It was 7:00 and my shift at the restaurant had come to an end. Turns out, it was a short-lived business. It was one customer who had brought in a party of 15 and filled up the whole restaurant, giving the illusion of lasting business. But when they left, it went back to being a usual slow Sunday. I couldn't help but wonder what my day could have been if I had kept hanging out with Lucio. What else we would've done and what we would've shared with each other. But I didn't mind too much, since I was there to help my mom when she needed it. She noticed me standing by the counter and smiled, giving me a determined thumbs up. "Brava, mia figlia." I reciprocated the thumbs up, smiling. "Brava, mamma." We smiled and I continued to clean off the counter as she served coffee to a lingering customer. 

As I was cleaning, my phone started to ring. Italian opera infiltrated the shop as my ringtone went off, making the coffee drinker sitting in the corner look around in confusion. I dropped the rag I was holding, hurrying to the door to go upstairs to my room. I shushed my phone as I walked. "I'll be right back." I said to my mom. She made a motion with her hand, telling me to go. I smiled and silently thanked her before running up the stairs into my room, shutting the door behind me. I looked at the caller ID before answering and was a bit surprised. It was Amedeo. 

I answered the phone, trying my best to sound like I wasn't out of breath from running up the stairs. "Ciao Amedeo!" I answered, in a chipper but nonetheless breathless voice. "Buonasera, Daniela." Amedeo's voice was calm and collected on the other line. "How are you? You sound tired." Ack, how did he know? I giggled. "Yeah, I just finished my shift at the restaurant. It was pretty busy for a while there." Yeah, for one whole hour. I could hear Amedeo softly laughing on the other side. His laugh was so soothing. "Well, I hope you're not too tired to talk to me. If so, I'll call back another time." My eyes went wide. "No no, you're fine! I'm not that tired." It sounded weird, but I could tell he was smiling. "I'm glad." 

An air of silence washed over us. "So, did you want to talk to me about something?" I finally asked, feeling a bit awkward standing there in silence. It took a second before I got a response. It was preceded with a long sigh. "I just wanted to thank you for Friday." I raised a brow. "What for?" I asked. "For listening to me and my problems. I've been going through a rough time lately with my nonno and all, and I can be kind of depressing to be around. But you saw me outside and you didn't ignore me." He sighed again, this time in a happier manner. "I haven't forgotten a word of what you said that day. You really put my mind at ease and helped me to have a fun day out for the first time in a long time. My situation is still painful, but being around you somehow makes it better. It's like you have some kind of effect on my happiness." I smiled, feeling touched by his words. "I'm glad I could help you, Amedeo. Anytime you need to talk about things, I'm here for you. You can just give me a call." 

I heard him laugh ever so softly. "That's why you're so great. Your kindness and generosity, among many other things." I blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Amedeo." A moment passed before he spoke again. "I hope I can talk with you like that again." I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Of course! Like I said, anytime you need to talk, I'm there for you." I reassured him. "No, not just about that." He replied quickly. "Oh?" I said, a bit surprised. His tone turned serious. "To be able to be my true self around you. To feel like I can let you in and let you know what I'm feeling and thinking inside. I have never been able to do that with anyone, not even Lucio and Cosimo." He chuckled slowly and quietly again. "That is, until I met you. I feel like I can open up to you. I trust you." He spoke so slow and calm, you could tell he meant every word that he said. 

I didn't quite know what to say. "That's so nice of you to say, Amedeo. I hope we become really good friends!" It was a lame thing to say after all the poetry I was receiving on his end, but I wasn't good with words and was also a bit flustered. It sounded like a lot of his happiness was riding on my shoulders. If he needed me to, I would be there for him in any way possible. He laughed a bit louder this time, but still quiet. "I hope we do too. I hope we can be friends forever." He sounded so sweet. "I should let you go; you probably have things to do. Thanks for answering my call." I smiled. "Anytime, Amedeo. Have a good night!" 

No response. I waited on the call for a moment, not wanting to be rude and hang up on him. "Amedeo?" I asked, making sure he was still there. Another sigh. "You're very special. Believe me, Daniela. I'm eternally grateful to have met you." Then, with that said, he hung up. I looked down at my phone, his contact information still displayed on my screen. I didn't know what to think of that conversation. He sounded so genuine, but also talked to me in a way I hadn't heard him talk before. Granted, I had only known him for a little less than a week, but he seemed very different. At least tonight, anyways. 

I wasn't able to dwell on it for too long though, because my mom started calling for me from downstairs. "Daniela! You have a friend at the door." My heart sped up. It was ridiculous, but I thought perhaps it could be Lucio again. I quickly put my phone away and rushed downstairs. I smiled, expecting to see Lucio, but was surprised to instead see Cosimo standing there next to my mom. He looked at me with his usual charming smile. "Buonasera, Daniela." He said with a little wave of his hand. I noticed I was no longer smiling because of the surprise, so I quickly rectified that. "Buonasera, Cosimo." I smiled back. 

Cosimo put his hands in the pockets of his coat, looking stylish as ever. His hair was perfectly coiffed, and he was wearing a black shirt and jeans and a gray trench coat. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. And also," he turned his attention to my mom, "with the permission of your lovely mother, to see if I could steal you away for the night." I looked between Cosimo and my mom. My mom was smiling at me, giving me a look. "It's fine with me if Daniela wants to go." Cosimo looked at me, smirking. "I know how to show a girl a good time." My mom shot him a suspicious look, to which he recanted. "In a nice, wholesome way of course." She still crossed her arms. You don't mess with my mom or her daughter. 

I smiled. "Sure, that sounds like fun." I walked up to my mom to hug and kiss her goodbye for the second time that day. She took me by the shoulders again. "You be careful." She narrowed her eyes at Cosimo. "And you be careful with my daughter." Cosimo nodded and smiled. "I'll walk in front of a speeding train for her, if need be." My eyes went wide. Hopefully that wouldn't happen tonight. My mom eased up and started laughing. "That's what I like to hear." She pointed a finger at me. "Home by 9:00, 8:30 is even better." Cosimo looked at me. "Don't worry, we won't be long." We walked towards the door, Cosimo holding it open for me. "After you, signorina." I smiled and walked out, waving to my mom on the way out, Cosimo following behind me. 

I looked at Cosimo. "So, did you have something in mind that you wanted to do?" He nodded, grinning mischievously. He pulled two tickets out of his pocket, holding them up in front of my face. "Let's go back to our roots." He said, handing me one of the tickets. I studied it in the light of the setting sun. It was a ticket for the cable car. I looked at him. "Is this...?" He nodded. "The cable car where we first met. I wanted to revisit it with you, now that we've become friends and all." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Kind of silly, huh?" I shook my head, a smile on my face. "I don't think it's silly. I think it's lovely." Cosimo looked quite flattered. I didn't know it was that easy to flatter the charmer. "Just like you." I blushed. He one-upped me again. He reached out and took my hand. "Come on! We don't want to miss it." We started running towards the station. 

We caught the cable car just as it was about to leave, a little similar to the first time we met each other on it. We sat down in the seat we both were previously sitting in that day, trying to catch our breath. "Do you have a habit of being late for things?" I asked Cosimo, jokingly. He nodded, chuckling. "Seems like I do." He leaned back in his seat, stretching out his arm behind the seat. It felt like his arm was around me, but I ignored the closeness as best as I could. The car started travelling up the street. In no time, the sun had set and only the stars, street lights, and bright shop signs were illuminating the San Francisco nightlife. Cosimo sighed loudly. "Beautiful, huh? In daylight and in darkness." I nodded. "It really is." 

Cosimo turned to me with a smile. "It's funny how just one minute can change your life." I looked at him questioningly. He brought his hand back around, holding both hands in front of him. "Think about it! If I had left my house one minute later on the day of the audition, I would've missed the cable car and wouldn't have had that amazing first meeting with you." I smiled. "You still would've met me at the auditions though." He was still smiling, but somehow he looked more serious. "It wouldn't have been the same though. The cable car was a place just for us. Lucio and Amedeo were also at the auditions." I tilted my head. He wanted to remember it being just us? 

He scooted a bit closer to me, closing the gap between us. "You were so funny that day. I knew you were going to get me and my silly personality." He rested his hand an inch away from mine. "You didn't think I was annoying." He chuckled, a bit sadly. "Sad to say, that happens to me a lot. I can be a bit much, you know? But you didn't care. You talked to me and you laughed at my jokes. It may seem stupid, but it meant a lot to me." He turned to look at me, his eyes baring into mine. I never noticed how fiery and passionate his eyes were. "I feel like I can be myself around you. I don't always have to play the charmer or the flirt when I'm with you. I can say what I feel." He smiled slightly. "I've never really told anyone about my mother. Only Lucio and Cosimo. I just feel like I can open up when I'm with you." He seemed so vulnerable in this moment, just like that day at the Ghirardelli Shop. 

He laughed. "I know, I know, I'm getting sappy again. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm getting too comfortable, huh? You'll want to leave me." I raised an eyebrow. "And jump out of a moving trolley to do that? It's not worth it." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He laughed loudly. "See? There's that humor again!" He sighed happily. I smiled. "I'm glad I could be there for you, Cosimo. I'd never think you were annoying, so you don't have to worry about that." I reassured him. Cosimo smiled. "You don't know how much I appreciate that, Daniela. You're pretty great, you know?" I smiled. "You're pretty great too, Cosimo. Talented, charming, you've got quite a list there." My eyes widened. Why was I saying all these things?

He didn't respond to me right away. He was looking out at the horizon, as we passed the city by. After a while, he leaned over to me, our faces only inches apart. His face had turned completely serious, a look I hadn't seen on him before. He smirked. "If you say things like that, you're giving me no choice but to like you more." My cheeks went red hot. This didn't seem like something you said to just a friend. What was with these signals I was getting from him? He looked me up and down, finally landing his eyes on mine. He reached a hand up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Unless that's what you want?" He asked.

I didn't know how to respond to this. I just sat there, his hand on my head, until suddenly, the cable car came to a halting stop. "That's it for the round trip, folks!" The conductor called. We stood, frozen in place, until we finally processed that we needed to get off the car. Cosimo removed his hand from me and stood up, holding out his hand for me to take. "To be continued, I guess." I was far too shaken by what had just happened, or frankly, almost happened. But I took his hand anyways. 

He guided me off of the cable car, holding on tight to my hand. Even when we were both safely off, he didn't let go. "It's getting late, I should get you back home before your mom gets a train and personally runs me over." I laughed. Despite that one moment, he was still the same old Cosimo. At least I hoped he was. We walked in the night together, Cosimo finally letting go of my hand. I shivered a little bit, only having worn a light long-sleeved shirt out. I wasn't prepared to go out and it was getting chillier by the minute. Cosimo noticed me hugging my arms together for warmth and stopped walking. He pulled off his trench coat, revealing only a black tee shirt underneath. He stopped me and gently pulled it around me, zipping it up and all. I tried to stop him. "You're only wearing a shirt, you'll freeze! I'm fine." Cosimo smiled. "No use fighting me, I'm not going to listen." He straightened, crossing his arms. "Huh, weird. I think you look better in my jacket than I do." I smiled. His jacket was so warm and big on me, and it smelled like his cologne. It was a comforting, familiar scent to me now. 

We continued walking, until we reached the restaurant. "This is my stop." I joked. We stood outside for a moment, looking at each other. I was searching for words to say. "Thanks for coming out with me at the last minute. I just wanted to see you." Cosimo admitted. I smiled. "I had fun. Riding the trolley brought back good memories." He nodded. I started pulling off his trench coat, but he stopped me. "I'm sure it's cold in your house. Go ahead and keep it for today. You can give it back to me tomorrow at rehearsal." I shot him a look. "Cosimo, that's silly. You're going home, you need it for the way back." He smirked. "I'm a silly guy, remember?"

He reached over and took my hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed the front of my hand ever so softly. I blushed madly at the intimate interaction. He smiled at me, looking up, hand still in his. "Until tomorrow, signorina. Buonanotte." He let go of my hand and walked away, disappearing into the night. I watched him walk off for a bit, then went back into the restaurant, now closed for business. My mom was finishing prepping food for the next morning when she saw me. "You're back! Did you have fun?" She noticed my new coat and raised an eyebrow. "Did he buy that for you? Because it looks like he got the wrong size." I smiled down at the coat. "No, it's his. He gave it to me because I was cold." 

She smiled. "That was nice of him. Be sure to thank him tomorrow when you go off to rehearsal." My eyes widened and I gasped. Even though Cosimo had just said it outside, the implications of the word rehearsal finally hit me. "Rehearsal! I need to practice!" I gave my mom a quick returning hug. "Got to go, ti voglio bene, mamma!" My mom laughed. "Aspetti!" I stopped short on the first step. She looked at me with a smirk on her face, crossing her arms. "First the picnic in the park with Lucio, the phone call with Amedeo - don't ask me how I know, I could see the caller ID - and now the late-night outing with Cosimo?" I tilted my head. "Yeah?" She chuckled. "One man is a hassle. Three is just plain crazy." I blushed wildly. "No, it's not like that! They weren't dates." Right? 

My mom came closer to me, inspecting the coat I was wearing. "Maybe not to you." I felt a tug on my heart. Were my instincts right? Did they really like me in that way? I smiled. "Don't worry, they're all perfect gentlemen. As long as I say so, we're all just friends." My mom smiled. "That's my girl." She raised an eyebrow. "Even with Lucio?" I blushed, my heart pounding. "Mamma!" She laughed. "Teasing again. Alright, go practice your song so you blow them all out of the water tomorrow." She gave me a kiss goodnight before I ran upstairs to my room. 

I pulled Cosimo's coat off of me, setting it down on the bed next to my phone. I started thinking about my experience with each one of the boys today. I had an amazing time with Lucio, a meaningful conversation with Amedeo, and a great reminiscing with Cosimo. They each had done something to make me feel special and make me like them even more. Although, I couldn't help but feel confused about their emotions and their displays of affection. Could they really be interested in me that way? Was I just reading everything wrong? And if I wasn't...

Why was it that I hoped Lucio's feelings for me were the strongest?