SFTR: "Don't Be Fake Nice to Real Me"

Stories From The Road: "Sophie" makes her first appearance in Florence.

So there I was, with just a few hours to burn in before leaving Florence, Italy to train it back to Rome for just an overnight, then head on to Greece. Not many places were open at that time in the morning, and sitting in my hotel room would be a major disappointment to my friend Lucy of While You Were Sleeping fame.

I needed to acquire more euros before heading to the train, but decided to find an ATM after visiting a cathedral I’d not yet been to. It looked important and beautiful and its plaza like a good spot to people watch while I contemplated my life, wrote, and waited for it to open.

Please note the solo woman just to the left of the right door. She’s a character in this Florence scene.

Enjoying some sunshine—it was January and Florence was chilly—I saw a women coming toward me with many, many bracelets upon her person. “Oh boy, here we go,” I thought.

I first became acquainted with this ruse in my teenage years from a guy named Ricochet. Unforgettable name, am I right? His lon…