Little Italy Days Festival / Pittsburgh's Little Italy / Shopping Bloomfield / Bloomfield Business Association / Del's Bar & Ristorante DelPizzo Italian Restaurant, Pittsburgh PA / Bloomfield, Garfield & Lawrenceville / Columbus Day Parade / Bloomfield Drug Store / BoxHeart Gallery / Cafe Roma / Shure Save / Bloomfield Jewelry / Bloomfield Distributing / Bloomfield Bridge Tavern / Bloomfield Hardware / Bloomfield Sandwich Shop / Rocky's / Groceria Italiana / The Recovery Room / Marianis's Pleasure Bar / C.S. Kim Karate / Crazy Mocha / Liberty Avenue / Saint Joseph Church / Sacred Heart Of Jesus / Starbucks / Thai Cusine / Karaoke / The Quiet Storm / Vocelli Pizza / Pizza Roma / Salon Bella Mia / Lombardozzi's / Angelo's Pizzaria / Maria's / Tessaro's / Alexander's Pasta Express / D'Amico's
Bloomfield is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Because of the large number of people of Italian heritage living in the neighborhood, Bloomfield is known as "Little Italy." For three days every year during the nice weather a food festival is held.
Food booths line both sides of the avenue. The smell of hot sausages, green peppers and onions and many kinds of pastas and their sauces cooking fill the air. There are also stands cooking and grilling non-Italian foods like Chinese fried rice with beef, shrimp and chicken and all kinds of egg rolls. Other food stands serve gyros, shish kabob, hummus, ribs, kielbasa, hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. There are many stands that sell things a customer cannot eat but the things are nice to have.
The songs of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin issue from large speakers. The crowds slowly flow back and forth. The crowds are made up of people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Adults push babies in baby carriages. At different times of the day musicians and singers perform on a stage setup on a blocked off side street. Sometimes the singers sing in Italian. Above the heads of the crowds, on flag poles up and down the avenue, the red, white and green of the Italian flag snaps in the warm September breeze.
Brad Wilson was happy. He was happy because Kristin Clayton walked beside him. He'd known her for more than a year and now they were both sophomores at the University of Pittsburgh; but this was the first time he'd actually asked her out. He was pretty sure she liked him. They'd spent a lot of time together during freshman year with mutual friends but this was the first time he'd actually asked her out just by herself.
"Brad, look," Kristin said. "Smoothies."
"Want one?"
"I love smoothies."
They waited in line and he bought two from the woman behind the stand and gave one to Kristin.
"Thank, you," she said.
The two continued slowly strolling through the crowd.
She said, "It's good." She smiled up at him.
"It is good."
They kept strolling. Overhead, the flag of Italy snapped in the breeze. Brad was working on his courage.
"Ah, Kristin?"
"Hummmmm?" She was watching the sights.
"Ah, well, see I was thinking. I mean maybe...Well, I really like you and, ah, we've know each other for more than a year now and like I was thinking maybe you would be my girlfriend."
She stopped walking and looked at him. He could see she was confused.
He said, "I mean, no pressure. I mean we're really good friends and that's great. I really like us being good friends and you know like doing things together..." He thought, that was weak. Man, that was so lame.
In silence they strolled on. He had to think of something to say. Quick, think of something to say.
Kristin, concentrating on her smoothie, said, "I was kind of hoping I was your girlfriend."
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This is a new story written after the publication of CTPS.
I really like the way that you ended this! He is allowing himself to be vulnerable and she is speaking her heart. I got a kick out of the way he was kicking himself in the butt there at the end~
Good read. Brad lacks confidence in himself, though. He should analyze that some to find a reason or reasons. Maybe he's not so experienced although he's a sophomore now. At least Kristin finds him pleasant and attractive. I like the story. The background prep is great.
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