Falling In Love... Was The Best Idea I Ever Had.

Cal and I left to go find Gerard and Mikey; she was all but skipping. We found them just leaving Journeys.

“GUESSWHATGUESSWHAT!” Cal exclaimed.

“What?” Gerard questioned, looking alarmed.

“I have a DATE.”

“What?! No way! With Julie?”

Cal nodded fiercely.

“How did that happen?” Mikey asked.

“She asked me out to lunch today!”

“I believe her exact words were, ‘You’ve been flirting with me for more than six months and you’ve never asked me out,’” I added.

Gerard and Mikey howled with laughter and high-fived.

Cal blushed. “Whatever. I told you guys she was gay!”

Mikey nodded. “I definitely didn’t see that one coming.”

“Yeah, well, we all know how accurate your gaydar is,” she retorted.

Now it was Mikey’s turn to blush. “Shut up. Where are we going now?”

“Pages?” Gerard suggested.

“Ooh, great idea. I need some new books.”

Mikey shrugged and I nodded. Gerard and Cal took the lead, discussing some Vonnegut book.

“So,” Mikey glanced at me, a wry smile occupying his face. “What’s your favorite Vonnegut book?”

“Um...” I hesitated. “Well... please don’t kill me, but I’ve actually only read Slaughterhouse-Five.”

Mikey looked shocked. “For seriously?!”

“Yeah... I really liked it, though...” I was a little alarmed by Mikey’s expression, so I added, “Well, which of his books do you recommend?”

“Hmm. Cat’s Cradle, I guess. Or Player Piano.”

“Okay, I’ll look for--” I stopped short. In front of me stood the biggest secondhand bookshop I had ever seen. It was gorgeous.

“Cool store, huh?” Mikey smirked.

“That’s an understatement,” I murmured.

The store was set up like an old library. Shelves and shelves of books, old and new, filled the store, with the odd armchair tucked away in the corners. Heaven, I thought. I’ve died and gone to heaven.

An hour passed, though it felt much shorter. I picked up Cat’s Cradle, two Stephen King novels, a murder mystery that Mikey ordered me to read, and one of my all-time favorite books -- The Catcher in the Rye -- all for less than twenty-five dollars. It really was heaven.

When we finally left the store, Cal had to run to “get ready” for her date. Mikey and Gerard both laughed at her, but Gerard’s laugh seemed oddly forced. There was a hint of an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t place. It wasn’t sadness or anger; not quite fear... Concern? It vanished almost immediately, though. I shrugged it off.

“Now what?”

Gerard shrugged and glanced at Mikey.

“I’m hungry,” Mikey commented. “You guys wanna grab some food?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

“Absolutely,” Gerard agreed.

I followed the brothers to their favorite restaurant: a tiny, locally owned Italian place. A plump older woman rushed over as soon as we walked in the door.

“Gerard! Mikey! Benvenuti!” She cried, kissing each boy European-style. “And who is your friend?” She had a charming Italian accent.

“Mina, this is Frank. Frank, this is Mina. She’s a friend of the family.”

“Ciao, Frank. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” I replied, a little shy.

“Just you three boys today?”

“Si,” Gerard replied.

“Wonderful. This way, if you please. How is your mother, boys?” Mina asked as she led us to a table in the back.

“She’s great, thanks.”

“Good, good. And your father?”

“He’s fine. He’s in Chicago right now, but he’ll be back this weekend.”

“Lovely. Tell them to come in and visit me when he gets back, yes? They haven’t been in here in almost a month.”

Gerard chuckled. “I’ll pass the message along.”

Mina beamed. “Here you are, boys. I’ll give you a few minutes to look at the menu.”

Mikey smiled up at her. “Grazie, Mina.”

She nodded and left us alone.

“You guys speak Italian?” I asked, surprised.

Mikey chuckled. “I only speak a little bit. Gerard is really good, though.”

Gerard shrugged modestly. “I love the language. It’s... romantic.” He turned pink, and Mikey laughed.

I thought it was cute.

xxx

After we finished our shopping, we decided to go to a movie. (We invited Julie, but she had to get home.) By the time the movie was over, we were all exhausted. We rode in near silence, only exchanging soft ‘Goodnights’ when they dropped off Cal and then me.
I didn’t get home until almost ten that night. Liz opened the door, took one look at me, and burst into laughter.

“Well, someone certainly had a successful trip!” She stepped back to let me in.

It was true. In addition to my five books, I’d picked up a pair of black jeans, two tee-shirts, a black blazer, a package of sharpies, a red-and-black-striped tie, three used CDs, and a black-and-white checkered shoulder bag. I’d used up almost all of the money my mom had given me for back-to-school shopping.

“Yeah, I think I’m pretty much set for the rest of the year.”

“It looks like it. I take it you had a good time?”

“It was amazing. I already like Jersey better than Connecticut.” Although I said it half-jokingly, I realized it was entirely true. In one day, I had had more fun and made more friends here than in the last year back home.

Liz looked a little surprised, but smiled. “Well. I’m glad. Do you need any help bringing that stuff upstairs?”

I smiled back. “Thanks, but I think I got it.”

“Okay. There’s some minestrone soup on the stove if you’re hungry.”

“Cool. I’ll have some in a few minutes.”

She nodded and started to walk back to the living room.

“Aunt Liz?”

She turned.

“Thank you. For, y’know, everything.”

She grinned. “Not a problem, Frank. I’m happy to have you.”