Old Me

2 - The Meet Cute

My Indeed search was interrupted yet again by a whining Cat.

"Please," Cat begged, drawing out the word dramatically.

"Okay, fine," I sighed.

I closed the browser and picked Cat up, jutting my hip out so she could rest on it and she laid her head on my shoulder.

I walked over to Si, who was sitting in a chair next to Michael and Ale chatting and tapped her on her shoulder. She finished her sentence and looked up at me.

"What's up?" She asked sticking her tongue out at Cat.

"Cat wants to go get some gelato down the street, so I'll be back. Can you watch the front?"

"Sure," she said nodding.

"You want anything?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"Ale?"

"Um—no. I'm good."

"Okay," I said feeling awkward about not asking Michael if he wanted anything.

"I'd love one," Michael said without hesitation as if he could read my mind.

"Oh—okay. Um, what do you want?"

"Hmm. Surprise me," he said smiling playfully.

I walked away and turned back to give Si a bug-eyed expression to relay my shock at Michael's behavior.

We made our way to the gelato shop at the end of the street and waited in line. Little Italy was filled with kids and families as dinner time approached. It was much cooler now that the sun was starting to set over the ocean, and the breeze was stronger flicking the ends of my long brown hair.

Cat scrambled through the crowd to approach the glass and choose which flavors she wanted. When the other customers dispersed I did the same, trying to find something that I thought he would like.

"Ehi, ciao stellina, what'll it be today?" Frank asked leaning over the counter to talk to Cat.

"Mmm. Pistachio and chocolate."

"Okay, and for you Bea?" He asked as he scooped the gelato into a small cup for Cat.

"Hmm, surprise me," I said smiling to myself as I remembered Michael's confident request.

"Okay," he said grabbing a larger cup and filling it with gelato. He handed both the cups to me with a small spoon and I gave an excited Cat hers.

"7.45," he said standing at the register.

I handed him the cash and accepted the change.

"Grazie mille," I called out as I guided Cat outside.

"Ciao!"

Walking back into the shop, Cat raced over to the computer and climbed onto the stool.

"Be careful, don't spill, yeah?"

"Mmhm," she mumbled her mouth full.

I walked over to Michael and handed him his cup of gelato. Since he was laying down he rested the cup on his chest.

"Thanks, how much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it, think of it as repayment for having to sit here with this idiot for 2 hours," I said nodding my head towards Ale.

"Hey! I am not an idiot." He squinted his eyes at me in distaste.

"Whatever," I shrugged rolling my eyes sarcastically.

Michael placed a large scoop of the gelato into his mouth and his eyes shut slowly as he savored it.

"Fuck—" he opened his eyes suddenly with fear, "Shit—Sorry—" he swore as he turned his head to look towards Cat.

"It's fine, her uncle's a potty mouth," Siena said laughing.

"Sorry, um, I meant to say damn this is really good. What flavor is this?"

"Oh," I laughed, "pear and ricotta."

He nodded enthusiastically pulling the spoon out of his mouth slowly.

"Hey, I think I'm done if you wanna get up and take a look," Ale said setting the tattoo gun down. He wiped at Michael's arm before taking his gloves off and standing up.

Michael held his gelato carefully as he sat up and walked over to the mirror across from us.

"Damn, this is sick, thanks mate!" He said smiling with gratitude.

"Yeah, no worries, whenever you're ready I'll get you all wrapped up and ready to go."

"Yeah, cool," he said looking in the mirror and raising his arm in different directions to see the whole tattoo.

Ale wrapped him up and I took him to the counter to pay.

I lifted Cat's chair and moved her out of the way of the computer so I could use it.

"Hey! I was watching Sofia the First!" Cat complained.

"And you can finish watching it when I'm done," I said shaking my head.

"What flavors you got there?" Michael asked Cat who was poking at the last of her gelato.

"Pistachio and chocolate," she said licking her lips. She had a ring of chocolate around her mouth and I cringed at her messiness.

"Looks good," he said eyeing her almost empty cup with a smile.

"It is," she said matter-of-factly.

He chuckled and I broke up the conversation to tell him how much he owed.

After signing the receipt he thanked me again for the gelato and waved goodbye to everyone. I noticed the time and smiled with relief. My shift was over.

"Hey, Si," I shouted across the now empty shop, "you still coming over tonight?"

"Yeah, can I drive with you?"

"Sure," I said taking Cat's empty gelato cup and dropping it into the trash bin next to my feet.

"Let's go Cat, you can watch tv when we get home," I said holding my hand out for her to grab.

"Bye Ale," I said as we passed him cleaning up his station.

"Bye, see you tomorrow."

We walked through to the kitchen and Si said she'd catch up.

"Just gonna go grab my purse from upstairs."

"Ok, we'll be in the car."

When Si joined us in the car, Cat and I were singing along to Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" with more enthusiasm than needed, especially considering the fact that I sound like a tone-deaf llama. We all laughed once it ended and I turned the radio down as I pulled the car out of the lot.