Jackson had told me he was rarely at the restaurant, so I wasn’t nervous about bumping into him. I was, however, worried I might run into Sophie, but I figured she’d rather ignore me than force a conversation. We walked into Delvecchios’, that typical blast of A/C hitting us as we approached the hostess stand.
“Well, if it isn’t Addison Bianchi.” I squinted at the face in front of me until recognition hit.
“Rami!” I wrapped my arms around his neck and he swung me around in a circle.
“It’s so good to see you!” we both said at the same time.
“You’ve hardly aged a day. You look exactly the same,” Rami said as he looked me up and down.
“And you’re looking bulkier than ever.” I squeezed one of his biceps and he flexed.
“I’m half-manager, half-security here.” He winked before turning toward the Wilsons. I introduced him to the family, and Rami grabbedfour menus. I noticed Mia staring longingly at the stack of coloring sheets beside the hostess stand, and I grabbed one for her, along with a box of crayons. When I was her age, I’d already lost all semblance of a childhood; if Mia wanted to cling to hers for a little bit longer, I’d happily help her do so.
“These are new,” I said, holding the coloring sheet up to Rami as we followed him to a booth.
“We got them after Sam had kids. We let them pick out the sheets. It’s the first thing they ask for whenever they visit.” I wondered how much Sam had actually come to visit, especially after he got married and had kids. He was the Delvecchio I knew the least, since he had lived in New York the entire time I knew them.
Rami asked for our drink orders, then motioned for me to follow him. “Let me show you around—we’ve made some good changes.” I slid out the booth to follow him around the restaurant. Not much was different until we got to the kitchen. Most of the appliances had been updated, and everything looked so sleek and modern.
The corkboard of Polaroids was still on the far wall, and I slowly walked over. There were plenty of new pictures, and Rami pointed out one that had Sam’s kids in it. They looked about four and six in the photo, with gap-toothed grins, and slices of pizza in their hands. There was a photo of Julie and a woman who I assumed to be her wife, and next to it, one of Phil with his arms draped over Marie, his chin resting on her head.
The photo beneath it was of Jackson and Sophie kissing. I averted my eyes.
Rami reached forward and tapped one of the photos. It was the picture of me, Julie, and Jackson from that first Christmas party. I smiled, taking out my phone and snapping a picture of it. My gaze drifted down to the photo directly beneath it, and I gasped. It was thePolaroid of me and Jackson; the one where he was looking down at me, smiling while he made me laugh. Why hadn’t he ever taken it down? Why didn’t Sophie at least throw it away? Jackson probably wouldn’t have even noticed if it went missing.
That wasn’t even the picture that rocked me the most—I continued scanning the board, and one picture made my heart completely stop. There was a photo of me and Jackson from our high school graduation, tacked to the board in the lower left-hand corner. I was on his back, both our diplomas in my hands as I held them over my head. I couldn’t remember a time I had smiled that large since then. It was the last picture we had ever taken together, because it was the last day I had seen him. I would’ve burned that picture if I was Sophie. I cleared my throat and turned back to Rami.
“You guys did really great with the place. You should be proud,” I said.
“Thanks, Addie.” I walked back to the table, burying the feelings of nostalgia back into my chest.
***
I split a pizza with Mia, and I hardly ate more than three bites. My stomach was a mess after seeing those pictures in the kitchen.
George was signing the check when three cannoli were dropped off at our table.
“Oh, we didn’t order these.” I looked up to see Jackson, a smile on his face with his hands clasped in front of him. My stomach knotted even tighter.
“Gift from the owner.” He winked at Mia, and she giggled.Oh Mia, you little traitor.Don’t fall for hischarm!
He introduced himself to George and Wren since I had been rendered mute, the shock of seeing him leaving me feeling like I had been tased.
“Jackson? The famous Jackson Delvecchio?” Wren said with a Cheshire cat grin. I kicked her under the table.
“It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things about you guys,” Jackson added.Bitch! I told you about them ONE time, don’t act like we’re best friends!
“I thought you were never here,” I blurted. Everyone at the table laughed at my outburst, and it took everything in me not to kick George and Wren simultaneously.
“Special visit,” Jackson teased. Fucking Rami probably texted him.
“We have to get to the airport; we were just leaving.” I scrambled out of the booth, not waiting for the Wilsons as I ran out onto the sidewalk. Stupid Jackson. Stupid fiancée-having Jackson. I placed a hand over my stomach, sure I was about to puke up my three bites of pizza. I should’ve ripped those photos off the corkboard myself, and burned them to a crisp along with Peter’s house.
After a few minutes, Wren, George, and Mia walked out of the restaurant with the three cannoli in a takeout box.
“Addie, that was crazy! I’ve never seen you act so weird,” Mia said as she grabbed my hand to cross the street.
“I’m just not feeling well,” I said as we got in the car.
