Page 35 of Back for Seconds

Impanata. A classic winter dish she made whenever all four of us were hungry and whiny. My dad’s favorite. Whatever greens she had on hand simmered down in olive oil with garlic and salt, tossed with white beans and day-old bread, baked or pan-fried until golden brown.

Easy. Perfect.

I set up my camera and tripod in the kitchen, adjusting the lights, setting out all my ingredients in matching gray stoneware bowls. Then I went to change into my usual cooking…uh, outfit. A camel-brown canvas apron over my bare, lightly oiled chest.

I stared at myself in the mirror, apron hanging around my neck. Isaac’s question came back to me in a flash. What did I want from this? To start my own brand? To open a restaurant? If I really wanted to honor my grandmother’s legacy, was being shirtless necessary?

And why couldn’t I just have calmed down with June? Did I really have to suck face as soon as I got her alone?

“Fuck.”

My reflection blinked back at me. Judging me.

I just couldn’t bring myself to be shirtless today.

So, I threw on a T-shirt, then my apron, and made my way back to the kitchen to start filming.

***

Top Comments:

joey babe you alright hon? xx

guys who put him in a shirt does this mean he’s taken i feel sick

joey in a shirt? in this economy?

joey blink twice if your ok

Not his usual disposition. Eyes are looking vacant and anybody else notice the glitch near his shoulder? Idk I have a really bad feeling this is NOT actually Joey. Maybe an AI deep fake or perhaps a body double? Something happened and his family is trying to post on his behalf. This is definitely not the joey we love and Im (1/??)

***

The last place I wanted to be four days before Christmas was the Surf City Mall with my little brother as he attempted to find a gift for his most recent situationship—a very pleasant redhead.

“How about this?” He held up a red velvet jewelry box lined with white satin. In the middle was a pair of cubic zirconia earrings in a shape I believe is known as “dangly.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and quirked a brow. “You want her to think you’re proposing? Put that shit down.”

“Bro, what the hell? I don’t know what I’m supposed to get her then.”

“What kind of stuff does she like? Does she have any hobbies?”

Isaac twisted his mouth to the side, fiddling with the wheels on his chair, making little anxious moves back and forth. Overhead, a tinny voice crooned about white Christmases but in here, the air was downright tropical. Heat prickled in my cheeks and neck as a single droplet of sweat began to slide down my spine.

“Uhhh, I think…uhhh…”

“Dude.” My patience was threadbare. “What was the last thing you two talked about? Can you tell me that?”

Isaac’s dark eyes went completely blank before jumping back to life with recognition. “Movies!” He snapped his fingers. “She said she loves musicals!”

“Ok.” I rolled my head back and forth, the dull thud of a headache blooming behind my eyes. “Musicals. Cool. So, like Singin’ in the Rain. That’s a musical. A classic.”

“Yeah.” Isaac bobbed his head, raking his teeth over his bottom lip. “So…I’ll get her… an umbrella?”

I pinched at the bridge of my nose. “Jesus Christ.”

This situation was made infinitely worse by the current duality of my phone: My comments were blowing up on today’s video as people went wild with theories about why I was suddenly wearing a shirt. Simultaneously, June had gone radio silent on me. No follow-up on if she got home ok. No “thanks but no thanks.”