Note: After that uh... incident at the club, Zell and Selphie later joins the other couples on the dance floor. Then... I don't wanna give away the plot, so jest read on. Thanx to those who reviewed! Oh, this is another um... comic relief. I jest wanted to take a break from all that heartache.
Chapter 22 - Alessandro's Restaurante
The power that forced her to drive crazy immediately faded from her thoughts. They stepped out of the club, holding each other's hands and Selphie found herself staring up at the stars. They strolled down the sidewalk admiring the beauty of Deling City's lights.
Zell yawned, releasing his grip on Selphie's hand and put it around her shoulders. He pulled her in closer to him as they continued to walk. Selphie rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, I guess it's time to go to sleep."
Selphie looked up and shook her head. "I'm not sleepy yet. How about we go eat at a restaurant or something?" Before the blond could answer, Selphie screeched in delight and pointed to a building nearby. Zell followed her finger and found a bright restaurant, the usual house size, only with no second floor, filled with people. Orange neon colour flashed 'Alessandro's Restaurante' above the heads of the customers. Selphie took Zell's hand and dragged him to the restaurant. Zell did not have a chance to check his pocket to see if he had any money with him. The restaurant seemed expensive, despite the beautiful décor of roses hanging by the door post. The door itself, was painted gold to show the magnificent beauty of the restaurant.
Once they arrived, the pair was greeted with a tall, skinny man with a moustache that curled upwards. He wore a black suit with a tailcoat cut up to his rear, which split into two behind him and a white, polo shirt underneath it. His hair was slicked back by hair gel. They could both tell that the greeter put too much of the transparent substance when a tiny blob of gel fell on his shoulder. He had the smile of an undertaker in a funeral.
"Hello," the man greeted, with a very deep voice, one that could pass as the horn of a large ferry. "Welcome to Alessandro's Restaurante, my name is Josiah Murdock. How many seats for tonight?" Although the application told Josiah to smile at the customers, he did not attempt to do so, nor did he make a small hint that he wanted to smile.
Selphie stepped forward and waved her hand in front of her. "Hi, Mr. Murdock. We'd like two seats please!"
The man glanced at Zell, his face still distorted with a frown, as if he has been bored all his life. Instead of speaking, he turned around and walked away. Selphie and Zell looked at each other, unsure if they should follow. Josiah paused and turned around, waving his hand. Zell and Selphie nodded and followed the man to a round table for two right by the window; wonderful view right by the lake of Deling. There was candlelight in the middle of the white covered table and a rose attached to it, small enough to be leveled with the shortness of the white candlelight. Selphie smiled and watched the flame dancing about on the black stems and her eyes traveled up towards Zell, who was watching her with a gaze that made her shiver. It the gaze Selphie found really sexy.
"This is so romantic, Zelly," she whispered, staring into his green eyes.
Zell smiled and placed a hand on her own, squeezing it ever so gently. Before he could caress her cheek, a loud, squeeking voice in Italian interrupted their moment. Zell and Selphie looked up.
A man around his thirties, dressed in a chef's clothing, approached them, with two menus in one hand, while the other, resting right beside him. Unlike the greeter, the man was clean-shaven, with curly brown hair and large blue eyes. He smiled as he put the two menus in front of them, then left without another word.
The couple opened their menus and examined their choice of food. Selphie was the first one to put down the menu. "Okay, I chose my food. What about you?"
Zell furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes still scanning the laminated triangular paper in his hands. "Um... I guess I'll have to take the Motze Mam... Mam...." He put the menu down so Selphie could see and pointed to a word.
Selphie leaned back and giggled. "You mean Mamatezzo? Motze Mamatezzo.... You sure you want that?"
The blond shrugged. "It sounds like mozzarella to me."
Selphie shook her head. "Trust me, you don't want that. It's Adamantoise liver with Geezard tail and Narnuro plant."
Zell grimaced. "Eck! You're right, I don't want it." He picked up his menu and scanned some more. However, there was nothing else. Before he could make another choice, the man with the curly hair approached them once again, this time, holding a pad of paper and a pen in his hands.
"Hello, I am Alessandro! Are you ready to order?" He had a slight Italian accent on him. Zell guessed he was probably from around Shumi village.
Selphie looked up and smiled. "You must be the owner, then?"
Alessandro nodded. "Yes. Me gave my workers some break for today."
Selphie admired his generosity. "That's nice of you!"
Alessandro nodded. "Thank you. Are you ready to order?" The waiter repeated.
"Yes, I'd like to have the Estharian spaghetti please with mushrooms," Selphie replied.
Alessandro nodded, jotting down Selphie's orders. "Would you like special Estharian cheese with that?" He asked, not looking up.
The brunette nodded. "Yes, please."
Alessandro wrote down the last order and turned his attention towards the blond. "You sir?"
Zell shrugged. "I didn't have time to order actually."
The curly man stared at him strangely. "Um... oh.... Okay... Would you like more time?"
Zell shook his head. "No it's all right. Do you have any hot dogs?"
Alessandro looked at Selphie. "Well.... Um... w- we have the- special spaghetti with cut out hot dogs in it...."
Zell agreed. "I'll have that then." He put his menu down on the table.
The waiter gaze up at him one more time, then grabbed the two menus and proceeded towards the kitchen. When he was gone, Selphie turned to Zell and giggled.
"You do know that there is no such thing as that special right?" Selphie asked, forcing herself not to laugh.
Zell snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah well, they should have some hot dog menus!"
Selphie giggled. "Okay," she replied.
They waited for at least half an hour when the food finally arrived. Selphie's platter with the Estharian spaghetti proved to be one good dinner. White cheese drooled all over the cooked 'worm' noodles and cut out mushrooms made a décor around the spaghetti. Zell watched as Selphie carefully ate the left side of the mushrooms first, making the circle into a semi-circle and made her way for the spaghetti, grabbing her fork beside the plate. She stabbed the in between the noodles and twirled her fork around between her fingers until a bunch of noodles made it all around her utensil. She lifted up the fork towards her mouth and stuffed the food inside, then began to chew.
Zell laughed. Selphie paused at the sudden noise and looked into his eyes, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"What's so funny?"
"You have red sauce on your face," he told her, reaching out to wipe the blob of sauce from the corner of her mouth. In his mind, he wanted to lick it from her face, but he shook his thought away from that inappropriate thinking.
Selphie giggled. She put the fork down and stared at his plate, which was already empty. To her surprise, she blinked and looked up at him. "You finished already?"
Zell nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't that bad, but it was still filling. Alessandro managed to put a whole lot of hot dog in my spaghetti. The sauce wasn't that bad either."
Selphie smiled. "So, you enjoyed your dinner then?" She twirled some more spaghetti around her fork and put that in her mouth, chewing silently.
"Yeah, I guess," Zell answered, watching her eat. He enjoyed watching her eat. "You know, you look cute when you eat."
Selphie blushed. "No flattery while I'm eating," she spoke between mouth full. She opened her mouth to show Zell her half eaten food inside and closed them back down again when she noticed his disgusted look, making her giggle.
Zell closed his eyes. "Okay, now that's not cute," he commented.
A few more minutes passed and Selphie finally put her fork down on the plate. She leaned back and sighed.
"Are you done?" Zell asked, sitting on the chair patiently, who has been watching Selphie eat her dinner from beginning to end.
Selphie nodded. "Yeah, but now I need to go to the bathroom."
Zell nodded. "Fine. Go ahead, while I ask for the bill." He was patient around her of course. He understood Selphie had fast metabolism, unlike any of the women he's known. That didn't matter to him, however. He just loved her because she was sweet and caring and... very defensive when it came to mocking her friends.
Selphie went over to his side, kissed him on the cheek before heading to the women's bathroom, which was located just behind where Selphie sat. She would have to walk pass the bar to make it to the washroom.
Zell spotted Alessandro serving another couple on the far side of the room. He lifted up his hand to get his attention and when Alessandro looked up, he nodded towards the manager/waiter and put his arm back down.
A few seconds and Alessandro was finally at his side. As if on cue, the waiter gave the bill to Zell and left him to tend to the other customers. Zell opened the brown item and inside, revealed his cost of the food.
"210 gil...." He mumbled, putting the bill down and reaching inside his pocket for the gil. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when he felt nothing but the jeans of his pocket. Zell reached with the other pocket with his other hand and the only thing present was the Monopoly paper gil when he was playing with Squall in Balamb. Then, he remembered that he must have left half of his real gil back at Garden. Zell cursed, almost wanting to slam his fists down on the table, but he didn't. "Shit!" he cursed silently, not wishing to have anyone stare at him.
Having no choice left, he stuffed the 300 paper gil inside and closed it tight, hoping the waiter wasn't going to check it while they were there. Selphie returned a minute later, with a glow on her face. Zell stood up, trying not to show his nervousness and lend a hand for her to take. Selphie nodded and together they left the restaurant with full stomachs.
They were getting ready to step out of the building, when a familiar voice stopped them on their tracks. Both of them turned around and noticed Alessandro running towards them, with the same paper gil in his hands. The curly-haired man approached them with anger creasing his forehead.
"You make Alessandro a fool?!" he spoke, waving the paper money around. "You give me this paper money to pay for the food Alessandro fried and cooked with his bare hands?!"
Selphie looked at the short man. She almost grimaced at the thought of the man making the good spaghetti with his hands. "What are you talking about, sir?
Alessandro pointed towards Zell. "Your boyfriend here make fool of Alessandro! He give me this paper gil from Monopoly to pay for food!"
Selphie glanced at the blond. "Zell!" Selphie yelled. She turned back towards the short man. "I'm sorry sir. Apparently, my boyfriend here must have forgotten the rest of his gil back at Garden. When we get back there, we'll deliver you all the gil we owe."
Alessandro shook his head. "NO! You eat, you pay!" He began to push them towards the direction of the kitchen, while the customers became the spectators of the whole event. "You will wash dishes!"
"Dishes? Oh well, that doesn't sound too bad," Zell spoke.
___________________________________
When they arrived inside the kitchen, they were standing in front of hundreds and hundreds of small and large plates all stacked together in a tower inside the sink. The right side of the sink consisted of thousands of forks, spoons and knives gathered together. While cups and pots covered around the sink. Selphie glanced at Zell and frowned.
"You just had to forget the rest of the gil, don't you?" She walked to the sink and grabbed the soap and the sponge from the container and began to soap the first plate from the stack. Zell went to the right side and waited for Selphie to hand him the plate so he could rinse it.
"What about you? You expected me to pay everything at the restaurant? How was I suppose to know we were going to a very eat? I thought we ate already!" Zell grabbed the plate from Selphie's hand and turned on the water, then put the plate underneath. He rubbed his hand on the plate and when he was finished, he put the first clean plate on the counter beside him.
Selphie grabbed another plate and soaped it was well. "I thought you had the gil! I thought you had all of it in your pocket!" she hissed, handing the second plate to Zell roughly.
Zell glared at her. "You always expect everything do you?! You always expect me to pay for everything just because I'm a guy!" He washed the second plate and when he turned towards her, the plate was shoved towards him, surprising Zell.
Alessandro stood by the door, listening to them argue. He rolled his eyes and sighed, feeling sorry for the couple.
"Well, excuse me!" Selphie fired back. She soaped two more plates, shoving them two at a time towards her boyfriend. "I'm not the one who lied about having all the gil!" A plate shattered on the ground, breaking in half. Selphie was too busy to even notice.
"I'm not the one who wanted to eat at a restaurant!!!" Zell yelled. The plate given to him by Selphie fell from his hand and shattered as well on the floor.
Alessandro watched in horror.
Selphie glared at him, grabbing another plate without looking. She threatened to throw a plate at him. "I'm not the one who -" She was interrupted by a hand grabbing the plate from Selphie.
"That is enough of you!" Alessandro spoke. He put the plate down on the counter and sighed at the sight of the broken plates on the floor, then looked up at the two. "I do not want to hear you argue! You love each other, yet this is what I see? You leave now!"
"But... what about our pay?" Zell asked.
Alessandro shook his head. "No pay! You mail to me gil! I do not want to see your anger towards each other. It gives me heartache. Fighting is not answer to problem!"
Selphie and Zell looked at each other, feeling ashamed.
"You speak of love, yet you act in resentment. Argue all you want, but it will not solve your problem."
"HARRY!" A woman's voice echoed the kitchen. "DID YOU LEAVE THE TOILET SEAT UP AGAIN?!"
Zell and Selphie gazed up at a flight of stairs beside them. A woman's head emerged from the stairs, glaring at Alessandro with her icy green eyes. "YOU IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO WARN YOU?! I SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED YOU A LONG TIME AGO!!!!"
"SHADDUP YOU OLD HAG!" Alessandro yelled out. "I'M WORKING HERE!"
Selphie and Zell watched on, their feet planted firmly on the ground. They couldn't move at all. Zell reached out and took Selphie's hand, then squeezed it lightly, as if to show how sorry he was for yelling at her.
Alessandro turned to the two. "Excuse me, while I speak with my wife..." He looked at the woman and together, the two went upstairs, their feet shaking the top floor. They could hear the loud screams upstairs.
"IS THIS HOW YOU SHOW ME, WOMAN? YOU SHOW ME HOSTILITY WHEN I GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT?" came Alessandro's voice.
"SHADDUP YOU ASS-WHOLE! YOU CALL YOURSELF A HUSBAND WHEN YOU'RE LOUSY IN BED!"
Zell looked at Selphie. "Let's get out of here, Selph," he whispered.
Selphie nodded. Together, they left the kitchen and into the back way to the alley. Selphie stayed close by Zell's side and could still hear the loud arguments of the married couple. Zell looked up and found that the window to their bedroom was open.
"YOU JERK! I SHOULD HAVE MARRIED CLIVE INSTEAD OF YOU!" Harry's wife screamed. They heard a glass shatter and saw clothes flying out the window.
"CLIVE?!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BEST FRIEND, CLIVE????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU BITCH! YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE WE ARE AND YOU COMPARE ME WITH HIM?!!!"
They heard a slam and Selphie's eyes widened in shock. She looked up at the window and the slamming became worst. "My God! Should we help her?!" she asked, looking at Zell.
The door to the kitchen opened and out came Alessandro, with a bleeding nose and funniest look a man could ever show when his own wife beats him up.
"YOU TRY TO HIT ME AGAIN AND I'LL POUND YOU UNTIL YOUR HEAD FALLS OFF!" the woman yelled from the bedroom.
Zell tilted his head in amusement, almost laughing at the irony, but contained himself. "Um... I don't think she does," he replied. The thought of the woman being abusive towards his husband made him realized how strong women could be.
Selphie said nothing and together, the two went on their way back to Deling City hotel, where they were suppose to meet Squall and Rinoa.
In irony, the man who gave them advice not to fight was caught in an argument of his own with his wife. Selphie hugged Zell close and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Zell," Selphie whispered.
Zell kissed her temple and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry too, Selphie."
GoodGurl: WHEW! Finally finished that! It wasn't that funny so... yeah... anyway, I hope this was still funny. Well, that's all I'm going to say. See ya the next chappy!
Chapter 22 - Alessandro's Restaurante
The power that forced her to drive crazy immediately faded from her thoughts. They stepped out of the club, holding each other's hands and Selphie found herself staring up at the stars. They strolled down the sidewalk admiring the beauty of Deling City's lights.
Zell yawned, releasing his grip on Selphie's hand and put it around her shoulders. He pulled her in closer to him as they continued to walk. Selphie rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, I guess it's time to go to sleep."
Selphie looked up and shook her head. "I'm not sleepy yet. How about we go eat at a restaurant or something?" Before the blond could answer, Selphie screeched in delight and pointed to a building nearby. Zell followed her finger and found a bright restaurant, the usual house size, only with no second floor, filled with people. Orange neon colour flashed 'Alessandro's Restaurante' above the heads of the customers. Selphie took Zell's hand and dragged him to the restaurant. Zell did not have a chance to check his pocket to see if he had any money with him. The restaurant seemed expensive, despite the beautiful décor of roses hanging by the door post. The door itself, was painted gold to show the magnificent beauty of the restaurant.
Once they arrived, the pair was greeted with a tall, skinny man with a moustache that curled upwards. He wore a black suit with a tailcoat cut up to his rear, which split into two behind him and a white, polo shirt underneath it. His hair was slicked back by hair gel. They could both tell that the greeter put too much of the transparent substance when a tiny blob of gel fell on his shoulder. He had the smile of an undertaker in a funeral.
"Hello," the man greeted, with a very deep voice, one that could pass as the horn of a large ferry. "Welcome to Alessandro's Restaurante, my name is Josiah Murdock. How many seats for tonight?" Although the application told Josiah to smile at the customers, he did not attempt to do so, nor did he make a small hint that he wanted to smile.
Selphie stepped forward and waved her hand in front of her. "Hi, Mr. Murdock. We'd like two seats please!"
The man glanced at Zell, his face still distorted with a frown, as if he has been bored all his life. Instead of speaking, he turned around and walked away. Selphie and Zell looked at each other, unsure if they should follow. Josiah paused and turned around, waving his hand. Zell and Selphie nodded and followed the man to a round table for two right by the window; wonderful view right by the lake of Deling. There was candlelight in the middle of the white covered table and a rose attached to it, small enough to be leveled with the shortness of the white candlelight. Selphie smiled and watched the flame dancing about on the black stems and her eyes traveled up towards Zell, who was watching her with a gaze that made her shiver. It the gaze Selphie found really sexy.
"This is so romantic, Zelly," she whispered, staring into his green eyes.
Zell smiled and placed a hand on her own, squeezing it ever so gently. Before he could caress her cheek, a loud, squeeking voice in Italian interrupted their moment. Zell and Selphie looked up.
A man around his thirties, dressed in a chef's clothing, approached them, with two menus in one hand, while the other, resting right beside him. Unlike the greeter, the man was clean-shaven, with curly brown hair and large blue eyes. He smiled as he put the two menus in front of them, then left without another word.
The couple opened their menus and examined their choice of food. Selphie was the first one to put down the menu. "Okay, I chose my food. What about you?"
Zell furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes still scanning the laminated triangular paper in his hands. "Um... I guess I'll have to take the Motze Mam... Mam...." He put the menu down so Selphie could see and pointed to a word.
Selphie leaned back and giggled. "You mean Mamatezzo? Motze Mamatezzo.... You sure you want that?"
The blond shrugged. "It sounds like mozzarella to me."
Selphie shook her head. "Trust me, you don't want that. It's Adamantoise liver with Geezard tail and Narnuro plant."
Zell grimaced. "Eck! You're right, I don't want it." He picked up his menu and scanned some more. However, there was nothing else. Before he could make another choice, the man with the curly hair approached them once again, this time, holding a pad of paper and a pen in his hands.
"Hello, I am Alessandro! Are you ready to order?" He had a slight Italian accent on him. Zell guessed he was probably from around Shumi village.
Selphie looked up and smiled. "You must be the owner, then?"
Alessandro nodded. "Yes. Me gave my workers some break for today."
Selphie admired his generosity. "That's nice of you!"
Alessandro nodded. "Thank you. Are you ready to order?" The waiter repeated.
"Yes, I'd like to have the Estharian spaghetti please with mushrooms," Selphie replied.
Alessandro nodded, jotting down Selphie's orders. "Would you like special Estharian cheese with that?" He asked, not looking up.
The brunette nodded. "Yes, please."
Alessandro wrote down the last order and turned his attention towards the blond. "You sir?"
Zell shrugged. "I didn't have time to order actually."
The curly man stared at him strangely. "Um... oh.... Okay... Would you like more time?"
Zell shook his head. "No it's all right. Do you have any hot dogs?"
Alessandro looked at Selphie. "Well.... Um... w- we have the- special spaghetti with cut out hot dogs in it...."
Zell agreed. "I'll have that then." He put his menu down on the table.
The waiter gaze up at him one more time, then grabbed the two menus and proceeded towards the kitchen. When he was gone, Selphie turned to Zell and giggled.
"You do know that there is no such thing as that special right?" Selphie asked, forcing herself not to laugh.
Zell snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah well, they should have some hot dog menus!"
Selphie giggled. "Okay," she replied.
They waited for at least half an hour when the food finally arrived. Selphie's platter with the Estharian spaghetti proved to be one good dinner. White cheese drooled all over the cooked 'worm' noodles and cut out mushrooms made a décor around the spaghetti. Zell watched as Selphie carefully ate the left side of the mushrooms first, making the circle into a semi-circle and made her way for the spaghetti, grabbing her fork beside the plate. She stabbed the in between the noodles and twirled her fork around between her fingers until a bunch of noodles made it all around her utensil. She lifted up the fork towards her mouth and stuffed the food inside, then began to chew.
Zell laughed. Selphie paused at the sudden noise and looked into his eyes, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"What's so funny?"
"You have red sauce on your face," he told her, reaching out to wipe the blob of sauce from the corner of her mouth. In his mind, he wanted to lick it from her face, but he shook his thought away from that inappropriate thinking.
Selphie giggled. She put the fork down and stared at his plate, which was already empty. To her surprise, she blinked and looked up at him. "You finished already?"
Zell nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't that bad, but it was still filling. Alessandro managed to put a whole lot of hot dog in my spaghetti. The sauce wasn't that bad either."
Selphie smiled. "So, you enjoyed your dinner then?" She twirled some more spaghetti around her fork and put that in her mouth, chewing silently.
"Yeah, I guess," Zell answered, watching her eat. He enjoyed watching her eat. "You know, you look cute when you eat."
Selphie blushed. "No flattery while I'm eating," she spoke between mouth full. She opened her mouth to show Zell her half eaten food inside and closed them back down again when she noticed his disgusted look, making her giggle.
Zell closed his eyes. "Okay, now that's not cute," he commented.
A few more minutes passed and Selphie finally put her fork down on the plate. She leaned back and sighed.
"Are you done?" Zell asked, sitting on the chair patiently, who has been watching Selphie eat her dinner from beginning to end.
Selphie nodded. "Yeah, but now I need to go to the bathroom."
Zell nodded. "Fine. Go ahead, while I ask for the bill." He was patient around her of course. He understood Selphie had fast metabolism, unlike any of the women he's known. That didn't matter to him, however. He just loved her because she was sweet and caring and... very defensive when it came to mocking her friends.
Selphie went over to his side, kissed him on the cheek before heading to the women's bathroom, which was located just behind where Selphie sat. She would have to walk pass the bar to make it to the washroom.
Zell spotted Alessandro serving another couple on the far side of the room. He lifted up his hand to get his attention and when Alessandro looked up, he nodded towards the manager/waiter and put his arm back down.
A few seconds and Alessandro was finally at his side. As if on cue, the waiter gave the bill to Zell and left him to tend to the other customers. Zell opened the brown item and inside, revealed his cost of the food.
"210 gil...." He mumbled, putting the bill down and reaching inside his pocket for the gil. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when he felt nothing but the jeans of his pocket. Zell reached with the other pocket with his other hand and the only thing present was the Monopoly paper gil when he was playing with Squall in Balamb. Then, he remembered that he must have left half of his real gil back at Garden. Zell cursed, almost wanting to slam his fists down on the table, but he didn't. "Shit!" he cursed silently, not wishing to have anyone stare at him.
Having no choice left, he stuffed the 300 paper gil inside and closed it tight, hoping the waiter wasn't going to check it while they were there. Selphie returned a minute later, with a glow on her face. Zell stood up, trying not to show his nervousness and lend a hand for her to take. Selphie nodded and together they left the restaurant with full stomachs.
They were getting ready to step out of the building, when a familiar voice stopped them on their tracks. Both of them turned around and noticed Alessandro running towards them, with the same paper gil in his hands. The curly-haired man approached them with anger creasing his forehead.
"You make Alessandro a fool?!" he spoke, waving the paper money around. "You give me this paper money to pay for the food Alessandro fried and cooked with his bare hands?!"
Selphie looked at the short man. She almost grimaced at the thought of the man making the good spaghetti with his hands. "What are you talking about, sir?
Alessandro pointed towards Zell. "Your boyfriend here make fool of Alessandro! He give me this paper gil from Monopoly to pay for food!"
Selphie glanced at the blond. "Zell!" Selphie yelled. She turned back towards the short man. "I'm sorry sir. Apparently, my boyfriend here must have forgotten the rest of his gil back at Garden. When we get back there, we'll deliver you all the gil we owe."
Alessandro shook his head. "NO! You eat, you pay!" He began to push them towards the direction of the kitchen, while the customers became the spectators of the whole event. "You will wash dishes!"
"Dishes? Oh well, that doesn't sound too bad," Zell spoke.
___________________________________
When they arrived inside the kitchen, they were standing in front of hundreds and hundreds of small and large plates all stacked together in a tower inside the sink. The right side of the sink consisted of thousands of forks, spoons and knives gathered together. While cups and pots covered around the sink. Selphie glanced at Zell and frowned.
"You just had to forget the rest of the gil, don't you?" She walked to the sink and grabbed the soap and the sponge from the container and began to soap the first plate from the stack. Zell went to the right side and waited for Selphie to hand him the plate so he could rinse it.
"What about you? You expected me to pay everything at the restaurant? How was I suppose to know we were going to a very eat? I thought we ate already!" Zell grabbed the plate from Selphie's hand and turned on the water, then put the plate underneath. He rubbed his hand on the plate and when he was finished, he put the first clean plate on the counter beside him.
Selphie grabbed another plate and soaped it was well. "I thought you had the gil! I thought you had all of it in your pocket!" she hissed, handing the second plate to Zell roughly.
Zell glared at her. "You always expect everything do you?! You always expect me to pay for everything just because I'm a guy!" He washed the second plate and when he turned towards her, the plate was shoved towards him, surprising Zell.
Alessandro stood by the door, listening to them argue. He rolled his eyes and sighed, feeling sorry for the couple.
"Well, excuse me!" Selphie fired back. She soaped two more plates, shoving them two at a time towards her boyfriend. "I'm not the one who lied about having all the gil!" A plate shattered on the ground, breaking in half. Selphie was too busy to even notice.
"I'm not the one who wanted to eat at a restaurant!!!" Zell yelled. The plate given to him by Selphie fell from his hand and shattered as well on the floor.
Alessandro watched in horror.
Selphie glared at him, grabbing another plate without looking. She threatened to throw a plate at him. "I'm not the one who -" She was interrupted by a hand grabbing the plate from Selphie.
"That is enough of you!" Alessandro spoke. He put the plate down on the counter and sighed at the sight of the broken plates on the floor, then looked up at the two. "I do not want to hear you argue! You love each other, yet this is what I see? You leave now!"
"But... what about our pay?" Zell asked.
Alessandro shook his head. "No pay! You mail to me gil! I do not want to see your anger towards each other. It gives me heartache. Fighting is not answer to problem!"
Selphie and Zell looked at each other, feeling ashamed.
"You speak of love, yet you act in resentment. Argue all you want, but it will not solve your problem."
"HARRY!" A woman's voice echoed the kitchen. "DID YOU LEAVE THE TOILET SEAT UP AGAIN?!"
Zell and Selphie gazed up at a flight of stairs beside them. A woman's head emerged from the stairs, glaring at Alessandro with her icy green eyes. "YOU IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO WARN YOU?! I SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED YOU A LONG TIME AGO!!!!"
"SHADDUP YOU OLD HAG!" Alessandro yelled out. "I'M WORKING HERE!"
Selphie and Zell watched on, their feet planted firmly on the ground. They couldn't move at all. Zell reached out and took Selphie's hand, then squeezed it lightly, as if to show how sorry he was for yelling at her.
Alessandro turned to the two. "Excuse me, while I speak with my wife..." He looked at the woman and together, the two went upstairs, their feet shaking the top floor. They could hear the loud screams upstairs.
"IS THIS HOW YOU SHOW ME, WOMAN? YOU SHOW ME HOSTILITY WHEN I GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT?" came Alessandro's voice.
"SHADDUP YOU ASS-WHOLE! YOU CALL YOURSELF A HUSBAND WHEN YOU'RE LOUSY IN BED!"
Zell looked at Selphie. "Let's get out of here, Selph," he whispered.
Selphie nodded. Together, they left the kitchen and into the back way to the alley. Selphie stayed close by Zell's side and could still hear the loud arguments of the married couple. Zell looked up and found that the window to their bedroom was open.
"YOU JERK! I SHOULD HAVE MARRIED CLIVE INSTEAD OF YOU!" Harry's wife screamed. They heard a glass shatter and saw clothes flying out the window.
"CLIVE?!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BEST FRIEND, CLIVE????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU BITCH! YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE WE ARE AND YOU COMPARE ME WITH HIM?!!!"
They heard a slam and Selphie's eyes widened in shock. She looked up at the window and the slamming became worst. "My God! Should we help her?!" she asked, looking at Zell.
The door to the kitchen opened and out came Alessandro, with a bleeding nose and funniest look a man could ever show when his own wife beats him up.
"YOU TRY TO HIT ME AGAIN AND I'LL POUND YOU UNTIL YOUR HEAD FALLS OFF!" the woman yelled from the bedroom.
Zell tilted his head in amusement, almost laughing at the irony, but contained himself. "Um... I don't think she does," he replied. The thought of the woman being abusive towards his husband made him realized how strong women could be.
Selphie said nothing and together, the two went on their way back to Deling City hotel, where they were suppose to meet Squall and Rinoa.
In irony, the man who gave them advice not to fight was caught in an argument of his own with his wife. Selphie hugged Zell close and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Zell," Selphie whispered.
Zell kissed her temple and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry too, Selphie."
GoodGurl: WHEW! Finally finished that! It wasn't that funny so... yeah... anyway, I hope this was still funny. Well, that's all I'm going to say. See ya the next chappy!