The Queen of Minor Disasters (37 page)

Yields 1 serving

Sometimes Food Therapy really
does work. Like today, for example, when I drank this steaming hot mug of
espresso. It made me feel like a new woman, even though I drink it every
morning.

But still, don’t we become
someone new every day?

1 shot of espresso

8
       
oz. of steaming hot whole milk

1)
     
Combine the two together and drink.

2)
     
Go outside and sit by the bay.

3)
     
Contemplate your life and realize that, yes, it is
wonderful.

4)
     
Daydream about your wedding (obviously, Roberto and
I will date first, but I have a feeling we’re in for a whirlwind romance).

I’ve never been so excited for
anything in my entire life.

Ok, maybe that’s an
overstatement, but still you get the idea.

           
On Labor Day morning, I skip my run and sleep in, knowing that the extra
hours of rest will show up on my face later. I haven’t seen Roberto since he
asked me out, and I want to look my best to impress him tonight. I didn’t even
partake in the end of the season party my brothers threw after work last night.
Typically they drink in the restaurant until about 4:00 a.m., and I was in no
mood to stay there that late, so Lucy and I left the party at around 1:00.

           
Now that summer is officially over, even the weather seems different. I
feel the cool bay breeze as I get out of bed and the overcast sky tells me it’s
going to rain. This might change my outfit slightly, as I’ve never been able to
sacrifice warmth for fashion.

Honestly, I don’t know how
those models do it. I’ve heard they shoot bathing suit catalogues on the beach
in January.

 I would die.

           
But when I open my closet and see the dress hanging there, I figure I’ll
have to just bear it. The dress is too gorgeous to change plans this late in
the game.

As a birthday gift, Gina and
my mom drove to Atlantic City and bought me an amazing cream-colored Betsy
Johnson dress. Even though it’s a little too white, when I tried it on, I knew
this was the dress to wear on my date with Roberto. It’s brushed silk with a
sweetheart neckline and full tulip skirt. Paired with some nude heels and a gold
clutch, this is the most amazing first date outfit ever. Plus my necklace
really stands out.

Honestly, Gina should be a
personal shopper; she nailed this one without even knowing how important it is.

***

           
By 6:15, my entire family is gone. I’m not sure why everyone is so
concerned about beating the Labor Day traffic, but I guess it makes sense.

 La Cucina reopens tomorrow at
11:00 a.m., and even Mario is excited to get back there. September is going to
be a crazy month for the restaurant and he wants to get a head start. He and
Lorenzo are going to use the last month to promote their new restaurant
Fratelli’s. If all goes as planned, they’ll open in January, two months before
the baby is born.

           
Dante and Lucy have a teachers’ in-service meeting tomorrow at 6:00, and
then the annual St. Iggy’s faculty barbeque, and I know she’s nervous about it.
I would be too. Those Catholic School teachers are fierce. Plus, she’s giving
them a lot to gossip about considering she went from being a single girl at the
end of the school year to becoming Mrs. DiLucio with a baby on the way. It’s
been a crazy summer. Honestly, I’m glad I never applied for the position there.
Teaching is just not my thing.

Not that I know what my thing
is. But who cares? Tonight we’re celebrating my unemployment, remember?

           
By 7:00 my hair is in giant Velcro rollers and I’m putting the finishing
touches on my smoky eyes. I’m in my robe, sitting in the den because the house
was too quiet and I needed to turn the TV on to calm my nerves.

I reach for a Q-tip to rub the
excess eye shadow off from under my eyes when I hear a knock at the door.

           
I get up to answer it thinking it’s Mrs. Ryan from next door, but to my
horror, I see Roberto standing in the doorway, wearing a charcoal grey suit,
black t-shirt and his Ray Ban aviators. He’s carrying a bottle of champagne.

           
Maybe he didn’t see me. I can pretend like I didn’t hear the door.

           
He knocks again.

           
Crap.

           
“What are you doing here?” I say as I open the door. Who shows up thirty
minutes early for a date?

           
“I couldn’t wait,” he says stepping into the doorway. “Plus I thought I’d
give your parents a little gift to toast the season.”

           
“No one’s home,” I say. He raises his eyebrow and follows me into the
living room. “Have a seat.”

           
He slowly sits on the couch and I survey the looks of the room. The
coffee table is covered with make-up, a magnifying mirror sits in the middle of
the table, and bobby pins are sprawled all over the carpet. I kneel down to
collect everything, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

           
“I’ll be right back,” I say carrying all the makeup in my arms. “I just
need like two minutes.”

           
“You really don’t need to change,” he says with a mischievous smile. “I
like what you’ve go on.”

           
I laugh and turn to walk up the stairs as fast as I can.

           
Ok, that was
not
what I had
planned.

I look at myself in the mirror
and see that my make-up looks good. I undo the Velcro rollers and flip my head
upside down. I give my hair a little shake, then flip my head up and watch my
hair magically fall into place. Works like a charm.

           
I grab my clutch and throw in the lip-gloss, my keys, and ID before
heading downstairs. There’s not enough room in the bag for my cell phone, but
really, who needs it?

           
“Stella, you look amazing,” Roberto says when he sees me.

           
I feel my face flushing. Without saying a word, he gets up and wraps his
arms around me. My heart races and my stomach does a flip. Is he going to kiss
me?

           
He looks me in the eyes.

           
This is it! My first kiss with Roberto. I close my eyes.

           
Only, he doesn’t lean in.

           
I wait another second. Nothing.

           
I open my eyes and we look at each other for a few seconds before he
starts laughing.

Ok, this is a little weird.

I giggle, just to keep him
company, but his laughter grows.

 What the hell? Am I some kind
of
joke
?

I’m
not the one who goes around saying
he’s
amazing.
I don’t even think of him like that. As far as I’m
concerned, he can just leave right now...

           
“I’m sorry,” he says composing himself. “It’s just a little weird to be
on a date with you.”

           
“Why is that?” I ask, suddenly cross.

           
Oh God, what if his mom really
did
put
him up to this?

           
“I just…” he looks at me for a second. “I never thought it would happen.”

           
My heart leaps up to my throat.

           
We
are
prefect for each
other. I knew it! I always knew it!

           
 “We’re not really on a date yet,” I say casually looking at the clock.
It’s 7:20. “You showed up early, so we still have ten minutes before our date
officially starts.”

           
He laughs. “Should I go outside?”

           
“Why don’t we both go outside?” I say motioning to the sliding glass
doors. “Let’s sit on the dock for a while.”

           
“I have a better idea,” he says. “Let’s get a head start on our date.”

           
I smile. “Ok. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He starts
walking towards the door and I follow. He opens the passenger door for me and
holds his stare as I get in. I’ll have to hug Gina the next time I see her.
This dress is magic.

           
As we pull out of the driveway I wonder where we’re going. I’m sure it’ll
be somewhere off the Island. Maybe Atlantic City. Or Cape May.

           
After a minute, we pull up to the Lancetti’s house. Are we making a pit
stop?

           
“Here we are,” he says shutting off the engine. He looks at me. “Ready?”

           
I’m not sure how to take this. This is our first date and I wish he’d at
least planned something special.

           
“Ok.”

           
We walk into the foyer and I breathe in the familiar scent of this
mansion. It’s a mixture of white musk and eucalyptus, and just smells, well,
rich. “Wait here one sec,” Roberto says and darts off towards the kitchen. I
can only assume he’s getting some wine.

           
He returns a few seconds later holding a red and white gingham apron. He
hands it to me and I give him a blank stare. “What am I supposed to do with
this?”

           
“Put it on. Your dress is too nice to risk getting dirty.” He starts walking
towards the kitchen again. I slip the apron over my head and follow him.

           
The marble countertops are full of fresh fruit and vegetables from the
farmers’ stand right off shore. “Are we cooking?” I ask. Come to think of it,
this is a pretty cute first date. I can roll with this.

           
“Yup” he says but doesn’t move.

           
“What do you want to eat?”

           
He smiles. “Tell me about your summer. Use whatever you want, I stocked
the fridge too.” He leans back in his chair as I survey the veggies.

           
“Ok, we’re gonna need some wine.”

           
“Red or white?”

           
I open the fridge to see what we’ve got. “White.”

By the time Roberto returns
with a bottle of Riesling and two glasses I know what I’m going to cook. This
summer was tough; it started out bitter and ended up sweet, and my menu will do
the same.

Roberto hands me a glass.
“Cheers to your unemployment.” He clinks my glass. “So, what are we having?”

“The story has three acts,” I
say and take a sip. The crispness of the wine hits my palate and makes me
smile. “We’re going from bitter to sweet.”

“Agro dolce,” he says. “I like
it.” He starts to sit back down.

“I’m not cooking alone
though,” I say. “Grab an apron.”

He laughs and walks toward the
pantry. He finds himself an apron that says “Kiss the cook.” He walks over to
me, pointing to the words.