Page 25 of Enzo

He nods. And blinks. I could talk for hours about what I do, because I love it. He looks like he’d rather die. He looks to the side at a waitress who is weaving through groups of people.

“Would you like some more canapés?”

I catch sight of her tray, and see ones I haven’t yet tried. I start to seriously consider the idea.

I look at him. “Would you think I'm a greedy person if I did?”

His brow furrows again.

“I would not.”

“I'm just very hungry.”

“No need to justify anything to me.”

When the waitress comes over I swipe another few canapés.

“You didn't eat earlier?” he asks. It’s nice of him to ask that.

“I had a cup of coffee this morning.”

“Just that, all day?”

“I had coffee this morning, and some cicchetti for lunch.”

“And you're still hungry?”

“Yes.”

I’m not used to people asking about my day. Kiki is so into her beauty side hustle that when we meet she always talks about that. Ms. Alvarez and I talked about movies. Mrs. Chen and I talked about school, mostly. Miss T wants to know how I’m doing. But no one asks about the day-to-day. Except for my new friend.

“I built up an appetite walking here in these.” I hold up my dress and show him my espadrilles.

He winces.

“It wasn’t too bad,” I explain. “The place I’m staying is just around the corner. It’s in the Cannaregio district.”

“That’s not around the corner.”

I munch away on my food, and he pauses while I chew slowly, enjoying every mouthful.

“Venice has been on my bucket list for years. I never expected to cross it off.”

“Never?” He seems surprised.

“Never. I can't believe I've been so lucky.”

An man dressed like a nobleman, taps him on the shoulder. They shake hands and start talking, until the masked man turns to me again.

I’m about to bite into what looks like a seafood canapé when he interrupts.

“Please excuse me.”

I blink at him. “You are excused.”

His lips curl up again. It seems to be a thing with him. He steps away and joins a group of men nearby.

I finish eating, and pull my cell phone out and start filming. I stare into my camera.