I found this picture of Sergio and all I could think of is
This is Aldo's favourite picture of Goffredo:
They had spent the entire day following Pope Innocent around the small town, blessing people, listening to their worries, and making sure the tiniest parish felt important to the Vatican itself. Aldo had admired him, truly. But after planning the trip for more than a month, travelling by public transport for over 5 hours and then being a duckling for the rest of the day brought even the Secretary of State to his limits regarding patience. He just wanted to go to the house they had rented for the weekend, sit on one of the terrace chairs, and drink a nice glass of wine. Yet, there was no end in sight. Thomas was no help in shepherding the shepherd towards ending the day. Seeing his oldest and best friend looking at the leader of the Catholic church with as much devotion and love as a husband would, Aldo was torn. Torn between wanting to tell Thomas to turn it down a notch and actively rooting for him. People could excuse his behaviour as being a good Dean, a good Christian, a good friend. So Aldo let it slide. But since Thomas spent the good portion of the day encouraging Vincent to follow his whims, Aldo was left to follow them alone. Well, not truly alone. There were several members of the Curia present to complete the entourage of Pope Innocent. But he wasn't in the position to fraternize with any of them. The assistants were scared of his need to neurotically question their preparation. The nuns were off-limits to talk to. The two remaining men, Giulio and Ray, had been inseparable as well. That left only one person, Aldo could walk with. The Patriarch of Venice, whose presence was supposed to highlight the integrity and unity of the church behind the relatively new papacy and who naturally had agreed to accompany them himself to offer insights into what a rural town of poor working families could need from their church.
"If I have to walk one more step, I will commit papacide."
The voice next to him was gruff but quiet, so Aldo didn't jump out of his skin when it disturbed his thoughts.
"Sì, like homicide, but the Pope gets killed."
"Careful with your words, Goffredo, or the guards will tackle you."
"Mah. First, I know you would like to see that. Second, you didn't seem to be offended by what I was saying, so you must agree."
"Don't put words in my mouth," he smirked and saw Goffredo's features match his in his peripheric vision.
"Cazzo, we have been running around like children on a class trip for hours, and I am not even allowed to smoke."
"So, what? Any idea on how to end our Odyssey?"
"Sure. I say I push you down a flight of stairs, we blame it on your fragile health and be done with this."
"Haha. Got anything better to offer?" Aldo gave the other man a sideways glance as they continued walking and was surprised to see him actually deep in thought. Vincent was still listening to an old man, that guided them through the narrowest streets in order to make the pope trace the steps of one important ancestor or another. The worst part was that Vincent actually seemed to enjoy it and by proxy, so did Thomas. They were doomed.
"Seriously, let's get out of here. It's not like they will notice."
"Sure, we'll just ditch the fucking pope. No big deal." His voice drenched in sarcasm, Aldo didn't even try to hide how stupid he thought this plan to be. But that was apparently lost on Goffredo because he suddenly took hold of his hand and dragged him up an old and used flight of stone stairs. "What the-"
"Shh, they didn't notice," Goffredo whispered and kept on yanking on Aldo's hand. Suddenly, the dim shadows of the small streets lifted, and the world was painted in a bright orange and golden glow. They found themselves on the towns outer walls, looking into a beautiful sunset.
"Wow...," was all Aldo could say, as the golden rays seemed to find their way into the darkest places of his mind, pushing away the dark clouds of stress, anxiety, and fatigue. This view made it worth it.
Aldo's brain caught up to him again, and he looked at his partner in crime as he took a deep hit of his vape.
"Oh, come on. Seriously?"
"What? I had to breathe in the dust of this shithole for a day without any relief. Let me have this."
Aldo smiled and laboriously took out his phone with his right hand from his left pocket, not contemplating why he didn't let go of Goffredo's hand instead.
"Maybe I do," he whispered as he opened the camera. This sunset was worth having a tacky picture taken of. Suddenly, a voice cut through the air.
"Cardinale Bellini? Cardinale Tedesco? Dove siete voi due?"
"Cazzo, we've been caught!"
Aldo took a picture at the exact moment when Goffredo moved into his frame and started to yell at the guards to mind their own business. The photography wasn't ruined, though. It became one of his favourite ones.
tangentwithtanner
kaledo-art
romaincrisis
dededos
discoholicmusic
