“All set?” Alessandro asked me as soon as he saw me“Yep,” I replied“I feel underdressed. We were just going for a walk, and now you’re out here dressing up like it’s a fashion show.” he laughed.We walked out of the house after saying bye to my father, who looked like he did not want to be there in the living room but rather on the walk with me and Alessandro. “Hang on, you have something,” he said as he walked up to me and wiped my thigh. “Got it. You’re all good now.” He stared at his glove after wiping away whatever was on me. It was as if he had some weird obsession with keeping them clean. “What’s with the gloves?” I asked, finally breaking the silence“Oh, there was just a tiny stain on them. I thought they were ripped,” he replied.That was not what I was asking, but I nodded as if that was the response I was looking for. “Why do you always wear gloves?” I asked, hoping that time around, he would give me the answer I was looking for. “Why not?” he chuckled as he answered
Everyone else had gone home as well as Roni and her husband and Alessandro as well. It was just Dad and I alone in the house.He had spent the whole of the previous night playing his music and wailing away the whole night. I knocked on his bedroom door. “Come in,” he repliedI twisted the door handle and opened the door. I found my father seated my his radio player and photo albums scattered around him and a bottle of wine. “Come in, my cupcake,” he answered. I walked in and sat next to him. “Don't tell me that there are more people here. If there are, just tell them that I am asleep, and I will see them later,” he said“Oh no, there is no one else. It's just me.” I answered“I was meant to ask you, how was your walk with Alessandro?” He questioned. Just him bringing up the name sent chills down my spine. I thought of the kiss, the conversation, his scent and the hug. I hated that I thought of him at the mention of his name. “Tori?” my dad called out. “Oh, I am sorry. I zoned
I froze at my door, wondering what he meant by Roni mentioning something. My father had already hurried off with his cheerful and happiness while I was stuck wondering how he found the time to set up a date for me. After a few minutes, I came back to my senses and rushed to get my phone. I scrolled through my contacts to call Roni. She did not pick up after the first attempt, so I tried again, and she eventually picked up after 4 rings. “What the hell did you tell Dad?” I asked in a low voice“Well, good afternoon to you, too,” she replied “Okay, okay. Whatever…Good afternoon. Okay, so what did you tell Dad?” I continued to ask “What do you mean?” she asked me back.“Roni, all the times you play dumb, I like it, and I sometimes find it cute and funny, but right now is not one of those times.” I answered irritatedly, “So, cut with the crap and tell me what the hell you told Dad.”“Now you know how it feels when someone acts silly.” she laughed on the other end of the phone. At tha
“What’s the occasion?” he asked as his eyes continued to scan my body.My father had also reached the door and peeped around me to see who was standing there. Hearing Alessandro ask me what the occasion was ached my heart, slightly. If he was asking, it meant that he was not the one I would go with. It meant that my father had matched me with someone random. But why was I surprised? There was no way my father was going to set me up with his friend. “May I come in?” Alessandro asked“OH!” I stepped aside and let him enter the house. My father also did not look too pleased. He went back to his phone and continued to play his music loudly as he danced around. “Is he okay?” Alessandro questioned “Yeah, he is just re-living his high school moments as he goes down memory lane thinking about my mother,” I answered “Do you think that’s okay?” “Yes, I think it is okay. He has not hurt anyone. He seems happy. I mean, he is peaceful.” I answered. Alessandro nodded and we both continued to
“Right, I don’t want to keep you guys waiting too long. Go and have fun.” my father saidI turned around and gave my father a slight hug and then looked over at Alessandro who was too ashamed to look at me. It was as if he saw the pain in my eyes of having to go with someone that I already did not find attractive from the get-go. “Have fun kids!” my father called out as we walked towards the car. His car looked better than the last date’s car. It did not look like it would delay and die down but I walked past Alessandro’s big car. It was different from the one I had seen him drive before but I just knew it was his because I knew how my father’s car looked and it had the name ‘RUSSO’ on the number plate, once again. I dreamt of hopping into that car instead and driving away with Alessandro instead. “Let me open the door for you,” he said as he hurried to the passenger side. I hoped he was not insisting on opening the door for me because it had some faults. I prayed that he was actu
“Uhmmm…” I said as I tried to push his arm away politely. “Oh, I am so sorry. I got too comfortable too fast.” he sighed. His face turned red as he blushed from embarrassment. “It’s okay,” I said. I felt bad for making him feel bad. “I wouldn’t do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable. I am really sorry,” he said again“It’s okay, Jay. Don’t worry about it.” I replied. He got the remote and pressed a few buttons and the huge screen lit up. He stood up from the seat. I thought he was still feeling bad about the whole arm thing but instead, he was only going to switch off the lights of the room. “I hope you’re not afraid of the dark.” he chuckled nervously “Uhm… the dark is okay,” I answered but I did not join in on the giggling. But sooner, he switched on smaller lights. They were a weird mixture of green and blue and they made the place look aesthetic. “I usually like to watch movies with the lights like this,” he said as he walked back to the couch and plopped himse
She smiled as she walked to the table in front of us and placed the tray of cookies and then walked out of the room. By then, I had slowly shifted away from Jay. “Was that your mother?” I asked as soon as she was completely gone “No, that’s why I called her ‘Mom’.” he sarcastically replied “Really? You think this is the time for that?” I questioned impatiently“What?!” he called out. I had managed to shift away from him completely and face the black screen with my arms folded. “Why is your mother bringing cookies?” I questioned “Because she knows I have a guest over,” he responded “No, you’re not understanding me.” I sighed “What are you trying to say then?” “Does your mother live here? Because why is she bringing baked goods here? Unless she’s your neighbour and doesn’t mind baking and bringing them for her grown son.” He kept quiet. It was as if he was trying his hardest to think of a reply. Something that would not make him sound weird after he had managed to impress me.
I poured myself a glass of water and gulped on it. “Would you like to join us? We are drinking wine.” Alessandro offered after my father had chilled a bit and sat down and continued to sip.“Uhm…”“...She does not drink wine.” my father quickly replied“Come on, just one sip. It’s just wine.” Alessandro answered. I just continued drinking my water and eventually walked off to my bedroom. I could still hear the two of them bickering and I wondered if my mother’s death had something to do with them slowly falling apart. I pulled out my phone and tried to call Roni but she did not pick up. She quickly texted me saying that she was too busy to reply. So, I threw myself on my bed and just started to daydream. I thought about Jay and how well the whole thing was going with him. I thought about how I first judged him just because I thought he was not my type and then how he managed to impress me and things were starting to work out well only for me to discover that there were all lies. I