Man, it feels good to work on the next chapter for Endless Summer. Sorry if it's taking longer than you all wanted. These days I'm lucky to even get some laptop time. I swear, if it wasn't for work, the way my computer has been, …. and my struggle with real-life stuff, I think this story, as well as the other stories I want to try and finish, would have been finished by now. But whatever. If I finish a chapter, it always works well done. Anyway, the last chapter, the crew met up with the Counlizzas. A family of cougars that owns a pizza joint. They were nice to them, but their restaurant might be in peril. So the gang gets help from Nick's dad, John, and sees if they can do something to save the restaurant. However, that may not be able to happen. The original owner, Maurizio, gave everyone the news that he has decided to sell the shop. What's gonna happen now? What is the gang gonna do now? Let's find out.
One more thing before we start. Thank you to everyone who understands why this took longer than it was supposed to. Last year still hit me quite a bit. Lesser than most, but still enough to mess with my workflow. Just know, no matter how long it may take, THIS STORY WILL GO ON! As long as I live and breathe, I will keep this arc going. Now, enjoy the chapter.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DECIDED IT'S TIME WE SELL THIS PLACE, OLD MAN?!" Giorgo shouted out in disbelief. "How can you do this without telling me?!"
"I may let you run the shop now, but I still own this store. The business has been down for too long and it isn't getting any better. So I think it really is time for us to close the place altogether." Maurizio said.
"Gramps, No!" Camellia pleaded. "This restaurant has been in our family for years. You can't give it up."
"Sorry, little bambino. These things happen all the time. It's just our turn now." Maurizio said.
"Woah! Woah woah woah! Hold on!" John said as he walks to Maurizio. "I come back the first time in years and now you are telling me you are closing? Come on, Old Man Coulizza. You can't do that. This place was my first real job."
"Johnny boy, while it's great to see you again, I don't have much of a choice." Maurizio stated. "The buyer is offering a lot of money for this space. Enough for our family to have a good retirement."
"The buyer? You mean that ram from the other day?" Nick asked.
"Hornsly. Nelson Hornsly is his name." Giorgo said. "He started showing up two months ago. He noticed our lack of business and wanted to buy the building. But he doesn't simply plan on taking ownership of the building. He plans to tear it down."
"WHAT?" Everyone else shouted out.
"That's right. He plans to buy this spot, as well as other spots around the area to build his own building. I may be the last person he needs to buy from." Maurizio said. "As much as it pains me, there is really nothing else I can do now."
"Pains you? What about me and papa?" Camellia asked as she was about to cry. "This place has been here my whole life. We get rid of this place you giving away all the memories with it. Including the memories with mama. Do you want that? Cause I don't!"
"Camellia, try to understand…." Maurizio said.
"Sta 'zitto! (Shut up!) I don't want to hear your excuses!" Camellia shouted out before running off.
"EVERYONE, STOP!" Nick shouted out loudly that it even stopped Camellia from running off.
With that shout, Nick had the floor and everyone's attention. Nick then walked up to Maurizio.
"Old man Coulizza, I want to ask you something." Nick said looking serious. "This deal you are making, is all things final?"
"Umm…. not yet. Everything won't be finalized for another 3 days." Maurizio stated.
"3 days, huh? Alright then. In that case…." Nick said before sounding confident. "…. we'll get this place business up by then."
"WHAAAAAT?!" The Coulizzas all went.
"If the business gets better for you by 3 days, you won't have to sell this place, right?" Nick asked Maurizio.
"Well…. yeah. But..." Maurizio said.
"Nick, even if we did better in 3 days, we would still need to maintain sales on a regular. To do that, we will need to keep the customer flow going every day." Giorgo stated.
"We can work on that too." Nick said eagerly. "I mean, with 3 days, it will be no problem." Nick then turned to his friends. "Right, guys?"
"3 days is plenty of time." Judy said confidently.
"Should be easy enough." Darson stated.
"Man, if it was only 1 day, it would have been tough. But 3 days, it will be a breeze." Finnick stated not looking worried at all.
"Yeah. It will be easy as pie." Ronnie said.
"Pizza pie." Audran added.
It seemed that none of the teens were worried about any of this. Except for Mimi, who started to look very freaked out.
"Are you guys a bunch of crazies?! 3 days to get this place overflowing with business? That's not enough time." Mimi stated as she still sound freaked.
"You're still new to the group, Mimi. But you should know that this sort of thing ALL the time." Falisha stated. "This isn't new to us."
"SERIOUSLY?!" Mimi shouted out.
"Yeah. We hear something like this, Nick and/or Judy want to do something about it, they get us to help, and then everything is good." Mervin stated. "It's been like that since we met them."
"Johnny's boy, I know you mean well, but…." Maurizio said before being cut off.
"Old man Coulizza, please hear me out." Nick said sincerely. "Something similar to this happened with my dad once. He thought the best choice was the choice that helped mom and me the most. But if he had done that, he would have regretted it for his entire life. Even if it meant being sent for life and having stores around the city, it wasn't worth selling his soul to a horrid man."
"Nick's right." John said. "I was about to make that mistake until my boy set me straight. Now, I have my dream store and I'm my own boss. I wouldn't have it if it wasn't for him."
"Come on, old man Coulizza. Let us help. Please?" Nick pleaded.
Maurizio looked at the eyes on Nick. He saw faith and determination in his eyes. He could have sworn he was looking at John when he was young and asked him for a job here. Maurizio couldn't help, but smile.
"Hehe. From that face to those eyes are yours, you are the spitting image of your papa." Maurizio said. "Alright, if you really can get this place booming in 3 days, then I won't sell."
"Really?" Nick said.
"However, since you are Johnny's bambino, you better keep your word like his." Maurizio said. "If you aren't able to help this restaurant to get business up by the 3 days, then I will have to sell. Capire?
"Yes, sir." Nick said nodding and agreeing with his terms.
"Then we have a deal." Maurizio said before shaking Nick's paw.
"Grazie, papa." Giorgo said glad that Maurizio was willing to give Nick a chance.
"You better then. Nick and friends can really help this place cause we are gonna need every penny we can get." Maurizio stated.
"Leave it to us, Old Man Coulizza." Nick said determinedly.
"You know, your father always called that and I wasn't that old." Maurizio stated looking a bit mad.
"If there's a 5 and another number next to it, you're old." John stated with a smirk. "Well, now you are pretty much ancient."
"Watch it, Johnny boy. You may think you are still young now, but one day you may end up as old as me." Maurizio stated as he walked up to John. "Huh. I think I'm even starting to see a bit of 'gray' on the head of yours."
"WHAT?!" John shouted out looking freaked.
"Hehehe! Same ol' Johnny boy worried about how he looks." Maurizio said with a smirk. "It's no wonder why you decided to be a tailor."
"Hmmmpt!" John said looking a bit peeved.
"But I suppose you turned out well to raise a boy like little Nick here." Maurizio said looking at Nick with a smile. "Alright. I'll leave everything to you and your bambino. Remember our deal."
"No need. I don't intend to give up so easily." Nick said boldly.
Maurizio nodded and slowly walked out of the restaurant. Nick then took a sigh of relief.
"*sigh* Okay, I think I just bought us some time." Nick said.
"Nick, I don't know what to say." Camellia said getting a bit emotional. "Thank you. You may have saved our restaurant."
"Don't thank him or us yet." Finnick stated. "Letting the old guy give us a chance is one thing. But we still need to help this place soar again."
"Do you have a plan, Nick?" Judy asked.
"Don't worry, Carrots. I ALWAYS have a plan." Nick said sounding determined.
Judy and the others were expecting Nick to tell them what his plan was. A few seconds in and Nick didn't say anything. This had everyone concerned.
"Uhhh…. Nicky?" John asked. "Do you really have a plan or do you want me to come up with something?"
"What? Psst! I am Nicholas Wilde. I don't my daddy to help come with something." Nick said boldly.
"Okay then." John said with his paws up thinking that his son can come up with something.
A few seconds in, Nick still didn't say anything about a plan. In fact, he looked pretty worried. Nick then looked back at John.
"Daddy, what do we do?!" Nick asked sounding a bit innocent and scared.
"WHAT?!" Everyone else shouted out. "YOU DON'T HAVE AN IDEA?!"
"I couldn't just say I didn't. Otherwise, Old Man Coulizza wouldn't give us a chance." Nick told them.
"Cheese and Crackers, Nick!" Judy shouted out.
"Alright. Nobody panic yet. As an adult, I will handle everything. I got this all under control." John said proudly and boldly.
After saying that, the gang expected John to have a plan himself. But after a few seconds of silence, the gang was concerned again.
"Uhhhh…. pop?" Nick said worried for his dad.
"Not now, Nicky. Daddy's thinking." John said. Clearly, he had no plan either.
"Well…. we are off to a great start." Finnick said sarcastically.
"We are? Cause it doesn't look that way." Mimi stated.
"Mimi, I know you are still new to the group, but try to keep up with everything happening." Finnick told her.
Moments later, the group then went to work on improving the restaurant. While the teens were straightening things up, John was with Giorgo in the kitchen looking over the menu.
"I was still a kid when I have last seen the menu for this place. I bet you guys added a lot of new things to it now." John said as he excitedly looked at the menu.
"Actually John, we…." Giorgo said while scratching the back of his head.
John had a blank expression on his face before saying "This menu is the same. It's the exact same menu from years ago. Breadsticks, Pasta, ONLY 3 TOPPINGS?! Why has your menu been the same for so long?"
"You know papa. He likes to keep things the same. It's tradition." Giorgo stated.
"Tradition won't keep this place running." John stated. "I'm not asking you to give up your old way of doing things. I'm just asking you to add more to them. If you want this place to grow, you have to do that."
Listening to John, Giorgo knew he was right.
"Okay Johnny boy, what do we do first?" Giorgo asked.
"Obviously, we need to add more to this menu of yours." John said as he slapped the menu. "While we are at it, we should also try to improve on the pizza you already serve. I know it might be against it, but adding one or two extra ingredients can really make the difference."
"Papa would probably never let me, but…. since he was trying to sell the shop, I'm sure he won't mind us changing a few things anyway." Giorgo stated.
"He really shouldn't." John said.
"Mr. Wilde and Mr. Coulizza?" Mimi said as she entered the room. She was listening in on most of what they were talking about. "Is it alright if I…. you know…. help?"
"Mimi, right?" John asked making sure he remembered her name.
"Yes, sir." Mimi said while nodding. "I know my way around the kitchen, so I was hoping to help you a bit. Also, my dad is the head chef of a 4-Star Restaurant. Actually, he's trying for the 5th."
"Oh. A chef's kid, are you?" John said looking impressed.
"I don't know. While we're a simple pizza shop, you're still pretty young." Giorgo said.
Mimi then took off her glasses and then switch to her other pair. From what Falisha learned, when Mimi switched her glasses, her personality changed quite a lot.
"I assure you. I'm no slouch." Mimi said sounding serious.
The tone Mimi spoke in was enough to send a small chill to both John and Giorgo spines.
"O…. kay then." Giorgo said taking Mimi words seriously.
"Nicholas, you really know how to pick your friends, do you?" John thought.
As Mimi helps John and Giorgo in the kitchen, Mervin was currently on his cellphone making a call. He was on the phone for a while.
"Come on, bros! This is important!" Mervin said on the phone. He was talking with his brothers. "This little thing could save this place." "….." "Really? Do you have to bring that up?"
Everyone else was watching Mervin pace left and right.
"Who is Mervin talking to?" Nick asked Finnick.
"Apparently, his brothers." Finnick replied. "Mervin's asking for permission for something, but it doesn't seem like his brothers give it to him."
"Hmmm…." Nick said while pondering a bit. He then walked over to Mervin. "Merv, put it on speaker."
"Huh? Why?" Mervin asked.
"Just do it." Nick said.
Mervin shrugged before putting his phone on speaker. Nick then spoke.
"Hey guys! It's Nick!" Nick said cheerfully.
"NICKY!" Shouted out Mervin's brothers, Murray, Miles, and Mac.
"What's up, Nick?" Mac asked.
"I'm good." Nick replied. "Anywho, I need a favor. Whatever Mervin is asking you guys for, can you be cool with it?"
"Wait. This is a favor for you?" Miles asked.
"Mervin, why didn't you say it was for Nick?" Mac asked.
"Yeah. We're totally cool with it if it's for Nick." Murray stated.
"Yeah. So you can totally give him that recipe we have." Miles said.
"Thanks, guys!" Nick said sounding happy.
"You're welcome, Nicky!" The 3 hyenas said back to him before Mervin hung up the phone.
Mervin had a blank expression on his face.
"My own brothers didn't want to help me. Yet they were willing to help you." Mervin said looking unhappy. "Suddenly, I think they love you more than they love me."
"Prob for later, dude." Nick said to Mervin while patting him on the back. "Now, they said something about a recipe?"
"Oh, right!" Mervin said snapping out of his funk. "To the kitchen!"
Everyone then dashed into the kitchen. Mervin told Giorgo what ingredients he needed and offer to let Mervin use them. Mervin then started explaining what he had plan.
"I wasn't gonna be able to do this, if I didn't talk to my brothers first. But since they gave Nick their seal of approval, it's good now." Mervin said happily. "I don't know if I told you guys, but my three older brothers were planning to run a food truck one day. Basically, they would sell a bunch of cool and trendy foods."
"Knowing your brother, the food might be awfully greasy." Falisha said sounding unsure.
"Or awfully awesome!" Finnick said sounding interested.
"Finn, you have never been more right. I can vouch that this is one of their better idea." Mervin stated. "The little thing we are gonna make should fit right in with this place. My brothers like to call it the "Howlino's Howling Good Pizz-alls".
"Uhhhh…. Pizz-alls?" Nick asked confused by the name.
"It's a working title." Mervin stated. "It's pretty mini-pizzas made into ball form. Sort of like those mini-pizza things you get from the freezer aisle, but WAAAAAY better."
Mervin then started describing what to do as Giorgo and John started making it.
"First we need to get a small bit of dough and make them into tiny flat circles. Next, add a spoonful of that tasty pizza sauce. Next is the cheese. My brothers like to make sure there's just the right amount, so the pizz-alls have that cheese pull. Then we add a small bit of whatever popping you want. Or just the sauce and cheese is fine."
After making quite a few, the next step was putting them into the oven. After a bit, they pulled them out when they were nice and ready.
"Once they are golden, add a small amount of butter to them, topped them with some parmesan, and add a side marinara sauce for dipping and….." Mervin said.
Mervin presented a basket with 4 of the pizz-alls and a small cup of marinara sauce to everyone.
"Done!" Mervin said.
"Ooooooh!" The gang all went.
"I don't think I have ever made something as odd and un-traditional in my life." Giorgo said. "But I will say that this looks good."
"Now we need to test it and make sure it's okay to sell." John stated.
"I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!" Benji said very eagerly.
"Of course….." His friends all went.
"Hey! I like to eat. So if someone has to test taste, it has to be me." Benji stated as he takes the basket from Mervin. He then looks at the Pizz-alls for a moment. "I can already tell these are gonna be pretty hot."
Benji picked up and blew on it a bit before taking a bite. Once they saw Benji's eyes pop and the little cheese pull, they could tell that he liked it.
"O…. M…. Goodness! This is…. OMGoodness." Benji said after the first bite. "Oh, right. Let me try it with the sauce." Benji then dipped the pizz-all into some of the sauce. He then went in for another bite and he was once again in all. "EEEEEEKK! THIS IS SOOO GOOD!"
"I'm guessing Ben's a fan." Mervin said with a grin.
"Okay. Now I want to try one." Ronnie said looking eager to try one as well.
"Me too." Falisha said wanting to try one too.
Pretty much everyone wanted to try one. Including some of the other staff members. Everyone enjoyed Mervin's brothers' creation very much.
"This is pretty awesome and a cool idea." Nick said while eating. "I mean, the name still could use some work..."
"It's a work-in-progress name." Mervin stated with a straight face.
"Still, these are good. It's like eating mini versions of the pizza here." Judy stated.
"If we put these on the menu, we should sell them how we would for slices." Camellia suggested.
"Hold up!" Finnick said with a paw up. "Better idea. You sell them for an extra buck. Ideas like this are fresh and peaked the interests of people more. Meaning, they will also be willing to pay more."
"That's a good point." John said agreeing.
"But will this be enough to rack up extra sales?" Giorgo asked.
"Only one way to find out." Nick said.
To spread the word about their new item, Nick suggested they started giving out a few samples. Camellia was the one offering the samples outside of the restaurant while John also trying to get people's attention with his professional sign spinning. He did not lose his touch when he used to do it as a kid.
Soon, some mammals started to look interested by the pizz-alls. A lot of them not only thought they were tasty but love the idea. So, they were able to pull in a few customers. Since news in Zootopia travels fast, many other customers started showing up by the boatload. Soon, for the first time in a long while, their restaurant was packed with loads of customers. Whether it was the for the pizz-alls, or regular pizza slices, customers came. The Counlizzas had their paws full, but they couldn't be happier.
A couple of hours later, the restaurant closed for the day and made a lot of cash.
"This may have been the most money we made in a day ever." Giorgo said as he happily counted the money in his register.
"We keep this up, grandpa will have to agree to not let us sell this place." Camellia said looking very happy.
"Looks like we saved this place, right Nick?" Judy asked.
Nick didn't respond. In fact, he was in deep thought.
"It's not good enough." Nick said.
"Huh?" Everyone else went as they look at Nick.
"I mean, sure. Today went well. I'm even sure the next two days will work out just as well too. But do you really think that's gonna be enough?" Nick asked.
"Well… we only need to keep business good for 3 days and…." Audran said.
"Hang on." John said. "I think I see what you mean, son. Even if the store does well the 3 days we help, what about every day after that?"
"We all already talked about this before. We shouldn't just go for the 3 days. We need to go for the long run." Nick stated. "We gotta do enough for this restaurant to make it run for a long time."
"As always, you're right." Judy said agreeing with Nick. "Even if the restaurant does well within the other 2 days, it will mean nothing if things go back to the way they were."
"So, what are we gonna do?" Finnick asked.
"We could always keep coming up with more new items. That would keep the ball rolling." Ronnie suggested.
"Hold up! Too many different foods on the menu are like throwing everything into a pot at once." Mimi said. "Doing so could overwhelm the menu. Plus making a bunch of new items is costly."
"I don't think we need to add more to the menu yet. I think I got another thing we can do." Nick said.
"What do you have in mind, bambino?" Giorgo asked.
"We had a lot of business because of the mammals being from this side of town. But what if we were to send word to the other parts of town?" Nick asked while having a grin.
"Ohhhhhhhh." Everyone else went while getting what Nick was suggested.
The next day, the gang had another idea to add even more business to the restaurant. They decided that it was a good idea to start spreading the word to the other parts of the city besides Downtown. So, they made a couple of posters introducing Counlizza's Pizza, "The Munchas". (They changed the name because pizz-alls sounded too weird.) The gang put posters up in Savanna Central, Sahara Square, and Tundratown. These parts of the city were the usual most popular districts. Each of the teens went to a spot where mammals were most likely to see the poster and have their interest peak. They would also try to convince other mammals to go to Counlizza's if they had the time or wanted good pizza. It was a simple plan, but it was starting to work a little.
After a couple of minutes, the gang met back up at Coulizza's with a job well done. But little did they know, the ram from before happen to pick up one of these posters. He had a guess Giorgo would do some last-ditch effort. But the ram didn't think he would need to act on it…. Until now.
Meanwhile, John was still helping Giorgo and a few of his staffers with the pizza. John was mixing up the sauce while Giorgo was making more munchas. The two then started chatting.
"Don't think I've been this productive in a long time." Giorgo admitted.
"Not used to all the business?" John asked. "When Wilde and Son started getting loads of customers a few years back, I felt the same. But it was good. Besides, I remember this place being very busy when I was young."
"You have been gone for a long time, Johnny boy. A lot has happened. A lot…." Giorgo said in a sad tone.
John waited a few seconds before saying "The kids told me. About your wife.".
The moment John mention that Giorgo immediately stopped.
"*sigh* I'm assuming my daughter told them." Giorgo said
"Would…. It be okay if you talk to me about it?" John asked. "I mean, you don't have to…."
"It's been over 10 years, and still….." Giorgo said as he looked ill. He then turned to John. "Johnny, can I ask you something? Is your Frankie the love of your life?"
"Of course she is." John quickly answered with no hesitation.
"Then how would you feel if you were to lose her?" Giorgo asked.
This time, John did hesitate to answer.
"Ah…. Well..." John really didn't want to answer Giorgio, but John always chose to be honest with people. That's why he gave an honest answer. "…. I would feel like my heart was completely ripped from my body. That I would lose meaning in my life."
"That's how I felt for my Penny." Giorgo said mentioning his wife's name. "Penny was…. My 'amore'. My 'passione'. I remember her always coming by the shop. Day in and out. Sometimes not even to order pizza. Pretty sure she just came to see me most day." Giorgo then started smiling a bit. "Papa finally decided that if she was gonna come by so much, she might as well work here. She happily accepted. I dated her for years and it took me long enough to finally propose to her. We got married and then had our little bambina, Camellia. The three of us had a happy life together. I wanted it to last forever."
John wanted to smile, but he knew it would quickly go away for the next part he was about to hear.
"Then…. that illness happened." Giorgo said. "Unfortunately, it was one of those 'incurable' illness. No matter what meds they gave her or how much we spent, it didn't stop it or slow it down any less. After a long while, you can guess what happened next."
"She… didn't make it, did she?" John asked sadly.
"No. She didn't." Giorgo replied. "She was always healthy. She exercised daily, told me to do it more, she even ate her vegetables more than most predators. So why? Why did she have to die from being sick?"
"…." John was silent.
"Her funeral was the hardest thing for me. But…. It was just as hard for Camellia." Giorgo stated. "She's was 10 and old enough to understand death and all, but did you think she could really hard for her? Waking up every morning just to realize her mama was gone?"
Giorgo then started breaking into tears. The employees and John didn't really know what to say at this point. One thing did come to mind for John.
"I'm sorry." John said to Giorgo. "Not just for your lost, but for not finding out sooner and helping you ease the pain a little."
"To tell you the truth…." Giorgo said as he wiped his tears. "…. I feel like I was always using Penny's death as an excuse for most. I grief for her so long that…. I even caused the family business to be in this state. Yet Camellia, even after losing her mother, stayed strong and hopeful every day. Thinking about it now, she's the reason why we haven't sold this place yet."
"Makes sense. Our kids tend to be more spirited than us adults." John said.
"That's odd. Since your boy is exactly how you were." Giorgo said.
"He gets a lot from me, but I also want him to be himself. His own fox." John said.
"Is he also why you were able to stay successful?" Giorgo asked.
"In many ways, yes." John said. "But I also should give credit to Judy."
"The little bunny that your boy seems to be crazy about?" Giorgo asked.
"Oh? You knew?" John asked looking surprised.
"Come on. Even I can tell it was obvious." Giorgo said. "He had that same "I'm in love with a girl." aura you had. And looking at everyone else, she was a clear choice."
"Haha…." John laughed awkwardly. "That little bunny is amazing. She has a strong will and is determined to not give up. She pretty much inspired my boy to be the same. She helped my family more than I ever thought she would. She has a lot of siblings, ya know. But she has a special place in our family. Frankie and I love her as if she was our own daughter."
"Does she know that?" Giorgo asked.
"I'm sure she does." John said. "It's no secret that we consider her part of our family."
"Heh. Maybe one day, she truly will be." Giorgo said with a grin.
"Woah woah! It's way too early to say something like that." John said. "I don't want those two to think anyone is forcing them. But…. if enough time passes and things happen between the two of them, then I will be more than happy with them."
"Just be sure to invite me to the wedding time." Giorgo stated with a smirk.
John frozed up for a moment. John realized that while he was formally close Giorgo and their family, he never invited them to his wedding.
"Uhhhh…. Well…. You see…. Frankie and I's wedding was pretty out quick and right away and…." John said trying to come up with a good explanation.
"Save it, Johnny boy." Giorgo said with his paw up. "I remember you were never good with coming up with excuses cause you were too honest to lie."
"Hmpt! You make it sound like I CAN'T lie." John said looking a bit peeved. "As honest as I am, I am still a fox. So saying that I can't lie isn't farfetched."
"Can you?" Giorgo asked.
"Noooo…." John admitted. "You know I'm too honest. Pretty sure Frankie could tell that and that's why she was willing to date me."
"Glad that you two worked. I would have lost a bet." Giorgo stated.
"Wait? You BETTED if my relationship wouldn't work out?!" John asked starting to look mad.
"I sided with you. All the other guys didn't think you would work out." Giorgo stated with a shrug. "Bet they felt like idioti when I took their denaro."
"…." John did not look happy one bit.
"Come now, Johnny. It was a long time ago. Don't be mad." Giorgo said trying to be considerate.
"Three words: Where's my cut?" John said.
The two then did some hearty laughing before going back to making pizzas. As they spoke, the teens were still doing a great job keeping the workflow going. Nick was with Judy and Camellia. Judy had handed over a list of things they could do to improve around the restaurant.
"These are all the ideas Nick and I had to keep the workflow going after the 3 days are up." Judy stated.
"WHOA!" Camellia shouted out. "This is a lot!"
"It's no secret that Nick and I are pretty smart for our ages." Judy said proudly.
Nick then leaned his head on top of Judy's and said "Hehehe! Carrots and I have quite the brainpower. That's just how we have always been."
"Niiiiick…." Judy said blushing a bit. "You already putting your head on top of mine."
"You and I both know you like it." Nick said with a smirk.
"Oh! You two are…." Camellia said as she realized that Nick and Judy are a couple because of their behavior. She also noticed the matching bracelets on both their arms. "Awwwww! That's so adorable! It's weird since you are like opposites of each other. Yet, I can tell you two complement each other really well. It's like you were meant for each other."
"Everyone seems to think that." Nick said blushing a bit.
"It's your fault. You always so clingy." Judy stated. "Dumb clingy fox boyfriend."
"Then it's your fault too. Dumb cute bunny." Nick said with a sly grin.
"You only get a pass on calling me cute cause you're my boyfriend." Judy told Nick while still looking mad.
"Your relationship is bellissima." Camellia said with a smile. She then had something on her mind. "My parents were the same way."
Nick and Judy then realized that they might have brought of some hard memories for Camellia since she lost her mother and decided to not be too close to each other.
"Do you…. miss your mother?" Judy asked.
"Of course I do." Camellia admitted starting to get sad. "I mean, I do remember her and all. But…. it feels like with every year that goes by, I start forgetting her more and more. I do remember crying…. a lot. I remember not wanting to go to school or even leaving my room."
"I sure that's normal for anyone who loses their mother. If I lost mine, I would probably be the same way." Nick stated. Even
"Still, I knew papa missed her more. I remember he wasn't able to open the shop for weeks after she died. So when I saw him opening the place back up, he wasn't the same as he used to be. So I kept thinking, would mom be happy if she saw him like this?" Camellia asked. "So, I put on an apron and walked over to my father and said 'Papà, dobbiamo continuare a vivere.'."
"What does that mean?" Judy asked.
"We must live on." Camellia stated. "Even if we miss her, even if it's hard, when you own a restaurant, you have to open shop. That's the most important thing."
"Staying open to keep serving customers." Nick said.
"Yes." Camellia said with a nod. "That's why I want to keep this restaurant going for as long as I can. For my family's sake."
Both Nick and Judy admired Camellia a lot more after hearing her story. She had a really strong will and a good heart. Something that Nick and Judy always like to see in a friend.
"Well then, you can count on us to help out with whatever we can." Judy said.
"Yeah!" Judy said.
"Thank you." Camellia said with a smile. "If things work out, you can have all the pizza you can eat for a lifetime."
"Uhhh… you better not hold us to that until we know the shop is safe." Judy said before walking over to Camellia and whispering "Ben and Ronnie eat a lot.".
"Oh. Good call." Camellia said taking Judy's words serious.
Meanwhile, while cleaning up some empty tables, both Benji and Ronnie sneezed at the exact same time.
"Oh. That was weird." Benji stated. "We both sneezed at the same time out of nowhere."
"Is someone talking smack about us?" Ronnie asked. "I feel like someone's talking smack."
As the day went by, it was close to closing time and the gang helped out enough to leave for the day. The sky was orange and the sun was close to setting. Everyone was outside except Finnick who was gone for most of the day.
"Okay. Tomorrow the last full day we can help out before Old Man Coulizza decides whether he wants to sell or not." John stated.
"We really racked up the business the last two days. There's no way he will want to sell now." Mervin said looking pleased.
Everyone was cheering for that. But while it did seem true, Nick felt it was still too early to celebrate. Judy looked at Nick pondering and could tell that's what he thought.
"Nick, you have that look again." Judy stated.
"Something on your mind, my boy?" John asked.
"Uhhh, nothing big." Nick said. "Pop, do you mind if I come home later? I want to talk to my friends about some more stuff and this is sort of a 'No Grown-ups' kind of thing."
"Hmpt! Feels like you are automatically calling your old man 'old' by saying that." John stated while glaring at his son. "But okay. Just be home before dinner because you know how your mom and the twins get when you are away too long."
"I know. Don't worry. It won't be too long." Nick said.
John then drove off, leaving the teens to themselves. A moment later, Finnick showed up with a few papers.
"Yo! Sorry I'm a bit late." Finnick said to his friends.
"Finn! Right on time." Nick said.
"Where have you been, man?" Darson asked.
"I was getting some intel as Nick asked me to." Finnick replied.
"Guys, I'm gonna be real. Thanks to the new food items and gaining reputation, the success of the restaurant is getting known." Nick stated. "However, I'm pretty sure that Big Wig has knowledge of that now."
"Wait. Do you think he gonna try something in the last minute to mess up the shop?" Ronnie asked looking worried.
"Maybe." Nick said. "But I'm pretty sure it would be too obvious that he orchestrated something. So I doubt he will do something that drastic without thinking it through."
"Okay. So why did you have Finn do?" Falisha asked.
"Like I said, intel." Finnick stated. "During the whole days we worked here, we had no real knowledge on who the ram guy was or why he really wanted to buy the restaurant. Nelson Hornsly was his name, right?"
"Yeah. That was the name." Nick said.
"Okay, so as you can guess, he's was one of the CEO type guys who uses money as his main source of power."
"Oh. That's obvious." Mervin said. "Seems like everyone big-time rich CEO has got to be evil and rely on money."
"See, here's the thing. While he does have money and junk, all his business deals have been legit." Finnick said.
"What?" Everyone else said surprised.
"Yeah. I'm talking no shady business transactions, no clients going missing, no swindling contracts. The guy's clean." Finnick stated.
This was a bit of a shocker for the group. They expected Nelson Hornsly to be the usual bad type of CEO. So this knowledge through them off completely.
"Hold on. So why does he want to buy the restaurant so badly?" Judy asked. "Actually, now that I think about it. It's odd that he wants to buy the store in the first place."
"I think your right." Nick said agreeing with Judy. "There are plenty of spots in the Zootopia. They are also plenty of vacant spots around town that would have been much easier to get a hold of. So it's odd that he's so fixated with this place."
"So, you are saying that there's a real reason he wants to buy the restaurant?" Benji asked.
"Seems like it." Nick said.
"Then what do you think the real reason for all of this was?" Ronnie asked.
"I don't know if what I found is the reason, but may you guys should take a look at this." Finnick said as he waves one of the papers he brought with him.
Finnick handed it over to Nick and he took a look at it. The same for the others as they looked over Nick. They could really make heads or tails of it much. But maybe Giorgio might know something. So Nick went right back inside.
"Ummm… Mr. Coulizza?" Nick asked trying to get Giorgio's attention.
"Nick? You're still here?" Giorgio asked.
"Finnick found something and maybe you know what it means." Nick said while giving him the papers.
Giorgio took a few seconds to look at what Nick gave him. After looking at it, his eyes widen and he shouted out "MAMA MIA!" loud enough to get everyone's attention.
"Uhhhh…. I assume you DO know what it means." Nick said looking a bit freaked.
"I believe I'm gonna talk with Mr. Nelson Hornsly in person." Giorgio said.
It was the next day. Giorgo thought it was time to speak with Hornsly again. So he called him over to the restaurant. Giorgo asked Nick, Judy, Camellia, and the others to completely stay out of this. He said that this was a matter that he had to handle. While the teens weren't fond of it, they decided to listen to him and not do any of their usual stuff.
Giorgo was sitting on a table face-to-face with Mr. Hornsly. Both their expressions seemed to be serious and mute. They both just looked at each other for over a minute. Hornsly finally decides to break the silence.
"So... I'm assuming we are here to talk more than just about the deal I offered you." Hornsly said.
"You knew her." Giorgo said.
Hornsly waited a few seconds before saying "Jumping right into it, huh?". "Care to tell me how this information got to you?"
"Just answer the question." Giorgo said sounding more serious.
"*sigh* Yes. I knew Penny." Hornsly answered. "I knew about her for a long time. We were childhood friends. In other words, I knew her longer than you probably did." Hornsly then got off his chair paced left and right. "When I met her, she was always bold and strong-willed. Knowing her, she probably hid her illness from you until she couldn't."
"..." Giorgo was silent because it was actually true in this case.
"Looks like I hit the bulleye." Hornsly said.
"The way you talk about her, were you close?" Giorgo said.
"Close, yes. But not as close as we could have been. After all, we were different mammals. That would have been ver frowned upon." Rampardo stated. "We lost touch with each other for years now. And to be honest, I only knew about her death mildly recent."
"How recent? Like, a few months recent? As in the same amount months when you started asking if I would sell this place?" Giorgo asked.
"Now, before you..." Hornsly said.
"Is that why you want to buy this place?!" Giorgo asked as his anger raised. "She rejected you and you are just gonna take it out on us!"
"That's not the reason." Hornsly stated. "Besides, don't you think I would have done that by now if it was the reason?"
"Then why?!" Giorgo asked. "WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS PLACE AWAY?! WHY DO YOU WANT THIS PLACE AND HER SPIRIT TO DIE?!"
"BECAUSE YOU WERE ALREADY DOING THAT!" Hornsly shouted out.
After that shout, the room went quiet for like 3 seconds.
"Wh... what?" Giorgo said caught a bit off guard after hearing that.
"The moment she died was the moment you let the place go under, wasn't it?" Hornsly asked. "You spend that entire time griefing and mourning. And look what it did to your restaurant? Only now you are starting to get business. But what about the days before today? Or rather years?"
"Ah... I..." Giorgo uttered.
"You used her death as an excuse to feel sad and unmotivated for years. If she were here to see this, she wouldn't be happy, would she?" Hornsly asked.
"..." Giorgo was silent again.
"I will say this. That daughter of yours, she had more motivations of keeping this place up than you did. I can see that she's really Penny's daughter." Hornsly stated.
"She does take a bit from her mother in that department." Giorgo admitted. "And... you're right. It's because of her I was willing to keep this place going. And if she wasn't, then I..."
"So... do you understand now? What I'm really trying to do?" Hornsly asked. "Businesses like yours, it doesn't matter how hard you hold on to them. If you don't have the drive, then you can't expect them to stay open nor are they able to recover from it if you close. And that's where people like me come in." Hornsly then walked up to Giorgo. "If a business is about to fall, whether I buy it or not, I choose to help get it back up. Some use it as a way to get compensated, others use it as motivation to make their businesses better."
"Hold on. You mean to tell you did all this to..." Giorgo said.
"So that you would pick up the slack and make this place better." Hornsly stated which was quite a shocker. "It took longer than expected, but at least you're getting somewhere. I won't ask how, but I will say it will take more than just a few good days."
"So I've been told." Giorgo said. "So what do you really want? Can you give me a simple and straight answer, please?"
Hornsly then pulled out a piece of paper.
"This really isn't an official deal. Just think of it as a deal between men." Hornsly stated as he handed the paper to Giorgo. "Basically, as long as this place stays popular and the sales keep coming, I won't try to buy this place anymore. However, if you slip up to a point where this restaurant can't recover..."
"Then at least I will be compensated." Giorgo said.
"That's the deal." Hornsly stated.
"Looking at this, it doesn't seem like an 'official' deal." Giorgo stated as he looked at the paper. It wasn' even typed up. It was in pen. "So mean simply signing this practically means nothing."
"And yet... it also could mean everything. As I said, this is a deal between men. Men that shared a connection with someone who was special." Hornsly stated.
Giorgo had on a smile on his face before having a pen and writing his signature on the paper. He then handed it over to Hornsly.
"Here. But I will promise this, I vow to keep this restaurant going so long as I live and breathe." Giorgo stated.
"Then I will hold you to that." Hornsly said with a smile.
After that, the two adults shook as a sign of respect for the deal they made.
"And with that, I will take my leave." Hornsly said before fixing his tie. "The next time we meet, it will be for an actual slice of pizza. So it better not be a bad one."
"Hmpt. I never made a bad pizza in life. So expect it to be the best slice you have ever had." Giorgo said with a confident grin.
"That's two things I'll have to hold you to then." Hornsly said.
With that, Hornsly then left the building. Giorgo felt the tension from his body fading away and he was calm. It seem like Coulizza's Pizza was going stay open.
So with everything working out, the groups, including Nick's parents and the twins, they all celebrated as Coulizza's Pizza will still be up and running with drinks and pizza. They were having a private party.
"A toast to keeping the restaurtant." Giorgo said raising a glass. "Saluta!"
"Saluta!" Everyone else went while raising glasses.
"Glad that everything worked out in the end and you don't have to sell the place." Nick said with a smile.
"It's all thanks to you and your friends." Giorgo said.
"That's our Nicky for ya." Frankie said happily as she petted her son's head. "Always doing good for everyone."
"Moooooom…." Nick said feeling embarrassed.
"You guys are welcome to come here again anytime you want." Camellia said with a smile.
"So long as it doesn't take one or two decades this time to visit." Giorgo said with a serious face.
"Ah ha ha…." John laughed awkwardly. "It won't. I promise this time."
"Oh and Camellia, we all talked about and if you want to hang out with us more, you're welcome to join our group." Judy said with a smile.
"Yeah. We need more girls." Falisha stated.
"Thanks for the offer. While I do want to hang with you all a lot more, I do have to work at the restaurant and make sure it stays afloat." Camellia stated.
The gang seemed a bit upset to hear that. They really wanted to hang out with her more.
"About that Camellia, you're fired." Giorgo straight up said.
"WHAT?!" Camellia shouted.
After hearing that, the gang immediately knew things were gonna get awkward. They just awkwardly ate their pizza and sip their drinks.
"At least until you're 16." Giorgo said. "While I appreciate you helping with everything, your papa is feeling much better and he has plenty of help. Plus…. I believe it's time you start making friends. Sono sicuro che tua madre vorrebbe lo stesso. (I'm sure your mother would want the same.)"
Camellia didn't have many friends because she was always working at the restaurant. Looking at the group, she realized that maybe it really was time to stop worrying about her dad and start having fun with friends. She then walked over to her dad and hugged him.
"Ti amo papà. (I love you, dad.)" Camellia said.
"Anch'io ti amo.(I love you too.)" Giorgo said.
"So, I'm assuming by the hugging, they're good?" Finnick whispered.
Camellia and Giorgo then ended the hug and walked over to the gang.
"Sooooo…. it seems like my work schedule has just been clear for the next 3 years." Camellia said as she rubbed the back of her head. "With that said, would it be cool if I…."
"YES!" Falisha shouted out overly excited for Camellia's question. Everyone was then giving Falisha a look. "Without Judy, I was the only girl in this group for a LONG time. I need more girl friends."
Everyone else shrugged and agreed. They were quite a bit more boys than girls. So Camellia joining would fix the number a bit.
"Welcome to the group, Camellia." Nick said welcoming their new friend.
"Also, I think we said this before, but you probably should know that we get into a lot of situations because of these two." Mervin said while pointing at Nick and Judy.
"Wha…." Nick and Judy said feeling offended by that comment. But in reality, it was true. "Actually, it's true."
"Then it sounds like you're a fun group to be around. Then we will get along just fine." Camellia said with a smile. "Now, how about we get back to enjoying some pizza. You know, before Benji and Ronnie here eat it all."
"What? Why did you say us?" Benji and Ronnie asked at the same time.
"Don't think Judy and Nick didn't tell me how much you two eat." Camellia said. "Also, don't think I didn't notice you are both already on your 3rd slice."
"3rd?!" Finnick shouted. "Dudes, most of us haven't even finished our first."
"We can't help it. The pizza is good." Benji stated.
"Not my fault that you are slow eaters." Ronnie stated.
"You guys are such pizza hogs." Darson stated.
"HEY!" Ronnie and Benji went getting a bit mad.
This lead to another one of the group's usual small arguments. They didn't even seem to turn it down with Nick and Judy's parents nearby. Camellia didn't seem fazed by any of this. In fact, it made her pretty glad that she was now friends with such a lively group.
DONE! YES! A CHAPTER IS DONE! MY GOD! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO FIGHT MY BURNOUT! Super happy that after over a year, I actually finished a chapter. The next chapter won't take as long. Promise. But it will be a simple one. For those who waited this entire time for a new chapter, thank you. Even with all that's happened, I plan to keep this story going no matter what. Just be patient with me and stuff. Aight! That's all for now. Until the next update.
Any leftover errors will be fixed later. Cause honestly, I just wanted to finish that chapter and work on the next one right away.