AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You need to be a little more spontaneous.”
“I’ll work on it.” She lifted her iced tea in toast with mine, and we clinked glasses. “What are we doing today?”
“Nothing, relax. Probably get some food to take back with us later because the fridge is pretty much bare bones. What do you want to do? Explore? Find the beach? You tell me.”
She took a sip of her iced tea then set it down, leaning her elbows on the table and looking around, a smile crossing her face as her gaze met mine. “Get some food to go back with and just relax. I don’t think I have the energy for much yet. I just kind of want to be lazy for a day or two, get settled in first.”
“We can do that, no problem.”
The owner brought out a large tray with our order a few minutes later.
The scents coming from the tray were amazing. Fresh tomatoes, herbs, and spices. I could pick up basil and oregano, the garlic and the fresh-baked bread. I waited for my stomach to rumble loudly in appreciation as she set the oversized plates down in front of us. The plate was almost totally covered in a large portion of spaghetti and an almost even larger portion of bright red sauce covering it and the meatballs. She set a large basket between us with slices of steaming garlic bread.
“This looks amazing,” Abbie said, looking at her plate before reaching for her fork to dig in.
“Thank you so much. You’re on vacation?”
“Just got here today and desperately needed something to eat.”
“Are you at one of the hotels?”
“Actually staying at a friend’s place over the holidays,” I commented. “We need to go grocery shopping after this.”
“Check out the floating market. Lots of fresh fruit and seafood.”
“Is it far?”
“Not that far.” She gave us directions. “Now leave room for dessert…” she said, setting down a bottle of wine between us on the table. “There’s some amazing tiramisu in the kitchen that I’m sure you’ll love.”
I caught Abbie’s grin. The woman loved her dessert. “We might as well agree to it now. Bring two. And whatever we can’t eat, we’ll take back with us.”
“Wonderful. I’ll leave you two to your meal, then. Bon Appétit.”
With that, she walked off with a smile, and I turned to Abbie. “You’re looking so much more relaxed.”
I picked up the bottle, pouring us each a glass..
She reached for her wine glass and took a long sip. Then, she nodded. “The food is amazing.”
“So clearly, the way to your heart is through your stomach.”
She laughed. “Yeah, sure.”
“But honestly, how are you liking it so far?”
She leaned back in her chair for a moment, surveying the area. Another couple had joined us outside, sitting at a table a few feet away. A few passersby dotted the landscape, but right now, there wasn’t a lot of people in the area. The gentle breeze was warm, and I knew it could get a lot stronger, but for now, it was relaxing.
“So far? It’s the perfect vacation.” She lifted her wine glass up in toast.
“To the perfect vacation,” I toasted.
***
After lunch, we walked around a few blocks, peeking in shop windows and stopping in a few to browse around, just enjoying the sights. It was a beautiful sunny day with crystal clear blue skies overhead, more people out now than when we’d first gone for lunch. The woman in the café said she expected it would get busier later in the day, that the weather would have drawn more people to the beaches, but they’d soon fill up Willemstad as they went out for food and drinks.
I was glad Abbie had opted to stay close to home—a chance to settle in would be great.
We had days ahead of us to spend at the various beaches. I was going to have to see which ones would be more on the less crowded side to start off with, and we did have that private stretch of oasis behind the villa.
