My Country Paradise

Chapter 5: La Bella Vita

A couple minutes later after I had changed into something nicer, a blue floral skirt that flowed down to my ankles and a white, ruffled top, I headed back to where Andrew was busilly discusing something with my aunt. He stood in the kitchen next to Aunt Darcy. He hadn't noticed me approaching yet. I came closer and stood on the other side of the counter. He stopped when he saw me and smiled. I smiled back and looked at Aunt Darcy.

"Well, I wanted to ask if it was okay if-"

Aunt Darcy stopped me mid sentence, "Andrew has already explained everything."

"Oh." I looked from her to Andrew. Aunt Darcy was smiling knowingly and Andrew winked at me. I blushed.

"Ready to go?" Andrew asked and walked around the counter to stand beside me. I nodded eagerly and he whispered something in my ear that made me blush further.

"You look beautiful." I pretended I hadn't heard him, even though he knew I did and walked quickly out the front door. "Hey what's the big hurry?" he called after me. I managed a shrug and waited for him to catch up. He took my hand, almost forcefully, and led me around to the passenger side of his large, red truck. Andrew opened the door and helped me into the truck. I watched him as he walked around the other side, his face revealing something of worry or nervousness; I couldn't tell. I looked at him worriedly as he started the truck. He put it in reverse and backed out onto the dusty gravel road.

I attempted to start a conversation, which was really unusual for me, "So how long have you lived here."

"All my life."

"That sounds great, I would have loved to grow up here."

"I would have loved for you to grow up here too," he said, giving me a sideways look and a small smile. I looked out the window until the heat passed from my face. "What's it like. You know, to be in a city with lots of people and tons of friends to make." Curiousity brightened his eyes.

I looked at him before mumbling to myself, "Horrible." To my horror, he caught that and reached for my hand.

"What's horrible about it? Please tell me Alli," he begged, eyes pleading.

"There is lots of friends to be made...but whether you'll make them or not is one thing," I said sadly, before contradicting myself, "but you'll make so many friends, all the girls will fall all over you." He frowned, thinking hard.

"I wouldn't like that."

"You wouldn't?"

"No, the only person I want 'falling over me' is this girl I know." I frowned, dissapointment causing me to frown deeper. He chuckled and poked a finger into my arm. "You, Alli."

I recovered quickly and shot back, "Like that'll ever happen." I looked at him smugly, having come up with something so clever.

He gasped in mock horror, "Never?"

"Never," I repeated, folding my arms against my chest with a look that dared him to contradict me. He didn't and I smiled up at him triumphantly.

"I may have let you win this one, but next time..." Andrew paused for a moment, contemplating. "Well, lets just face it, a lady always wins in these kind of things." I raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. He laughed. "You're really something special, you know that girl?" I rolled my eyes and nodded slowly, even though I knew it was a rhetorical question. I looked out the windshield as we pulled into a small, but fancy resteraunt.

"Is your mom already here?" I asked. His face darkened and I wondered if I had said something wrong.

"We're going to eat first and then bring my mom something from here to go," he said, not showing any emotion.

"Oh...okay," I said, forcing a bright tone to my words. Something must be terribly wrong. I decided I wouldn't mention his mom from here on out. Andrew stepped out of his truck and helped me down at the other side.

"Welcome to La Bella Vita," he said, now smiling, "the best place in town. Well, that's not really saying much, considering how small this town is. But, it's great!" I smiled at his little speech and walked towards the entrance, which was between two small trees with winding bark and above it there was a black awning that stretched a couple of feet out above the sidewalk. "Like it?" he asked. I hadn't notice him come up behind me and I flinched. "A little jumpy, aren't ya?" he joked and I managed a laugh.

"Do you really blame me? I'm not the one who sneaks up behind me," I said breathlessly, but I smiled at him. He stepped ahead of me, opened the door, and ushered me in. I nodded to him in thanks before turning to take in the resteraunt. Booths lined each wall, crimson tablecloths neatly hung off the edges. In the center of the resteraunt, small round tables were placed strategically and two chairs, with elegant swirls for the back, were at each table. The lights were dimmed and calming music played softly in the background. I felt myself relax.

"I like it already," I whispered to Andrew, who smiled satisfactly. He took my hand in his and led me to the podium. A thin young girl, probably my age, wearing long black slacks and a button-up black shirt smiled at us. Her curly blonde hair bounced at her shoulders.

"Due?" she asked. When she noticed my confusion, she repeated. "Two?" All traces of confusion left my face and I nodded.

Andrew laughed softly, "She's new, Abriana." The girl smiled knowingly. She picked up two menus and led us to our a table, a small round one in the far corner.

When she left, I looked at Andrew. "You know her?"

"Of course I do Alli. I live in a town of about 120. You learn everyone's name pretty quickly." I laughed and nodded, wondering what it would be like to know everyone's name. It sounded pretty great to me. I peeked at my menu for a minute, over-whelmed by the multiple choices.

"What do you suggest?" I asked, gesturing to my menu.

"Well," he started, "me and my mom always get the ravioli." When he spoke of his mother, his eyes saddened, but it quickly passed. 

"Sounds great," I said, wishing there was something I could do to help Andrew. Abriana returned and we both made our order, both asking for extra cheese. Abriana wrote down the order, before gliding away to give it to the chef, a burly man with a thin black moustache and narrow, dark eyes. I turned back to Andrew and he was staring at me, his brown eyes deepining. The candle on the table was flickering, casting a soft glow on Andrew's face. I blushed slightly and looked down at my napkin, neatly folded into a triangle. Just a couple of minutes later, our food arrived and we dug in, literally. The ravioli were stacked high on top of each other, making me feel as if I were attempting to eat a mountain. I could barely eat half of it. I looked across the table to see Andrew's plate completly empty.

He noticed me staring and shrugged, "I was hungry." I smiled and moved my plate closer to him, offering the rest. Andrew shook his head.

"I said I 'was' hungry. Not anymore." He looked down at his stomach and rubbed it, making me burst into laughter. His eyes twinkled as he watched me laugh. I finally got myself under control as he gestured the waitress over.

"We'll both take an apple tart," Andrew told Ariana, who nodded and rushed to fill our order.

"I've never had an apple tart before."

"It's a great day to try one." I simply nodded in agreement and looked towards him.

"Hey, thanks for taking me to lunch."

"No problem," he smiled down at me gently.