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“Okay bye.”
“Bye.”
“Wait a sec,” said Ant.
“What?”
“What was the second reason?”
“The second reason?”
“Yeah. You said there were two reasons you called me. What was the second?”
“Oh. I just wanted to hear your voice again.”
That got her.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he said.
Neither one of them said anything for a few seconds. They were both content to just bathe in the warm silence of the moment. Finally Ant spoke up.
“Bye,” she said.
“Bye,” he s
aid.
Ant ended the call, took a deep breath and distractedly looked around. She regretted hanging up. She wanted to go on talking to him. She wanted to see him. This Romeo. She was really starting to like him.
21
Ant put her phone back in her pocket and contemplated her next move. Then a little bell dinged and she noticed that right next to the salon was a little mom and pop Italian deli called Nonna’s. A sign in the front window said they were famous for their fresh mozzarella. Another one said don't forget the scungilli. As if people were always forgetting the scungilli.
She headed in and was immediately comforted by the amazing aromas coming from the hanging salamis and sopressatas and hunks of provolone and huge wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano that filled the tiny store. She was in heaven. Foodie heaven. Her happy place.
It wasn’t just the smells though, it was the whole small batch, hand made, high quality, total attention to detail thing surrounding her that she loved so much. It’s what made her fall for food in the first place. It was what she felt when she walked through any high end grocer or past the tables of farm fresh produce at the green market. It was slow food. The opposite of fast food.
“Can I help you sweetie,” came a voice from behind the counter.
“Yes please,” said Ant as she approached. “Are you Nonna?”
“I am sweetie. What would you like.”
“I hear your mozzarella is pretty good. ”
Nonna just laughed and shook her head. “Please…” she said, as if that was the dumbest thing anyone had ever said to her.
An old man came out of the back room to look around. “Who’s here?”
“No one you know,” said Nonna. “Go back to work.”
“You don’t tell me to go back to work,” he said. “I heard the bell.”
“Of course you heard the bell. Someone came in the store. When someone comes in the store you hear the bell. That's how it works.”
“Don't tell me how it works. I know how it works. I’ve been here thirty-five years already.”
