AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, it’s a nice night for it.” I sit down at the table across from him.
It’s not a date. But I don’t mind if anyone walking by thinks it is. If only anyone I met on an app showed up looking half as good as Mateo does right now.
“So, how was your week?” Mateo asks dryly.
I grin back at him. We both know it was a pretty shit week. It’s hard for it to come back after it starts off in a war zone.
“I’ve had better,” I reply.
A server comes out to the table to take our order. I’ve been looking forward to this dinner for the food, too, so I don’t even need to see the menu to know I want the mushroom arancini starter and spaghetti entree. Mateo orders rigatoni alla vodka and a bottle of something I’ve never heard of, also without looking at the menu. Either he looked before I got here, or he knows this restaurant better than I do. I wonder if we’ve ever crossed paths here before without knowing it.
I want to jump right into my questions about Gina, but I don’t want to be rude. I’m also aware that given his lifestyle and my job, there are some things that might come across the wrong way. I can’t ask him anything about his work or even his family without it sounding like I’ll be submitting information into a report back at work.
“What’s your favorite time of year?” I ask him. It’s the first question I could think of that wouldn’t put his guard up.
Mateo raises his eyebrows, but he plays along with me.
“Winter,” he nods.
“Hm, why winter?” I’m not sure what I would have guessed it would be. I hold back from asking if it’s because he won’t overheat in a suit in the winter.
“There are the parts of winter I don’t really like,” he says. “I don’t like the end, when the snowbanks are gray, and everything is turning to slush.”
The waiter brings out the bottle of wine and shows it to Mateo before opening it and pouring each of us a glass.
Mateo takes a sip before continuing. “But I really love the part when everything goes quiet. The city is blanketed in snow, and you know you can’t go anywhere for the day. It feels calm. Everything just stops for a little while. No cars on the road. It’s like a reset button for the city.”
“Snow days were pretty great,” I add. “It was so nice to wake up and find out you didn’t have to go to school.”
“My brothers and my sister and I used to watch the TV in the morning to wait for the list of school closures…” Mateo smiles at the memory.
“We looked them up online,” I say and take a sip of my wine.
Mateo glares at me playfully, realizing he’s shown his age. He’s maybe ten years older than me, but it’s still fun to tease him.
“Where did you go to school?” he asks.
“Saint Anthony-Saint Joseph,” I say, “in Ambler.”
“Ah,” Mateo grins at me. “I’m sorry.”
“Ha-ha.” I guess now it’s his time to tease me. “What about you?”
“Proud graduate of Meredith Elementary in Queen Village,” Mateo replies. “Proud not graduate of Horace Howard Furness High.”
“I see.” I pick up my glass and toast his. “Cheers to school being in the past,” I say smiling.
Our appetizer arrives, and the smell makes me realize how hungry I am. Mateo must have been too, because we demolish it almost immediately.
Now that we’ve eaten a little and we’re waiting for our entrees, it seems like the right time to get to the business part of this dinner.
“The questions I wanted to ask you…” I start. “They’re not for work. They’re about a… friend.”
Mateo picks up his glass to take a sip, still listening. His face gives nothing away.
“Do you know anything about Gina Nicoletti?” I finally blurt out. I’m not nervous that Mateo will get mad that I’m asking. I’m nervous that Mateo might know what has happened to her. And if I’m being honest, I’m really hoping he’s about to rule out the possibility that he was involved.
Mateo’s face still doesn’t give anything away. He shakes his head.
