THE WOMAN FROM MEXICO
Albina's roast lamb and
also
with another dish for Luciano's
table. "Is that for Signor Luciano?" Albina asked him.
"Yes."
"Wait a moment," Albina took the pepper-pot, a terracotta'
chicken with holes in its head, unscrewed it and quickly upset
the whole of the pepper into Luciano's dish. The
dish
contained
a meat
hash
with sauce. The waiter was alarmed. "What ever
are you doing?" he asked.
"Don't you worry. I'll take the responsibility." Sergio, too,
was puzzled. Albina started eating her roast lamb, her eyes
fIxed on Luciano. The latter had not seen her exploit with the
pepper-pot and with great composure cut up a piece of meat
and raised it to
his
mouth. Albina, stifling her laughter, gave
Sergio another blow
in
the ribs with her elbow. "Now you'll
see what a scene he'll make ... He's so fussy about his food
anyhow."
But Luciano did not make a scene. Mter the first mouthful,
he caJmly put down his knife and fork, drank half a glass of
wine and lit a cigarette. Albina, repressing another burst of
laughter, observed: "Just
think
how his mouth must
be
burn–
ing! But he's so proud he'd die rather than show it."
A fair-haired young man, in a ragged jacket and without
a hat, came in carrying a small fibre suitcase. He opened the
suitcase and proceeded, without a word, to set out a number
of colored plaster statuettes on Luciano's table. The Mexican
woman, to tell the truth, did not seem very eager to possess any
of these statuettes; but Luciano insisted on her accepting a black
and white poodle. Sergio,
all
of a sudden, felt Albina's hand
seeking
his
own under the table. She took hold of his hand and
then,
in
a loud voice, cried: "Ugh, how impatient you are!
Can't you at least wait until we get home?" Sergio was con–
fused and
tried
instinctively to release
his
hand. But Albina
clung to it firmly. "Leave me alone, will you?" she said; and as
