso and Giovanni Boccaccio are waltzing to the breathless
beauty of an aria sung by Andrea Bocelli in the grand ballroom...
Raffaelo, the doorman, and Salma Hayek are playing slap and tickle
on top of the piano...
Eva and George Clooney are reclining on pillows behind the champagne
pool, tickling each other gently with peacock feathers and giggling madly...
Maria/Matilda Callas and Carlos, the saucier, are making eyes at one
another in the hallway...
Gautam and Pietro are admiring each other's muscles (again!) in the
reflection of the water lily pool in the multicolored silk pavilion...
Carlo, the hairstylist, and Clarienne Boniface, the couturier, have finished
tidying up the Goddess's boudoir and are on their way to join Gautam
and Pietro for a rollicking time...
Gustavratzenhofer and Emelda, the one-eyed lisping hunchback, are still
in their cage in the wine cellar where Cav left them. No one has heard
from them for hours. One can only hope they have not drowned by now.
(Would not a wine cellar in Venice be underwater?)...
Lorenzo's eyes begin to tear as he watches his twin, Cosimo, entertain
Caterina (littlek). He is showing her his magic tricks. Her earring
disappears, and Caterina is entranced...
Lorenzo heaves a great sigh. He looks around the palazzo.
Who else is here?
Well, Bacchus is still here with his satyrs, Pinot and Grigio. But they are
not his type.
Merchant and Ivory are heading toward the gondolas, satisfied that the
palazzo and surroundings are impeccable...
Cav is still busy in the kitchen, preparing more delectable morsels in case
anyone gets hungry. Poor Cav. He has worked all evening. When will he
come out and play? Catherine Zeta-Jones has been hanging around the
kitchen door for quite some time, hoping to catch his eye...
Suddenly, Lorenzo sees EileenM, LibertyD and sumac sitting by
themselves in a corner of the ballroom. The three lovely ladies are
chatting as they survey the crowd, looking for likely playmates.
Lorenzo stands up and calls to one of the Nubian slaves to watch the
tigers. He checks his reflection in the large gilt floor mirror. His dark,
wavy hair slicked back into a ponytail, his mustache groomed, his tan
golden, his safari suit unbuttoned to show just a bit of curly chest hair...all
is perfect. Who could resist? He slowly saunters over to the ladies' corner.
"Buona sera," he begins...
g. osso starts to worry about the welfare of pinot and grigio, not to mention dear Bacchus, who must be made happy....
How shall we honor Bacchus?
Oh, lordie, I guess we should haul out the paintings by Caravaggio... and pick some really good reds from the area around Montalcino...
Bacchus really likes parties, it is his raison d'etre, y'know? I think he just likes to have people know he cares.
Good, let's put away the lemoncello and other fine liquors and bring out the reds! Montalcino, abruzzi, sangiovese....
Cav arranges for the Brunello, but snarfs a bit about toting out fine, huge reds AFTER sweets...grrrr....hmm....this party is going on longer than we thought. Presumably, the goddess has extra cash lying around....we must restart. A few more hors d'oeuvres, and a fine roast should make the transition...
Cooking, Cav?
ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?!?!?!
Ah well, the Goddess ALWAYS has PLENTY of extra cash
lying around. In fact, there's a lot of it out in the garden...
just lying there under the money trees. You can even rake it
into piles, if you like, and jump in!!!
Ahhhhh,
Autumn!
Help yourself to some cash, Cav. After all, it's your birthday!
All together now --
"Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday, dear Cavfancier
Happy Birthday to Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
And the guests are hushed by a nubian (what does nubian mean?) servant and Cav's assistant enters the dinning hall with a glowing platter. A humongous cake frosted simply and with decorative sheets of dark chocolate that resemble Caravaggio's rendition of Bacchus (kill 2 birds with one stone....) perched atop the highest tier. The cake is still quite distant from the table where all have stood to sing a hearty "happy Birthday" to Cav. As the cake nears, a guest is heard saying, "one, two, three, four,.... oh, just under three dozen candles....?"
Just thinking that that a few roasted cherry tomatoes stuffed with Moroccan-spiced lamb topped with lightly caramelized lemon zest would be a good start, then moving on to a simple roasted leg of venison, with some simply steamed veggies, we will serve small portions of the venison, and I shall not cook on my birthday. I leave Vincenzo in charge, he has my instructions, and has earned his keep, despite his amorous interludes. He shall arrange the tasting....
Can't wait for the stuffed cherry tomatoes! That sounds divine! Hurry, Vincenzo!
Cav, would you like to have a seat here next to me and George? Or would you rather sit with Catherine Z-J? Or perhaps someone else has caught your eye????? It is your birthday. You shall have naught but the best...
(Eva waves over the servants, who are instructed to fill Cav's every wish...)
Catherine Z-J hasn't done much for me since marrying the younger Douglas and getting preggers...I prefer to sit by the goddess.
