In Rio

IN RIO 

Chapter 1

 Sitting across her and looking intently into her face, I observed the contours, the long eyelashes, deep brown eyes and hair cascading down to her shoulders. 

Her heritage was clearly visible in those fine features. 

Her beauty hadn’t really gotten my attention before.

 Maybe it was the afternoon sun bouncing off her hair and the perfume she was wearing that caught me off-guard.

I felt a tenderness creeping in (until this moment, thoughts of Paula hadn’t crossed my mind at all. I tried to shake it off, I was just having lunch with a friend, so I thought)!

 It was only the other day I was finishing my shift and she was starting hers and I casually said “Hello Alysha, how are you today?” “Good, how are you”, Dominic? She replied. And I said, “You are doing well, I’ve been making a note of it, keep it up!” “Really, (she was smiling up at me and wiping a table top), I like it here, the people and customers are nice. Tips are great too! I smiled back. I was about to walk away, when she called out, “Dominic, you know it’s my birthday on Wednesday next week. I am not planning anything.” “Ok, I said, how about I take you to lunch then?” “Sure, why not?” she said, blushing slightly.

 Maybe I’ll find a way around to take the day off and also ensure my boss doesn’t get wind of it! It was the policy at Vera Garden Restaurant’s that we do not date employees! But I couldn’t disappoint Alysha! I would have to drive out of our little town to ensure we weren’t seen at lunch by anyone known.

The reservations were made at the Providence ahead of time. I thought it would be a nice place for lunch as they served some delectable fresh cuisine and really great tasting wines too!

Glad to be here in Alysha’s company. She was glowing! Was it the dress, showing off her well-toned skin and bare shoulders? I felt lucky but this was her special moment.  The nice chilled white wine and starter of succulent oysters in half shells would help to set the mood. The flavour and aroma were taking over.

We chatted easily about her family origins when she backtracked to her girlhood spent in Spain and moved to her life and ties here in LA.

Work was back in a smaller town in El’ Rio, we both felt good about how work was panning out, I had hired her 3 months ago. Seeing her there almost daily had made an impression on me. Alysha’s easy attitude, sort of uncomplicated nature was growing on me. She was a good few years younger than me.

 The past eight years and all the escapades I had gotten into and which I hadn’t quite talked about even with Paula was best left in the past. I have a new life now so it won’t hurt me to shut–up! Those subconscious thoughts and feelings which I had I fought hard to bury ‘ços it didn’t do me any good, suddenly re- surfaced. This thing I was feeling made me shift uncomfortably in my seat. Yeah, it was thoughts of Paula, she was somewhere in Mexico wasn’t she?

And I couldn’t even remember.

Alysha had commanded my whole attention, what was it?

 If you take a good long look at me, at one glance, you’ll size me up as a 30 year old Sri Lankan man of average height and a slight stocky build, who had come to America to fulfil my dreams! I had some achievements to my credit. I had climbed higher up the career ladder and she was just starting out! I had not dated many girls, just Paula at this point, (there were many one night stands maybe, not dates definitely. I wasn’t used to that) and Alysha and I weren’t on a date, really. I deluded myself.

 Lunch was a course of Salt roasted Split Prawns with Risotto and asparagus.

She thanked me for lunch as she reached up and gave me a slight kiss on my cheek. I waved her off, and said that it was fine

We headed back to Il’ Rio and back to our lives as Manager and Stewardess. The conversation during our drive back was pleasant. 

Angela Gnaniah Mar 2020