Chapter 30: Bella Note

A little bell, tied to a string, clanged against the glass door as Wendy entered Tony's Restaurant. Instantly, her nose was attacked by the most heartwarming mix of spice, savory, and sweet that can only Italians can pull off.

Blissfully, Wendy lost herself in the checkered tiles and glowing candlelight. She was temped to let her guard melt into the happily bubbling pasta pots.

Then, Wendy heard chinking wine glasses. Opening her eyes, Wendy forced her rigidity to return. Lifting her chin and squeezing her backpack straps, Wendy searched for her father.

"Hey! Wen."

"Jim." Urgently, Wendy stepped forward. She was so worried, Jim's red-checkered apron went unnoticed. "Jim, where is he? Where's Father?"

"In the corner." Jim glanced over his shoulder. His new boss, a thick Italian named Tony, was chatting with an Incan family of five.

Deciding Tony was reasonably distracted, Jim pocketed his notepad. "Come on."

"Father left right after John came home." Wendy explained apologetically as Jim wove between the round tables. Vaguely Wendy heard a mandolin. "He was so angry. Something about…dating Tigerlily. He called her…" Wendy bit her lip. "…a savage."

Jim thought back. He remembered the little Indian girl with pigtails. "How'd Mike take it?"

Wendy shook her head. "Not well. It was a trying day. And then when Father started…" Haggardly, Wendy ran a hand through her hair. "Jim, I don't know how much longer I can keep pretending. John and Michael…they're getting older. Asking questions."

Jim turned, surprised. Wendy rarely expressed frustration with her father let alone discuss it openly. It was almost as if she believed avoiding the matter would make it untrue.

Wendy straightened, spotting Mr. Darling. He was sprawled across a table, idly looping his finger in and out an empty wine bottle. A clove of garlic hung over his drunken head.

Wendy sighed. "What am I going to do?" she whispered, crossing the room to her father.

Jim watched. "Dunno…"he said truthfully as Wendy gently rubbed her father's shoulder. Granting Wendy privacy, Jim grabbed three empty bread baskets.

He turned right into Tony.

"Giacomo!" Tony's displeasure rumbled from his enormous belly. "Giacomo! What you do? I have-a emp-a-ty glasses on tables sei and dieci!"

"My bad –"

"And the napkins!" continued Tony, pointing to the kitchen. "The fresh ones need a-folding!"

"On it." said Jim, heading for the kitchen.

"Y per favore…" Tony caught Jim under the arm. Pulling him back, Tony nodded at Mr. Darling. "You know this man? This man that drinks all the Chianti without pay?"

Jim looked. Wendy had cleared the table. She sat quietly by her father, unable to coax him. The check sat in front of her.

"Yeah." Jim said. He reached for an empty glass and another bread basket. "Just take it out of my salary."

Tony stopped him again. Soft eyed, he gestured to Wendy. "The bambolina. She is his famiglia?"

Jim nodded. "Daughter."

"Ahhh." A spaghetti smile lifted Tony's tomato red cheeks. "L'affetto verso i genitori e fondamento di ogni virtu."

Jim blinked. "Ok."

Tony looked down at Jim. "You like-a this girl?" he asked, adjusting his black arm bands.

Jim was suspicious. "Is that a normal "like" or an Italian "like?""

Tony raised a thick black eyebrow as Jim clarified. "Because she's my best friend."

Tony chuckled. "Mama mia…" he murmured, handing Jim his apron. Smoothing his moustache, Tony dismissed Jim to the kitchen and seated himself next to Wendy.

Waiting for a moment, Jim watched. When Tony didn't reprimand Wendy and Mr. Darling for the wine bill, Jim headed for the kitchen and a hundred napkins waiting to be folded.

Minutes later, Tony burst into the kitchen. Wendy followed shyly by his side.

"Amici!" Tony bellowed as the swinging doors waved behind. "Joe! Mia-Tia! Giacomo!"

Jim, Tiana, and the skinny Italian chef named Joe, looked up.

"Fortune she is a-smiling!" said Tony, placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder. Kindly, he nodded. "For Guendalina here is a-gonna help fold-a the napkins and clean-a the dishes this bella note!"

"Che fortuna!" cheered Joe, lifting his ladle into the air. "Benvenuto Guendalina!"

Tiana glared at Joe before smiling at Wendy. "Hey girl." she said, slipping an extra jab of Tabasco into Joe's sauce pot. Joe sniffed, spotted the Tabasco bottle, and immediately started bickering with Tiana.

"Set-a here with Giacomo." Tony swept Wendy's chair with his kerchief before offering her to sit. "And remember this Guendalina…La nostra famiglia è un cerchio di forza e amore, quando la famiglia cresce il cerchio si allarga, con ogni crisi affrontata assieme il cerchio si rafforza."

Warmly, Tony tapped Wendy's nose. "And…fold-a the napkins so the corners they match! Ay! Joe! Mia-Tia! Stop-a this talka-tee-talk! Cook-a-dee-cook!"

Jim grinned. He tossed a napkin at Wendy. "Guendalina?"

Wendy caught the napkin. "Giacomo?" she returned evenly.

They laughed. Joe brought over two plates of day old pasta and meatballs. The napkins were folded. Dishes were washed. Mr. Darling was fast asleep under the hanging garlic. Tony dappled with his accordion. Joe doodled on his mandolin. And Jim and Wendy found themselves outside, under the stars, hanging Tony's laundry.

"This is a nice place." Wendy said, flapping a checkered table cloth over the line. Stars twinkled overhead as she smiled at Jim. "I'm happy you are working here."

Jim snorted. "Tiana gets pretty aggressive with the whole job search thing. Immediate hours. Free dinners. Fire extinguishers in every corner. Lucky."

"Tony is so nice." continued Wendy. "And so is Joe. They're both so…"

"Italian?"

Wendy grinned. "I suppose so."

Jim shrugged. "It's ok I guess. Dog thing is a little weird."

Wendy cocked her head. "Dog thing?"

Wryly, Jim lifted one of Joe's aprons. He pointed. The backstreet winding from the restaurant was dotted with dog couples, dinning on overturned washbasins.

"Aww." Wendy couldn't help herself. Shamelessly, she gazed at the scene. Two elegant Dalmatians. A stuffy poodle and drooling Chihuahua. A lady and a tramp. "How lovely."

She turned as Jim grunted. "Well it is!"

Jim shook his head. Glimpsing the lady and the tramp through a pair of Tony's trousers, Jim suddenly thought of Ariel.

"Whatever." Jim said, quickly reaching for the laundry basket. He felt Wendy's gaze. He ignored it. "Everyone and everything likes pasta and meatballs. No big."

Wendy gazed once more at the dinning dogs. Quietly, she smoothed a sheet across the line. "How do you think Tony understands what they want? They have menus."

Jim shrugged. Dogs were the only animals in Fantasia that humans could not understand. Interesting, considering dogs were man's best friend.

"Tiana said Tony can talk to dogs."

Wendy's eyes widened. They were blue as Christmas lights. "How?"

Jim listened to Tony's accordion before answering. "I think Tony's pretty old." he finally answered, watching Tony serenade the dreamy canines.

"Tiana said he knew that the Magic Bag of Tricks assembly was today. Asked her what she picked. Described it perfectly. Mentioned something about his 'magical power' he's had since birth.' There was a lot of Italian apparently but…"

Jim and Wendy followed Tony with newfound respect. "I think Tony is magical…he...can understand dogs."

Wendy and Jim jumped as Tony turned and bowed in their direction.

"But…that's impossible." Wendy whispered. "Isn't it?"

Jim shrugged. "Would've thought today was impossible before it happened."

Wendy chewed on her lip.

"Which reminds me." Jim lowered his voice. Casually, he drew a bed sheet between them and the street. "I wanted to meet tonight at our place. Pirate's Point…."

Wendy nodded. She'd been enrout to the ocean cliffs before receiving Jim's message.

"…Wen you still have the orb?"

Wendy nodded. "It's in my bag. What…Jim what happened? How did the orb get into the Magic Bag of Tricks?"

"It's magical." Jim said, "That's the only explanation. At least Pan doesn't have his slimy fingers all over it."

"What do you think it's for?" Wendy asked. She ducked. Her cheeks had turned a little pink.

Jim shrugged. "Whatever it's for…Billy Bones was killed for it. Long before we picked for the Magic Bag of Tricks."

Jim met Wendy's eyes. "Wen…Billy Bones knew something about the Wishing Star. Whoever killed him…knew something about the Wishing Star."

Wendy's stomach clenched. "What does that mean?" she asked, already guessing the answer.

Jim lifted his eyes. The Wishing Star's two broken pieces glinted like needle pricks in the night sky. "I think it means…we were already in trouble. Way before today."

Melancholy notes interrupted Tony's melody. The dogs swayed to the music.

Jim turned. "Where's the orb? In your bag?"

Wendy nodded. "I left it on the table. With…"

Guiltily, Wendy fingered the table cloth. The checkers waved around her in a sweet, Italian spiced breeze.

"Thank you…" Wendy said quietly, staring at the cloth. "For calling me about…Father. I…I'm sorry –"

"Forget it." Jim said. Resting against the brick restaurant, Jim waited for Wendy to join him.

"Forget it." he repeated. Jim and Wendy looked up into the bella note sky. "Guendalina."

"Oh my God!" Tiana's voice cut like a butcher's knife. In a second, she sprinted through the back door. "Wendy! Get in here. Right now."

Wendy pushed from the brick wall. Tiana looked frightened and infuriated. "Wendy. It's the Mermaids. And Pan. And the Pixies. And a couple others."

Tiana wrung her apron. "They're getting your Daddy to buy them drinks."

Suddenly, Jim and Wendy heard laughter. Mocking, cold laughter, shattering the heart of the restaurant.

sulta's note:

omg, Disney comes up with brilliant characters! #loveTony! So much fun working with these characters!