Pizza party

Luke occasionally turned to look at Nora, she had calmed down or at least she had stopped trembling. She hadn't slept a wink after she woke up, she just leaned against the window, with her hands in her lap.

Nora was terrified, for what she saw wasn't just a nightmare. "I have to do something, I cannot let it happen. Think Nora, think." As the destination in her vision was approaching, she started to lose her calm. "Come on Nora."

"You okay?" Luke looked at her.

"Yeah I'm fine." She smiled.

"Then, what's that about?" He pointed to her shaking leg. "Oh, it's my habit, when I'm trying to think about something, this happens." She said.

"You're thinking about the nightmare?" His tone became gentle.

"Yes.. oh no. I was thinking..if we could take route 68 to get back."

"Route 68? Why? It'll only increase our time to get back." He exclaimed.

"But.. I... There's a pizzeria there, I've always wanted to try it. It tops the list for the best pizzas, I wanted to go eat there."

"Pizza? You can get enough of them in Sorane, we're staying on our route." He announced.

"Please, it's not like I'll come here everyday, please Luke."

"Stop behaving like a child, Nora." He snapped.

"Please." She gave him her infamous puppy face. "Please." He sighed, "Fine. But that pizza better be good."

"Yes it will be." She grinned.

"You did it Nora. Proud of you." She murmured.

***

"Man, that was a long way." Nora got off the car, Luke narrowed his eyes at her, "It wasn't that long though." She corrected herself.

"Hey guys, wake up, eat something." Luke knocked at the door.

"Hmm, not hungry." Joseph murmured.

"Get up already." Luke took off his headphones.

"Hey." Joseph snapped.

"Wake up now." He threw the headphones at him. "Rachel, wake up."

"Yeah, I'm up." She yawned.

The pizzeria wasn't big, but sure was beautiful to look at. It was a 90s pop culture themed restaurant, with red and black couches and tables with contrasting colours. There were a few people, mostly the travelers. They took a seat towards the end of the row. Rachel and Joseph sat on one side of the table, while Luke and Nora on the other. "Get in." He said. Nora gave him a defiant look, he raised an eyebrow, she sighed and got in. She started to look around, "I have a bad feeling, it doesn't look like the pictures." She murmured. "You said something." Luke looked at her. She shook her head frantically.

A few minutes later a middle aged woman came at their table, "May I take your order?" She said in an Italian accent.

"Sure, one margherita and one montanara." Luke said.

"Good choice, anything to drink?" She said.

"Drink?" He looked at the others.

"One diet coke." Rachel said.

"Me too." Joseph and Luke added.

"I'll have a coke." Nora said.

"Okay, I'll be back." She smiled at them.

She came back, this time with a young boy who was holding the drinks. "Here you go." She smiled at them. "Buon Appetito." And she was gone.

"Whoa, they look beautiful." Joseph said. "Let's dig in."

The pizzas were great, perfect crust, with the right amount of cheese and tomato sauce, they were the definition of perfect and authentic Italian pizzas.

"Oh my, that was the best pizza I ever had." Rachel exclaimed. "Whose idea was it anyway?"

"Nora." Luke said.

"Wow, thank you Nora. They were delicious!" Rachel said happily.

"So let's get going; will you hurry Nora?" Luke looked at her, she was still on her last slice, "Give me sometime, I want to savour its flavour."

"You take your happy time, I'll go, I'm sleepy again." Joseph muttered and got up. "Good bye." He left.

"He doesn't have the keys." Nora muttered, taking a bite.

"Oh yes, let's wait for him to return." Luke took a sip from his glass.

"Come on, don't play with him, he's just a kid." Rachel said frustrated. "Give me the keys."

Luke took out the keys from his pocket and handed them over, Rachel snatched them and rushed out.

"Are you done now?" He rested his face on his hand.

"Just a minute." She took the last bite of her pizza slice. "Yupe, let's go."

They moved to the front counter, the woman looked at them and smiled, "Enjoyed the meal?"

"Certainly." Luke smiled. "The bill?"

"Sure." She handed them a handwritten bill, "Card or cash?"

"Card." She placed the machine in front of Luke. Nora opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, "Take it as a treat, and the pizza was also great." She closed her mouth and shrugged her shoulders.

"Aunt Maria, look." The young boy from before pointed at the television.

"Mio Dio." The woman said horrified.

The television had a news channel on, it showed a breaking news. A news anchor was reporting live from the scene, "We are right now on route 72, which has witnessed a tragic accident. A tank truck reportedly carrying liquified petroleum turned over which lead to a massive explosion. As per the sources, the driver was under the influence of alcohol, he managed to get out at the right time but has suffered severe injuries. Other casualties are yet to be reported. For the time being the route has been shut down for further investigation." The news was cut back to the news room, where a man talked about the accident.

"Fuck." Luke muttered. "That was close."

"Close, you planned going there il mio bambino?" She asked.

"Yes." He said.

"Oh my, God showed mercy on you." She held his hand in hers and closed her eyes and muttered something in Italian.

She let go of his hand and he swiped his card, "Grazie signora." He smiled.

The woman smiled, "Take care." Before they could leave, she held Nora's face in her hands, "Che carino!"

"Pardon?" Nora smiled. "You are very cute." The woman pinched her cheek.

"Oh, Grazie." She smiled.