Now THAT’S amore As I was walking back from the store, I fell on a sheet of ice. Here comes this man with a scruffy beard to help me up. I honestly took one look at him, and fell in love. I knew he wasn’t from my neighborhood, and realized he didn’t speak English. I said, ‘thank you’, and he left. I would never talk to my father about boys, but I figured he’d know who the man was. I told my father that I thought I had met the man that I’d marry. With the straightest of faces, my father told me I was insane, and told me to get lost. A few weeks later, I noticed the same man again, but talking to my best friend’s mother, Santina. I knew now I had it in the bag! I telephoned Santina, and asked her how she knew the man. She said he was here visiting with another friend from Italy. His name was Giuseppe. I told her I wanted to meet him, and she said she’d take care of it. A week later, Santina called and told me I needed to return her typewriter that I had borrowed—but to make sure that I looked hot. I was so incredibly happy that I got myself all ready—made sure my shirt was extra tight (wink wink)—and showed up at Santina’s house. And there was Giuseppe, with his friend, Vito, having espresso. We were formally introduced, and we made lots of conversation. At the end of the evening, we said goodnight, and I went home. He didn’t ask for my number, but I had assumed he would ask Santina for it. 14 | BOROMAG.COM | FEBRUARY 2014 A week went by, and I was at work when suddenly I got a call from him. From that night on, Giuseppe would pick me up in front of Rockefeller Center every night after work. I introduced him to my parents, and they fell in love with him. We went to the Valentine’s dance as a couple, and that Sunday he surprised me with a phone call from his parents from Italy. I realized he was serious about us. One night at the movies, we went to see Moonstruck. And during the part where Cher is proposed to, he looked at me and repeated, in Italian, “Will you marry me?” No ring. No flowers. No anything except his words. And because I loved him I didn’t care about anything else. I told my parents we wanted to get married, and we didn’t want to wait a year or two. They thought I was crazy. But I knew I wanted this man to be the one I woke up to every morning, and someone I could see myself growing old with. So in a nutshell, we met in January of 1988. Giuseppe’s vacation to America became a permanent move, and we got married in October of that same year. 25 years later, we have four amazing sons. There have been many ups and downs. But here we are, still waking up together. And hoping to grow as old as possible together. Ornella Trattoria Italiana is located at 29-17 23rd Ave. You can visit their website at www.ornellatrattoria.com. CHARACTERS For our Valentine’s Day issue, we asked Ornella Viterale to share the story of how she met the love of her life, Giuseppe Viterale. Giuseppe and Ornella are the charismatic, charming, and all around lovable owners of Ornella Trattoria Italiana in Astoria. Giuseppe is also the chef, and their sons are often the servers. Story Ornella Viterale
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