Just for the briefest of moments, 94-year-old Sergio Napoleoni's face changed: his lips pressed into a tiny cheeky smile and his eyes glinted as he sat in the morning sun.
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That nano-second made it clear his 80km trip from his aged care facility at Culburra to his granddaughter's garage at Lake South was no accident.
It was an escape.
Not that the Napoleonis have any qualms with the facility. Quite the opposite.
It's just that Sergio didn't want to be there.
When Sergio's wife Elvira died late last year he moved to the IRT facility at Culburra Beach.
Thing is, his granddaughter Michelle explained, his heart is not there.
So on June 13 he made his way north. It was, he said, "his mission".
Sergio left Culburra Beach about 10am. He was found, snuggled up in Michelle's garage at 1.30am the following morning.
Exact timings are a bit unclear but it's believed Sergio, a lithe and mobile nonogenarian, walked for some time before accepting a ride and ending up at Bomaderry train station.
He was next spotted at Shellharbour Square and then Windang, before being seen at a Flinders address mid-afternoon.
After that the trail went cold.
"We knew in the morning he was missing. It was a stressful day," Michelle said.
As night descended, NSW Police issued a plea for help to find Sergio after 9pm. Social media did its thing, but more on that later.
As it turns out Sergio was literally under Michelle and her family's feet - in their ground-floor garage.
"I went to the garage and lay down," Sergio said. "I put the (long)board down and found a blanket.
"I had to use my imagination."
Michelle's partner Alex found Sergio in the small hours of June 14. The mature-age manhunt ended with tears of relief all around.
It wasn't all down to imagination though as Sergio had found his way back to his beloved family.
Having immigrated from Italy 60 years ago, the Napoleonis made their home at Port Kembla then Warilla.
Like their parents the couple's three boys were immersed in the community.
In 1966 Sergio became the first coach of what was Warrawong Azzuri which morphed into Port Kembla Football Club (PKFC).
And it was that connection - laid dormant for almost 50 years - which has been reignited.
Among the masses who saw Sergio's photo on social media were lifelong PKFC stalwarts the Cazzollis - Maria and her brother-in-law Albano.
Albano, a club founder, former president and life member, played under Sergio's stewardship.
"We also worked together at Open Hearth No.2 at the steelworks," he explained. "He has football running through his veins."
Maria, intrinsically involved in the club for decades and who still helps out, remembered Sergio from producing the 50th anniversary publication.
"I knew the name. My nephew called me about it and we just knew we had to find him."
On Thursday, two weeks to the day after Sergio's big adventure, the trio were reunited at Michelle's Lake South home.
The Cazzollis showered Sergio with club colours - a coat, a scarf, a hat and more. Conversations started in English soon turned Italian, and emotions spilled over.
The homecoming will be complete on Sunday when Sergio returns to Wetherall Park.
And it won't be his last visit as he's in throes of moving into his own place around the corner from Michelle and her family.
"It was meant to be," Maria said.
Janine Graham
Onetime sports reporter, chief-of-staff, editor and national digital news editor. Email me: janine.graham@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Onetime sports reporter, chief-of-staff, editor and national digital news editor. Email me: janine.graham@austcommunitymedia.com.au
