Alla Two

Pesto alla Genovese.

Pesto alla Geno…vese.

Alla! Pesto. Genovese. 

Genoooveeese. 

The Italian vowels took twirls in Meg’s head as she scanned down the glossy menu of Mama Caruso. It was a quaint restaurant, the ones packed on weekends but not necessarily the weekdays. Also, her favorite place to go after a trying day at work. Reading over the words for a fourth time, the only meals Meg could decipher were “margherita pizza” and “lasagne”. Sighing, she let the menu fall out of her hands and catch her face instead. A breeze from the AC unit above settled on the bare skin of her neck. 

“Ma’am, I really do insist-”

“Yes, yes. All day people insist me to do this-to do that.”

Lifting her head, Meg witnessed a giant seal in a clown’s wig plop down in the seat across from her. Except it wasn’t a seal at all, but in fact a woman.

An extremely, undoubtedly, tremendously old woman. 

The wig happened to be a mob of gray hair brushed probably a decade ago. Her blubber curled over the edge of the wickered chair and whiskers bristled on a curved upper lip. Meg opened her mouth only to close it right after. She could quite positively say this had never happened before. A hopeless waitress danced from foot to foot, unsure how to address the situation. 

“I’m so sorry, Miss,” she addressed Meg. 

“She don’t mind, do ya’ hon?” Seal-Woman countered.

“Actually I-” 

“Thank you, dearie. My knees appreciate it.” 

The woman then picked up the menu Meg had dropped and started squinting at the words from top to bottom. A nightmarish thought popped into Meg’s head. This is it. This is my future self coming to haunt me. Not that this woman embodied anything Meg wanted to be or resembled how Meg currently saw herself, only there was an icky feeling sitting on the back of her throat. This woman sat, or rather collapsed, at her table and didn’t seem in the mood to head anywhere else soon. 

“How ‘bout some waters to start,” Seal-Women offered with a dry lip smile. Meg nodded not knowing what else to do, and the waitress scurried off to the back kitchen. Random chatter started to fill the restaurant again. 

“This may sound, uh…informal, but come here often?” 

Meg let out a faint laugh, “I work across the street, so yes.”

“Work?” Seal-Woman asked. Seeming disinterested in the meal choices, she lightly threw the menu back to the center of the table. 

“Yes, I am an accountant for Global Observe Company, but I’m moving- ”

The woman made a sudden hacking noise. And another. And another. Anxiety rose in Meg as she thought Seal-Woman might just keel over right in front of her. The waitress from before rushed by to set two glasses of water down. Seal-Woman immediately grabbed up the glass and downed the first half, water dripping on her plain pink cotton shirt. With a single cough, she waved the waitress away. A couple from a booth in the far right sent them a nasty scowl. Meg drew her own glass in close and traced her fingers on the edge, looking down. 

“Say no more. Mindless sort of thing.” Seal-Woman continued with a wave of her hand like she was swatting a fly away. 

“Uh…” Meg stuttered. 

“I just mean it ain’t really a job to get excited for. Kids don’t go wishing to become accountants when they grow up.” 

“No, I guess not.” Meg would have to agree. She didn’t ever think accounting would be anywhere near her career, especially in kindergarten. No, Meg remembered wanting to be a teacher. Or was it a vet?

“Now let’s address the real problem.” 

“The real problem?” She was curious to see which problem Seal-Woman thought was worth sabotaging her dinner for. Did Meg forget to lock her apartment door? She knew Mr. Whiskers needed to go to the groomers, but honestly time was just slipping away. Oh! Her cranky grandmother was in town looking to meet up and that was a conversation not even Seal-Woman could prepare her for. 

“It’s a real problem I could sit myself down in this chair, but you got yourself a pretty little diamond on that hand of yours,” Seal-Woman said, pointing with a bloated finger. Of course. How would this woman know about her cat or senile relatives? 

“Ah, yes, it’s just-” 

“How old are ya?” Seal-Woman interrupted. 

“Twenty-nine.”

“Jesus! Kids these days! Marrying one ‘nother like it's the end times! Can’t say we didn’t think it was too… Mind explaining where the matching ring is?”

Meg pursed her lips and wrung her hands together.

“In the ground,” she said. “He passed away around a year ago.”

Seal-Woman leaned back in her chair and studied Meg with two vein filled eyes. They held an odd sort of warmth like heat from a gas stove. Artificial, but nonetheless real. Seal-Woman lifted a hand to rest on her chin in scrutiny. 

“That why ya’ leaving?” 

“I…uh…,” Meg stammered. Right, she did say she was moving.  

“In a way, yes.”

Seal-Woman smiled, “I may have cut you off earlier, but that’s just ‘cause I heard what I needed.” She leaned in over the table and whispered, “You may have not noticed, but the years have gone through me more than you. I don’t need the full story to know it well.”

Meg returned a soft smile. “I didn’t notice at all.” 

The woman let out a barking laugh at that. 

“I got three tasks for you to do, child. One. Quit your job. Accounting is a waste now we got robots and all that. Two. Don’t be a one.” 

Meg furrowed her brows, “A one?”

Seal-Woman took a moment to look around the restaurant and Meg followed her gaze. First, the kitchen, then over the wall divider, and finally the front door. Which at the moment, a young man just her age appeared to be walking through. Meg’s breath plummeted into her stomach. Oh. God. He was tall with brown hair like her, plus he had a face too symmetrical for the average person to be gifted with. Olive skin accompanied blue eyes. Intense blue eyes as well, Meg thought. No! Don’t think about it. 

“You! Yeah! You, young man. I’m pointing right at ya! Come over here!” The young man hesitated, but ended up walking over. Seal-Woman batted her eyelids up at him and made a show of looking him over. 

“You’re gonna have dinner with this lovely lady,” She declared.

“You really don’t have to-” Meg interjected, but to no avail.

“Hush! Help me stand up, boy.” Heat flooded Meg’s face as the guy offered Seal-Woman his arm. He took her place and gave a nervous smile across the table. Meg felt her lungs seize, but Seal-Woman grabbed her shoulder.

“Oh! I almost forgot number three!” She exclaimed and leaned down to whisper in close. “Stay, I insist.” 

She gave Meg a wink and shuffled off to the restaurant’s back door. Meg was left with the new stranger, already missing the old one. The guy stared wide-eyed at the place where Seal-Woman vanished before drawing a hand through his hair.

“Like I said, you really don’t need to have dinner with me,” Meg said.

“No, no! I think it would be kind of…nice,” He laughed, “Unless you need to go.” Meg looked back down at the ring on her hand. She found herself thinking about what Seal-Woman would do. Couldn’t let her down now, right?

“Actually I do think it would be nice… And I can stay,” Meg agreed and picked up the menu again. The guy smiled and bit his lip. 

Cute. 

Now food…

…

Pesto alla Genovese.

Pesto alla Genoooveeese.