This is a one-shot Getty fic which follows Gio's thoughts after he drops Betty off from their carriage ride. The more that I think about it…it might be more than a one-shot. We'll see….but let me know if I should continue.
I couldn't help but continue to grin after I dropped her off. She was calm and collected around me, which made it easier for me…almost too easy. As I spent the night with her, I wanted so badly to tell her how I really felt. It nearly slipped, but luckily Betty was distracted by sparks. Call it fate, but the moment she put her head on my shoulder, I had a feeling that things were about to change. Even Snowflake seemed to really like her. After our fireworks display, Betty gave some oats to Snowflake and shared her fondue with me. I had some bread left over from the deli that was in the carriage. We spent a good deal of time, just talking.
"I really enjoyed myself tonight, Betty." I found myself saying sincerely to her. "I'll see you around." I recalled myself saying this and then looked at her. She had a strange expression on her face. I couldn't tell if it was confusion or guilt about something.
"Yeah, I'll see you around." Betty said distractedly. She turned to leave, but then turned back to me. "Thanks, Gio. You have no idea what this means to me. I'm glad I have a good friend like you." She smiled and as much as the word 'friend' stung, I returned the smile.
I strode down the street until I reached my apartment. I felt better than I had in the past month or so. Seeing Betty earlier that day for the first time in a few months made me realize just how much I had missed her. I understood she was busy, yet there seemed to be something she didn't want to tell me. I shrugged it off as I took off my shirt and showered. I touched my shoulder where she rested her head and smiled as I stepped out of the shower and got ready for bed.
The alarm startled me the next morning. I had an early shipment of bread coming in and I stumbled through the darkness trying to find a shirt. I had it all planned out in my head, well how I would see Betty anyway. He thought of Betty for awhile, and eventually found himself at his deli.
"Mornin' Jack, how's the leg?" I asked as he pushed the front door open. My new manager I hired was recently injured in an accident.
"Ah, hell…as screwed up as it will ever be. Damn doctor's won't give me any meds." Jack grimaced and then noticed an odd look on my face. "What the hell are you grinning about?"
"I had a night out last night…" I paused and collected myself. "With someone special."
"Hell Gio, what have I told you about taking out your sister to see Hannah Whoever the Hell Montana." Jack coughed
"This was a different outing. You know that girl I've been telling you about?" I leaned in closer.
"Yeah, the Mode girl with the accounting boyfriend. You told me yesterday that she was doing something special with him. Did you steal her away from him?" Jack asked with a look of interest.
"Nah." I enjoyed thinking about salvaging Betty's night. "He stood her up. It's complicated…anyway, we had a nice carriage ride and it ended with a nice head rest." I smiled.
"You're a dawg man. Well, who am I to talk? I'm 46 and I've been married 4 times." Jack walked into the back.
I spent the next few hours assisting customers and cleaning my deli up for the lunch rush. The bell rang, indicating that someone stepped into the store. I looked up instinctively and to my surprise, it was Henry.
"Hey Henry, how can I help you?" I held out his hand for Henry to shake, but instead, Henry grabbed me by the shirt and pushed me against the wall. "I take it things are well then, Henry." I gasped for air.
"Explain this…" Henry shoved a napkin into my hands and let me go from his grip. I opened the napkin that was stained from the hot chocolate that spilled over Betty's face.
"Well, to me it looks like a used napkin. Common sense would then tell me that someone spilled something, so naturally I would come to the conclusion that the napkin was used to clean something up." I looked Henry up and down, but took no further action.
"I found this on the table. I took it without Betty knowing. What the hell did you do to her last night?" Henry was fuming mad.
"The question is, Henry, what did you do to her last night?" I had no fear of Henry, but at the same time, Henry was slightly taller than me.
"I had no choice." Henry said defiantly as he adjusted his glasses.
"She was at that restaurant for at least an hour waiting on you. Look, I know it was due to miscommunication, but when I saw the look of disappointment on her face, I had to do something." I nodded my head and glanced at Henry. "You must really want her to be miserable. So what, if she can't be with you on her birthday you'd rather her sulk at home?" I knew I wasn't finished with his tangent as Henry interjected.
"No, I…" Henry began, but I was faster.
"Or is it the fact that you don't trust her around me? You're jealous that because you stood her up, I was there to cheer her up. Yeah, we talked and had a fairly good time. If I were you, I'd be grateful. Imagine the thoughts she would have continued to think about how awful her birthday was if I didn't come in and help make it a happy day for her. Don't take it the wrong way, but you're not the only one in her life who can make her happy." I paused as I took note of the anger swelling in Henry. "All I'm saying is that Betty has a support system much stronger than your relationship. She has an amazing family and good friends that will be there for her when you disappoint her again and leave for Tucson." I sighed.
"Stay away from her Sandwich boy…I'm warning you." Henry glared at me.
"No, I don't think I'm going to stay away from her. If I know that I have a chance to brighten her day when you disappoint her, and let's just say we are seeing more jeer than cheer on your part, I want to be there to pick up the pieces." I grinned and turned to leave.
Henry stopped me with his arm. "Did Betty ever tell you that she gave me a promise that she would never see you again? I bet she didn't explain that to you. I worry about Betty when she's around you." Henry growled.
"Woah, calm down Henry. I have customers to get to, excuse me." I tried to leave another time, but Henry punched me in the face and I fell back, knocking over the chip cart as I fell.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER SANDWICH BOY" Henry shouted. He turned to watch the customers look at him in shock. Jack hobbled over and glared at Henry.
"Get out of here! You're not welcome at this place." Jack glared at Henry as Henry slowly left, not taking his eyes off me, as I began to pick up the chip packages on the floor.
"It's alright. I am very sorry that you guests had to see this. Lunch is on the house; because I am sorry you had to see that." I insisted as Jack walked with me to the back.
"Damn Gio, I can't believe you didn't fight back. You could have taken that guy, you know." Jack said as he began slicing tomatoes.
"That's the difference between Henry and I. When Henry gets upset, he explodes. I know I could have taken him, but it's all about choice. Betty wouldn't have been very happy with me." I shrugged. "I don't plan on telling her either…Through, Henry mentioned that Betty made a promise not to see me again."
"Does it really bother you that much?" Jack asked.
"Nah…well a little, but it worked out to my benefit. She had the choice of taking my hand and getting in the carriage or walking away. She chose me, even if it was for one night; it has made all the difference." I grinned and rubbed my eye, which I could tell was beginning to swell.
"Do you have any deliveries to make this afternoon, boss?" Jack asked as he put the finishing touches on a tuna sandwich.
"I have a special delivery to make…" I wandered off and returned with a bag. The brown bag was tied with a ribbon and I was now sporting sunglasses.
"Ah, you've got a special delivery at Mode…I see how it is." Jack winked and continued to work.
"I'll catch you later." I patted Jack on the back and left. I was thankful that the sun was shining, because it made me fit in with the rest of the New Yorkers, shielding their eyes with sunglasses. I made my way to Betty's floor and found her sitting at her desk working on a project. I sat carefully on her desk, waiting for her to see me. Finally I cleared his throat.
"Gio…hi…you really like this whole sneaking up thing, don't you." She smiled and suddenly frowned. "You're wearing sunglasses…you know you can take them off." Betty smiled and looked nervously past me.
"Do they make me look like Shaft? That's what I was going for." I grinned and handed her the bag.
"You…er…didn't have to do this." She responded nervously as she took the bag. She looked past me again.
"Looking for someone?" I asked. I had the feeling I knew who she was searching for.
"Oh no….not at all. Henry is at a baby meeting all day with Charlie. We were going to have lunch, but he had to cancel." Betty sighed. I hated seeing her disappointed.
"Get up. We're going to show these sticks how to eat a proper lunch." I stood up and beckoned her to follow me. "Well, are you coming? Bring your lunch because I can't afford two meals from the Mode cafeteria." I grinned as she slowly approached me.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt." She followed me into the elevator.
"So Henry is at a meeting all day today….interesting…." I casually mentioned as the elevator descended. I knew that Henry was not at any meeting, seeing as he just paid me a visit.
"Yep, but that's my Henry…always so thoughtful. It shows how much of a good father he wants to be." Betty smiled at me. Suddenly, I felt the same feelings I felt when I wiped the hot chocolate off of her. I wanted to tell her how I felt, but instead, I grinned at her.
"So how about taking off those sunglasses?" Betty asked. She didn't even wait for me to respond before she took them off herself and gasped, dropping her lunch on the floor. "Gio, what happened?" She asked with a look of worry on her face.
"It's nothing. I took Snowflake's reins off the wrong way and BAM! A nice shiner." I knew my lie wasn't very believable. By the look on Betty's face, she wasn't convinced.
"The reins did that to you? How did you manage that?" She laughed and then placed her hand smoothly over my black eye. Quickly, realizing she was crossing the line between friend and really friendly, she withdrew her hand.
"Snowflake wasn't too happy with me I guess." I shrugged as the elevator door open and I placed the glasses back on. I let her get out first and followed her.
"I'm still not convinced, Gio. If I knew any better, I would have thought that you got into some kind of fight with someone." Betty smiled, but said nothing else.
"Yeah. Look, why don't you find a seat and I'll join you in a minute." She nodded as a response as I grabbed some food and sat down next to her.
"Who hit you?" Betty asked without wasting anytime.
"You don't know him." I replied. Honestly, she didn't know this side of Henry.
"I don't really think you deserved it." Betty took a bit of her sandwich and continued. "I want to thank you for what you did last night. I felt like I was reliving high school all over again." She smiled.
"No problem. I really had fun. Who would have ever thought I would have gotten the pleasure to see you spill hot chocolate all over yourself." I laughed as she rolled her eyes at me.
"Shut up Gio!" She grinned and then carried on a conversation with me about our childhood. We spent the next 30 minutes connecting and many of our childhood stories were similar. Finally, she looked at her watch. "I...I should go." She stood up and thanked me for lunch.
"No problem. Look if you ever need another shoulder to lean on…." I trailed off and laughed. "I'm here." She smiled in response and turned to leave. To my surprise, she turned back.
"Who hit you?" She asked a second time. I felt the need to no longer keep withholding information from her.
"Henry." I replied. "You'll be happy to probably know that he remains perfectly fine." I watched her expression. She seemed confused as she walked up to me and took off my sunglasses another time and looked me in the eyes.
"I'm sorry." She said and walked away. I could tell that she truly believed that this was her fault. I couldn't blame her though.
There were so many things left to say to her and so little time before Henry found a way to wrap his fingers around her some more and I would lose her forever.