That night Domitilla and I returned rather late from the party. We were devastated by tiredness, for a number of reasons: the return journey by car on the dark and empty roads; perhaps a little more food and alcohol than necessary; the elegant but uncomfortable formal clothes and shoes, to which neither she nor I were accustomed all that much. And all those many new and unfamiliar faces, so that we did not really know who we were dealing with, who to talk to, what to say, how to behave. I couldn"t wait to get to sleep.
We tried to make as little noise as possible, given the late hour, but I don"t know how well we succeeded. As soon as she opened the front door and got inside, Domitilla took off with great relief her clicking shoes with their high and uncomfortable thin heels, dropping the
