Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Affogato
Celeste
I’m a nervous eater. Always have been. As much as I’ve tried to be the girl who’s too stressed to eat and loses a pound over a difficult essay, nope.
Not me. This is precisely why, as my nerves rack against my rib cage and a hunger in my belly brews, I’m headed for the ice cream shoppe, with Delaney in tow.
I figure even if Maria sees me, Dominic and I are on good terms, kind of, so this is a safe place to grab a sweet treat.
I need a sugar fix and my best friend to enable me.
“Oh-my-lanta, it’s so cute!” Delaney squeals from beside me.
After how ridiculously happy she was with her taxidermied gift, she was willing to go anywhere I wanted today.
We enter the small but cozy shoppe, Maria waving goodbye to a Mom juggling a baby on her hip and a three year old holding a triple scoop ice cream cup who’s absolutely glowing with excitement.
I hold the door open for her to which she mouths a tired “thank you”.
As exhausting as it looks, I’d like to be a mother one day.
Carrying on the Pinkfordt lineage of strong, independent women, instilling good values and morals, and telling men to shove it if they ask us to smile.
I turn my attention back to the display where Delaney already has her nose pressed to the glass reading over the unique selections.
“Holy Santa Clause shit. Pinky! Come look at this,” she whisper-yells to me, making googly eyes for me to look at the two flavours in front of her.
I look down at the black ink-coloured ice cream that I know to be The Dominico.
My stomach falls flat at the memory of when Dominic and I were here last. A tugging sensation of something pulls at my belly button.
I screw my eyes shut realizing the emotion I’m feeling is longing.
I miss him. Although I just saw him at Delaney’s party, I miss the him he was before we fought.
Before I accepted that stupid date with Jude.
“Would you like a double scoop of The Diminico and Celestial Summer?” Maria’s kind voice asks from over the counter as she looks warmly between Delaney and me. My mouth hangs open in confusion.
“I’m sorry, what was the last one?” But before Maria can clarify, Delaney makes a big throat-clearing indication to look down, idiot. The beautifully hand-crafted ice cream sitting next to The Dominico is named Celestial Summer. I read the description tag.
Celestial Summer
Bold and beautiful notes of strawberry and vanilla to bring you back to the sunniest of summers’ days.
Pairs well with: The Dominico
I look back up to Maria’s smiling face. “You made me a flavour?” I ask in a small voice. Utterly flattered and overwhelmed at the underlying message.
“I go where the flavours take me.” Maria says is a jovial dismissal.
“The Dominico was getting lonely and doesn’t pair well with the other flavours.
It takes a special combination. You’ll find that although in opposition, the notes compliment each other.
” Maria winks at me and pulls out ice cream scoopers.
I stand in silence, not sure if I want to laugh at the obscure ridiculousness of being an ice cream flavour or crying at Maria’s motherly intent to push Dominic and me closer together.
Naturally, I ordered The Dominico and Celestial Summer together in a cup because there’s no way I’m walking out of here without trying them together. Across from me, Delaney sits with her Perfectly Pickled and Smooth Peanut Butter ice cream combination. Bowls untouched, I look across from her.
“On three, we taste test these bad boys, got it?” Determination rings in my voice as if the compatibility of the ice cream flavours will decide my fate.
“Onetwothreego!” Delaney rushes, then digs her spoon in, scooping two heaping chunks of both flavours before shovelling them in her mouth. I do the same with mine, but smaller portions.
Here goes nothing.
The ice cream hits my tongue, cool and smooth.
Notes of sharp mint and sugary vanilla swirl together in unison before my taste buds are hit with the sweetness from the chocolate and the tartness of strawberry.
I take a moment to just savour this taste, a pang in my chest suddenly making my eyes go misty.
I fucking miss him. I miss just being around him.
It was so easy to just talk, hang out, be myself.
I’ve felt hollow since sending off the medical school applications; it didn’t feel right without Dominic to be there supporting me like I know he would have.
I forgive him for the yelling, the shitty dates…
I just want to go back to where we were.
That night when we sat there on his couch, watching Jaws.
When in my exhausted delirium, I truly let my guard down and kissed him.
I want that feeling back. I thought that hitting send on my medical school application would relieve me of this tension but it’s still there.
I swallow the lump in my throat not wanting to bawl like a baby in Maria’s ice cream shoppe. I can’t help the quiver of my bottom lip though, the only emotion I’m willing to let slip.
“Wow, you’d never expect peanut butter and pickles to go together so well but, no, actually pickles go well with everythi—” Delaney pauses and I know she can read me like a book.
I don’t want to look up, in case it triggers the fall of my tears but I clear my throat and look at her anyway.
“I’m fine,” I dismiss. “They do. They go really well together.” My voice comes out a little wobbly.
I want to finish the ice cream in my cup because of how delicious it really is, but the meaning behind it gives me pause.
“He wants to meet for coffee. To apologize,” I quietly share with Delaney. It’s not busy in here, but I don’t want Maria to pick up on my conversation about Dominic.
“As he should.” Delaney nods.
“I’m just nervous,” I admit. “It’s not like we haven’t seen each other, but we haven’t talked about us, what we are, or were, or…could be.” I take a few more tentative bites of my ice cream, willing my emotions to hold up until I can do a proper cry in the shower later. Alone. Like a lady.
“It’ll be okay, you’ll see. Ellie told me about their childhood. How guarded he is. I think this is a good step,” she says reassuringly.
I sigh looking out the window at the growing piles of fallen leaves. There’s a bite to the air that makes me want to snuggle under a cozy blanket and read by a fireplace. Yet here I am, eating a cold dessert in a shop that has little traces of Dominic all over it.
“Just listen to him. Be open and honest about what your wants and needs are. That’s all you can do. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then at least you know.” Delaney says with an air of calm wisdom she rarely displays. “I think Dumbledore said that once.”
There it is.
I chuckle at her nonsense. What the hell would I do without Delaney? I haven’t a clue.
* * *
I meander my way through the stocked stacks of Biblio & Brew, the path like muscle memory.
I spot Dominic behind the coffee bar, apron on, as he directs a new guy through the steps of a complicated latte.
I walk up to the bar, hiking my purse higher on my shoulder.
My long camel coloured wool coat kept me cozy outside but with the heat blasting in here I’m suddenly sweltering.
I wriggle it off my shoulders and fold it onto the back of a chair at an empty table.
As I look around, I realize it’s the only one available.
I don’t want to hold a table but he did invite me here.
Is he working right now?
A stem of annoyance blossoms inside me.
If he thinks he can just throw a casual ‘I’m sorry’ at me while on his break I-
“Hey, sorry, Joel just needed some help with an order.” Dominic’s deep voice comes from behind me and I spin, mid-way to sitting down.
“Oh, no problem,” I say automatically, my heart fluttering at the sight of him.
Damn people pleasing reflexes.
“Are you working?” I ask nonchalantly, settling into the chair, noticing the now lack of apron.
I cross my legs, the wide hem of my black jumpsuit fanning loosely around my ankle.
It’s one of my favourite fall outfits, useful for almost any event and super comfortable.
The only downside is having to do yoga in the bathroom when you need to pee.
“No, no, not working. Do you want a coffee or anything?” he asks, his light eyes tracing over each feature on my face.
My cheeks heat a little. “A coffee would be great, thanks.” I nod.
With a smile, he jogs back to the counter to put our order in with Joel before returning to our table.
As he sits down, his jeans stretch across his muscular thighs and his waffle cotton shirt pulls at his wide shoulders and thick arms. The top of his shirt is unbuttoned just enough to expose a little bit of his chest.
“So, Delaney’s birthday was fun,” he starts. I lean forward letting my arms rest across on the table.
“Yeah, it was. I don’t think I’ll ever forget your face when you saw my gift for her.” I snort.
“Hey! It was shocking, okay? I wasn’t expecting sword fighting taxidermied reptiles.”
“Fair. She loved it, by the way,” I say, feeling more comfortable in this easy conversation.
“I don’t doubt it,” he says, his gaze catching mine. His tone is light but I feel there’s something deeper swirling in his eyes.
“Here you are, two coffees. One black.” Joel sets our drinks down and gives Dominic a look of disgust at his coffee preference, then sets mine down. “And one double double.”
“Thank you,” Dominic and I say together.
“Is that the only way you like your coffee?” I joke, trying to make light conversation. I want nothing more than to somehow get away from the awkwardness we’re sitting in and steer us back to how effortless it used to be.
“No, I think my preferences have changed since I met you.” A smile passes his lips before he looks up to meet my eyes.