That's Amore

I watched with Alex and Athena as Emmitt fell head over heels for the girl of his dreams. I knew she was special when I first met her, Ms. Leah Anderson, but I didn’t realize how much they were alike. Emmitt was the type of person who hated everyone no matter who you were. He was a recluse and he didn’t like talking about his work. This woman was different; she loved people, especially strangers, and she loved to talk about anything that caught her mind. She loved being in the open and she loved smiling. Emmitt had lost the feeling of happiness ever since his ex-girlfriend Michelle broke up with him but when he and Leah sat together and spoke, he seemed to change. It was like in those few words, the few sentences she said, and the first glances she gave him determined whether or not he would like her. The thing that made them alike was their laugh; they seemed to be happy and care free when they laughed and it was like they didn’t have a care in the world.

Athena and Alex agreed that Emmitt looked alive again. He bought books at a store and was confronted by a beautiful blond girl that had come in with Leah. She looked like she was just doing some shopping and started the conversation rather elegantly with a ‘hi, can you help me’ bit. Emmitt didn’t like the look of her but couldn’t deny anyone help. He did what he could for her and she began to flirt with him. Alex and Athena and I were staring as he rather rudely dismissed the girl and walked by. The three of us sighed and watched the woman as she ground her teeth.

“I can’t believe I was just rejected,” she said with a growl. I shrugged and walked passed her towards the front. I spotted Emery and began to say hello when I saw the pale, fragile looking girl connected to him at the lips. I grinned to myself, thinking how funny it was that my best friend’s nephew was kissing the girl related to the woman of his uncle’s dreams. Alex, Athena, Leah and her friend joined us and it was her friend who cleared her throat. Emery and the girl, Tiffany, separated and both were pink in the face. I wondered to myself if Leah and Emmitt would have looked like that if they were teenagers. I had only known Emmitt since college. The four of us got together in college and stuck around for the past eight years.

The three of us—the A’s that is—joined Emmitt in line and watched as he sadly paid for his mountain of books. I watched as Leah and her friend left and the way she smiled and laughed made me think of Emmitt in the days pre-Michelle. Athena and Alex began to talk to him about the girl and what he liked about her. Leah had come up with a plan and filled us in while we were walking around the store. We would experiment with different girls and see how they reacted to him. Jess, that’s Leah’s friend’s name, didn’t like that he was rude and snarky. She said he came off as standoffish and superior. She said she’d rather a humbled man than a rude one.

I could see her point and Emmitt certainly didn’t act like an angel when he was around strangers. Athena and Alex got nowhere with the Jess girl so we gave up and went to the next place. We brought him to the store. Another girl that Leah and Jess had picked out was there. However, Emmitt was less than happy to see her. When we talked to her, she said she didn’t like that he looked like he was homeless. It was true he was wearing flip-flops, jeans and a grubby t-shirt but that’s what guys wear! Again we tried when we brought him to the supermarket. He ran into three different girls who all came back and told us that they didn’t like his hair, his humor or his manners. Everything about Emmitt did leave things to be desired but these girls were just ruthless. They wanted to change the color of his hair, make him more polite and more open with them on the first encounter. They didn’t understand that it wasn’t how Emmitt worked. Emmitt needed to warm up to you. He was never someone to just give himself completely to someone else. He gave you a piece of who he was and if you could handle it, he would come back and give you more. There was only one promising girl who seemed too jaded to really notice his horrible attitude. He managed to get her to laugh and to get himself to smile and they parted ways with the exchange of phone numbers. By the day’s end, we were all exhausted from bringing around Emmitt to places where he could meet these women.

“Wow,” said Emmitt as we brought the things up to his apartment. “I got so much accomplished! We should do this every weekend! Those girls were odd though. I’ve never had so many women come onto me in one day.”

“You’re just getting popular, Em,” Athena said as she sighed and placed the bags of things on Emmitt’s floor. Emery was behind us with a few bags of groceries and books.

“I hate you,” he muttered to Emmitt as he finally put down the bags.

“Thanks guys,” Emmitt said as he gave us all a thumbs up “Good work! Now time for a nap.” The four of us ground out teeth and left him in peace as he laid his head on his pillow and dozed off. The four of us left quickly to meet up with Leah and Tiffany. Jess had gone back home and the two girls were waiting to determine how to help Emmitt. It was about nine o’clock when we finally determined that we needed to change everything about Emmitt.

“Who’s going to tell him that we’re going to have to change him for Madison?” Leah asked as she rubbed her eyes. Everyone looked at each other then at Emery and Leah. Leah looked at us through one eye and sighed while closing it back up. She held out a fist to Emery and cleared her throat. “Ready; go. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.” She said quickly while moving her hand. Emery threw out a paper while she had scissors. “Have fun with that, Emery.” She said with a small giggle.

“I want to go home,” Alex muttered as he laid his head down on the table. He and Athena were falling asleep and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s nine o’clock.”

“I have to get up in the morning,” said Athena.

“And I have to as well!” Alex snapped as he looked at me.

“Not all of us are fortunate enough to get Sunday’s off, you know.” Athena said as she rose from where we sat and walked to the door. “Have a good night guys!” Alex followed after her, saying the same thing.

“Don’t you have to go with them?” Emery asked.

“I can walk home,” I said with a shrug.

“Nonsense,” Leah said with a smile. “I’ll bring you home.” I smiled and thanked her while she and Tiffany rose. Emery stood as well, looked at Tiffany with a small, tired smile. The four of us got into the car and two kids dozed off soundly in the back seat, their hands touching. I laughed a little and Leah smiled as well. “They look like little children.”

“I guess love has no age limit.” I said as I looked back at the road. She didn’t say anything but smiled like she agreed. “So you don’t want to date Emmitt?” I asked. She laughed a little and shook her head.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m not his type.”

“You’re right,” I said. “You actually have a heart.” She looked at me and I sighed. “Michelle was kind of a bad person but Emmitt loved her for some reason. She left him for another man and he seemed to spiral downward. He never likes when girls were too clingy but Michelle was different. It was like she didn’t care about him at all. He loved that he was her second option. He’s a very strange man,” I said as I sighed. She nodded and pulled up to my apartment. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I left her car. She smiled and waited until I got into the apartment before pulling away to drop off Emery at home.



I drove to the coffee shop early the next morning, getting my daily dose of coffee when I saw a familiar order sitting on the counter.

“He’s over there,” the woman at the counter, Gloria, said as she pointed to the corner of the shop. The sunlight washed Emmitt’s face in light and I stared at him while he typed away. I sighed, grabbed his order and started away. “Oh Archer,” said Gloria. “He’s been sitting there all morning. He got here at seven and has just been typing away on his computer.” I glanced at the clock and sighed.

“Three hours?” I asked her. She shrugged and went back to work. I walked over to Emmitt, staring at him as he worked. When Emmitt was in the zone, there was a look in his eyes that said he thought of only writing. He didn’t know anything else. He was so focused he didn’t see, hear, or think anything else. “You want to take a break to drink your cold coffee?” He looked up at me, pushing the black glasses up on his nose.

“I don’t like cold coffee…” He said as he stared at his order in my hand.

“It would have been warm three hours ago.” I said as I sat down. He sighed and handed me a large stack of papers. “What’s this?”

“Two chapters all done for you, Mr. Editor.” He said. I blinked.

“Two? It takes you a week and a half to get me one. You’re going to tell me that it took you a few hours to write me two chapters?” I demanded. He nodded and offered me a grin.

“I had a….a Muse, I guess. I woke up and just started to write. It was nice! I just kept writing and writing and when I woke up, I got out of the house, came here and started to write again. It’s amazing! I’m almost done with this chapter here.” He tapped the screen of his computer gently. “I honestly can’t find a reason for it.” I smiled and looked down at the papers in my hand.

“A new character?” I asked. He nodded and began to tell me about her.

“She came to me in my dream. I saw her standing there with the archer and the prince, just talking, her laugh bringing them to their knees in stitches. She was hilarious, witty, smart, delicate and still ruthless.”

“She’s a fighter?”

“She is from a different country. She is the princess.”

“A princess? And what will she do? What purpose will she serve? How will she affect the plot?”

“I’m fixing to have her bring an alliance.”

“And what will happen to the king?”

“He’ll die.”

“How predictable of you, Emmitt,” I muttered into my coffee.

“But,” he said happily “the prince and the princess will come together and they will bring happiness back.”

“Wow, now there is something different for you. I like it.”

“I do too. It’s so nice being happy.”

“Have you found a girly?”

“No,” he said. “It’s nothing like that.” I laughed and nodded.

“Let’s get you outside, Em. It’s a nice day outside.” I said as I closed his computer and bit his Danish. He sighed and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

“Fine,” he said. I laughed a little and walked with him out the door to his car. He placed his computer in the back and grabbed his sweater. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Let’s just walk around?”

“Alright. What’s going on with all these women?” he asked. “They just seem to flock to me yesterday. It’s crazy.”

“I don’t know,” I said shrugging. “It’s probably because you’re so attractive.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. A few girls walked up to him, said hi and flirted with him. I smirked and watched as he spoke to the girls with a smile but quickly dismissed them. He and I continued to walk and there was something in the way he was that made him….more likeable. When you saw Emmitt walking down the street, you’d think he was a scary or dangerous man. He was tall and intimidating. He had a look in his eyes that said he was less than willing to talk to you, no matter who you were. “You’re in such a good mood today, Emmitt.” He laughed and shrugged.

“I feel light as a feather.”

“Em, I have a question.” I said as I looked at him.

“Alright,” he replied.

“What if I told you I could get you a girl who really likes you, who really wants to date you and is just your type of girl?” He hesitated and looked at me.

“What about her?” I sighed.

“Her name’s Madison. She’s just your type. I think you’ll really like her and she’ll really like you! As soon as you change a few things about yourself….” He sighed and looked at me with those eyes that said he was not fooling around.

“Look, why would I need to change for some girl?”

“You changed for Michelle.” He ground his teeth and looked away. “It’ll just be a minor change. Just brushing up on your manners, that’s all!” He glanced at me and sighed.

“I guess if it’ll make you and my sisters happy, I’ll give her a shot.” I smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“You make an editor happy, Mr. Rausia. Right this way, we’ll start it up.” I led him into a big building that had the words “Red Apple Salon” in big letters.

“Why are we--?”

“I think this color would be nice,” Athena said as she smacked a box to Emmitt’s face. The giggles of a young girl drew Emmitt’s attention to a girl and her friend spinning in chairs. Emmitt frowned and glared at me.

“Am I getting a haircut, Archer?” I smiled at him and nodded.

“And a hair color change!” said Alex. “I think he’d look good as a blond.”

“I like his dark, mysterious hair,” said Leah as she walked into the room. Emmitt looked at her and she smiled. “Long time no see, Mr. Rausia.” He smiled a little.

“Too long, Ms. Anderson.” She smiled and looked at Athena.

“The darker the hair color, the more his eyes will pop, don’t you think? He has beautiful blue eyes,” she said as she looked at Emmitt. His cheeks turned a bright pink as he walked away from me to talk to Emery, who screeched and tried to escape Emmitt’s rear. Leah laughed and looked at the women around the shop. “Brown then?” she asked them. They all heartily agreed and started toward Emmitt, who glared at all of us. I smiled and held up a thumb up to encourage him. With a serious face, he lifted a single middle finger and turned around. “Emmitt, you’re being too hard on him. He’s just trying to help.” He looked at her before turning away.

“Don’t talk to me, Traitor.”

“I’m the traitor?” she asked with a laugh. “I’m trying to help.” He turned his nose up with a pout and the women began to talk to him, giggling and smiling excessively. Leah sat next to Emmitt, talking to him, making him smile and talk to the girls around him.

“I hope this is all we’re doing,” Emmitt muttered. I stood next to Leah, who smiled rather coldly.

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Rausia. You and I are going to change you completely.” He glared at me.

“You said it was just a minor change!”

“Believe me,” I said as I looked away. “A minor change for us is a major change for you.” He sighed and let the women work on his hair and face.

When we were all done, Leah began to laugh hysterically. Emmitt rose from the chair, his hair a dark red color. It looked almost brown but it had the bits of fire on top that brought out his Irish heritage. His face was clean shaven, his long, angular face covered in a fine layer of pale cream. His jaw was set, the square base moving back and forth ever so slightly. He looked angry. He glared at Leah, who was giggling like mad. He reached for her but she moved aside, calling him a pretty woman. He chased after her, making her laugh more.

“You look like an oversized Leprechaun!” she giggled as she ran out the door. Emmitt glared at me, his nostrils flaring.

“I hate you.” Athena and Alex dragged him out of the store while I paid the woman and collected more information.

“I don’t like that he looked at Leah. I mean, I wouldn’t want to date a guy who looked at another woman.” I nodded and smiled charmingly at them.

“Thank you, my dears. You have been a great help.” They giggled at me and waved as I left. I saw Emery standing outside with Tiffany and Alex, waiting for me. I joined them quickly while Athena and Leah were in a nail salon. “What is he doing in there?”

“Women said that his hands were too rough,” Tiffany said as she stared down at a paper.

“What’s that?” Alex asked.

“Leah made this last night. She said she couldn’t think so she organized all the things about Emmitt people liked and all the things they didn’t like.” I looked at the list of things people didn’t like



“You might want to include that he looks at other women.” I said as I handed her back the paper.

“Huh?” asked Alex and Emery.

“The women in the shop said that he looked at Leah too much. He looked at her and talked to her. They said that they couldn’t date a man who looked at another woman.”

“I wouldn’t date a man like Emmitt at all,” Tiffany said. “If they knew him like we did, they wouldn’t even want to talk to him.”

“That’s not nice,” Emery said.

“It’s true! I mean, you see him every day. He has a bad temper, is gullible, hates strangers, hates family, doesn’t have any manners, barely bathes, doesn’t do anything for himself, can’t cook, can’t clean, can’t drive for crap, has an awful sense of humor, makes too many references to things we don’t know—things no one would know—eats so much…is so picky about his food and the things he does, and lives through you. I’m sorry, those are just bad qualities.” I laughed at her and shook my head.

“Emmitt’s a good guy, Tiffany,” I told her. “He may have all those flaws but you haven’t seen him like I’ve seen him. He has a bad temper because of his low tolerance for imperfection. He doesn’t like giving people bad quality things and when people can’t produce the good things, he gets mad. He’s gullible because when he was little—or so I’m told—he never had many friends and so he tried to do whatever he could to make friends. He hates strangers because when he grew up, he realized people aren’t all good. He hates his family because he loves them so much he can’t live without them. He has no manners, doesn’t bathe, can’t cook or clean and eats like crazy is because he’s a guy; we all do that. He is hard working and determined and likes things to be in a pattern. He likes routine and the familiar. He’s not one for change. He’s a good guy when you get through to him.” She narrowed an eye at me before shaking her head.

“I don’t know how anyone could want him.”

“Leah does,” Alex said softly. I looked at him, as did Emery and Tiffany. “Look at her.” He said, nodding his head toward the window. We saw the two laughing and smiling. She was so kind to him and she wasn’t trying to get anything from him. She liked him for who he was and that was a feat all in itself. “He likes her, too.” Alex added.

“How do you know?” Tiffany asked.

“Look at his face,” Alex said. “See the way he’s relaxed and the way he smiles so casually? He doesn’t have to act around her and that’s something none of us have been able to do. There’s something about her that’s familiar to him and it brings out the person he should be.” Tiffany sighed and shook her head.

“I wish they would just say they like each other already.”

“You know what?” I asked. “I have an idea.”