NAOMI
"Yes, please. That would be great," Juliet replied. "I'll take a sprite, no ice."
Beth took out a small notepad, and a pen from a pocket in the apron she was wearing. She wrote down Juliet's request, then looked at me expectantly.
"Right, um... I'll have a sweet tea, please."
Beth wrote it down. "With lemon or without lemon?"
"Oh... With."
Beth smiled.
"Are you two ready to order yet?"
We both shook our heads at the same time.
"No problem. I'll go ahead and get your drinks for you. You two ladies take your time looking at the menu."
Beth smiled again before walking off.
Juliet sighed deeply, "I still haven't decided!"
I looked over the appetizer section quickly, and chose something for us.
"We should do the spinach, and artichoke dip, with the homemade corn chips," I told her.
"Yeah!" she said eagerly. "That sounds yummy! What is that? Like an appetizer?"
I nodded.
"Cool. That's settled... But what about dinner?"
"What if we...each pick something we both like and share it?"
The words left my lips so smoothly, I was shocked at myself! Where did this boost of confidence come from?! Maybe it was the fact that I felt closer to Juliet knowing that we both shared familial pressures. I wasn't sure, but I liked the feeling.
She nodded eagerly. "Okay! That sounds fun!"
I smiled. We both focused on picking something out, although, telling her about my home life was still on my mind. After Beth came back with our drinks, we continued to look over the menu. I finally decided on something basic: chicken parm. Juliet decided on a fish meal that came with seasoned rice and another side of her choosing.
We flagged Beth down and told her what we wanted. She said she put the order in, so now we just had to wait. I took that chance to speak to Juliet about my own insecurities with my family...
"Juliet?"
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted you to know that... I wanted to tell you... I..." I muttered.
She was watching me closely.
"I told you, Naomi...we don't have to—"
"But I want to! I... I want you to know me as deeply as I want to know you," I told her. "That will only happen if I talk to you, so..." She waited patiently for me to continue. I took a deep breath. "I have always felt like I'm in my cousin's shadow."
Juliet's eyes were full of emotion as she listened to me.
"For my entire life I saw Calinida as prettier than me, and of course she's always been thinner than me. She was always so popular in our schools growing up and I barely had any friends. I think I had one friend, and she ended up moving away! Even the teachers at school
We fell silent, waiting on our food, and we stayed like that for several moments before she spoke.
"I'm really happy that you said yes."
I gazed at her.
"To this date... I... Since the first time I met you, I wanted this. To be in your life as more than a friend."
YOU ARE READING
Falling For Juliet
Short StoryGrowing up for Naomi Warner was nothing less than a nightmare. She was bullied by her peers, and her home life wasn't always easy. On top of that, Naomi was very different from other people. In fact, she wasn't human at all. She was a shapeshifter...
