One Step At A Time
Chapter 1: Confessions of a Stalkaholic
I flipped aimlessly through the latest addition of Mode. Truth be told, I was beginning to appreciate the little things I would find in this sometimes worthless magazine. Well, not completely worthless, but when I first started working here…I found it terribly uninteresting. However, for three years I have told myself that I will get farther in life by giving Mode a chance. I didn't realize that by giving Mode a chance I had managed to do the following: look like a complete idiot on my first day of work, get made fun of for my lack of fashion, quit, come back to my job only to get fired, get tempted by the devil, fall in love, get my heart broken, break someone else's heart, break an alcoholic out of rehab, defeat Kimmy, get my own apartment, and then get into YETI. To the basic person, this would seem unexciting, but it's taught me a lot. Honestly, I can't count the number of times I tried to learn from most of these mistakes. I still keep getting sucked in.
"Betty…" the voice was distant, too distant for me to look up from the magazine. I was using this to conceal my daily "Betty moments" where I pretended to be deeply reading the latest edition when really I was thinking about myself.
"Betty…" the female voice was clearer. I looked up, only to find Amanda flipping through my purse.
"What do you want, Amanda…and why are you going through my purse?" I knew that by asking this I wasn't guaranteed the best response.
"Well, don't you know that since you're my roomie…well exroomie…I have permission to go through your purse and collect anything that would constitute an illegal action in the fashion world…for instance…this scarf…" She pulled out a scarf I had bought from a vendor on Canal Street. It was a knockoff, and only a Mode worker would know the difference. "…It's certainly no Hermes!" She laughed and walked off with my scarf.
I shook my head. That's Amanda for you, I thought to myself. I took a break and went online. I went onto Facebook and resisted the temptation to Facebook stalk Henry Grubstick. Instead I did a search for Giovanni Rossi. There were many Gio's, but the 3rd one stood out. I clicked on his profile and noticed that he was still single. Something else caught my eye. He was about to open a larger restaurant and his grand opening was this weekend. I stupidly copied down the information. Someone rested their hand on my shoulder and I jumped five feet into the air.
"Everything alright? I hope you're not on eHarmony…" the male voice mocked me as I minimized the window and turned to face Matt.
"Why would I need eHarmony? Unless you have some secret that you aren't sharing with me…then you have nothing to worry about…" I joked. He smiled, but out of the corner of his mouth, I saw his smile shiver.
"Only the fact that I used to be a serial killer…" he joked. I rolled my eyes. "Ready to go?" He helped me up as I nodded and collected all of my things. The paper containing Gio's information became slightly wet in my hands. I felt guilty, but after all…I was going to see him…as a friend.
Friday night arrived: Gio's opening night. I told Matt that I had to cover the grand opening for Mode. I only told him part of the story: that Gio used to be the sandwich guy and now out of support all of the Mode people were going to see his new restaurant. Well, all of the Mode people, meaning just me. Matt wanted to go along, but I told him that he wouldn't have much fun and he left it at that.
I grew nervous as I got onto the subway. I took the red train down to the lower Manhattan area and got off a few blocks from where Gio's new deli was opening. I saw the sign before I saw the line of people waiting to get in. I stood in front of a teenage girl, without realizing the line.
"Hey…the line starts back there…get a clue…and while you're at it…I would really get a new pair of glasses…we do live in the year 2009 and NOT 1958." As I turned to acknowledge the girl I realized it was Gio's sister. "Oh…it's you…you're not on the guest list." She didn't even look down at the clipboard she was holding.
"What, no Antonella…Gio and I are friends. Of course he'd want me here…" I felt shocked. We made up just a few months ago. Now he was giving me the cold shoulder.
"Ok, well if by friends you mean: Betty Suarez is not to be allowed in to this grand opening, then please…be my guest…." Antonella remarked sarcastically.
"Fine. I can find another way in…there's obviously some mistake…" I turned and walked around a corner and into an alley. I found the backdoor to Gio's place and tried it. It was locked. I heard a voice coming from inside. "Just open the door and throw the ice out, Roberto…" Gio was talking to one of his employees. Before I even had a chance to move the door swung open, clobbered me in the head and a bucket full of ice and water was dumped on me. "Suarez….?" Gio gave me a quizzical look as he held an empty bucket.
"I…I thought Roberto was going to dump….the…i…ice…" I said as I shivered from the ice water.
"Yeah well, that was until Roberto was asked to clear off the tables." Gio informed me as he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here…you're like a stalkaholic or something." He sighed and decided to help me to my feet.
"Thanks…and no…I am not stalking you…just showing you my support…since we're…friends…" I tried to meet his gaze, but he shook his head.
"Hmm…interesting…but what part of 'you broke my heart' don't you understand. Yeah, I said we were cool…but I didn't mean that we would get all buddy-buddy and go see 'He's Just Not That Into You' or anything." He shook his head and let me inside.
"Oh…I heard that's a good movie…" I began. I stopped immediately once I saw Gio's burning eyes. "Oh, right."
"Look, you can stay enough to get dried off, but I don't want you to ruin one of the best nights of my life with your constant whining…" He replied, not even looking at me. I could tell that our last encounter was still in his head. I felt terrible.
"Yeah…I…I have to meet my boyfriend anyway…" I informed him.
He stopped and turned to me. "Wow…you really are something special…aren't you?" He responded sarcastically before picking up a towel and walking away. He left me staring at him in confusion.