People Are Smiling

The sun's setting.

It's about 4:30.

The wind is biting, bracing though the sun warms the backs of the people with a reassuring smile.

The people are smiling.

And how could they not?

They are stood on a hill, the grounds of the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Google that. Do it. 

Seriously....

The acoustic tones of a man and his guitar drift across the hill.

People pose for pictures. Couples kiss and smile, a memory being captured forever.

It is a Monday afternoon that will stay in their minds for all eternity, and mine too.

Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella, Piazza della Signoria.

The names are romantic, they are romantic.

Like a kid in a sweet shop I wandered the streets of Florence, gawping.

And then it got to 4:30 on top of the Piazzale Michelangelo. 

After my MK car park rooftop scene I mentioned before, here's my plan:.....

I tell her I love her.

We go home and I kiss her goodnight.

In the morning she wakes up and I'm not there.

She comes down stairs and finds an envelope on the table addressed to her.

She looks inside and there's a note that tells her to meet me at Bella Italia for dinner later.

We share dinner together and there I tell her to pack a bag and to be ready to leave early in the morning.

She's ready and I drive her to the airport where we catch a flight to Florence.

We tour it, doing the usual tourist things.

I take her up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. It's getting dark. It's deserted, save for a man in an apron, a table, some candles and some wine.

She takes a seat at the table.

Over the breeze she hears the strains of a guitar as it comes closer, playing her favourite song.

We gaze at the beauty of Firenze at night. I gaze at the beauty of her.

She smiles and I ask her to marry me.

I'm a soppy one I know.

A fantasist, but reality isn't something many enjoy.

Why not dream if you can?

Why not dream if you can't?

Today was no dream though.

Today I felt the wind on my face and the sun on my back.

I smiled without meaning to smile.

I saw a view I'd always dreamed of, and I didn't wake up.

I want to share this with someone.

I want to be one of those couples that smiled and kissed for the cameras.

One's eyes cannot divulge it all by themselves.

It needs sharing.

The sun set and it was perfect.