Page 10 of The Neighborhood Vampire

He took his seat, picking up the menu. “This was Antonio’s a few days ago, right?”

“Yeah,” Alice said with hesitation in her voice. “At least, I think so.”

A waitress approached. “Welcome to Sylvia’s Bistro. Thank you for being part of our opening weekend. My name is Carmilla. May I start you off with something to drink?”

Alice greeted the young waitress with a smile. “Do you have a selection of wines?”

“Yes,” Carmilla said, flipping Alice’s menu over to the back. “We have a variety of selections on the back. The house specialty is a new blend from Red-Hearted Queen, exclusive to Sylvia’s Bistro.”

“NO!” Alice and Hugo shouted in unison as they both focused on Carmilla.

She took a step back at their reaction.

“Sorry. Uh, we’ll start with water while we look over the list,” Hugo said. His eyes checked Alice’s reaction before nodding to Carmilla.

“I’ll give you two a few minutes to look over the menu,” Carmilla said. She turned to leave.

“Wait,” Hugo said. “Wasn’t this Antonio’s?”

“Yes. Mr. Savino purchased the restaurant from Mr. Moretti. We’ve rebranded with all new offerings. Be careful touching the walls. The paint may still be wet in spots.”

“What happened to Mr. Moretti?” Alice asked with a discerning expression.

“We’re old friends, and he never mentioned he was selling,” Hugo added.

“I’m not certain, but if you like, I can have Mr. Savino stop over. He may know,” Carmilla suggested.

“That’d be great,” Hugo said. “I’m curious about meeting Mr. Savino.”

“Wonderful,” Carmilla said. “I’ll be right back with the water.” She disappeared into the kitchen area.

Hugo turned to Alice and whispered, “I don’t like this.”

“What?” Alice asked.

“It takes more than a few days to rebrand and get a new restaurant up and running. Let alone hire new staff,” Hugo replied.

“How do you know they hired a new staff?”

“I don’t recognize anyone in here.”

“Maybe they’re very . . . efficient.” Alice winked at him.

“Funny,” Hugo said, picking up his menu. “Very funny.”

“You don’t like change,” Alice said.

“I like change. I don’t like surprises.”

“Oh, really?” Alice set her menu down. “Every time we come here, you always get the same thing.”

“I know what I like,” Hugo said. “Now, I have to figure out my new thing.”

“There’s definitely a wide range on the menu.”

Hugo read through the assortments of seafood and meat offerings. Each entrée had a wide assortment of fancy sounding sides glazed in sauces and expensive price tags. His eyes reread every option available multiple times, but he couldn’t find what he really wanted—a helping of Antonio’s world famous meatballs and spaghetti.

“I guess a steak for me.” Hugo flipped the menu over, scanning the selection of wines.

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