Cursive Capital I

Even in the evenings, April in Florida was as hot as July anywhere else Eddie had lived. The bistro down the road always had its windows wide open instead of using air conditioning, which really only made the place hotter.

The bistro sat on Shoreline Boulevard, so the sounds of traffic overwhelmed the outdated stereo system. People often went from the restaurant’s dining room to across the street, where there was access to the scalding beach that rarely had available parking. This perk made the bistro popular and it was hard to find a table, of which the waiting staff allowed patrons to choose their own. Yet Eddie always got there before the rush and sat next to the fish tank where blue tangs swam in water that always needed cleaning.

The restaurant had become his regular spot since moving down here from Jersey when he was twenty-two, three years before. Most of the food was too expensive for him, but they had a good “local special” cheeseburger and the staff was nice enough. He would sit here after his shift as a front desk clerk at the cheap Grande Horizon hotel and try to forget all the comments guests would say throughout the day. He attempted to read The Odyssey, but was never able to get far.

Today was especially crowded. A party of fourteen Snowbirds took over the tables closest to the windows. The staff was mostly paying attention to the big party. Eddie was there for twenty minutes and hadn’t yet received his water. Yet he wasn’t surprised, he wasn’t sure if he would wait on himself with such a large tip on the table either.As he was about to turn to watch the fish, he saw a figure in his peripheral vision.

A young woman stood there looking down at a small book. Her eyes were wide as she mouthed what she read. She pulled out a chair opposite Eddie's with her foot and sat down without looking up. She had a tie dye ribbon at the top of her bright blue ponytail. Despite the heat, she had on a black top with sleeves that went almost halfway up to the palms of her hands. A worn green messenger bag hung from her shoulder.

At first, Eddie was still, the awkwardness of the girl’s faux pas made him embarrassed to move. Or maybe it was that he thought she was gorgeous. After a moment, she put down her book and looked up, her pale face becoming flushed.

“Hi,” Eddie said, starting to chuckle.

“Oh God, I didn’t see you,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

She stood up and looked around the restaurant. Every seat was occupied as the staff darted back and forth like cars.

“I don’t think there are any other seats,” Eddie said.

The girl turned and began to leave, apologizing under her breath.

“Wait,” Eddie said. “Sit back down. It’s okay.”

“You don’t know me,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave.”

“Don’t. I’m Eddie,” he said, reaching out with a hand shake.

She tried to read him and after a moment her eyes locked on his and seemed to settle down. She sat back down without shaking his hand.

“I don’t shake hands since the pandemic a few years ago, sorry. But I’m Ily.”

“No worries, I still get nervous going out. It’s nice to meet you Ily. I think you’re the first girl I’ve ever met with that name,” he said. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl with a name that started with an I.”

She smiled and tilted her head, as if she heard something she liked.

“Ah, well, that I is special. It comes with a rule. It has to be written in cursive,” she said.

“Really?” he said.

“Yes, it’s mandatory,” she said. “There’s fine print and everything.”

“What happens if somebody breaks the rule?” he said, leaning into the game.

“I imagine there’s a curse involved. Doomed to roam the Earth, forever alone.”

“Well, then, I better listen,” he said. “So, Cursive-Capital-I-Ily, would you want some wine?”

She then shifted in her seat. Her playful boldness began to dissipate, like sunbeams colliding with a storm cloud.

“You don’t have to, it’s just an offer.”

“I’d like to try,” Ily said. “But I know nothing about wine.”

“Oh, they have some good selections here. Hold on, my friend here will give us the special treatment.”

He waved down a waiter who didn’t slow down.

“You gotta wait, Eddie, we’re dying today,” he said.

Ily held down a chuckle as all the staff went past.

“This is some real special treatment. Ignored by all the staff, that’s a record,” she said, laughing.

Eddie began to get red until he finally stood up and waved down another.

“You’re in the way of traffic, man,” one said.

Eddie looked down at Ily and put his finger up to his lips. He went over to the bar, where the bartender cranked out cocktails with umbrellas.

“Roger, throw me a bottle of merlot,” he said.

“Eddie. Gotta give me a minute, man,” he said.

Eddie then walked around the bar pulled out a bottle that lay on wooden shelves. He then snagged a corkscrew and two glasses and started to walk away.

“Eddie, you know you can’t do that.”

“You know I’m good for it.”

Roger shook his head and went back to making drinks.

When Roger got back, Ily was reading his book.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “Just wanted to brush up on my favorite passage.”

“You’ve read it?” Eddie said. “I can’t seem to break through it.”

He popped the bottle and poured the wine into the two glasses.

“I’ve read it thirty-nine times,” she said. “I only had three books growing up, and that was one of them.”

“Wow. Where did you grow up?” he said.

“Depended on where the system put me,” she said.

Eddie looked at her and somewhere under the brightly colored hair and makeup was a sting of chronic sadness.

He grabbed one of the glasses and handed the other to Ily and raised it up in the air. She looked down at it like it was a foreign concept until she finally copied him. He dinged the two glasses together and she flinched.

“To dinner buddies,” he said.

She smiled and raised the glass to her lips.

She reached up and sipped. She perked up and started to smile.

“It’s pretty damn good,” Ily said, and reached up to cheer again. “Never had wine before.”

“So, are you visiting or do you live here?” he said.

“I don’t live anywhere at the moment. I’m traveling,” she said.

“I did that for a while, but I ran out of money so I had to stay put. That was three years ago. But I fell in love with it here, so it worked out.”

“Ah, you did what we in the nomad industry call, giving up,” she said.

She looked around the crowded bistro and then up at the walls and ceilings, photos of celebrities who visited the spot hung. She didn’t seem all too impressed.

“Is it always this crowded?” she said.

“It was always busy, but when TravelGuru ranked it the best beach in America last year, everybody had to see for themselves.”

She took a gulp of the wine and he followed. The waiter then brought over a basket of bread and only then did he notice someone other than Eddie was there. He ordered his cheeseburger, and Ily said she wasn’t hungry, but after some coercing from Eddie, she finally ordered a soup. The waiter must’ve felt bad for ignoring Ily because the food came quickly.

“Confession time,” Eddie said. “You should know that you’re the only reason we’re getting good service.”

She busted out laughing, nearly spraying soup out of her mouth, causing Eddie to crack up too.

They ate while talking about The Odyssey and what Ily learned from it and how Eddie couldn’t seem to fully grasp its complexity. Then the conversation went to anything and everything, except when it got close to tapping into Ily’s history.

At one point Ily reached up to grab a bread basket from the waiter and her sleeve drooped, revealing long, deep scars. Eddie diverted his eyes when she looked to see if he noticed, and didn’t bring anything up.

The waiter brought over two bills and didn’t even try to give one to Ily. As Eddie handed both back with a card that he secretly prayed wouldn’t be declined, she blushed and looked down, and a face of shame and fear washed over her.

“I just want to pay. No funny business, scout’s honor,” he said.

“Do you want to go to the beach?” she asked.

He smiled and nodded.

The waves were loud as they crashed on the emptying beach. The best part of the sunset had passed and the only people left were teenagers. The sand was cool now and crunched under their bare feet. They chased each other pretending they were Odysseus and the sirens as if they had known each other their whole lives. When she smiled, it cracked light into the world, and Eddie knew that it was because it didn’t happen very often.

She stopped without warning to pick up a conch and Eddie, being right behind her, fell forward as he tried to stop. He landed hard on the wet sand and laughed. She bent down and didn’t hesitate to kiss him. He smiled and kissed her back.

They sat in silence and listened to the roaring waves as the stars lined the horizon. He grabbed a stick and started drawing.

“What are you drawing?” she asked.

“Cursive capital I’s,” he said.

Her smile faded slightly.

“You should know,” she said.

“Ily isn’t your real name?” he finished for her.

She stared at him and nodded.

“It’s Heather,” she said.

“Well, my real name isn’t Eddie,” he said.

Her face became concerned quickly.

“It’s Edward,” he said.

She laughed harder than he thought she would.

“And I’m not just traveling,” she said.

“You’re running away from something,” he said. “Something bad.”

She nodded.

“I know you’re probably going to have to keep going. It’s sad, but something is telling me that you’re like a comet, you’re so brilliant that you can’t stay. I can’t tell you how happy I would be to see you tomorrow and the next day. But I know you’re going to have to do what you have to do. But you have to know, you’re simply fantastic,” he said.

Through the darkness he saw her wiping her eyes. He squeezed her hand and let the waves fill the silence.

More Snowbirds filled the bistro the next evening. Eddie sat watching the fish, he didn’t bother bringing the book. He wondered what held him in the beach town, and if his disdain for these loud people was enough to try and find some old forest town to live. After all, there wasn’t anybody but here holding him still. He drew cursive I’s with his finger.

Then, in the corner of his eye he saw a young woman pull out the chair across from him and sit herself down, pretending to be distracted by some book she was reading.