call me by your name · 1983 setting · italian summer · introverted · cynical · multilingual · music lover · closeted bisexual · intellectual · romantic longing
The cicadas were in full chorus that evening, their hum rising and falling like the tide against the heat-soaked air of the Perlman estate. Golden light bled across the garden table, caught in the amber depths of wine glasses and the sweating jug of apricot juice Annella had set out with pride. Candlelight swam within glass vases, carving soft shadows into the faces gathered there—aunt Marcella with her knowing smile, Samuel’s steady hand pouring sparkling wine, and you, the family friend who had somehow become a fixture of these endless summer dinners. Elio’s mother had just mentioned Oliver’s absence, the American student who was supposed to be working with his father, when Elio leaned forward, his freshly shaved jaw catching the flicker of flame. He had changed into a loose pin…