Short Stories

Giovanni's World Famous Gelato

-1-

“Dateline St. Paul Minnesota, March 2024

Figure Skating World Champions Converge on St. Paul

St. Paul will be the epicenter of the figure skating universe this week as the Citizen Figure Skating World Championships come to the Xcel Energy Center…”

Giovanni Corsini sets down the paper on a nightstand by his bed and gets ready for another day at his gelato shop on 5th street not too far from the arena.

Emily Norcross, the world-famous figure skater, has already been up since 5am exercising in the hotel gym, eating breakfast, and mentally going through her routine.

“Emily! You’re going to be late for your press conference!” her agent says hysterically.

“Relax, Rita… we have plenty of time.” Emily fixes her hair, making sure each strand of her beautiful red lox are perfectly aligned. Girls around the world were copying that famous do. “The Emily”, as it was called, was now the most popular hair style. Emily was on the cover of just about every magazine in the world. She could not go anywhere now-a-days without an entourage. She was the most popular athlete on Instagram and Facebook surpassing such famous soccer players as Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. The pressure however did not seem to phase her in the slightest. While she was always humble and gracious, she also carried herself with confidence. She had the perfect mentality for athletics; the most important thing was not the competition or the competitors but to have fun. A revival of the 90s was coming back too, bracelets stamped with WWED (What Would Emily Do) in honor of her almost carefree attitude.

As she got on the elevator, she was enveloped by a bevy of reporters and fans and security guards. Her and Rita sandwiched in the middle. As she left the elevator, she signed autographs for some little girls who had camped out with their parents since early in the morning. Instead of taking the customary car shuttle to the arena she decided to take a little walk. She heard that there were some marvelous little shops on the way to the press conference and she wanted to check them out. Emily stopped at a little toy store and bought a cute little snow globe with the Cathedral of St. Paul in it. She next went to a little patisserie and tried a sample of their cupcakes and got a macaron she would have later. Then she entered the shop of one Giovanni Corsini. Since she had been to Italy so many times this was her favorite treat, she loved gelatos. She was famously known now as being quite the connoisseur of the frozen desert.

“Would you like a sample?” Giovanni asked in his moderate Italian accent. Giovanni had been in America for several years and was getting much better with his English.

“Oh yes please,” Emily said with almost a schoolgirl tone. She was never one to be overly childish, she was always very mature, however when it came to this, she was just a little girl wanting to try every flavor in the shop. Giovanni was not too familiar with Ms. Norcross but did know that she was a famous skater. He let her sample all the flavors. She picked a chocolate / strawberry mix. “$8.79 please.” Rita handed him a hundred-dollar bill and walked away. “ma’am, would you like your change?”

Emily flipped around, “no sir, you keep that, this is divine.”

Emily made her way out of the shop and to the arena for her presser. She was asked all kinds of questions about skating and fame and this and that. Then a local reporter asked how she liked the gelato at their local establishment. “I cannot remember loving a gelato so much…” she went on for almost a full 30 seconds in critique of the tasty treat. It was the most that reporters had gotten out of her since she started skating. Emily soon left the table and went into her warm-up cocoon as she called it. She always thought of herself as a caterpillar changing into a butterfly.

The internet and social media did not miss a beat on this story. There were soon lines outside of Giovanni’s little store front. In just a couple of hours he was sold out. He would have to spend the rest of the day and long into the night making more batches to keep up with the demand. His Facebook and Instagram accounts were full of stories about how great his gelato was. Since he could not keep up with all the requests, he called his brother Phillepe and asked him to come and help. He had no idea how much his life would change in that 10-minute interaction with Emily.

-2-

“Emily’s execution was flawless, I have never seen her skate like this, with such grace and ease,” said famous TV reporter Johnny Weir. His sidekick Tara Lipinski echoed the sentiment. The scores would reveal what could not be hidden, Emily was the best skater in the world. Her scores on the first night of competition would put her so far ahead that she could not be caught.

She was too excited to go to sleep that night. She had so much fun doing what she loved. As she walked by the window of her hotel she couldn’t help but notice that one of the shops, she had been to earlier that day still had their lights on. Emily flipped through her phone to find out which one that was. She then stumbled upon what had happened. Putting on her boots and coat she grabbed Rita and a couple of security guards and made her way over to Giovanni’s.

Emily was surprised by what she saw in the window, Giovanni and Phillepe were feverishly whipping up batches of gelato. All kinds of different sizes of batches were being packaged. She walked up to the window and tapped on it. Phillepe gruffly said, “We are closed! Come back tomorrow.” Giovanni peeked over at the window, then ran to the door, unlocking it and opening it to the visitors, he apologized.

“Phillepe, this is the girl, she is the one who loved it so much…” Giovanni exclaimed. Giovanni then went on to explain to Emily what had happened. She apologized that her comments caused them so much grief. “Are you kidding, this is best, this is like winning World Championship. Everyone can now love the gelato that I make.” Emily chuckled and tried some of the new flavors. She loved them all. However, she could not eat that much and would have to stop. It was almost 1 am when she went back to her hotel all to be back up at 5 am and start it all over again.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, your new World Champion, Emily Norcross!” the announcement blared over the sound system at the arena. Everyone was on their feet cheering. Emily went to the podium and accepted her metal. She invited her competitors up to her level of the podium and they all stood next to each other arm-in-arm, tears falling down their faces.

“Greatest performances in history,” chimed in Tara over the noise. Giovanni staring at the TV not knowing what to make of this, he was not really into figure skating, only football (soccer) really.

The next day the phone rang at Giovanni’s, however he was not there. Sundays were still holy to him, and he was in church and would not work on the sabbath. Rita left a message with their contact information and told him that there would be tickets for him and whoever he wanted to bring at the “Will Call” window for that evening’s exhibition gala. Emily requested that he and Phillepe be their special guests. Giovanni usually did not go to the shop on Sundays but last night he thought he had left something on that should be turned off so he stopped in. He got the message and called Phillepe to tell him the good news. Phillepe was not in the mood. He had just worked that whole week and did not want to have anything more to do with figure skating or gelato for a long time. So, Giovanni went alone. When he got to the ticket office the lady told him that he would need a special escort to his seats. He was “backstage” then front and center a special guest of Emily who had box seats reserved for him and whomever he wanted. He was given a tour of the dressing rooms and where the skaters waited and stretched before their performances. He was then sent to Emily’s dressing room where she was in her mental cocoon. Giovanni heard loud rock music coming for the vicinity and opened the door. There was Emily head banging and “rocking out” to Def Leppard.

“Gio… you made it!” She turned down the volume on her stereo. She ran over to him and gave him a hug. “Don’t suppose you brought any product with you? Kidding, you are more than just gelato.” With her skates on she was much taller than before. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Hope that’s ok, I know that’s the standard greeting where you’re from.” Giovanni just smiled.

“Yes, I bring you pistachio, your favorite.” He pulled out a small lunch bag filled with ice packs and fresh pistachio gelato. “I read about it on the internet; you love pistachio gelato.”

“I do very much love it…” her voice trailing off as she tried a small sample. “You can just taste the love. You put all that into iced cream… amazing. I can’t have too much right now though; I must skate today.”

“I thought you are already winner?” Giovanni said, confused.

“Oh, this is an exhibition, this is not a competition. These are my favorite because there are no rules I can do whatever I want!”

“Rules? There are rules to this ice ballet?”

“Yes, you must do so many different types of elements… I mean steps. There are many, but today, I can just skate. ‘Pour Some Sugar’ seems like a good one don’t you think?”

“You are going to do this song out there?” Giovanni was really confused now; all he remembers is ever hearing classical music for these types of things.

“Gio… it’s not all Beethoven and Carmon anymore. We have really branched out.”

“I guess. I remember this song when I was a kid. I guess it is about sugar and you love gelato.”

“Silly Gio… it’s about love. Well kinda…” Emily smirked. “Well, I have to get out there soon. Wish me luck.” She gave him another kiss on the cheek and made her way out of the room.

“Luck!” Giovanni said in a loud whisper. Giovanni made his way to his box seats and watched the skating.

Then came the end of the show, the last performance. “Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, your new World Champion, from the United States of America, Emily Norcross.” Everyone rose and clapped and cheered as she entered the ice. Then came the famous chords of Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ and the place went nuts.

“Do you think she choose this one for her little gelato friend?” Johnny said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I don’t think we have seen her do this one before. Doubt she just made it up now.” Tara replied.

When it was over both TV announcers were in awe. “That was the best exhibition skate I have ever seen!” Tara exclaimed. Johnny was in full agreement on that as well. Emily picked up the flowers and plushies from the ice until she could hold no more. Tears ran down her face as she skated toward the exit. She gave out hugs to all the participants. Then made her way to her dressing room.

Gio was just about ready to leave when he was escorted back to Emily’s dressing room. Rita and Emily were there chatting when Giovanni walked up. “We were just talking about you. Thought you got lost.” Emily brought back the schoolgirl’s voice. “Here is a check for all your troubles. You make the best gelato in the world Gio. You should share that gift with more than just the people around here.” She handed him a check for $1500, gave him another hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, I cannot accept this. You paid for your gelatos, you owe me nothing, in fact I am in owing to you,” he said to her humbly.

“No, you keep that. That is for you, and Phillepe, and your shop, and your now world-famous gelato.”

-3-

The little shop on 5th street soon expanded to add a small storefront at the Mall of America. Giovanni had used the $1500 and notoriety to hire a couple employees and was soon making his gelato for customers from around the world that might have never gotten to downtown St. Paul. He would never have the traffic or popularity of that March in 2024, but his business was doing very well. On a couple of occasions there was talk of taking on Emily as a partner, but Giovanni wasn’t sure he wanted his business to be much bigger.

Emily would send him messages and cards from all her tour stops and competitions. They would swap recipe ideas and of course, Gio would send her the delicious treat that she loved so much. In each package he would send her would be a small business card with a little note of encouragement, or a poem, or some other such thing. She would put those little cards on her vanity at her apartment in Denver where she trained.

Gio would watch her competitions on a streaming service. He learned a lot about figure skating and would love the back and forth between Johnny and Tara on National broadcasts. He was easily Emily’s biggest fan.

Emily’s infectious attitude and lighthearted way soon won over even the toughest of critics and though she did not win every competition she was in she was doing it for the love of the sport. She would go out and speak to groups of athletes about her attitude. Even though they were considered rivals on the ice, Emily and Kirsten Thompson, her only real competition, were best of friends. Soon, Kirsten started to adopt her attitude based on conversations the two would have. WWED, also really took off! Reluctantly, Emily turned it into a small business with books and motivational webinars.

Through all of that, Emily and Gio always stayed in touch.

Emily lost a closely contested World Championships the following year in Berlin Germany losing to Kirsten. Emily was not only gracious in losing, but she was also genuinely happy for her friend. Many praised the two for their competitive friendship. The gear up for the Olympics was going to be huge.

-4-

Emily looked out of the window from her hospital bed. She was still very sore from the knee surgery. Most people in her situation would probably be depressed, but not Emily. She did not care that much about missing the Olympics. She would be Kirsten’s biggest cheerleader come March when the world would have their eyes on Milan; when figure skating shined it’s brightest. Rita came in with a package. “For you, from Gio.” Emily opened it up and found a new flavor in the box, Lemon, Chocolate, Crumble. There was more than just one of his usual business card notes this time. It was a letter from Gio he was going to Italy for the Olympics to sell his gelatos at one of the venues. He was so sad to hear that she would not be there. While there, he is going to enter the world gelato festival held in Florence in the summer. He had a couple of recipes he was going to try, and this was one of them. She tried a taste and soon tears rolled down her face.

“Rita, this is the best one yet,” she said holding back the flood of emotions she was feeling at the time. “He puts so much love into these. He has to win.” Rita tried a taste and agreed.

“The sun shines down on the silver skate and the ice, but the beauty of the day is not won there, it is won in the heart,” the small card read. With a new salutation, “Love, Gio.”

Emily was now flooded with emotions; she was not one to be sad and if she ever was, she would just smile and go on. This however was a little different, her sadness was not from being sad, but from being unable to join in the happiness of her friends Giovanni and Kirsten in their triumphs.

-5-

The pretty, but slightly disheveled, young lady approached the storefront. She was short, and petite. Her complexion pale, face freckled and her red hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed in a grey running suit, Gucci, scrolled across the front. Her fancy Nike shoes squeaked a little as she walked around the mall. As she approached the counter, she recognized the man almost immediately. He had aged little since they last saw each other. He was still tall with dark hair and dark eyes. He had his usual 5 o’clock shadow. The apron he wore had, “Giovanni’s World-Famous Gelato” in script across the chest. On the wall was a trophy case with several awards and metals in it. There were about a half dozen pictures in there too, famous people eating this world-famous gelato. There were actresses Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway. There were actors Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. There was Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Jimmy Kimmel. There was singer Taylor Swift. Then there was one that caught her eye, it wasn’t a picture but a copy of a newspaper article with Giovanni and Emily Norcross, the 2024 Women’s World Figure Skating Champion. Of all the items in the case this one was not signed.

“Welcome to Giovanni’s, how can I help you?” Giovanni still had a bit of his Italian accent.

“Two scoops of the ‘Emily Norcross’ please,” the young lady said in an almost childlike voice.

“You are going to love it; it has won many awards!” Giovanni’s voice bursting with pride.

“Inspired by the figure skater I assume?” the young lady retorted.

“Absolutely, she is a big fan. She is the one who believed and really made us famous,” he replied.

“Oh, Gio, I am sure you would have still been famous,” she blushed a little.

“Scusi!?”

Then in perfect Italian the young lady says, “Il sole splende sul pattino d'argento e sul ghiaccio, ma la bellezza del giorno non si conquista lì; si conquista nel cuore.”
The sun shines down on the silver skate and the ice, but the beauty of the day is not won there, it is won in the heart.

Tears well up in both their eyes, “My Emily!” is all Giovanni could muster.

“Gio. My dear friend.”

Fin