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“Yeah,” I said, blinking as she stood up.
“Help me pick out some art,” she said, and I followed her back to the car, completely dazed.
* * *
Our last stop was an art gallery, and I pretended like I knew something about art as Alivia studied everything with a critical eye.
She ended up picking up an abstract painting that looked like shattered beach glass, and a soft watercolor of an ocean scene.
“I know it’s a little cliché, but I don’t care,” she said as the gallery owner wrapped up the two pieces and then gently loaded them into the car.
It had been hours since the giant breakfast, and my stomach was upset about it.
“There’s this sweet little restaurant right around the corner,” Alivia said as we got back in the car. “It’s more southern, so I hope you like fried chicken and biscuits and gravy and fried okra.”
“Well, I’ve never had fried okra, but I love those other things.”
“They also make fried catfish that will change your life,” she said.
“I’m in,” I said. I’d been trying not to look at her too much because it made me think about other things, and I didn’t need to torture myself with horny thoughts today. I’d just save them for when I was alone later.
The restaurant was actually in a former home and was so cozy that I wanted to take a nap on one of the couches on the porch.
Alivia and I decided to share our food so we could try a little bit of a bunch of things. For an appetizer, we were served a bucket with boiled peanuts in it, which I’d also never had before.
“This seems weird, but okay,” I said, picking one up. They had a different texture than I expected, and a rich, earthy flavor.
“Interesting,” I said, grabbing a few more.
We ordered the fried chicken, okra, catfish, and fried green tomatoes.
“I’ve never seen so much fried food in my life, and I’m not upset about it,” I said. I was probably going to have regrets later, but that was a problem for future Charli. Right now, all I wanted was to stuff my face and have greasy fingers.
Alivia was right about all of the food. The okra was also interesting, but I liked it a lot. Everything was completely divine, and I sat back in my tufted floral chair and sighed in contentment.
“This was seriously so good. I’m totally coming here again,” I said. “I need to get out of Castleton more.”
“I’m happy to take you around to places. I feel like I’ve gone all around and found all these hidden gems,” she said.
“You should have a blog, or a social media page or something.” I’d already taken pictures of all our food today and posted them online. I hadn’t said who I was with, but I had the feeling my friends were going to be sending me private messages to find out. I wasn’t going to lie. There was no rule that said I couldn’t be friends and come on a trip with Alivia.
She and I had hung out enough so it wasn’t totally weird.
“Do you want dessert? My favorite is the red velvet cake,” she said.
I groaned. “I’m so full, but I think I can make it work.”
We got the cake and battled each other with our forks for every bite.
“Thank you for letting me tag along,” I said, licking the last of the cream cheese frosting from my fork.
“It was nice to have some company, and to have a second set of eyes. Sometimes I do these trips and I look at so many things that I can’t tell what’s good and what’s not anymore. Once I brought back these stuffed flamingoes and I have no idea what I was thinking.” She laughed to herself.
“Maybe you could have a flamingo party?” I asked. “I mean, they sound really cute. Or you could keep them in a toy box or something. There are lots of kids that stay there, right?”
Alivia thought about that.
“We do have board games and other things, but that might be a good idea. They’re hanging out on the couch in my office right now because I didn’t know what else to do with them.”
