Chapter 2: crossing paths

Years had passed and Gio hadn't heard anything from Betty. No phone calls, no emails, nothing.
'We had promised to keep in touch. I kept my half of the bargain. I've sent her letters and tried calling, but I haven't heard anything back. I don't get it.' Gio thought to himself as he was double checking his checklist for the setup of his premiere Condiment bar. 'I have to keep my mind on work at the moment. If we happen to bump into each other, I'll take that as a positive sign, but today, it's all about the business. Although New York is a pretty big place…Who am I kidding? If she wanted to stay in contact, she would've replied to me by now. It's been four years already.'

SNAP! "Damn!" Gio said out loud.
"Mr Rossi, you keep snapping your pencils. Is everything alright?" asked Terry, his personal assistant.
"I'm alright. I've just got a lot on my mind at the moment – y'know with the shops and the launch…" Gio said covering up his real frustrations.
Terry handed Gio another pencil and walked off to speak with one of the workmen who was hanging the store sign above the counter incorrectly. "Ahh excuse me?? No! No! No! You're doing it all wrong!"

"This is becoming too much to handle right now, I need some air." Gio muttered to himself. As he walked towards the door, he put the clipboard and pencil down on the nearest table before stepping outside.

"Ouch!" A lady cried.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Gio asked the passer-by who he nearly knocked over.
"You stepped on my foot. Can't you see where you're going?" The lady said angrily as she dusted her boots from the dirt the other pair of feet had put on there.
"Not when I'm blinded by the most beautiful woman!" Gio commented.
"WHAT?!" The lady answered hysterically, before looking at the person the comment came from.

"GIO! OMIGOD! I'm so sorry! How are you? What's been happening? Woah, you think I'm beautiful?" Betty rambled.
"You haven't changed one bit B! Of course I think you're beautiful. You're still the apple of my eye."
Blushing slightly, Betty answered, "That's really sweet of you Gio, but I think you'll find that I have changed" whilst looking down to her right hand side.
Gio's eyes followed hers and he noticed a child holding onto Betty's hand. "Ohh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were married and had a child. Congratulations to you both. So who's the little man?"
"His name's Diego. Look Gio we've gotta run, but I'll give you my card. Call me some time and we'll catch up properly?" Betty said as she searched her bag for a business card.
Handing him the card, Gio looked at it briefly and answered absentmindedly, "Yeah sounds great. I look forward to it."
"Great. Speak to you soon. Have a great day too!" Betty said as she started to walk away.
Gio watched Betty walk off down the busy street. Whilst he was staring into the distance, he noticed that Diego turned around and was waving goodbye to him. A smile broke out across his face and he waved back. Thoughts started to flood his mind, 'What a gorgeous son. I knew Betty would make a wonderful mother. Although, I thought we would have that family one day.'
Sighing heavily, Gio turned over the business card and looked at it properly. "Assistant Editor in Chief" he said out loud. "Woah! She's nearly there. I knew she could do it!"

Pushing the card into the back pocket of his jeans, he walked back inside the shop, picked up his clipboard and pen and got back to work. The rest of the afternoon didn't feel so bad after all, although his thoughts did keep wandering.

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Ugly Betty – characters : ABC Studios

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