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“Why do you think it’s boxed wine, anyway?” I asked in irritation.
“It’s, like, 3 euros a glass.”
“Outside the fancy restaurants you’re accustomed to, 3 euros a glass for table wine is pretty common.”
“Cheap wine for poor people,” she muttered.
I fantasized some more about wrapping my hands around her neck and squeezing. Hard.
She didn’t like the menu, either. “There’s nothing good to eat.”
“What are you talking about? There’s steak, and chicken piccata, and three types of pasta – ”
“Yeah, and that’s it.”
“What did you expect in a tiny little town?” I growled. “Caviar and lobster? Lamb chops? Pheasant?”
“I just – ”
“This is not Venice,” I hissed. “This is not Florence. This is not Rome, or Paris, or Barcelona, or anywhere else you might find a three-star Michelin restaurant.”
She scoffed. “More like a negative three-star Michelin restaurant…”
I had had enough.
“YOU are going to order some fucking food,” I said in a harsh whisper. “You are going to EAT your fucking food… and you are going to SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT IT so I can enjoy a few minutes in GODDAMN FUCKING PEACE. Do I make myself clear?”
She looked at me and raised a single eyebrow.
Not like she was afraid; more like I had surprised her the tiniest bit.
“Don’t have a cow, dude.” She paused, then said, “I bet you don’t even know where that’s fr– ”
“I WATCHED THE FUCKING SIMPSONS AS A KID, SO YES, I DO KNOW. NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP,” I whispered so harshly that it was audible to everyone in the restaurant.
We ate in silence.
Everyone else in the restaurant was silent, too.
It was heaven.
20
Heaven did not last.
As we wound along the mountain roads in the dark, cold air spilled through my busted-out window.
I didn’t mind –
But someone did.
“It’s summer!” Lucia complained as she zipped up the front of her red leather jacket. “Why is it so cold?!”
“Because we’re a mile above sea level,” I said as I turned the car’s heater on full blast.
“Ohhhh… that’s nice…” she murmured, putting her hands up to the vents. “Is it always this cold at night?!”
“This is unusually cool for this time of year, but, yeah, it’s generally chilly at night.”
