His Own People

In the vaulted palm‑room of Rome’s Grand Continental Hotel Magnifique, a young American poet finds himself surrounded by an elegant tea‑hour crowd that seems to glide like sea‑creatures beneath a green glow. The glittering uniforms, the aristocratic gentlemen with white moustaches, and the anemone‑like ladies captivate him, confirming a lifelong dream of stepping into the “finest essence of Old‑World society.” For a moment he feels he has finally reached the people he has long imagined, the world he has read about in school.

Back home in Cranston, Ohio, his life had been modest, marked by awkward social outings and verses written for a coming‑out tea. Now, amid the perfume‑laden air of the Magnifique, his old poems echo in his mind, and a silver‑engraved invitation to a future gathering stirs both hope and nervous anticipation. As he savors the memory of the night’s splendor, he senses that this encounter may reshape the course of his restless, yearning heart.