Chapter 4
Three hours, four jeans, six shirts, three sweaters, one jacket, two boots, 6 sage green bowls and an unholy number of accessories later, we finally emerged from my own personal shopping hell. I couldn’t help but think that the sage bowls were pretty close in color to the evergreen chili crocks we had picked up when were in Charleston. I really hoped this wasn’t a sign of how the year would go here in Vermont.
My mother was beaming from ear to ear. Me? I was famished, tired, and grumpy. After we’d put everything in the trunk of our ancient Subaru Forester, Mom turned to me with a suspiciously innocent smile.
“Ready for those sneakers?”
Oh, she was good. I was way too worn out now. But I wasn’t letting her off the hook. “Yeah, definitely.” Her smile faded. “But let’s try out that pizza place first. We totally missed lunch.”
“You’re right,” she laughed. “I was having so much fun, I totally forgot. All right, you have a deal.”
Even though it was past the lunch rush, there were still a fair number of cars in the lot at Giovanni’s. We headed in and found an empty booth by the door. Most of the other tables were filled with young people eating and laughing.
“Guess this is the local hangout. I suppose they never get a lull since this is a college town, and the kids all sleep in late on the weekends. I bet they are packed from noon till closing.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I wasn’t really interested in the scene. I was just really, really hungry. I didn’t see any waitstaff around, so I just folded my arms and started tapping my foot while I looked out the window. By the time the waiter came over, my stomach was actually growling at me, and I felt like I might start, too.
“Hello ladies, what can I get for you today?"
“About time,” I grumbled.
“Ignore her, she has low blood sugar.” The waiter chuckled along with my mother. “Siri, you want the usual?”
“Yeah.” I was still tapping my foot and looking at the street view.
“Great. We’ll have a medium cheese with mushrooms and pepperoni, and two waters.”
“And a strawberry milkshake,” I added hastily, looking up. Oh. Wow. Thank god I had placed my order already, because now I was pretty sure my mouth was just hanging open. This guy was gorgeous. Short, spiky blond hair with blue tips, an eyebrow ring, and deep dark eyes that almost looked black. Luckily he was looking down at his pad jotting down the last of the order. By the time he glanced back up again, I had at least shut my mouth.
“Okay, right. Two waters, one medium with shrooms and pepperoni and one strawberry milkshake. Coming right up.” He smiled at us both and walked back to the kitchen, stopping to deliver checks at a couple other booths on the way. Once he disappeared into the back, I turned to face my mother, who had an even bigger grin on her face than during her post-spending bliss.
“Well, that was interesting. He’s handsome, huh?”
“Geez, mom, come on. He’s probably one of these local college kids, anyways. It’s not like I plan on hanging out here in town. We’re over in Falls Depot remember?”
“Oh yeah, I remember. But don’t forget that all the kids around here go to the same regional high school, so everyone knows each other.”
I grunted. “Whatever. I just hope our food comes soon so we can go finish our shopping.”
I pulled out my phone and started looking up the sporting goods store to see what they had in. I had a pretty accurate idea of my mom’s spending range, and wanted to have a good plan of attack before we got there so I could maximize my take. Some girls swooned over Abercrombie hoodies – me, I wanted to make sure I could get some good polarized goggles that wouldn’t clash with the awesome grey and purple jacket I had my eye on. By the time the waiter came back with our drinks, I had picked out everything I needed.
“Here are your waters, and one strawberry milkshake.” Cute boy put the drinks down in front of us and flashed a megawatt smile at my mom. “I haven’t seen you two in here before, are you touring the colleges?”
“Thank you. No, we’ve actually just moved into town nearby, Falls Depot. My boss said this was the best pizza in town and that you even deliver to our area.” My mother beamed at the waiter.
“Yeah, we deliver to the Depot all the time.” He looked right at me, giving me a really clear view of his eyes. Had I thought they were black? They were the deepest indigo I had ever seen, like the blue in a starlit summer sky. Realizing I was about to get lost in that night sky, I quickly grabbed my milkshake and started poking at it with my straw.
“Welcome to town, my name’s Rowan, I work here almost every day, just ask for me if you ever need anything. Your pizza will be out in a couple minutes.”
“Wonderful, thank you Rowan. I’m Fredrika Alvarsson, and this is my daughter Siri,” my mother volunteered.
“Nice to meet you both.” I felt this strange tug, deep inside my chest, to look up at him, but I didn’t dare. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he said and walked away.
“Well, he certainly seems friendly,” gushed my mom. “I hope the pizza is as good as Frank said!”
I rolled my eyes, and settled in to relax while my mother started to go on about her new project and what it would entail. The pizza came out a while later, and I managed to avoid embarrassing myself any further, even though every time he smiled at us it felt like the sun had come out from behind a cloud or something. When it came time to pay, my mom sent me up to the counter, where I “rang bell for service” as directed by the small sign over the register. Rowan came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishcloth.
“What, do you make the pizzas, too?” I asked in a snarky voice. As usual, my innate attitude got the better of me.
“Actually, yeah, sometimes. Gio’s been teaching me the ropes. He wants to head south this winter for a few weeks, and he’s hoping I can help the other guys out when he’s gone.” He flashed me that blindingly sincere smile again. “You guys all set? That’s gonna be $16.15”
“Um, yeah. Thanks.” I felt like such a jerk. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time. “So, um, you go to college here?”
“Nah. I have another year left at Union High. How about you?”
“Oh, is that the regional school here?” He nodded. “Yeah, then that’s where I’m starting. Can’t wait,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Ha! I can see that. You’ll have to check out the pep squad, then. I can tell you are totally all about the school spirit.” He grinned, and I almost didn’t notice how much hotter that made him. Almost. “No, but seriously, if you need help figuring stuff out, come and find me. I have lunch fifth period, if you want to meet some more people you can just look for my table by the windows.”
“Cool, thanks, maybe I will. I don’t have my schedule yet.” I shrugged. “Here’s twenty, keep the change.”
“Hey, thanks. See you around, Siri.” He looked right into my eyes when he said my name, and I felt a hot flush come over me, and that same weird tug in my sternum. Oh god, was I blushing? Probably. My fair skin always flushed massively at the worst moments.
“Um, yeah, sure.” I stammered, and started backing away. “See you!” I turned around and just missed banging into another customer’s table. If I hadn’t been blushing already, I certainly was now.
My mom, of course, had seen the whole thing, and was trying really hard not to laugh when I got back to the table.
“Smooth, Siri, super smooth,” she mocked.
“Thanks mom, you’re the best. Ready to go?”
Apparently my angst was the last straw, because she burst out laughing as she got up, and continued on hysterically all the way to the door. Outside on the sidewalk, I chanced a glance back through the window, expecting to see a very self-satisfied and amused Rowan. But that wasn’t what I saw at all. What I saw, was Rowan, looking back at me. Looking at me, with a totally serious, slightly intrigued look on his face. Like he was interested. In me.