Page 25 of Melody

“No problem. We serve Coke products, but we also have iced tea, coffee, and a selection of wines. Oh, and a full-service bar if there’s something you’d prefer along those lines.” A young man, probably still in high school, appeared as if on cue, placing glasses of water on the table. For a second, Kyle panicked about how much this place would cost and then he reminded himself that it was fine. He’d planned for it. And he hadn’t spent much at the art gallery. “Your wine menu is here,” she said, lifting the smaller menu on the side of the table.

“Do you want wine?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t think so.”

More relief flowed through his veins because, even though he would have bought whatever she wanted, he imagined the wine cost more than something else. “In that case, neither do I. I’ll just have a Coke.”

“And I’d like iced tea, please.”

Soon, they were alone again and Kyle said, “Guess we should hurry up and look at the menu.”

“At least we aren’t having to wait. As busy as this place is, I wondered.”

“Me too.” Kyle opened the menu in front of him and his mouth began to salivate. What the hell would he order? There were too many choices—even pizza. “What are you gonna get?” he asked after a few minutes.

“No idea.”

The server reappeared, setting their drinks in front of them. “Are you ready or do you need more time with the menu?”

“I have a question,” Scarlett said, looking up from the menu. “This is my first time here and everything looks amazing. What would you recommend?”

The server’s eyes lit up. “Well, the good news is everything on the menu is amazing, so you really can’t go wrong. But if you have a big appetite, I’d recommend one of the calzones. The gnocchi is amazing too and the ravioli is to die for.”

“Oh, that sounds great. I haven’t had ravioli in forever.”

“Meat or cheese?”

“Oh…um. I don’t know.”

“They’re both good. The meat is a blend of beef and pork and the cheese has six different varieties in it.”

“I’ll take the cheese.”

“And are you okay with Italian dressing on your salad?”

Scarlett’s eyes got slightly wider. “Sure.”

“For you, sir?”

Kyle couldn’t help but grin. Had he ever in his life been calledsir? This had to be a first. Pizza was his first choice but also ridiculous because he wasn’t going to order one for himself. “How about a calzone? That sounds good.” He wound up ordering one with meatballs and then he and Scarlett were finally alone again. “So how do we eat the bread here? Does it go with the meal?”

“I think it’s an appetizer. Just tear off some bread and dip it in the oil—or use the knife to spread the garlic on it. Or both!” As she talked, she showed him and her eyes lit up when she took a taste.

“That good?” After she nodded with enthusiasm, Kyle took a piece of bread and dipped it. “I hope you liked the gallery okay.”

“The art was breathtaking. And thanks again for the print.”

“Yeah, of course.” After a second, he said, “This is really good.”

“It is.”

After he ate another piece of bread with garlic, he said, “I don’t know about you, but I felt really out of place there.”

Scarlett looked up at him. “I’m so glad you said that. Me too. What made it worse is I felt like all the people there knew it.”

“Yeah. The owner or whoever that first woman was didn’t. She seemed pretty chill. But—”

“The rest of them. Yeah. I get the feeling they’re the richest people in Silver City, and we were slumming in their world—and they didn’t like it.”

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