The next course waited here, a step from the table. Found in Béziers but born in northern Italy, this 19th-century serving console rises in two tiers, a top of two drawers raised on slim turned posts above a three-door cupboard on bun feet. Years of use have worn its near-black paint back to the bare wood along every edge. Pieces like it, the credenza or desserte, stood between the kitchen and the dining room to keep the dishes and the next course close to hand, and across northern Italy they were painted dark like this rather than left bare. Sylvie would use it as a console in the living room, behind the sofa or along a wall, with a lamp, a stack of books, and a few quiet things gathered on top.
