Chapter 176 - Feeding Everyone
When Giovanni said he'd order dinner for everyone. He meant DINNER FOR EVERYONE—with all caps for emphasis.
Angela didn't expect to have so many foods arrive at her apartment—it was like a feast for the entire neighborhood—though she could be exaggerating.
She had a similar reaction earlier that day when Gael ordered eight boxes of pizza. There were eight of them in her place—her, Gael, and six of his men. They had one box each because apparently, you don't share pizza in Italy. She didn't finish hers, but the men ate their pizza without problems.
So when dinner came, and Giovanni's orders arrived, the counters were filled with food. They were all delicious dishes, but she was still surprised to see that he ordered that many. Would they be able to finish them all?
She could see that Giovanni stuck to an Italian-ish theme for dinner. Crostinis, pasta, baked fish, and vegetables and fruits. Gael also brought out the roasted beef from the fridge, which Rick cooked before coming here, and reheated it in the oven.
At the moment, there was only a round table of four chairs that came with the apartment. Her long table wouldn't arrive until a few days later, so they opted to eat buffet style and sit wherever they could. The men began to fill their plates with food.
"Wow," was all that Angela could say upon laying her eyes on the dishes. She took out a bottle of red and white wine that she kept in her wine refrigerator for everyone to enjoy.
"Ah... A woman who knows her wine," Giovanni complimented upon seeing the exquisite bottles that she opened and served.
"I don't know..." She was bashful, a charming smile ghosting her lips as she handed them their wines. "I just enjoy drinking. It's mostly my brother or our house chef who stocks it up for me."
"Hm. And your brother lives with you?"
"Oh, no. He has his own place not far from here."
"I see. You know…" Giovanni tilted his head. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"
"Um... I saw you a few days ago that morning you came to visit Gael at his house?"
"Yeah...but I'm not talking about that, though. I think I've seen you before. I just... couldn't remember where. Is this the first time we met?"
Angela glanced at Gael who also looked between the two of them. "Yes. From what I know. I don't think I've seen you before that day." She pointed at the two men. "Though you two resemble each other, so I feel like I also know you somehow—though not really."
"I'm the more handsome one." Giovanni chuckled and began picking at his food.
The three of them ate at the kitchen island. Gael sat at the end with Angela to his left and Giovanni to his right. They talked about Angela's upcoming visit to the orphanage when Giovanni asked about the gifts they prepared today. She had all smiles when she detailed what she had planned during that day and how she was also looking forward to seeing the kids because it had been a few months since her last visit.
The worries she had with Giovanni being here in her apartment slowly dissipated the more she talked to him. Angela found that he was genuinely interested in getting to know her. She couldn't see any malice in his eyes when he looked at her, and there was no displeasure there either. So her initial concerns about him no longer posed a threat. She thought that Giovanni—despite being mafia—seemed harmless.
...
As they were finishing their meal, Giovanni swirled his wine and took a sip before turning to face Gael and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "What time are you flying out tomorrow?"
The question surprised Angela. Her brows shot up as she faced Gael. "You're leaving? To where?"
Gael hadn't told her anything about flying the next day. And although she didn't ask out loud, her expression was evident as if she thought: 'Are you going far away? Are you even coming back?'
He glanced at Giovanni, looking a little annoyed for causing her to get flustered. Though his uncle might not have intended to surprise her, he still wanted to kick him on the side.
Gael then faced Angela and told her, "Yeah. I need to get to New York in the morning, but I'll be back before midnight." He said the last part in almost a hurry to reassure her that he was coming back.
"Oh...is everything...okay?" Her tone was cautious as if she was afraid to ask, her eyes curious yet careful, not knowing if it was mafia-related and if she wasn't supposed to know.
"She's cute," Giovanni chuckled, probably also reading Angela's hesitation. "Why haven't you told her? Are you being humble?"
Her gaze bounced between Gael and Giovanni. She didn't ask further, but the hope on her face that they would tell her what's up was apparent.
Gael ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. Giovanni was being a pain. Gael had planned to tell Angela later, but his uncle came uninvited and seemed to be enjoying seeing his discomfort. He didn't intend to keep it from her, but from the way his uncle was making it seem—it sounded either suspicious or ridiculous.
He was probably silent for a long time because Angela tentatively muttered in almost a whisper, "What aren't you telling me?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but Giovanni beat him to it and said, "We're feeding people tomorrow."
"Feeding people?" She looked even more confused.
Gael rubbed his scruff out of habit whenever he's thinking. Then he explained, "We do it every December for a week. It starts on the 18th...leading up to Christmas eve. We prepare and cook the food and set up a table somewhere to feed the homeless at lunch and in the evening."
"It's a family tradition," added Giovanni.
Angela's mouth hung open as she placed her hand on her chest. She blinked her eyes a few times before she managed to smile. "Oh, my god. That's wonderful! If it's a tradition, then...they must be looking forward to it every year."
Gael nodded. "Oh, and it gets crazier every year. A few years ago, the people lining up started singing while they waited for their turns. And ever since then, they each take turns 'entertaining' everyone else who's waiting with them, and it becomes a party."
"Every day for seven days?" she probed like she was still trying to imagine the event.
"Yep," Giovanni chuckled, finishing up his wine. "You should come. It'll be fun."
Excitement flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly when Gael caught her gaze. She looked away as she curled her mouth in a hesitant smile, got to her feet, and then began clearing the plates from the counter. "Oh, I don't know. I'll just be in the way. Thank you, though. I'm sure people will be very happy tomorrow."
He couldn't tell what that change of expression was. For a second, she looked like she wanted to join but then changed her mind. He'd have to ask her about it later when his uncle leaves. As he followed her movement, he glanced at Giovanni who was studying Angela's profile. Annoyance started to bubble up within him, noticing that his uncle had been scrutinizing her. Whatever Giovanni was thinking about, Gael didn't like it. He couldn't stand men watching her so intently.
He got to his feet to help Angela and was just about to call his uncle out for ogling her when Giovanni called her attention.
Giovanni spoke in a playful tone, his head tilting to the side. "I still keep thinking where I've seen you. Were you an actress before?"
Two wine glasses slipped from her hands and shattered onto the floor. She gasped, and her hands trembled before she instinctively bent down to start cleaning up the mess.
Giovanni jerked up from his seat while Gael sprang towards her in a second.
"Are you okay?" Gael quickly scanned her frame, trying to see if she was hurt somewhere. She didn't have any cuts, but she looked frazzled and rattled.
A forced laugh came out of Angela as she grabbed a dustpan and brush from one of the cabinets and began to clean up the shards of glasses on the floor. "I'm sorry. I've been wrapping gifts all day... My hands seemed to have fallen asleep just now."
He couldn't see her face clearly as she was looking down. Reaching towards her, he placed his hand over hers and offered, "I'll do it. Why don't you rest for a bit? You've worked hard all day."
She lifted her chin and met his stare, a small smile forming on her lips as she nodded and simply said, "Okay," before heading towards her bedroom.
Gael watched her saunter away and disappear behind the door with her hands clenched at her sides. He wondered what had happened to her all of a sudden. But then he remembered that she had been away since early this morning and hadn't had the chance to rest.
"Go and check on her. I'll take care of this," said Giovanni as he took over, and the men began to clean up.