Renata has been gone for many weeks now. Her mother passed away unexpectedly and she has gone to Poland to be with her elderly and sick father. Her husband, Stefano, is here and we see him driving their car, but no one knows when or if she is ever coming back. It is hard to be far away from family that you love, especially when they need you.

Alice says that Renata no longer answers anyone's phone calls -- except for Nonno's. This makes sense. During all those long winter evenings when no one was in the pub except for us and the Beasts and Renata, she and Nonno had an ongoing battle -- Renata firing prosecco corks at Nonno whenever she opened a bottle and Nonno threatening to smack her with his cane. Now he is the only one who can reach her.

So last week, I asked Nonno when Renata is coming back. "Soon," he said. "Someday soon -- in a few days." I don't know if that is what Renata told Nonno so he wouldn't feel bad or what Nonno is telling me so I won't. She has been gone a long time. Nonno's 91st birthday will happen in July andI hope she will be back for that.

Last night Jonathan and I sat between Nonno and Geppollino at the tavolo di marmo during that golden late afternoon hour while Federica is setting the tables for all the summer diners who come now that the season has started and Daniele goes back and forth to the kitchen and tries to round up enough players for a game of cards and Alice tells Almo where to put the tables for the night and takes reservations on the phone. Claudio comes in and then leaves and then comes back bringing his dog, Lila. Guglielmo is there and Valerio and Ugo shows up still sporting his new moustache that Renata did not like, but I do. Federica tells us that her son has passed his test for his driver's license. Her face lights up when she talks about him.

A recent addition to the circle of beasts, Matteo, was there, talking about eating avocados on toast. Nonno pretended to think that he was talking about an "avvocato" (the Italian word for "lawyer") and said that he would not like to eat a lawyer on toast because it would be too expensive. 

Then Matteo told us all that he had refused to do his national military service. 

"You have to," Nonno told him. "If you don't, they come and get you and put you in jail."

But Matteo insisted that he had not done his.

"I didn't do it," I said. Geppollino thought that was pretty funny.

This morning, I went down to the beach for a while, but now it has clouded up and the air is heavy and thick with the aroma of jasmine. Maybe it will rain.