Chapter 17 #3
He finished with a sad smile on his face, and I wondered if whatever Nesto and I were doing would last long enough for me to get to know Milo better. I liked how direct he was; he just said what was on his mind. It seemed like a very liberating and very painful way to walk through life.
In that moment I felt glad for Nesto and a bit sad for myself, because he had people in his life who knew his story. Who understood the ways in which he was strong and the ways in which he wasn’t, and they still loved him. Not despite, but because of it.
I’d made myself hold so much of the past inside for so long, I feared no one truly knew me, not even Carmen. I was about to say something to Milo when I heard a yelp from Nesto on the other side of the room.
“Holy shit! This is wild.” He came over quickly while tapping on his phone screen with a huge grin on his face. Juanpa was hustling after him, with an equally large grin on his own.
“Nesto, deja eso,” Milo said as he smacked him hard on the arm. “Tell us what’s going on.”
He held up his phone screen for us to see, still smiling wide. It was open to an Instagram account and on the screen there was a photo of a familiar-looking woman holding out one of Nesto’s burritos for the person who took the photo. The caption read,
Spent the afternoon in the Finger Lakes Wine and Brew Festival and was blown away by the amazing wine, beer, and food being offered.
This is me doing a happy dance before digging into my second burrito of the day from @OuNYeAfroCaribe.
If you are at the festival this weekend, stop by their stand for life-giving burritos with amazing Caribbean flavors.
The one in the photo is The Marley, inspired by the flavors of Jamaica, including haddock fried in a Jerk and Red Stripe batter.
SO GOOD. The couple who run it are two lovely men, who had me literally eating out of their hands.
If you are in the area come GET YOUR LIFE with their incredible food.
#NYMagazine #OuNYeAfroCaribe #BestName #FingerLakesWine&Brew #Foodstagram #Foodie #FoodCritic
I looked at her face again and realized she was the woman I’d talked with that afternoon.
She was wearing the same flowy top and Yankees baseball hat.
Apparently she was a critic for New York Magazine and had over two hundred thousand followers.
The photo with Nesto’s burrito already had more than three thousand likes.
“Wow,” was all I could say. I passed the phone back to Nesto and he immediately started tapping on the screen.
After a few seconds he looked up at me, smiling.
“We’ve had like three hundred people follow the account since she posted that.
” He leaned over and kissed me hard on the lips.
Then looked back at Juanpa and Milo who were busy checking their phones, I assumed reading the post as well.
“That’s the lady Jude helped at the stand today, bruh. I told you guys he was mad good with her.” Nesto always fell back into his Bronx accent when he was happy or excited.
“Oh I don’t know about that. If the food wasn’t amazing, no amount of charm could’ve made her post that.”
Nesto nodded and conceded the point, looking more than a little proud of himself.
“True. True. My food is dope, but there were a lot of vendors there, and other than a couple wine and beer places, she didn’t feature anyone else from the festival, and that’s huge.
Babe, this is the kind of exposure we need.
Stuff like this is what puts a business like ours on the map. ”
He leaned in again to give me another kiss. I had not missed the fact that he used the words “we” and “ours,” or that the critic had assumed we were a couple, but I wasn’t going to go down that rabbit hole right now either. The conversation with Camilo was enough to have me fretting for days.
Milo was still looking at his phone as he talked. “Nes, you should see the other places she’s been posting about, like major foodie spots. This will bring you some attention for sure.” He snapped his head up. “You need to repost this on your account, keep the buzz going a bit.”
“I will,” Nesto said, quickly tapping on his phone screen. “But let’s get back to work. We only need a few more things prepared and can go get some rest. Hopefully we’ll be doing lots of business tomorrow for when Mr. Sheridan stops by, if he stops by.” A frown shadowing his handsome face.
Milo laughed. “Now you just want attention. He’ll come by. Didn’t Jude say like ten times the guy’s known in town for being great to work with?”
I nodded. “That’s true.”
Nesto relaxed, and before going back to his station he stopped and asked quietly, “You still want to hang out afterward?” His lips lightly grazed my ears as he talked. The fluttering in my stomach was getting ridiculous.
“Yes.”
“Good.” After another kiss he went back to work.
I looked after him, thinking about the conversation with Camilo, and how much I wanted what he said to be true. Nesto’s “we” sounded so natural.