Arranged in the City In Love in the Suburbs

The drive down to Crystal’s was agonizing. Drivers were insane on the turnpike, and there was nothing on the radio. So I ended up listening to my Twilight Soundtrack about five times. But all of that was worth it when I pulled into her drive way.

“Leslie! Leslie!” Anne called from the front porch.
“Hey baby-cakes!” I replied excitedly. “Hey Cryst.”
“Hey! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in months.” She exchanged.
“I’ve been planning the wedding from hell. Remember?”
“Ha, come on. Let’s go inside.”

I followed her inside and sat on the couch. Anne plopped right on my lap. She was still in her cute school uniform. A dark checkered jumper with a thin belt going across the stomach. A short sleeve blouse underneath with a slight rounded collar. And a pair of black Mary Janes with navy blue socks.

Crystal had Anne when she was eighteen. Her boyfriend left her when he found out about the pregnancy. When I got pulled out of collage, I came to live in Philadelphia with her. While Cryst was at school, I would take care of Anne. But when she graduated in June she moved into her new house on Galli Dr. and started working at Arts of the Dance and Music Centre, where she worked as a Tap, Jazz, and Irish Tap teacher.

Anne took classes there, never let the fact that her mommy was there get to her. She was always a giddy child.

I went into “my” room and unpacked my bag. Anne got changed and Crystal took a shower. When we were all ready we went to a little Italian restaurant called “Giorgio’s”. We sat at out regular table in the corner by the kitchen and talked girl talk. When Giorgio would come by we would hold a conversation in Italian and Anne would look at us like we were crazy, which in some cases, we were.

“I’ll have the Pork Assabooko.” Cryst told Sue, our waitress.
“Soup or Salad?” Sue replied as part of the basic procedure.
“Soup.”
“Italian Wedding or Chicken Noodle?”
“Italian Wedding.”
Sue gestured to me, “And you?”
“I’ll have the Penne alla Vodka.”
“Soup or Salad?”
“Italian Wedding.”
“And for the little one?” Sue looked toward Anne with a smile on her face.
Crystal replied, “She’ll have the Gnocchi alla Sorrentino. With a cup of the Chicken Noodle.”
“Great! Your soups will be our shortly.”
“Thanks Sue.”

I told Crystal about her Maid of Honor Dress, and she completely fell in love with it. I told her that I chose Anne to be the flower girl. And that her dress was light pink with medium think straps and a flat white shoe with a flower on the toe. Anne smiled the biggest smile she could when she found out she was going to wear a flower.

The night was going great, especially when Anne saw the big plate of food in front of her. Needless to say Cryst took most of it home. I ate almost all of my Penne and Crystal ate all of her Pork. Her pork was like Flintstone meat. The bone and all.

When it came time for dessert, Anne had the Tartufo. Tartufo is ice cream with a cherry in the center. I have the Chocolate Lava Cake. Lava Cake is a chocolate cake with hot fudge in the center and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Cryst had the New York Cheese Cake.

The night was perfect, until we played twister.