WANTED: Love of my Life

09. Coke Can Hat

“Well... yeah.”

“And I'm here to work. Let's keep it simple and just go our separate ways, okay?”

The guy that was still holding his hand bit his lip. I had no Idea what he would do next. Suddenly, the door behind me opened and Debby poked out her head.

“Something wrong here?”

I gave the guy another stern look – and he lowered his gaze. “No,” I said. “I was just having a chat with these guys.”

“How nice.” Debby beamed at the 4 derelicts. “Ange is a very good friend of mine. I appreciate it when people are nice to her.”

That did it. Grumbling, the guys slouched off.

I pressed Debby's hand in gratitude. “Thanks for the help.”

“Oh, I don't know. From what I caught, you were handling it pretty well yourself. You did exactly the right thing. Those guys act big, but they want their dinner as much as the next man – or more. They don't dare touch any of us.”

“Why doesn't Father Elliot kick them out?”

“I think it is because he believes there's good in everybody.” Debby shrugged. “Nuts, of course, but what can you say. I'd hate to prove him wrong and disappoint the old guy.”

We went inside. In the kitchen, much the same crowd as yesterday was assembled. Today, Debby announced, we would be making vegetable soup. Since this required nothing more than to chop a whole lot of vegetables into little pieces, we were more or less left to our own devices, as long as we chopped fast enough. I was cutting broccoli into little pieces when I saw Valerie, Leila and Beth gossiping at the other end of the room, and a sudden inspiration struck me. Picking up my half-dismembered broccoli, I hurried over to them.

“Hi, guys,” I greeted them, beaming. They returned my smile a little uncertainly.

“Hi,” Beth said. “Angela, isn't it? You're the new girl.”

“Yep. That's why I came over here, as a matter of fact.”

Beth frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, like you said, I'm new, and I don't know anyone...” I leaned forward, making my eyes big and scared. Puppy-dog scared. “And... s-some of these people look pretty scary.” I nodded towards the benches, where the homeless were slowly gathering. “That guy over there,” I nodded towards a big bald fellow in an army jacket, “and that one.” I pointed towards a towering muscular figure in the darkest corner of the room.

“Giacomo?” Beth laughed. “My goodness, Angela. You're scared of Giacomo?”

That certainly wasn't the reaction I had expected. I had hoped to garner some information on Giacomo's reputation – but not for one moment had I really had any doubt as to the nature of that reputation.

“He's so big,” I whispered, continuing my scared girl act. “And the way he stares at you... I thought everybody's afraid of him, the way they avoid him.”

“O Good Lord, no, they avoid him because he's rude and a total wimp.”

My eyebrows went up in surprise. I didn't even have to act.

“A wimp?” My voice was clearly disbelieving.

“O sure, he looks scary.” Valery waved a hand stained with tomato juice. “But he's the biggest sissy I've ever met. One day, there was this scuffle in the corridor – Some biker dude stumbled and slammed into our Italian friend. No Idea how, but the biker nearly broke his nose, the clumsy fool. He cursed Giacomo, grabbed him and smashed him into a cabinet. The look on the Italian's face... I thought for sure the biker was dead. But then, Giacomo just got up and said that he was very, very sorry. The biker cursed some more, and in the end Giacomo practically got down on his knees in front of the guy and begged for forgiveness, begged that he wouldn't fight him. Honestly! I mean, I'm not one to encourage violence, but there's got to be a limit. That whimpering and begging, that simply looked disgusting. And the worst thing is that if Giacomo isn't grovelling because someone threatens him, he's as rude as can be. Never a word of thanks out of him. Never any word out of him, in fact. That's men for you.”