It's the year 1967. Kaethe Daube, a 20-year-old Boston resident, works hard to make a simple living to support herself and her elderly grandfather. She expects to continue living the quiet life -- but when TF Industries comes knocking on her door...
The next morning, Kaethe's day began with work. After going to bed, she had slept for what seemed like an eternity and not risen until nearly nine. When she had finally gotten out of bed and dressed herself (after several minutes of waking up and then stretching luxuriously) she had gone into the kitchen and fixed herself a quick breakfast of toast, eggs, and milk before starting her housework for the morning -- dusting, sweeping, organizing -- whatever she thought needed to be done, she did it.
Now, she was standing at the sink, washing the breakfast dishes and listening to the radio as she considered potential plans for the day. I've got to work at the restaurant today, but that's only for a short part of the afternoon, she thought as she rinsed off a plate. After that, I could go to the park and do some sketches -- I haven't done that in a while. Or I could go to one of the bookshops in the older district and look around. Or--
At that moment, the phone rang. Startled, Kaethe quickly brought her hands out of the soapy water, dried them on a nearby dish towel, and dashed over to pick up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Kaethe," Mrs. Armani said on the other end of the line, sounding a little tired. "Good morning, mia cara."
"Oh!" Kaethe exclaimed, trying to hide her confusion. "Mrs. Armani! Good morning to you, too."
She heard Mrs. Armani chuckle weakly. "Listen, Kaethe... I'm going to be quite frank here: is there any way you could come to the restaurant within the next hour?"
"Oh, no..." Kaethe felt her heart drop in her chest. "Is there something wrong? Do you need me to come in extra early?"
"No, I don't need you for work. It's... " She sighed. "... someone here wanted me to get ahold of you so the two of you can discuss something immediately."
"... 'someone'?"
"Sì. I-It's too complicated for me to explain beyond that," she said, sounding very flustered. "Anyway, can you do that? Come in soon, I mean."
"Yes, of course," Kaethe said, her voice growing very quiet. "I'll be there shortly."
"Thank you, Kaethe." Mrs. Armani sighed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I was going to have to call you in this morning -- but here we are."
"It's okay, Mrs. Armani, really. I'll be down there in a while."
"Alright, Kaethe. Thank you. See you then." And with that, Mrs. Armani hung up.
Kaethe bit her lip as she put the phone back on its receiver. And to think that I was genuinely certain this week couldn't get any stranger, she thought to herself as she rose to go change into something nicer than her housework clothes. Clearly, I was wrong.
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A short while later, Kaethe walked into the restaurant. Upon entry, she moved past the few employees who were working and poked her head into the kitchen where Carlo Armani was working. "Good morning, Carlo!" she called cheerfully.
