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Hey everyone,

Here it is the newest chapter, it took me only an afternoon to write it, well, one and a half in reality :-) Duilio's doesn't exist, and the people and the events are all fictional. I hope you will like, if you do don't be shy with comments, faves and votes! As always, I thank my Gritou for proofreading this and to be at my side every day.

The day was a fine one, with a blue sky with its glowing sun in the middle. Maybe a bit too hot, but that was to be expected considering how had been lately, with the temperatures somewhere above the usual average. Everyone in the piazza was enjoying it in the shadows provided by trees and buildings, sipping cold beverages and chatting with each other.

To sum up, it was the perfect day to spend if you had a cheerful personality, and Sara sure had it. She was even luckier, since she had the day off today as most of her colleagues were occupied in helping prof De Angelis with the exam thanks to the privileges linked to seniority. Sure, she could have gone at the chapel all by herself, but she didn't feel to do that, plus better to have someone else with you if something went wrong.

So, she had passed the morning doing some stuff around the house, and preparing for the romantic dinner with her Franco, hoping that he would be surprised to find everything set once he got home. It sure was nice prepare such things now and then, and the squirrel loved to see the faces of furs when faced with a delightful surprise.

After such a morning, she deserved to have some time for herself, and she was spending it taking a walk through Ponte Milvio while waiting for the time to pass so that the evening could be upon her. For that matter, the squirrel had phoned a friend to see if she could pass some time with her, but she wouldn't be free until 6 in the afternoon so she had decided that it was better to stay in the open air than shut in her house to watch mindless television.

Sara liked how Rome was during summer, so full of light and laughter, not that her own Milan wasn't like that, but the Eternal city always seemed to her to have that more than her hometown. Maybe she was biased by her work, she thought while walking on the bridge, staring to the everlasting flow of the Blond Tiber1, for sure Rome had a lot of pieces of arts, and living here gave her the opportunities to be in contact with them.

Her daydreaming was interrupted by the distinct verse of the seagulls over her, something that wasn't that enjoyable to her.

"Damn birds". She said, glancing to the annoying creatures flying above, hoping that her stares could kill them, while putting a rebellious curl back behind her ear.

If there was something that she hated of Rome, that was seagulls. They were too big, too noisy, and they were also aggressive, she saw a couple of them killing and eating a pigeon, for God's sake! They sure ruined the perfect scenery that the city was. Well, them and the traffic, the streets in bad state, the strikes that immobilized everything ....

Sara didn't want for her good mood to be destroyed like that, so she kept going, passing under the tower Valadier built so long ago, and in the piazza in front of her. She liked to be immersed in the crowd, and even at that hour the place held so many furs.

She checked her clock, realizing that it was almost time to meet her friend, so she began to walk to their meeting place just at one side of the piazza. At the crosswalks she stopped, waiting for the traffic lights to get the marvelous color of the leaves and permit her to get where she wanted to go, and in the mean time she checked out how she looked with her small mirror she always brought in her purse. She just despised to look awful when she didn't have the excuse of coming from work, and she ended up with stains and dust on her fur too often to not appreciate being completely without them.

She tilted her head again and saw that she could cross the street now, so she did as much, tugging the mirror back in its usually resting place, just in time to see her phone glow in the purse for a received message. As the dutiful squirrel she was, she took it and she read the small electronic missive.

"Mom:

Are you sure you have everything prepared for Stanley?"

That elicited a sigh from Sara, she hated when her mother annoyed too much for something her parent knew was ready or worked upon. So she quick reply:

"Don't worry, he will have a warm Roman welcome."

He sure would have it, thanks for the efforts of one local lupo with his vast knowledge of the city and his cheerfulness and Roman-ness. That reminded her that he didn't tell what they would exactly do, but she wasn't worried, for sure the pup will have fun with him. Maybe Sara could convince Ale to accompany them, the rottie was always fun to have around, plus she knew that Luca did his best with his friend around.

Eh, those two .... Sara always hoped they would hook up together eventually, they were so nice together and acted as a couple so often, but it was such a pity that Ale wasn't homosexual, considering how over the wheel he was with this girl now. She was just thinking that when her gaze fell on a table in the near bar.

"Parli del diavolo2..." She whispered with a smile, seeing her two colleagues there chatting while drinking beer. She checked her clock again, it wasn't still 6, and her friend was a notorious laggard, so her decision was quickly made.

The squirrel was approaching them when Ale got on his knees in front of Luca, gesticulating. Her heart just increased its beat, it couldn't be, he was declaring himself, HE WAS DOING IT! She quickly covered the distance with her short leg.

"Oh my, you are finally proposing to him?"

***** *****

"Cazzo3!"

That uttering seemed to confuse the squirrel, her muzzle frowning to it, something that Luca couldn't understand, and didn't care to.

"Of course he isn't, he is just fooling around!" He said, a bit defensively while rising up, with his ears in full flicking motion.

"But-but he was kneeling right there, and you seemed happy and..." She didn't finish the sentence, she just seemed so disappointed by the turn of the events.

In the mean time Ale had managed to get up and add his part of explanation.

"It's what he says, I was only fooling around. He just gave me a very good advice, that's all."

Sara still seemed sad, like she was actually rooting for them getting together, but that was just impossible, she must have waited a stronger reaction to her statement, that was why she looked like that.

"It's lucky of you to have caught us like that, why are you here in Ponte Milvio?" The lupo asked, while his heart was slowing its pace after the surprise showing up.

Sara visibly got back to her usual self, whatever was bothering her being swept away by the question.

"Well, what people do here, enjoying my free time!" She said, while getting an extra chair and moving it near their table.

"You are so lucky to not having to do the exams...." The rottie muttered, taking seat with the others around the table and claiming back his beer for a big gulp of it.

"It's not luck, it's because of seniority. I did my fair share of exams in my time." Her paw disappeared in her purse, and it came back with her pink phone.

"Seniority is a gentle way to say you're too old for them." Ale snorted almost bitterly, for sure wanting to take revenge for the initial remark of the squirrel.

"I'm not old, don't you dare say I'm old!" She also replied with a slap on one meaty arm.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

"That's your fault Ale," Luca shook his head, "you shouldn't have told her she is old, it isn't polite to do that with a lady."

"But she slapped me!" He said, his hackles almost rising.

"To an insult must correspond a rightful punishment. Also, I'm sure it didn't hurt that much, you are a big guy." Sara said with her eyes throwing daggers toward the dark-coated dog.

"But it did! You have such a strong arm!"

"Oh my, thank you." The restorer smiled, her anger purged from her body.

"It wasn't supposed to be a compliment....:" Ale muttered, rubbing the place where the slap occurred and taking another sip of his almost finished beer.

"You're just being a pup Ale." Sara said with another big smile.

"So, what did you do this morning while we were sweating in that classroom?" Luca asked, gaining some time for his friend to properly recover.

"Well, nothing special, just relax for me, and cleaning the home, and doing groceries, and cooking a bit for this evening, getting all prepared for a surprise dinner, called Franco...." While listing her morning activities she numbered them on her fingers.

"How is he by the way?"

"He is fine, thank you for asking, just busy with work and some deadline, but he is doing just fine."

"For sure working as an accountant means having so many of them, I pity the poor guy." Ale entered the conversation.

"Oh yes, it's way easier to be a restorer, we can move the deadlines if the work gets harder. But he loves his work, that's what matters." She said, while her gaze spaced out a bit at the thought of her man.

"Isn't what matters in everything?" Luca mused.

"You are right. So, how was your day?" She asked.

"The usual stuff. Lots of students waiting for their doom...." The lupo begin.

"...... Questions to be made......" The rottie continued.

"..... The air conditioning not working...."

"...... us getting tired with the passing hours....."

".... And the relief of finishing it." The tall canine concluded.

"I really don't miss that stuff." Sara frowned after listening to that.

"As I said, you are lucky to not go through that, my dear senior assistant!" The rottie teased her.

"Yeah, I am. So, it was the usual exam routine after all."

The two canines exchanged some glances, silently questioning one other if it was the case to say more. They both nodded, both agreeing to tell her.

"Well, something unusual happened." Luca declared.

That surely attracted the squirrel's attention. "What unusual thing?"

"The prof summoned us to his office, to tell us about some important news."

"He didn't say that at first, though. Made us sweat in fear he was going to scold us." The dark canine interrupted his friend.

"How so, he does that only when there is something to scold of." She said, a bit suspicious.

"We thought he would reprimand us about the pauses. But that's not the point, he was there, sitting in his armchair, and told us that the Superintendent noticed our good work. He said that maybe they will give us some important work to do!" Luca ended his explanation with an excited tone, the thought of such an opportunity making his tail wag even if no one at the table could notice that. He was expecting a great pleased and happy reaction from his colleague, so what he got shocked him.

"Oh, that." She mildly said.

The two dogs flicked their ears for a good ten seconds before the rottie one asked the obvious question.

"Only that?"

"Oh yes, sorry, congratulations guys, you deserve it!" She exclaimed, only realizing then how they had taken her lack of recognition of such a feat.

"Why you don't seem surprised to that?" The rottie asked again.

"Well, I was present along with the professor when the Superintendent said that. I was actually there to point him out what an amazing job you are doing, and he agreed with me. I'm proud of you two." She spoke with a warm smile and her happiness for them showed in her voice.

Ale seemed to have taken the role of the questioner, so he posed another one. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Oh well, that's because-" She didn't get to finish as her phone began to ring, attracting her attention. "Oh, sorry, one moment." She took it, glanced at the name of the incoming caller and quickly answered.

"Tesoro4! Scusa5, I met two colleagues and I was chatting with them, I'm coming there! Wait, I've got an idea." She shielded the phone to talk with the two dogs waiting for her to end the conversation. "Do you mind if this friend of mine joins us?"

"Sure, why not!" Ale answered, and a shiver of fear run through the lupo's spine, never a good sign.

"Lidia, are you there? Listen, we are at Duilio's, can you get here? Nice! See you in a few minutes!" She closed the phone. "She is coming here, she was still on her way."

"Who's this friend of yours?" Luca carefully inquired, to try to find proves to his sense of impending doom.

"Oh, she is Lidia, I met her years ago one evening I went to dance, she is totally a party girl, she is much fun, you will see!" She responded, her voice getting higher with every word.

At the description, Luca turned towards his friend and grimaced at him, that girl sounded the kind he didn't like, the one who got over the heels at mentioning his sexuality. Ale only gave him some apologetic eyes, then spoke to Sara.

"You didn't say why you didn't tell us before, of the Superintendent I mean."

"Well, because the professor told me not to, that's why. He wanted to make you such an announcement himself!"

"Okay, that's a good explanation. Still, I'm amazed you didn't tease us with that!" Ale said.

"What, you think I'm that kind of fur?" Sara seemed insulted by that, and she could have added something more but a tigress had just come in sight, which had interesting effects on the squirrel.

"Lidia, tesoro, over here!" She shouted while standing up, followed by the other two restorers.

"Sara, amore6!" The tigress replayed, swinging her Gucci purse on her arms while extending her pace. Once in front of her friend she exchanged the mandatory kiss on each cheek, with her purring for the pleasure.

"How you do, sweetie?" She asked.

"I'm really fine, and you look fabulous with that dress, is it new?"

"Oh yes, I bought it the other day, it was love at first sight, I couldn't resist to have it!"

"Where did you find it?"

"Oh, well you know that little shop there in....."

The rest of the girly conversation was lost to the canines' ears, standing there waiting to be presented. That also gave the chance to Luca to whisper his unhappiness for the present situation.

"Thanks a lot Ale, now we will be drowned in chats about shoes and clothes!"

"How could I know this Lidia is like that? She's Sara's friend, I thought she wasn't a fashion victim!" The rottie tried to defend them.

"You can't base you expectations on someone based on who is friend is!" He angrily muttered. "Also, don't you know that girls act differently when they are among themselves?"

"I forgot, sorry! Look, it seems they are slowing a bit, smile!" They both presented their best smiles, the ones only dogs can do.

"So, who are those two hunks here?" The tigress asked with an eight-making tail swigging behind her.

"These are my colleagues, Luca and Ale." Sara motioned toward them.

"Nice to meet you Ale, Luca." She shook their paws in turn, lingering a bit with the lupo along with giving him very suggestive eyes. That only made him sigh mentally, he was screwed.

"I didn't know that restorers were such hunks." She chuckled.

"Those two are the best we have, the others aren't as good looking dear!"

"I believe you, but why are we standing? Let's seat!" She ordered, and the others dutifully obeyed. Luca noticed, with his dismay, that she had taken the chair close to him, even moved a bit so that one of her stripped arm was in contact with his own.

"So, what are you doing guys?"

"Just relaxing here, after the exam." Ale answered with some amusement for what it was happening before his eyes.

"You aren't still studying, I hope!" She exclaimed without lifting her eyes from the lupo.

"Of course not, silly you!" This time it was Sara who talked, and she was amused too.

"Oh yes, silly. So, is restoring art pieces exciting?" Lidia asked, putting her paw over the lupine forearm, openly flirting now.

"Well, it is nice, but I won't call it that..." He answered, some sweat appearing on his forehead while he was trying not to flick his ears.

"But I'm sure that you have so many fun facts about that". She purred. "You can tell them over dinner, if you want..."

That was enough for Luca. "Sorry Lidia, but I don't think it is the best thing to do?"

"Why not? The tigress was puzzled by the lack of proper reactions of the dark-furred lupine.

"How can I say it politely ......"

"He doesn't swing that way." Sara said matter-of-factly. Those words worked like a charm, since the temptress took her paw away and moved the chair farther in a blink of an eye.

"I don't understand why that would prevent to have a fun dinner all together!" She said innocently.

Finally free of the grasp of the party girl, Luca managed to glance over to his friend, who was just there trying hard not to laugh.

"Uhm. Okay, but I think we will dinner at home."

"Lidia, dear, you forgot I have a romantic dinner planned." Sara added.

"Yeah, you are right. But boys, are you sure you can't remain? Going home it's so lame!" Saying that she changed her prey, now she seemed to talk mainly to Ale.

Luca saw his opportunity to pay back his roommate. "She is right Ale, we sure can remain a little longer?"

"See, your friend is up for fun, I'm sure you are too..." Lidia even winked while delivering such words.

"Uhm, well, I don't know, I'm really tired after the exam...."

"Dai7, it will be fun...." Was the pouted reply.

The rottie faked a yawn. "See, I'm really tired, I can barely keep my eyes open ...."

That obviously didn't make the big cat desist. "Daaaaaaaaai7!"

"Maybe he is right, he sure seemed ready for bed." Luca intruded himself.

"I'm sure he will wake up after a couple of drinks!"

"Lidia, please, stop, he isn't in the mood for that." Sara reigned in the impetuous friend.

"Uhm, well, okay, maybe we can see each other later in the week. I'm among Sara's friends on Facebook, add me!" She didn't seem that taken back from the lost opportunity for partying with the hunky rottie.

"Okay, we can do that." Luca said, blessing himself for the fact he wasn't on it and sure that his friend wouldn't ever do that.

Feeling assured, Lidia finally turned toward the one fur she was meant to meet that evening. "By the way, Sara, didn't you heard about what Paolo did?"

"No, what?"

They dove in the gossip right away, leaving the two males alone for now. They both drifted off for a while, wanting to rest their minds a little with the help of the white noise made by their companions.

Luca just looked up, admiring the evolutions of the seagulls in the air. Sure, their cry wasn't the most beautiful, but they were so graceful while flying in the sky, some diving in the hidden river in the distance, others resting on the tower of the bridge. Now and then there was others birds among them, and he saw little sparrows moving between the tables picking up crumbs together with the bigger pigeons.

The summer sun was still up, giving its warm rays and making everything looks brighter. The lupo was always amazed on how the light was different in the various seasons, in Summer it seemed that all the colors were more earthy, even the green of the leaves, while in springtime they were all so fresh after the cold winter.

He realized that something in the women's chattering had attracted the attention of the rottie at his side, because his ears were perked at their fullest and he seemed a little sick all of sudden.

"Ehm, sorry Lidia, can I ask something?" He asked bashfully.

Luca was puzzled in front of this unexpected behavior. The tigress was too, though more because she was interrupted in the middle of a very juicy rumor.

"Yes, what is it Ale?"

"You mentioned a Clara, right?"

Translation:

1) The Tiber was called like that in ancient times, for whatever reasons.

2) "Parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna", roughly translated with "Speaking of the devil and the horns appears". The meaning is that when you speak/think of someone he/she will show up.

3) Fuck.

4) Treasure, more like sweetie here.

5) Sorry.

6) Love, it's used to call other people.

7) Come on!