Stay (Completed)

Chapter 4- Ice Cream Anybody?

Maria's POV:

Lunch with Evan's family was a lot more fun than anything I could have imagined. And the food was amazing even though it couldn't have been any simpler. His dad made hot ham and cheese sandwiches where he put them in the skillet and then put butter on the bread. After melting the cheddar cheese and warming the ham they were perfectly prepared. We sat down at the kitchen table that had a beautiful view of the ocean out back.

"So Maria, have you lived in McClellanville your whole life?" Mr. Thompson asked.

"Yes I have. My grandparents moved here from Italy and opened the grocery store here in town."

"Oh! Mancini's Grocery? That's where I went for the food. The ham is delicious!" Mr. Thompson exclaimed.

"Yes that's the one, my dad took it over a few years back but my grandpa, his dad, still works there every once in a while." I explained.

"So a family business huh? Well I tried to get Evan here to go into the family business but he won't go for it."

"Dad stop, I'm sure Maria here doesn't want to hear about this." Evan pleaded with his dad. I wonder what Evan doesn’t want me to know about.

"What is the family business that Evan doesn't want to do?" I asked Mr. Thompson as I glanced over to Evan with a smile on my lips.

He just rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling as if praying this wasn’t going to happen.

"Well I'm glad you asked Maria! You see, my grandfather owned a hardware store up in Wisconsin. He was the only one in about a 50 mile radius who had the parts for tractors, so naturally he had a lot of business. Once my father was 18, he started working for his dad and that kept the business going for years. Now, I originally wanted to go to college and get a degree so I got accepted to the University of Chicago. However after my sophomore year there, my dad had a massive heart attack which left unable to work as much as he used to. Anyway, he called me and asked if I was able to come back home and take over the business. It was a tough decision since I loved college and I was studying to be a doctor of all things, but I went back home and took over the business from him. In the end it was the best decision I had ever made…I ended up getting back together with my high school sweetheart, eventually married her and...yeah I basically started my family in my hometown where my parents still lived. Now back to Evan here, I want him to take it over so I can retire but he is set on going to college. He says he wants to be a teacher." John finished explaining and looked over at Evan, who was staring right back at him.

"Well…either an elementary school teacher or a pediatrician…one of those two.” Evan added, glancing back over at me.

Wow…he wants to work with kids. That’s really sweet of him.

“So you like kids huh?” I asked Evan, trying to figure out more about him.

“Yeah…I really connect with them and I figure if I have to spend the rest of my life doing something then I might as well do something that matters ya know?” Evan told me. I could see the sincerity in his eyes. He was completely serious. There was no joking around side of him I had seen all day. This was the real him.

“Well I actually volunteer at the summer camps the YMCA holds every summer. They are always looking for new volunteers. Would you be interested in helping out with me?” I asked Evan. If we worked there together, we would be able to get to know each other. And so far, he seemed like a really great guy.

“Really? That would be awesome! I’d love to help out!” Evan smiled at me from across the table.

“Cool. I’ll call the office tomorrow and let them know you can. The camp starts next Monday by the way.”