“Oh.” Clarke looked suitably chastised. “Is there a lot of that out there?”
“Some,” I replied. “More than you’d think. A lot of people are trying to get away from processed foods. They’re not good for you. Organic is so much better.”
“Is that why you send those lunch containers to work with Sal?”
“I know he likes all that crap that hardens your arteries, so we’ve learned to compromise. Here at home, we only eat what’s healthy for us. We sometimes order out and we try to frequent places that have real food, but that doesn’t always happen. So, once or twice a week I send some stuff to work with Sal so he can at least try to balance himself out.”
I grinned when Clarke gave me a blank look. “And I ignore when he doesn’t.”
Compromise was a good basic for any marriage.
“That’s one of the reasons we like Mario’s so much.”
Hell, if we bought stock in the Italian restaurant, we’d make millions.
“Since Mario’s daughter started working there, they’ve introduced a whole lot more healthy foods. And even the stuff they still have on the menu is made with fresh products instead of canned or frozen.”
Clarke’s eyebrows furrowed. “I have noticed their pizza tasting better, but just over the last year or so.”
“The dough is gluten free, and Maria makes the pizza sauce fresh every morning after visiting the farmer’s market down the block. She gets all of her produce fresh. Stuff costs just a little bit more, but it’s worth it in the long run. Fresh always tastes better.”
Clarke nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“Now, if I can just get you guys to stop eating those nasty hot dogs from that cart in front of the precinct.”
Clarke chuckled. “Never gonna happen.”
“I’ve pretty much resigned myself to that.” And I made Sal promise to brush his teeth before kissing me if he ate one of those disgusting things. “So, food?”
“I’m in,” Eddie said from the head of the bed.
“Maybe we should call Lyn and ask him if he wants to come over and have dinner with us,” Clarke said. “I don’t think he eats like he should.”
I knew it!
“We could do that.”
I started to pull my phone out of my pocket to call Lyn when a crash from the main room made me freeze in place. Fear instantly spiked inside me.
“Clarke,” I whispered, “it’s too early for Sal to be home.”
Clarke instantly went into battle mode, as I called it. I had seen it often enough in Sal to know. I moved away from the door and went over to stand next to Eddie. I knew Clarke would want me out of the line of fire, if there was one.
Clarke held his finger to his lips. Eddie and I both nodded. It was kind of the universal sign for silence, so it wasn’t hard to figure out what he wanted.
I wanted Sal.
I pulled my phone out and quickly tapped out a text to Sal. He needed to know there might be trouble at home. I received an answer almost immediately, which made me wince when the cell phone dinged, telling me I had a text. I quickly turned it to vibrate, silencing the stupid device.
I breathed a little easier when I read Sal’s text.
He was on his way.
“Pssst.”
Clarke turned to look at me, his eyes going wide. That was another one of those gestures pretty much everyone knew. This one was“Seriously?”
I shrugged.
