Overture: Chapter 1

Lunch-hour strikes and a flock of people stream into the diner named Arianna’s.

Amy Douglas, the head server, greets them all in Italian as they come in. “Hey, guys!”

“Amy!”

“Hey, Ames!”

They all respond. Amy smiles as she heads to her first table.

Life in Olivewood was simple; a little hideaway town in Sicily where everyone was more like family. Amy loved it here for that reason. It was home. This town was small and made her happy. Even an ordinary job at the diner didn’t bother her at all. She got to live here and care for her little sister. She was content living the quiet life.

“What’ll it be, guys?” She asks her first patrons, and they all try to order at once, “WOAH, one at a time!” She laughs and poised her pen. The group of four teenagers give their order and she jots it down in her notepad. “Won’t be too long, guys.” She says with a smile and turns around to take the order to the kitchen. As she moved to turn around, she walked straight into a broad chest and almost lost her balance.

“Oof!” She opens her eyes and goes straight to apologize. “Forgive me! I didn’t see you there!” As she peers up, she silently gasps and shot up a silent prayer.

She walked straight into Luciano Russo, a member of one of Olivewood’s wealthiest and most influential families! She draws a deep breath and a blush creeps into her cheeks. Luciano glares at her, pushes her aside, and heads, along with 4 other men, to the back booth. Amy gets a shiver down her spine as they walk past her. She didn’t like the vibe they gave off. Everyone was well aware that this family was dangerous, and everyone kept away.

But what would the Russo’s be doing at Arianna’s? Why would they come to a DINER?

The kitchen staff takes her order and she notices the patrons watching the booth at the back. “They are the Russos.” she thought. Just then she sees Arianna, the owner, heading towards her looking nervous. “Amy, doll?”

“Oh no,” Amy groans and rolls her eyes. Arianna’s ‘doll’ at the end of her sentences means she would ask them to do something they would hate. And they had no choice but to comply.

“Yes?” Amy replied in a polite voice. Arianna looks at her, uneasy and asks, “Could you be a darling and go serve those gents who walked in a few seconds ago?” Amy looked at her in surprise. Arianna established the rules of the servers. She was the one who enforced them.

“What about our server pattern, Ariana? The next patron should be Dorothea’s table.” Arianna sighed. “I am well aware, lovey. She’s just... Ahem... She’s a bit ill. Would you please do it just this once for her?” Dorothea was Arianna’s daughter and never used her mom to do her dirty work for her. “I must speak to her later before this becomes a habit.” Amy thinks to herself. She relents in the end, as she always does. “Alright! But she owes me!” She exclaims and starts walking towards the table where the Russos had sat down.

Ͼ Ͼ Ͼ

“Good afternoon, gents. Welcome to Arianna’s! Ready to order?” Amy asks in her usual pleasant manner and sweet smile. Luciano looks at her and scoffs,

“Leave.”

Taken aback, Amy stared at the rude man in confusion. She was not used to anyone answering her in a tone that cold.

“Um, Okay-”

She picks up a flurry of Italian being spoken, too rapid for her to catch. Her eyes went to the man who spoke and her heart skipped. How did she miss him walking in? Was she dreaming? Seemed to be the case after how this shift started. Olive-green eyes, slicked-back hair, and an amused grin on his face. This must be Antonio Russo all the girls drool about. And she could see why!

As soon as they made eye contact, she felt something akin to static shock. She was staring and failed to catch what he had said.

“... Miss?” He looked at her. She blushed and cleared her throat “Um, I apologize, can you please repeat that?” The man responds, “Five coffees, please. Black.” She jots that down and says, “Be right back!” While giving her usual cheery smile.

The one named Luciano speaks in Italian again and laughs. Amy turns around and walks away, bewildered. The filthy words Luciano had just uttered were uncalled for.

She was busy getting the coffees ready when both the other servers rushed to her and started bombarding her with questions.

“What did they say?”

“Were they rude to you?”

“Did Antonio Russo speak to you?”

Amy looks at them in amusement, “I could give this order to one of you if you’re that interested in them?” She laughs as both of their faces turn pale. Setting the coffees with sugar on a serving tray, she heads back to the table.

“Here you go!” She says, once again in a cheery demeanour, and sets the coffee down on the table. “If you need anything, I’ll be right over there.” She adds and walks over to the Walker family.

“You all okay?” She asks them. “Amy! Amy! Up! Up!” Little Isabella Ricci exclaims and stretches her arms out for Amy to pick her up. Laughing, she picks the little one up and plants her on her hips. “And how is my Bella doing today?” She asks and rubs noses with Isabella. The little one responds with her toddler talk of broken Italian and giggles. “Not happy! Mama don’t wanna get me some choccy milk!” She pulls a sad face and looks at Amy through her eyelashes. “Hm,” Amy responds with a smile “Mommy must have a good reason, Bella.” She says and looks at Isabella’s mother, Eve, who sighs in exasperation. “I already told you, Bambina. We will have some after you’ve eaten all your lunch like a big girl.” Amy smiles, “See? Mommy wouldn’t do anything without a reason. Now, if you finish all your lunch, I’ll get you choccy milk with extra choccies and sprinkles! What do you say?” Isabella’s eyes light up and she exclaims, “Yes please!” Giggling and giving her a big kiss on her chubby cheeks, Amy sets her down. She whispers in Eve’s ear, “My treat, don’t worry.” And smiles at her. “You’re an angel, Amy-Lou!” Eve exclaims in Italian and beams at her. Amy blushes at her nickname and walks away, giving them a big smile.

As she walks to the bar counter, she felt a pair of eyes on her. Already uncomfortable with her interaction with the Russos. She scans the cafe, and her eyes land on Antonio, his eyes boring into her with an intense stare. As she makes eye contact, she feels that static shock again.

“What the heck...” She thinks to herself and breaks eye contact. Rushing to the kitchen and out the back door, she takes a breath.

“Get a grip, Amy. It’s just a guy staring. You should be used to this by now, working here for all these years.” She caught her breath and composed herself and heads back in after five minutes.

As soon as she opens the back door, she caught the words of an intense argument. All she heard was Italian curses and threats, so it was hard to make out what the argument was about. Heading to the front of the cafe, she also notices that there were at least seven people in the back booth now. Suddenly, one of the new men who joined started getting violent and loud. She saw four of them reach into their coats and knew what was happening. Looking over at the Ricci family and Isabella’s scared expression, Amy decides she has had enough and stomps over to the table.