𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 • 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

04 • Impeccable Timing

Mildred began to feel like one of those giddy girls she had gone to school with, the kind who would twirl their hair and bat their eyes for the boys in the hall. She never had anything against those types of girls, in fact, she'd secretly wished she were one. They always seemed to have the boys drooling over them, and despite how cliché they were with their flirting techniques, Mildred had wondered if a boy would ever look at her in a way that would turn her into such a melt.

She regretted not getting Steve's telephone number, or even Bucky's. All she knew was that the cute blonde lived relatively close to her, but his exact location was unknown. Mildred wanted to see him again, she wanted to talk to him without tears ruining their entire conversation. It wasn't like her to swoon over a boy, having usually just assumed they wouldn't be into her, but the way Steve spoke to her made her think maybe, just maybe, her actions were welcomed.

Of course her parents had asked about the party that she attended some time ago, and Mildred did her best to seem happy, but her parents were unconvinced. Her mother assumed it had something to do with the boy she went with, but when questioned, Mildred brushed her off. Her father was worried for his little girl, but knew his boundaries. He and Mildred were close, exceptionally so, but talking about boys with her was pretty far out of both their comfort zones. When Ethel had told Frank that she called from work, explaining she was going to a party with a boy, Frank nearly choked on his after dinner mint.

Never had Mildred gone out with a boy, and when she was younger it kept Frank's mind at ease, but Frank was not a cold man, nor controlling. He was protective, fiercely so, but he knew that one day Mildred would bring a boy home to meet him. It wasn't until Mildred graduated school and turned eighteen that he realised no boy had ever made the cut, and it made him sad for his little girl.

Mildred had picked up some shifts at the restaurant, and quickly felt like she had become apart of that big Italian family. The extra work also enabled her to treat herself to some new nylons and a nice mauve lipstick. Her parents always provided, even during these trying times, but it was nice to help out and have a little extra for herself too.

She had become incredibly close to Marco, as well asMister Bianchi and his wife, who often sent her home with mounds of pasta to feed her family with. Frank's stomach was in love. "Those damn Italians, I tell ya. They know how to cook!" He would say after almost every meal.

Mildred was currently at work, having only just arrived to her 3pm shift, when a loud metallic sound rang through the air, followed by streams of curses and Italian words she couldn't understand. She snapped her head up to Marco, who was setting up tables across the dining room, and they both ran to the kitchen where the sound came from. Unfortunately, a water pipe had burst, and started spraying water all over the kitchen, and managed to drench her with icy water.

It wasn't often that Mister Bianchi was in a bad mood, she'd only seen it once and it wasn't directed at her, but at an ex-employee of his. He'd shown up drunk and started harassing Mister Bianchi's wife and all hell broke loose. Marco warned her then that if he ever got like that, Mildred better not cross him. He wasn't a violent man, but he often said things he'd soon regret and Marco didn't want Mildred to get caught in the crossfire.

Mister Bianchi was completely raging right now, and when he burst into the kitchen he'd nearly knocked Marco right off his feet, storming passed him. "Merda!" He screeched, which Mildred recognised as Italian for 'shit'. "Everybody out, go home! We're not opening tonight." He rubbed his face with his hands.

Mildred wanted to help, but she had no idea what she could do. She felt terrible leaving the restaurant at a time like this. The Bianchi's lived above the restaurant, along with Marco and his immediate family, so when Marco left to go upstairs he pulled Mildred aside and whispered in her ear. "Millie, trust me, just go home."