Fates, Furies and Freckles(Watty Awards 2013)

δεκαπέντε

                                                                          {Present Day}

                                                                           Point of View:

                                                            ++Pelops/Aaron++(Tantalus's Son)

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The familiar smells of the pizza place drift over me as I shove Dani through the door, and a sense of reuniting runs through my blood. I practically grew up here. This place was my childhood.

I watch in amusement as Dani takes in her surroundings. She looks up at the high ceilings, and takes in the olive colored walls around us. A small smile flickers across her face as she sees the warm lights in the corners, and the families all around us enjoying their dinner.

From the short time I've known her, she comes off tough. She comes off sarcastic and snarky. But underneath that she's just like a little kid on Christmas morning sometimes. She showed me that part of herself on the way here.

I may not have known her long, but I feel like I've known her forever. She's a lot like me.

"It's beautiful," she breathes from beside me.

I don't take my eyes off her face as I whisper, "Yeah, it is."

She looks up at me, sparkles in her eyes and a huge grin on her face. "You really love this place, don't you?"

I sweep the room with my eyes, lingering on some of the work staff I know. I remember painting the walls of this place. I remember laminating the menus. I remember bringing the head chef recipes I had from my trips to Italy.

You leave pieces of your heart in the oddest places.

It's funny, you don't know you've left your heart somewhere until you come back. And then that piece of you aches again, and you remember the torture it felt like when you left. I have pieces of me scattered throughout the world. But I left the biggest chunk of me in this random pizza place in this random town in the middle of the US. And it's only when I come back that my heart begins to ache, and my soul begins to yearn, and I remember just what this place and these people mean to me.

I look back down at Dani, "Yeah. I really do."

She smiles and we continue to stare at each other like that until the doors open behind us, signaling that the rest of the swim team is here. The guys run in making a ton of noise, and Andrew-who has already devoloped an attachment to Dani- practically jumps on her in an attempt to hug her.

"Thought you wouldn't come, squirt!" He says, and ruffles her hair.

She rolls her eyes and tries to flatten it, "This jerk wouldn't let me out of it," she gestures to me. I shrug. Andrew raises an eyebrow at me. Dani keeps talking, "Did you just call me squirt?!"

Andrew just laughs at her being so indignant, "Well, yeah. You're like the shortest thing in creation."

I watch as Dani narrows her eyes and opens her mouth and I can sense it's about to get ugly. I grab her arm and steer her away from Andrew. "I have someone I want you to meet," I tell her.

She turns around, still giving Andrew the evil eye, but she nods. "Okay."

The guys all settle around a table, and I yell for them to save us a few seats. Charlie throws us a thumbs up and I guide Dani to the kitchen area. We walk through the doors, and a grin makes it's way to my face.