Trouble in Paradise

Paradise xi

There was a lay over. A tropical storm, they had to land safely. He was going to need to switch to an auxiliary flight. He should have driven down the coast, taken the Lincoln. They Wouldn't be back in New York for at least another day at this rate. He was annoyed, at the mercy of mother nature. The flight delays kept on rolling in. He didn't much fancy getting drunk at an Apple Bees in an airport. He would offer his wife an alternative. He wanted to play Black Jack, if he had to be stuck here, and so they went to the casino. Screamin' Al wouldn't have been able to afford the business back in the early years, if he hadn't gambled, and won. Some times it paid the sales tax. Pizza is money, but those early years don't see much profit. Now Paradise Pizza was a well oiled machine. He only needed to check in when the profits slipped, but that was mostly the result of seasonal habits. He was more concerned that his employees were privy to some "lasagna fiasco". He didn't fully know all the details, just that Sophie- she worked for him years ago- had nearly choked to death in his bathroom. She had been drugged from what Gustavo had told him. The whole thing screamed liability. He had just finished paying off his ex wife for back child support, he was not in a position to catch another lawsuit, even if he had the extra scratch. Money wasn't much of a problem anymore, but his disparate workers could be. He trusted Gustavo. The man was basically indentured to him ever since he drove the then young man across the border back when the Mexican barely knew three words of English. Hard to find good pizza makers, even harder these days. Al learned a long time ago that he had to get the Mexicans. The other crew members were shaping up, he almost expected they could actually hold down the restaurant in his absence. Almost. He smirked, he was a betting man, and he was half surprised that his bet of Tony or Niko burning the place down wasn't the call he got. The odds of someone almost dying in a puddle of their own vomit wasn't high on his radar. Murphy's law rang true in the restaurant industry. He would get back and make it right, even with the slight delay. Blood born Sicilians were bred problem solvers. Nothing could be done in the interim, and so it was a time for leisure. he deserved the break, he had paid his dues. He had built Paradise.

SMOKE BREAK "We will be closing early for our annual staff appreciation party."______________

When she arrived at the house, nothing. He had slipped out again. Never a text, never an "I love you". She didn't expect this to be marriage. Marriage was bliss, devoid of perversion. She prided herself in being a chaste as possible in the eyes of the Lord. She did well to be a humble servant. She had sacrificed much for her accommodations. Even though she had worldly possessions beyond her means she had no children to call her own. She thrived on the children of God instead. She had compromised her diet to be more holy. That was what she told herself at least. It was all over the tabloids. The new trend, backed by science. No meat, no animal products, lose weight. It was simple. But she still had her struggle, a thyroid issue latent in her youth, back when she was beautiful. Of course she resented her nubile youthful figure now, her vanity was ungodly back then. If a man marries you for looks when you are young, he will inevitably disappear before your ascension into the ranks of purity. Divorce was an option, more common these days. She would stand to gain a lot. She disliked the idea- God's will was for the union between a man and a woman to be eternal- about as much as she disliked the salad she had recently ordered. She decided she would return to Paradise Pizza the next day, make a complaint. She had control there at least, over the illiterate and lazy restaurant peons. Certainly none of them had ever even opened the good book. They were heathens that needed to be taught to fear the wrath of God. She was a devout follower in Christ, and so she was obligated to make them see the light. To challenge their lax work ethic, and impudent behavior. For now all she could think to do was write a scathing Yelp review, just another grain of sand in the desert of negative reviews she had left in the past, but it was still within her power to do so. What would Jesus do? He would hold the sinful accountable