Ari was so excited about Luca coming for dinner. He was fascinating to her, in a bad boy sort of way. She wanted to talk to him some more, learn more about him, his family, etc. She would have a hard time concentrating the rest of the day. She felt like a kid waiting for her birthday party!
She applied a light make up, put her hair up in a high pony tail and went to her closet in search of attire. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, zoning out, thinking about him and this evening. She smiled and said to herself 'get it together Arienne!' She finally decided on stone washed skinny jeans, black Chuck Taylor's, a white long sleeved T shirt that read "I (heart) New York" on the front in red and her black leather motorcycle jacket. Pleased with her appearance she grabbed her stuff and headed out the door.
She smiled and waved at her doorman as she exited the building and headed down the street to her first meeting. She was completely unaware of the dark Tahoe that was following her. The driver was talking on a two-way radio to a disembodied voice on the other side. He waited for instructions. Those instructions were just follow, observe, gather information and report back.
The Tahoe driver was not happy with these instructions, he was hired to do a job and sitting around 'gathering information' is not what he wanted to do with his time. He flicked his cigarette out of the window and continued to follow his mark. He was being paid well for his time and decided he could wait it out for the coin that was being deposited into his account weekly.
Ari arrived at Cafe' Italia, her new favorite place. All of the outside tables seemed full today. She couldn't blame the patrons, the weather was gorgeous today. She looked around for a moment and then found her meeting, John and Edith, the cute elderly couple she had met yesterday. Ari clutched her bag a little tighter and she walked towards them. John stood up, like the gentleman he was, kissed Ari lightly on the cheek and pulled her chair out. Ari hugged Edith and gave her a peck on the cheek. Ari's eyes sparkled as she began to talk to the couple.
"I couldn't quit thinking about the two of you, your story," she said. "I wanted to do something extra special for you. I took about 12 pictures of you yesterday. I made this album to hold your pictures and I want you to have them, all of them, plus this" and she paused and handed them a wrapped present.
John and Edith just looked at her puzzled as Ari began to clap her hands like a little girl on Christmas. "Open it!" she said excitedly. The couple tore into the wrapping on the package and then stopped.
Edith put her hand up to her mouth and said every so softly "Oh my" and she looked at John who had a single tear sliding down his cheek. Ari had captured that perfect moment when John slid the piece of hair away from Edith's face and tucked it behind her ear. It was a beautiful 8 x 10 portrait in an antique silver frame. Ari had picked it up on one of her antiquing adventures. It was like the frame was made for the picture. The picture was up close and personal, like the couple had taken the portrait themselves.
They both grabbed Ari from either side and engulfed her in the most gratifying hug she had ever experienced. Sitting and talking about each of the photos, what was going through Ari's mind when she took them, etc. made time fly by. It was 1 o'clock already. She explained that she was having a friend over for dinner and was going to go but she really enjoyed talking with them and would love to make a ritual out of it. She told them that inside the album she had put her business card with her cell phone and address if the couple ever found themselves over by 94th.
Feeling completely sated by that encounter, Ari hailed a cab, climbed in and went off to shop for her dinner with Luca. Speaking of Luca, checked her phone. There was a single text message from him with just a smiley emoji. She laughed. How unlike him to send something like that but she wasn't going to just shrug it off. She would take anything and everything like that. She wanted to talk to him. Her heart was pounding as her finger paused above his contact information. He practically told her it was okay to call him anytime. She let out a breath and pushed the button. It only rang twice before he picked up. He sounded muffled like he was finishing up saying something to someone else. Then he came on the line.
"Hello gorgeous" his voice sounding like melted chocolate.
"Hello yourself" she answered back. "I'm sorry to bother you but I never got to discuss dinner with you. I'm heading to the market now. I make a mean Italian if that's all right with you?" she questioned. He laughed.
"So what do you make that's so mean?" he questioned playfully. He was in a great mood.
"Well" Ari started. "I make lasagna roll ups in a bechamel sauce. Now I know what you are going to say. Bechamel is not Italian, it's French, but I add fresh marinara to it and make it a lovely shade of pink. I make a mixture of Italian sausage, prosciutto, fresh spinach, ricotta cheese, garlic, parm cheese, mix it all together and put it on homemade lasagna noodles. Roll those up and lay them on top of the sauce. Sprinkle some more parm and fresh mozzarella cheese on top and bake in the oven. How does that sound?" Had she given information overload?
"You had me at fresh marinara!" he said laughing. "Sounds great, in fact I'm starving! Do you need me to bring anything?"
Ari thought for a moment and then answered, "Would you bring some good Italian wine? Might as well go themed all the way!"
They talked a moment more, said their goodbyes as the cab pulled up at the market. She paid the cab fare and went inside to shop.
Tonight was going to be amazing! It just had to be!
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Hers To Love (complete) Cover By @army_ss841
RomanceA 25 year old woman moves from Texas to pursue her dream of being a photographer. She had always hoped that her career path would lead her to New York, her fantasy since a little girl. The Big Apple! Little did she know that with one click of he...
