"Isn't today Nick's funeral?" Sam asked Carla from across the bar.
"Yeah," she says with an annoyed look on her face. She didn't want to talk or think about Nick. Lord knows she would explode.
"Well?"
"Well, nothing Sammy. I just buried my daughter the other day, I can't go through another funeral right now. I just want to focus on work. On that note, where's my Irish Kiss?"
"Right here," Sam says dipping down and giving Carla a peck on the lips. Carla can't help but giggle. Sam always knew how to make her feel better. She turns to the left to find Cliff smirking at her.
"What you smiling at, Motorhead?" she says grabbing her order.
"Eh, she's a trooper," Cliff remarks once she's out of earshot.
"Can't be easy," adds Norm after taking another swig of beer. "I can't imagine Vera commiting suicide."
"You'd be pretty heartbroken, huh, Mr. Peterson?" asks Woody, looking up from the Martini he was making.
"That and the fact she freaks out when she breaks a nail, so yeah," Norm shrugs and just continues to drink his beer.
"Hey," Rebecca sneaks from out of the office to behind the bar. "How is she?"
"She's okay," Sam says looking at Carla cleaning off table nine.
"You know I always knew she was a tough cookie, but man that woman could give Rose Kennedy a run for her money."
"I don't know, Miss Howe. Mrs. Kennedy is pretty wealthy and Carla can't get that much in tip money..."
"Woody!" Rebecca exclaims, rolling her eyes at Woody's stupidity. Woody just stands there and shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't get it, he was just making a point.
"Hey aren't those Carla's kids coming down the stairs?" Norm asks keeping his eyes open on the staircase outside.
"I believe so, Norm," replies Cliff.
All eyes are on them as soon as they walk in. Her four Tortelli children were all dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. Even though you couldn't see their eyes, you could see the sorrow and turmoil on their faces.
"Mama," Lucinda says snapping everybody out of their trance. Carla looks up from her order pad and takes a good look at her children. The sight breaks her heart. Oh, how she wished she could take their pain away. She walk up to her children with tears streaming down her face and takes all four of them in her arms. The whole bar was silent as they all looked on as their tough-as-nails waitress broke down in the arms of her children.
"We love you, Ma," Gino says with his voice breaking.
"I love you all, too," she says showering them with kisses.
"Carla," Sam says wiping a tear from his eye. Carla turns around to look at him. She had forgotten for a couple minutes where she was. She all of a sudden was a little embarrassed.
"Yeah," she breaks her group hug and tries to regain her composure.
"Take the day off."
"Sammy, but..."
"Just go, honey."
Carla turns around and motions for her kids to step outside. She heads back to the bar and gives Sam a hug.
"Thank you, Sammy."
"Don't mention it, babe."
She grabs her purse from the underneath the bar and looks up to look at everyone. They look at her in a way she never really seen before. It wasn't a fearful look, it wasn't a sarcastic, smirky look, but one of admiration and respect. She smiles at them all and says a simple goodbye as she walks out the door.
