Today's Special is the Jerk-Chicken Salad - Chapter 5: Untouched Biscotti
Gio was the last person Betty wanted to see when her life was going down the tubes. How could she hide the truth from him? He always knew her too well.
"Oh god, what am I doing here?" wailed Betty. "How did this happen?"
Hilda sat down beside Betty and grabbed her hand.
"Gio, can you bring us some water? The flights were grueling, and then, uh, there was a mix up about her luggage, and she fell off her scooter. We've been through a huge ordeal and Betty's exhausted."
Betty squeezed Hilda's hand tightly. As soon as Gio was out of the room she pleaded to Hilda, "Help me! Get me out of here."
"No, we're on holiday, Betty. Let's try to have some fun."
"I can't!" whined Betty. "Not with him around."
"Come on, it's just Gio, you'll be fine."
"He looks different! I hardly recognize him."
"He's the same nice guy he always was."
"But I can't let him see me like this," cried Betty. "I'm so embarrassed."
"Betty, get a grip on yourself! It's not that bad."
"But what will people think when they find out I visited Gio?"
"No one will know," said Hilda.
"They will find out," cried Betty. "How did this happen? This is your fault!"
"It was an accident," said Hilda. "We'll tell them it's an accident."
"I don't know," said Betty, covering her face. "I don't know!"
"Snap out of it," said Hilda gaily. "Gio wants to show us around and it'll be fun. It'll take your mind off everything. And you want that, right?"
"Yes," said Betty. "I guess so. But what am I going to tell him about …?"
"Nothing. You don't have to tell him anything."
"I don't?"
"No. He won't know about it and he doesn't have to find out about it." Hilda pointed towards the bar at the back, where the cat was sitting, and said cheerfully, "Hey, Gio has a cat! Do you want to pet it?"
"I'm not a baby!" said Betty, standing up and walking to the bar. She sat on a bar stool beside the purring cat and stroked it, murmuring, "Aren't you a pretty kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty …"
With a bundle of clean clothes tucked under his arm, Gio emerged from the kitchen and set down several bottles of chilled water and a dish of lemon wedges on the bar. He put the clothes on the bar and walked around behind the bar to get out three glasses, setting them in front of Betty.
"I didn't know if you wanted sparkling or still, so I brought both."
Hilda opened a bottle of sparkling water and poured it out. Betty stopped petting the cat and drank hers up quickly. Hilda poured her more.
"You like Pickles?" said Gio to Betty.
"Um," said Betty, puzzled that he was asking her this. "Of course I like pickles."
"The cat, I mean," said Gio. "I call him Pickles."
"You call your pet, Pickles?" exclaimed Betty. "That's so cute!"
"No! He's not my pet," said Gio stiffly. "We have a business relationship."
"Oh?" said Betty. "What do you mean by that?"
"The deal is, I feed him, and he takes care of the rats."
"Eww, rats?" said Hilda, looking disgusted.
"No, there're no rats, he's good!" Gio chucked the cat under the chin affectionately, and cooed to him, "We never have a rodent problem in this place, do we Pickles?"
"He's gorgeous and he's good," said Hilda, petting the cat.
"So, what's up with Bobby?" asked Gio.
"Volunteer work," said Hilda. "Unexpectedly, the team he coaches made it into the league finals and he wanted to stay with them. He hated to come away because the kids love him. They wanted him there."
"Wow, dedicated," said Gio. "He chose coaching over your anniversary vacation?"
"Yeah," said Hilda, sighing. "But, it's not like our anniversary's going anywhere, right?"
"Come back anytime," said Gio.
"You bet!" said Hilda. "After the baby comes."
"How's it going?" asked Gio.
"Good." Hilda patted her stomach. "I hope to have a boy this time."
Gio and Betty stared at her.
"I mean, a boy that likes sports."
"We're staying at the Azalea Lodge," said Betty. "You know it?"
"Of course," said Gio. "It's the best kept secret on the island. I recommend it to everybody." He'd recommended it to Hilda and Bobby for their anniversary vacation.
Hilda stepped back so she could wave at Gio, unseen by Betty, and indicate he should keep quiet.
"Hilda said she found it on the trip advisor website," said Betty.
"I did," said Hilda, sitting back on her bar stool. "It got tons of rave reviews."
"Then why did Gio call it a secret?"
"It's the best kept secret everyone knows about," said Gio lamely, glancing at Hilda. He really needed a chance to talk to her privately.
"So, when do you open?" asked Betty, putting her empty glass on the bar and looking around for a menu. "I'm hungry."
"I'm closed for the occasion," said Gio. "So, I can make you anything you want."
"What occasion?" asked Betty.
Behind Betty, Hilda gestured at Gio, shaking her head and drawing a finger across her neck.
"Um," said Gio, puzzled, looking at Hilda for hints.
Hilda gestured with more emphasis but Gio still had no idea what she meant; only that he should not continue with what he was about to say, which was that their arrival was the occasion.
"Uh, here's a menu," said Gio, handing her one, and trying to intuit from Hilda's gestures what she wanted him to say. "But, I can make you anything."
"What's the occasion?" asked Betty. "Is today special?"
"It is … it's …" said Gio, stalling, thinking frantically, and looking at Hilda for clues.
Betty noticed Gio was looking at Hilda and turned around. When Hilda saw Betty start to turn she dropped her purse on the floor and quickly ducked down.
"Wednesday," said Gio, giving up on Hilda. "It's Wednesday today, so I'm closed."
"A day of the week?" asked Betty, turning back to Gio. "That's the occasion?"
"Hump day," said Gio cheerfully, pumping his fist into the air.
"Hump day?" said Betty.
"Yup, everything after this is downhill!"
"High five!" said Hilda, popping up and slapping palms with Gio.
They chanted to each other, "Happy hump day!" and danced a little jig.
"Bahamians sure are odd," said Betty, shaking her head, "celebrating Wednesday by taking the day off."
"We know how to take it easy here." Gio remembered the fresh clothes and said, "Now, I think you should get out of those muddy things."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable walking around in my underwear," said Betty, pointedly looking at Gio's body, "like some people."
"Not underwear, board shorts … surfing gear," said Gio. He smirked and posed, showing off his sculpted abs.
"Oooh!" squealed Hilda in approval.
Betty snorted.
"Don't waste your breath trying to deny it," said Gio to Betty. "I can tell you like what you see."
"Puffed up peacock!" teased Betty, eyes sparkling. "You're distracting me, that's all."
"You want me to put an apron on?" said Gio. "I wasn't expecting guests so early."
"On your day off?" said Betty, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I meant, on my day off," said Gio. He gave Hilda a puzzled glance, and then looked back to Betty. "Give me your muddy clothes and I'll wash them."
"No need to trouble yourself. I'll get these dry-cleaned after I buy some new things."
"It's no trouble," said Gio.
"Gio," cried Betty. "I said I don't want to walk around half naked until then."
"Don't knock it till you try it," said Gio, picking up the bundle of clothes from the counter. "You wouldn't believe how much I save on dry-cleaning!"
Hilda and Betty laughed. Betty couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed and she was surprised at how good it made her feel.
"Take these clothes," said Gio, holding them out. "And I can get you some flip-flops out of the lost and found." Gio pointed to a door behind the bar. "There's a shower behind there. Give me your clothes and I'll wash them and hang them on the line out back."
"Gio, I don't want to be a bother," said Betty. "I'll take care of it later. As soon as the stores open up I can buy some new things."
"That's hours from now," said Gio. "And a shower will do you good."
"It's a good idea," said Hilda, taking the clothes from Gio. "Come with me, Betty. I'll do a temporary fix on your nail."
Betty and Hilda grabbed their purses and went into Gio's bathroom.
"See," said Hilda, filing Betty's rough fingernail. "Didn't I tell you Gio's a nice guy?"
"Yes, you're right. Gio's a good friend. All my other friends are Daniel's friends and, today, I really need my own friend."
Soon, her thirst quenched and cooled by the welcome spray of the shower, Betty began to feel much better. She considered that the day might not turn out as bad as she had thought. What an amazing coincidence that after traveling so many miles they'd end up walking straight into Gio's restaurant! It was such a quirky and delightful little restaurant. And Gio didn't know what was going on, which made it the perfect escape.
She salivated at the thought of breakfast. She was starving and anything Gio made her was bound to be delicious. She was shocked by how much she was looking forward to spending the day with him. She regretted that they'd lost touch with each other after they'd gotten married. Not that she would have kept in touch with him anyway. Gio lived in the Bahamas, a no go zone. Daniel said no one who was anyone came here anymore, but she knew the real reason he avoided it was because of her history here with Matt.
She had to be careful not to be seen with Gio, because that would look bad. It would, of course, be taken the wrong way. No one would believe she came here by chance. She could imagine the tabloid headlines, they'd scream something like 'Meade runs from marriage crisis into the arms of her former lover!' And they'd accompany the story with an incriminating photograph, which would be any photograph with both of them in it, and that other picture, the one taken almost four years ago, of Gio kissing her in the deli, which Amanda and Marc had emailed to every Mode employee. Four years later, that picture was still easy to find on Google images.
No one would care that they weren't actually former lovers. This error would never be acknowledged nor corrected.
While Betty was busy in the bathroom, Gio and Hilda took her silk blouse, wool slacks, and boots into the kitchen to clean them, laughing and joking and catching up with each other.
After finishing with her shower, Betty looked around the good-sized bathroom; it was neat and tidy, and since she could only see masculine items in it she could tell Gio's wife never used it. She toweled herself off and dressed in the white spaghetti-strapped tank top and bright floral print sarong skirt that Gio had given her. The cute lace frill of her red bra peeked over the neckline of the tank top and she felt pretty and fresh. She let her hair hang wet, enjoying the coolness of it dripping on her skin. She didn't know how to tie the sarong securely so she just wrapped it around herself twice and tucked the end in like she would for a towel.
Barefoot, Betty padded out of the bathroom and paused behind the bar. On its lower counter she saw a small china cup full of espresso gone cold and an untouched biscotti laying on its saucer and a newspaper. The Wednesday, April 4, 2012 edition of the New York Times. The paper was folded open to page five. She leaned over to scan the headlines.
The top story was about her.
Sucker-punched by the full force of her appalling predicament, Betty screamed.