Diary of the Sixteenth

Part 2 - January 16th, 2003

That past month was torture. I saw Rico every day after that business meeting and the flirting was relentless, but never around my father, he would never allow it. I couldn't get him out of my mind, he was my shadow, following me everywhere. I needed a break. So I called a few friends to go out. We walked over to the town centre and went into some nearby shops. I hoped that it would distract me long enough to cool down. After an hour of shopping I was worn out. Although it was barely mid-day, my bags had started to become quite heavy, so we decided to get a table in the nearest cafe for some well deserved brunch.

"Bastianelli's" was the name, it had just opened up last month and was proving to be very popular so why not give it a try.

"Ciao, I know it's busy, but do you know if there are any tables left for us?" I asked the man at the door.

"Usually we are packed solid at this time but I guess it's your lucky day!" We thanked the man and followed him to our table.

"Come up to the register when you know what you want." The man said whilst pointing over at the menu. We sat down and talked for a bit and looked through the drink options. I hadn't slept very much the night before, and it showed so unlike usual I longingly stared at the variety of coffees. Next to the till there was a large glass cabinet full of an array of cakes and pastries. I got to the front of the line and realised the man behind the counter looked strangely familiar. It couldn't be, could it?

"Buongiorno, what can I get you today?" he said without looking up. I would recognise that deep voice anywhere. Enrico De Bastianelli. How had I not realised? I mean the cafe is named after his family name for god's sake.

"Umm, please can I have three cafe lattes and two espressos, oh and two of those." I said wearily pointing at one of the baked goods.

"Yeah, I'll get that for you now and I'll bring the drinks over when they are ready." he said quickly.

"Thank you." As soon as the words left my mouth he looked up for the first time in this entire interaction.

"Maria? Fancy seeing you here, how are you my darling, it's been too long." My friends' heads snapped upright, shocked that a man as attractive as Rico even knew my name. He walked around the counter and gave me a hug.

"It's only been a day Rico!" A said, rolling my eyes.

"Well a day without you isn't much of a day at all now is it Roma?" He said smirking as all my friends' jaws hit the floor.

I smirked and let out a small laugh. When I returned back to the table I was bombarded with questions about this mystery man.

"Who was that?!" My friends all whisper-screamed in excitement, whilst all of them leaned back to try and get another glimpse of my handsome admirer. I spent the next 10 minutes being grilled about every little detail of Enrico and his life I knew. How we met, every encounter we'd ever had, and that ridiculous nickname. When I say everything I mean everything. Soon enough Rico came over to the table with our drinks. As he passed all of them out all my friends were giggling at the thought of him and I.

He gave me my drink last and on the plate was a small note which read, '6 o'clock later?'. My friends burst with excitement and I was practically forced into saying yes. It's not like I didn't want to anyway. Once we finished our drinks, we asked for the bill. Rico rushed over.

"How much do we owe y-?" I said getting cut off.

"Oh please, it's on the house Roma," Rico interrupted.

"No, that's too nice Rico I can't let you do th-" I was cut off again, but this time by my friends. One quickly pulled me aside and covered my mouth loudly thanking Rico.

"Dont worry about it" He answered, smirking at my friend's actions. "So, about that date?" he smirked. I could tell my friends were flipping out behind me but all I could focus on was him and his words.

"I'll take your blushing as a yes?"

"Yeah" I laughed, "That would be great." I replied almost too enthusiastically.

"Perfect, I'll pick you up later then gorgeous. He said and then kissed me on the cheek and returned to the till.

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AFTER THE DATE

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I've never really been in many relationships, I don't like to admit it but that's the truth. Nonetheless, this date was surreal. He picked me up a few houses down from mine to make sure my father didn't find out. He brought me the prettiest bouquet of flowers, magnolias. My father used to get me those, when my mother was still around. "Marias Magnolias" he would say to me. At the time we couldn't afford much so it was only on special occasions. It made me forget what was actively going on. I wore a long, strapless ruby red dress, however eventually the cold breeze from winter got to me. Enrico, being the gentleman he is, noticed and tried to give me his jacket. Unlike Me, he had realised how cold it would be, to be fair we were in the middle of january."Put this on, don't be difficult." he said with a definitive tone.

"No", I replied, "I should have thought to bring one myself". But he didn't care and put his jacket around me anyways. So there we were, a cold afternoon walking side by side through endless paths and parks. A mismatch of outfits, we hadn't thought to check what eachother was wearing. I always hated long walks so every step in my heels was a wreck. Even with them on I was still way shorter than him. I didn't mind it though. Every now and then out of the corner of my eye I saw him looking me up and down with an admiring gaze, which was probably much more than I deserved. Finally, after what seemed like hours we arrived at our destination.

It was like a fairytale. Large trees kept the harsh wind at bay, and fairy lights strung from tree to tree kept the cosy atmosphere. In the middle was a small table laid with a white lace tablecloth and a large golden candelabra. It was obvious he had spent a lot of time planning this. I couldn't help but smile thinking about it. On a plate in the middle was a margarita pizza. He pulled out a chair for me and it didn't take long for our endless discussions to begin. When we first started to eat, I was surprised to discover he had made it himself. Something so delicately crafted made by someone involved with the mafia. He stared at me anxiously as I took my first bite, I'd never seen him act like this.

"Is it okay darling?" he repeated, "Please tell me if anything is wrong with it."

"It's perfect." I said reassuringly.

The rest of the night was a blur. I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard, it was about time. As the hours ticked by, the light slowly depleted. We decided to leave before it got too dark and before my father realised. As we walked back he still hadn't grown tired of my constant thoughts and ideas. When we arrived he gave me a small kiss as if we were in an old love song. This was the moment when Enrico De Bastianelli entered my heart, permanently, and he's never left since. I'm in bed now but thinking about it still makes me kick my feet and smile. I know it's early but the limerence I feel for him might be endless.