Page 17 of Back for Seconds
“I grew up across the bay and I guess embarrassingly far from the grifting population of Evergreen.”
“Ah, you’re a bay kid.” Joey smirked down at me. “Makes sense.”
I snatched my hand out of his, shaking off the warm, slippery sensation in my stomach. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing bad. You’re fancy. Your…” He shrugged, pulling his mouth down into a fishy little frown. “Your dad’s like pizza royalty.”
Pizza royalty. Sure. Why not? That’s the thing about moving back to your hometown, isn’t it? I’d spent a few years down in DC; in college, I’d spent an entire year studying abroad in London; in my early twenties, I’d lived in New York, trying to find my footing in a city that felt like its own planet.
And yet, no matter what, I was still just June Rose Alfiero. Robert’s little girl. Pizza princess, until very recently when my dad closed down the family business and left us all for better weather and younger women. I guess that made my mother one of the many disposable, breedable women you found in the footnotes of ye olde historic texts. And then the Duchess AnneMarie was deemed unfit and beheaded.
“Not anymore,” I sang, directing us around a gathering of corgis dressed as the twelve reindeer. “So, what? You grew up on the hard streets of downtown Evergreen?”
“Kinda.” Joey laughed, swooping down to pick up a candy cane and handing it back to the toddler who had been writhing around in her stroller trying to reach it. “I grew up on the island—uh, down near your house, actually.”
“How have we never crossed paths before?”
Joey pushed out his bottom lip, considered me briefly, then he shrugged a shoulder. “Timing? It’s a big world out there, JB.”
“Please. No more nicknames.” Though JB did have a really nice ring to it, especially the way he said it. Thick accent; back of his throat. Casual, comfortable. JB and JP. Sitting in a tree—Ok, enough. “What’re you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be stewing some lentils in a G-string?”
“Oh, wow. Good one.”
“Sorry. The G-string was too far.”
“No, please.” His lips twitched downward into a smug half smile. “You seem a little fixated on the mental image. I’ll let you work through that.”
“Anyway.” I rolled my eyes before averting them, praying he hadn’t noticed the sudden splotch of pink blooming on the side of my neck. “How’d you know I needed help?”
“Well, it’s a Saturday morning in Evergreen—there are only about five places I could be. And I was in that poor sucker’s shoes last night. I can tell when someone’s getting laid into by June Rose.”
“I did not lay into you last night. I was just…” I shook my head. “I’m in an extremely weird headspace. Plus, I was embarrassed. Plus, Maggie Torrez…said something to me that made me sad.”
Joey slowed his pace, adjusting the tree so he could consider me again. I could feel him trying to read my expression, trying to understand what Maggie could have said. All he had to do was ask. I was done protecting Brian from the Evergreen gossip mill, from any self-inflicted character defamation. I’d taken to wearing my hurt on my face.
Surprisingly, Joey just flashed me a smile. “Fair enough.”
Finally, we broke free from the Alpine Christmas village. The faux-snow-covered stands came to an end and we were right back in Jersey, between shuttered T-shirt shops and pizza places only doing take-out orders. The ocean sat gray and calm, a citrus orange light holding onto each wave’s crest. Joey set the tree down between us and pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt to protect his ears. “So, where am I taking this? Where’d you park?”
“Oh.” I frowned down at the tree, tightening my grip on my snow globe. “I don’t want it.”
“Why not?” Then he leaned forward, smirking. “You really think you’re too good for this tree?”
“First of all, I would hope someone thinks I’m too good for this tree.” I pointed at the pathetic, bristly mess. It slumped over in response. “Don’t I deserve one with at least seventy percent of its branches still attached? And second of all, I’m not doing Christmas this year.”
“No Christmas?” His voice was as gentle as the orange kiss on the top of each wave.
“It’s just…not my year. And apparently my mom’s going on a sex cruise, so.” I swiped at my eyes with the back of my hands, just to be certain they hadn’t betrayed me and started leaking. “I’m all alone. Nothing new.”
The corners of Joey’s mouth pulled down. “June, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
I bristled at his kindness, lifting a hand to smooth some hairs away from my face, pulling them free from my lip gloss. “It’s totally fine. I have a ton of work to do. And it’s not like I need…” I cut myself off with a shake of my head. “Anyway, I didn’t drive here. I’m not gonna make you carry that thing five blocks back to my house.”
“Hey, five blocks ain’t nothing.” He lifted the tree again, tossing it over his shoulder like it was a baguette, taking off toward the steps that led to the road. “Plus,” he called back over his shoulder, “I just really feel like you want this tree.”
***
“You can put it literally anywhere,” I said to Joey, opening my arms wide in the middle of my mostly barren living room, snow globe at my feet. I do a little twirl. “Aaaanywhere. But you’ll probably want to lean it against a wall.”
