Page 30 of Mia Amata

She started to lead me into the dining room. She took me back to a small table in the back, next to a large window overlooking a lake. It was a beautiful view. “Sit, sit,” she said. The table was set with two settings, right next to each other instead of across the table. I sat down, while she took the second place setting away. “You are new here, no?”

“Well,” I hesitated, nervous about sharing things with strangers. “Yes, I just moved here a few days ago.”

“You have plenty of time to find a man here,” Louisa predicted in typical Italian fashion.

“I’m not really looking,” I explained.

“Oh, but you will. The men, they will be after you like crazy!”

Just then we heard Sal’s booming voice, “Jacob! It’s about time you paid your uncle Sal and aunt Louisa a visit. Louisa! Our Jacob is here.”

“That man,” Louisa said, shaking her head, but it was obvious she adored Sal. She hurried over after handing me a menu.

“Uncle Sal, Aunt Louisa!” I looked over to see Jacob standing there. I instantly looked at the menu, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. I could hear the three of them chatting by the entrance.

“Jacob! It has been too long.” Louisa chided him.

“Sorry Aunt Louisa, I’ve been busy lately.”

“Too busy to come see your family?” Louisa scolded.

“Louisa,” Sal boomed, “quit harassing the boy, show him to a table!”

Having made my mind up on what I wanted to order, I lay down the menu, looking out the window at the lake. I waited for the waitress to come take my order.

“Mia?” I heard Jacob ask. Steeling myself, I turned to look at him.

“Hi, Jacob,” I said.

“You know our Jacob?” Before either of us could reply, “Sit! Sit!” Louisa was pushing Jacob to sit on a chair at my table.

She looked at us, then gave a huge smile, “I bring you your drinks then take your order.” She walked off, calling to Sal as she went.

Jacob looked at me apologetically. “Sorry about that. They are the typical Italian family. I can ask for my own table if you want me to.”

I watched Sal and Louisa working together, “I like them. It’s OK, I would hate to upset Louisa.” I really didn’t want him to sit at my table, he made me nervous and anxious, but I didn’t want to be rude.

He asked what I would like to eat, I told him what I had decided to order. Pretty soon Louisa was back with our drinks, ready to take our order. I ordered the pasta primavera, while Jacob ordered shrimp Fra d iavolo.

I looked around the restaurant, which was busy, but I noticed that the tables closest to ours were not being used. This did little to help my anxiety, but I was in a public place and a loud cry for help would get attention. That realization helped me to calm down.

“Sal and Louisa are making sure we aren’t disturbed. Sorry, they like to play matchmaker for me.” He took a drink of his soda.

I laughed a little. “Do they do that a lot?”

“Yes, they do. They think it is a shame that I am still not married.”

Louisa showed up with our meals at that point. “You’re not getting any younger Jacob. You could do worse than this lovely young lady.” She said this all matter-of-factly and then walked away.

I was stunned, didn’t know how to reply to that. Jacob seemed nervous, picking up his fork and playing with the shrimp on his plate.

Deciding to ignore Louisa’s statement, I picked up my fork and started eating. We ate in awkward silence for a few minutes, then started a casual conversation.

“How’s your pasta?” he asked.

“It’s very good.”

“This is the best Italian in the state,” he declared.

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