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Buona fortuna!
“Whoa,” Charlie murmurs to the empty store, “this is completely ridiculous.”
How strange, too, that he was just talking to his grandparents about going to Italy. Together they fantasized about those cobblestone streets, beautiful fountains, marble statues and fresh focaccia. Here, his favorite chocolate company is offering a chance to go for free.Purely coincidence or a sign from the universe?
Curious, he goes into the corner outside the sightlines of the security camera and opens his phone to scan the QR code. Up pops the Amorina website with the contest rules. Entries are due tomorrow at midnight. There is a whole page below that looks like an online dating profile.
Name: Dario Cosimo Cotogna
Age: 31
Height: 5'5"
Eye color: Hazel
Sexual orientation: Pansexual
Next to the baseball-card-esque stats are several photos of Dario. He is debonair with chestnut brown, chin-length hair and a wide array of colorful suits that make him stand out in even the most crowded frame.
He isn’t unattractive, but he is hardly Charlie’s usually tall, burly, blue-collar, boot-wearing type.
He continues reading.
Dario Cotogna was born and raised in Perugia, Italy, where he presently resides. He has worked for Amorina Chocolates since he was fifteen years old. He took a small break from the business to study Food & Sustainability at the University of Perugia, where his passion for a more modern Amorina flourished, much to the chagrin of his stalwart nonno. He is passionate, good-humored, hardworking, and loves to dress up no matter the occasion.
Likes: Menswear, sailing, hiking, bike rides, listening to music, watching TV, homemade pasta, time with family, his beloved dog, environmental advocacy
Dislikes: cold weather (you must love to cuddle), dancing (he has two left feet), crowded and small places (best he tells you about this one himself)
Charlie assumes Dario didn’t write this profile, or even approve it, for that matter. Why would he publicize so much personal information?
He also can’t help but notice one key detail is missing from the listing, so he launches a Google search and nearly chokes when he reads Dario’s net worth.
With money like that, Charlie could save the house on Cemetery Street with funds left over for a beach cottage and a cabin in the mountains and a penthouse apartment in whatever major city he chooses.
His whole family could retire on that money. They could travel the world on that money. They could frolic in a swimming pool of gold coins.
Do they even still make gold coins?
He reopens his notebook and writes: 6. Marry a billionaire chocolate maker
He likes hiking, bike rides, dogs, and who doesn’t like homemade pasta? He lives in shorts and T-shirts, so he’s no expert on men’s fashion and he’s never been much for music outside of what his parents enjoy, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t learn to love these things.
Then, feeling foolish, he immediately scratches the idea out.
There is a .01 percent chance they would even choose him if he entered. He should not waste his time on frivolities.
Who marries a total stranger anyway?
He leans forward in his padded rolling chair and looks out through the window, into the empty liquor store where the ancient fridges whirr and the sickly lights flicker. A metaphorical tumbleweed blows through the desolate, dusty space.
Honestly, if pressed, he could.
Hecouldmarry a total stranger.
Maybe it’s better when you don’t really know the person you marry, anyway. They can’t let you down when they inevitably unmask their annoying quirks and faults. Randomness could lead to happiness, couldn’t it?
