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I perk up a little until Edo tells me they’re all married. Great.
“Great. They’re married…”
Before Edo can reassure me (again) more customers wander into the bar and Edo scurries to the other end of the bar to take orders.
I gaze into my phone again, looking at pictures from Raven’s wedding. My cousin looks gorgeous, but I can’t help a twisted pang of envy. I know it’s wrong but… will that ever happen for me?
My homegirls from college keep sending me articles about the sorry state of marriage for black women. Alyssa says that we need to divest completely from marriage and just have fun.
My idea of fun isn’t keeping a collection of all “my dicks” in a private folder on my phone. I want the real fucking thing! Even if the world loves reminding me that ‘the real thing’ only happens for white women or black women with the lightest dusting of melanin… I want to believe in love.
I scroll past Raven’s pictures and my feed is all babies, new puppies, new jobs, new houses, new apartments, new husbands… new everything. Before Italy, I was just doing the same old shit. I wanted to shake things up. I don’t know why my life hasn’t transformed entirely. I’m in the prettiest place on earth — the Amalfi Coast.
Edo’s shift ends, and he calls my name from the other end of the bar, beckoning me over to the cash register.
“Any tip for me today?”
“I saw you slip that five euro note out of my wallet. I think we’re good.”
Edo shrugs. “Sorry, this job doesn’t pay well.”
“I get it. I’ll pay for our drinks tonight. Happy?”
“Incredibly.”
I shouldn’t be offering to pay for anyone’s drinks, honestly, but I tell myself that I’ll worry about all the damn money I’m spending once I get back to America. I have nine months of freedom and then I can worry about these damn bills and loans and everything else.
Edo drags me off my stool, and we step outside into the cobblestone street. I’ll never get over how beautifully blue everything is here. The streets smell like the ocean, pastries, wine and cigarettes, of course. People sell jewelry and fruits on the streets and the Italian accents are… gorgeous. My Italian’s still crap, despite Edo’s best efforts to teach me a few phrases.
At least I don’t have to hear all the street harassment thrown my way, which is plentiful. Edo replies defensively to a grey-haired man who calls something lewd in my direction and grabs me tighter. “Fuck these guys,” he says. “You aren’t that fat.”
I swear, I’ll never get used to how fucking blunt they are. But I appreciate Edo doing his best to defend me. We can hear the music from Jalousie echoing down the street before we get close.
“Isn’t it early for the club?”
“Why are you so fucking American?” Edo asks, linking arms with me. “Relax.”
“EDOARDO!” A shrill voice with a strange accent calls from across the street. I know Italian accents by now, at least how people from the Coast sound when speaking English, and this girl sounds different.
“That’s Cass,” Edo says to me, a smile breaking out across his handsome face. “Chin up. She’ll love you.”
Edo waves to the girl across the street and she struts over to us, sticking her hand out to stop the cars making their way down the cobblestone streets. They don’t even honk as she passes.
The first thing I notice about her is how striking she is. She’s tall, with curly dark brown hair pinned up out of her face and flowing down her back. She’s wearing crazy high heels, like all the European girls do, a short leather skirt and a tight black leather crop top.
With her dark red lipstick, she looks like a film noir femme fatale… and she stares like one.
“Edo… is this your American friend?”
She turns to me and smiles. Shit, her accent might be strong, but her English is perfect. Cass’s hair falls over her shoulders, her curls carrying a soft eucalyptus scent.
“Jodi Rose,” I say, happy to have some female company around here, not like there’s anything wrong with Edo. “Nice to meet you.”
She takes my hand, three silver Cartier bracelets sliding down her wrist. Wow. Her bracelets aren’t the only expensive item of clothing she has.
“Cass Pagonis. I’m sure Edo has told you all sorts of horrible stories about me.”
“I did not!”
