What We Were

Chapter 2: Part 3

I had set my alarm clock for 7:00, because I knew he wouldn’t get up until at least 8:30-ish. I quickly put on my purple bathrobe and tiptoed downstairs. Slowly passed into the kitchen and got out the pan and cooking oil.

               At about 7:50, Emma woke up. She wanted to help so I let her put some chocolate chips into the pancake batter. Just as I was putting the last finishing touches on the platter, Noah walked in. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he stumbled into the kitchen. Emmy and I hid the platter behind our backs like little girls. “What? Girls…what is it?”

 He said as he scratched his head and stretched. Me and Em’ giggled and presented the plates. His eyes lit up! “SURPRISE!!! Look what we made you Noahie!!” (That’s what my baby sister calls him)

Now if there’s anything I know for a fact about Noah, is that he loves food, probably more than actual  people. I’m sure we can all relate. His face lit up  as he looked at the plates of food! I showed him pointing to each dish, “Look there’s eggs, scrambled, with ketchup, just the way you like them. There’s also crispy bacon! Then we’ve got some short stack chocolate chip pancakes. Some fruit salad, and some toast with grape jelly. Some freshly squeezed orange juice and 2% milk.”

 I know it was a lot, but that could last us all weekend. I wouldn’t have to cook breakfast for a couple days. We all sat down at the kitchen table and dug in. By 9:00 am, we were all stuffed and sleepy. Since Emmy is only five, she still has naps. I put her up in her bed and let her sleep in a little. It gave me and Noah some time to plan out the day. Noah suggested a movie because it looked pretty rainy outside. We agreed on going to see a kids’ movie for Emmy. And maybe afterwards we would get her Christmas presents while she went to her friend’s house. Em’ would like that.

After we dropped her off at her daycare, we were headed to the mall. Noah and I walked in and around that place and I still couldn’t find a present for her. She’s a very girly girl, not at all like I was. She loves pink and makeup. We tried Libby Lou Lou’s. We tried Feline’s Boutique. Every little girl store in the entire mall and I still couldn’t find her a single thing. But I did find a present for my parents. I got mom and dad two tickets to go see Earth, Wind, and Fire in concert.  I had saved up all summer for those tickets but it was totally worth it. They were really big fans of those guys. For Jess’s present, Noah and I decided on one store that Jess always shopped at, Traxx. It had the sleaziest, sluttiest stuff in all of Illinois. They had everything from clever shot glasses to edible thongs. They had costumes and strobes and lava lamps and colorful assortments of neon belly button rings. Pretty much anything generally related to sex or weed, they had it. We ended up getting her a purple dildo keychain and a couple cute T-shirts that said “I <3 C==3”. It was perfect for her.

After all of that was taken care of, Noah told me he was going to get a present for his parents’ and to meet him at Sylvester’s for lunch.

While Noah was gone I was wondering what I should get him for Christmas. Hmmm…I don’t recall him ever saying what he wanted. Don’t you just hate that, when you try to go Christmas shopping for somebody and they don’t tell you what they want? Ugghh!! The only thing I hate more than that is when you can’t think of a single thing that you want for Christmas when people are asking you.

After going through the entire mall, I couldn’t find anything that Noah would really want. So I decided to just quit and maybe come back another day. I exited the store and headed to Sylvester’s. Now, Sylvester’s was a great little place right outside the mall that Noah and I always went to. Its theme was old vintage movie stars and actors memorabilia. But also it had a lot of old bands and music artists along the walls like the hall of fame. They had The Rolling stones, The Beatles, Elvis, Earth Wind and Fire. We always sat in the Dean Martin section. Noah had always been a sucker for Italian music or anything with Dean Martin. He loved it there. I loved it there. This was kind of a place for us! Huh, I guess technically speaking, there is and “us” after all.

I kicked the snow off my boots and looked around for Noah. I took off my hat and gloves and came through the restaurant. It wasn’t crowded like it usually was on the weekends. I slipped through the tables and chairs and made it to our Dean Martin section. The owner, Gus Stefano, knew us very well. He was a boisterous, short, chubby Italian man, who personally loved Noah like a son! They shared interests in food and music. Noah always loved hearing Gus’s stories about living in  and how he grew up in Naples, fell in love, and moved here. Gus was a great guy who had a passion for music and movie stars! He played “That’s Amore” over the speakers in the restaurant and wobbled over to our table. “Ciao Bella!!  How are you! Where is your boyfriend Noah?” He said with his hefty Italian accent.

“Again Gus, he’s not my boyfriend, were just friends! He’ll be here any minute now. And Gus, you’ve gotta stop with the whole matchmaking thing!”

He winked at me and said, “I can’t help it! You two are like uh Oregano and Garlic, You make beautiful food together! You teenagers these days, always too shy to see the beautiful things that are right in front of you!”

“Hahaha Ok Gus, whatever you say. Can I get some breadsticks to start off with and to drink…?”

“…Two Cocas and two plates of spaghetti and meatballs, parmesano on Noah’s, none for you. You order the same thing every time! Hahahaha I’ll go prepare it for you.”

 “Thanks Gus!” He wobbled off with his little notepad and started giving orders to his chefs in the kitchen from across the restaurant. Waving his fist at them, he threw back the black curtain concealing the kitchen and started again with the orders, in Italian this time.

I sat and organized my bags all underneath the table and put my coat around my chair. I waited for about five minutes before Noah came in shivering and wet from the snow on his shoulders. Mrs. Stefano, Gus’s um lovely wife, was a woman version of Gus, but with more makeup and was slightly shorter than him. She on the other hand had more of a New York accent. She scurried up to Noah and helped him take off his jacket and hat. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? What Were You Doing Out In The Cold Snow, And With No Gloves! You could catch pneumonia or a cold. Your mother will be very upset when I tell her…” she began mumbling to herself as she got on her tiptoes to put the jacket of the coat hanger at the front of the restaurant. She was always a short tempered woman, but Noah didn’t mind. He bent down a little to hug her and kiss her on the cheek. “But she wouldn’t get mad if she never found out now would she?” Mrs. Stefano kissed him on either side of his cheeks and giggled as Noah flashed his sly smile and added a wink.

That was Noah, getting away with anything because of that charm of his. Then Gus came out with his big rotund belly and gave Noah a big hug. “AAhhhhhh my boy! How are you?”

“Gus!!...can’t breathe.”

“Ahhhhh this guy! Ahhhhh so funny aren’t we! You’re little woman is here at your table!”

“Thanks Gus.” He said as Gus shuffled back into the kitchen. Noah called back to Gus at the last second and whispered, “Oh and Gus, she’s not mine…yet.”