AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She set her phone down on the counter and headed to the fridge.
I took a seat at the kitchen island, setting my water in front of me, and picked up my phone from where I’d set it down earlier.
“What do you want to do?” I asked, swiping the screen and bringing my phone back to life.
Dr. Allen had given me a couple of different lists, places to check out, restaurants, shops, along with the best time of day to go to places. He’d said he wanted to make sure we enjoyed our time there.
She leaned on the counter, glancing at her own phone.
“Do we have to leave?” she asked with a small laugh.
“There’s just the bare minimum for basics in terms of food around here, so...” I shrugged a shoulder.
And that was the moment my stomach decided to growl loudly.
Abbie laughed, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at me in amusement. “I think that settles it. We need to go for food, at the very least.”
I tried not to laugh either as I brought up the memo on my phone with the list of cafés and restaurants for us to try out, gathered courtesy of Dr. Allen himself, and scanned through the names. All sorts of different cuisines. Everything sounded amazing—I wanted to try it all while we were there.
“What do you feel like?” I asked, scrolling back up to the top of the list.
“Food. I’m not really picky right now.”
I nodded in agreement. I hadn’t eaten since before we got to the airport that morning, and other than a couple chocolate fixes during the layover, Abbie hadn’t, either. I went back through the list, trying to see what was closest. “There’s a café not too far. I can park somewhere, and we can walk there.”
“Sounds good, I’m in.” She was already tucking her phone into her shorts pocket and reaching for her cross-body purse she’d brought down. “When do we go?”
“Now.” I’d grab my keys and wallet, and we’d be good to go.
***
It didn’t take long to drive into Willemstad, and I found a parking spot easily. I’d double-checked the time, having already been warned most of the shops closed by six in the evening, but most of the bars and restaurants stayed open later. We still had a couple of hours to explore before things would start to shut down for the night.
I held Abbie’s hand as we headed for the café. We strolled slowly, just taking everything in. She was smiling, and I could tell she was already mentally planning pictures she wanted to take after we ate. She’d put her point and shoot camera in her bag before we left. We followed the small crowd of people walking. I glanced at my phone once to check the map, happy to see we were close to the café on the list.
“Italian?” I asked, double-checking, in case she’d changed her mind. There were a few other places close by we could go to if she had. Like a burger place just around the corner.
“Sure, why not?”
I thought we’d stick to familiar fare the first night we were there, then could be a little more adventurous later in the week.
We turned down a side street and stopped to window shop. The tall buildings were a little older, a little more worn, but colorful in varying pastel shades. Abbie made note of a crowded store to go back into later, a place that sold hand-painted hats, and we headed farther down the road.
I could smell the amazing Italian food as we walked up to the open doorway of the café nestled inside the pastel pink building near the end of the road. The day’s menu was written in chalk on a stand just off the entrance, and I gave it a quick scan as I waved Abbie in ahead of me and smiled as we strolled into the small space. A dark wooden counter across, a handful of tables spaced around the room, with an archway off to the side. A few people sat at the tables, talking and eating and enjoying themselves.
A radio played somewhere in the background.
The brunette behind the counter smiled at us, and Abbie stepped forward towards her.
“Good afternoon...” she greeted us. “Did you want to sit indoors or out? We have some more tables on the patio just out the side door.”
Abbie looked at me hopefully. Despite the cooler temperatures inside the café, I knew what she was thinking. Be nice to be outdoors instead of cooped up again.
“Outdoors would be great.”
“Grab a table. I’ll come out in a few to take your order. Did you want to start off with drinks?”
Abbie nodded. “Two waters?”
