Passione per Gelato
“Passione per Gelato?” (what a title for a blog post!)
I don’t blame you for thinking that. After all, this is a bilingual blog in English and Portuguese…
So why Italian now?
Well, be patient with me. Keep reading, and you will soon find out where
this is leading. I will start this true story from the beginning:
Once the pandemic restrictions were eased, we decided that 2022 would be
the year to travel to Brazil, my home country. After over five years, my
husband and I would, at last, visit my family!
A second honeymoon has been on our bucket list for years.
And a second honeymoon in Brazil would be even more fabulous!
We planned it all for the end of July, and off we flew!
Our first night would be at the fancy, world-famous Copacabana Palace.
Oh, and luxurious this five-star hotel was: from its intricate architecture
to the spa, pool, three restaurants, exquisite food, and attentive staff... all in
the details and welcoming little surprises at every corner.
The ocean view suite was a honeymooner’s fantasy. The southern
hemisphere stars shone in our eyes at the sound of Bossa Nova’s lazy soundtrack.
After dinner, we took a stroll along ‘Avenida Atlântica,’ also
known as Copacabana Beach. The smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves
crashing on the sand, and the gentle breeze of a warm Brazilian winter... How
else could I describe what we were only able to feel?
Next to the hotel, we stopped by another fancy place for ice cream. As
we started to walk in, a boy’s voice asked in urgent Brazilian Portuguese:
“Senhor,
Senhora, eu não quero dinheiro não. Eu só queria um sorvete!”
Keith, my American husband, asked me what he was saying.
Translation: “Sir, Ma’am, I don’t want any money. I just wanted some ice
cream!”
We slowed our pace halfway into the store and looked back.
He was outside, sitting on the ground, his back against a lamp post. In
his pre-teen hands was a small box: candy for sale to mostly oblivious
tourists.
A few steps away, a man in a suit guarded the entrance to the store.
“Ask him what flavor he wants,” Keith said.
“Você
quer que sabor?” I asked the boy.
“Nutella!” he answered excitedly, his eyes beaming despite the stern
look he got from the man in the suit.
We walked in and ordered three ice cream cups (one of them with the so-wished-for
Nutella flavor).
We walked out, and Keith handed him the cup with a spoon.
“Pra mim?”
My husband didn’t understand the words but nodded with a smile.
“Muito obrigado!” the boy shouted, holding the cup of ice cream as if it
were Willy Wonka’s golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory.
We had our ice cream on the patio and glanced at the boy who had just
had a wish come true.
To us, having an exotic vacation was only a dream, a wish.
This year, it came true, and we gratefully know from Whom all blessings
flow.
After we returned to Texas, rummaging through the credit card receipts
from our trip to Brazil, I found the paper slip from that fancy ice cream store
in Rio de Janeiro.
It read: “Passione per Gelato,” which in Italian means “Passion for Ice
Cream.”
For that boy, we were the hands of God, granting a simple, sincere
desire of a child’s heart: a passion for ice cream.
Delight thyself also in the LORD, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4 (King James Bible)
Deleita-te no SENHOR, e Ele satisfará os desejos do teu coração.
Salmos 37:4 (Bíblia King James Atualizada)
