The Pilot

Chapter Eleven

she knew she had to get to the bottom of it.

Andrew returned to the table with a latte for Danielle and a cappuccino for himself. "So... DeLuca," She smirked at him, taking a sip of her coffee. "Care to explain what's going on here?" "Well" Andrew sighed. "It's a long story you know. It's been 15 years since you've been here - a lot's happened" he looked down at his cup. 

"OK, well, why don't we start with why your name is now DeLuca and not Parker?" She asked him. "Well that's an easy answer." He replied. "You know my folks were a waste of oxygen. They didn't look after me, all they cared about was where their next fix was coming from." "Yeah, I know, hence why you spent 99.9% of your time at my house" the blonde said taking another sip of her coffee. "Well, things went from bad to worse after you left. They took some bad gear and both died of an overdose on the same night. I didn't have anywhere to go and no one to turn to. I had just turned 16 my best friend had skipped town leaving me behind and my parents had both just died. I was too old for family services to care about me and so I ended up sleeping down by the docks. I was outside the arcade one day begging for some spare change when your Mom saw me. I tried to run away but she grabbed me. She dragged me to her car and threw me inside. She took me home and I've been there ever since. Your Uncle Gino gave me a weekend job working here and they made me go to college to study bar management."

"Oh Andrew, I'm so sorry" Danielle whispered with tears in her eyes. "It's OK, Danielle. Please don't get upset. The last 15 years have been good. Your family all welcomed me in with open arms. Just after I turned 18, I asked your mom and Matteo if they would mind me changing my name to DeLuca. I didn't belong in my old life and Parker was a permanent reminder of that. So we went down to City Hall and I officially became a DeLuca a few days later. I know you and Matteo never really seen eye to eye but he's really treated me like a son Dani. I'm so grateful to him." Danielle wiped her eyes and gave her friend a hug. "I'm glad you have a good life now Andrew I really am - even if it is with my family" She laughed. He just gave her a playful punch on the shoulder in return. "But wait" he asked. "What did you mean earlier when you said that DeLuca USED to be your name?! You're not married or something are you?" Danielle burst out laughing. "Oh God, no Andrew, I'm not married. When I left, I started using my dad's name again as I thought I'd be harder to track down that way. So now I only go by Savre."

"Danielle Savre - that's a blast from the past!" Andrew exclaimed. "I've not heard that name since we were 7!" "Yeah well it was tough after my Dad died but then Mom met Matteo and she was so happy again. I never thought I'd see her smile again let alone be happy like he made her. When they got married, I didn't want to have a different name from my Mom so Matteo officially adopted me & I became a DeLuca. I'm glad he's been a father to you. He's really not a bad guy at all. I just hadn't fully processed my father's death and I made life difficult for my Mom and all the DeLucas. Even poor old Giuseppe who treated me like a princess and gave me anything I wanted. He really was the best Grandfather I could have asked for. I was heartbroken when I read about his death in the news. I tried to call that day but Paula answered the phone and I didn't want to deal with her and I never tried again. I do drop my mum the odd letter every now and then though to let her know that I'm not dead." "Yeah, she keeps me updated," Andrew smirked.

"So what's up with this Cooper dude and the bar then?" Danielle asked finishing off her coffee. "Ah that might take a bit longer than a coffee to explain. Can we meet for dinner and have a proper catch up?" Andrew asked. Just as Danielle was about to answer, her phone started to ring. It was a number she didn't recognise but she answered anyways. "Let me answer this real quick Andrew" the caller heard Danielle say before she spoke. "Hello?" Danielle put the phone to her ear. "Ciao bambina", the Italian responded. Danielle couldn't help the smile forming on her lips. She was sure Stefania didn't think she could speak Italian so maybe she'd leave it that way for a while. "Well hello there. How may I be of assistance M'Lady" Danielle asked with a goofy smile. Stefania let out a laugh. "You're a goofball Danielle but I just wanted to let you know that my meeting should be wrapping up shortly so I'll need you to come and get me. If I'm not disturbing you that is?" Danielle thought she could hear a hint of jealousy in Stefania's voice but she brushed it off. "Of course you're not disturbing me. I'm about 30 minutes away but I'll drop you a text when I'm outside. See you soon Boss." They ended the call and Danielle stood up from her seat. "Everything OK?" Andrew asked. "Yeah, everything's fine but that was my boss. I need to go pick her up from her meeting now." "Oh, Ok. So Dinner then?" Andrew asked. "Yes Andrew of course. Here's my number. Just text me the details. See you tonight". Danielle gave Andrew one last hug and left the bar. Just as she got to the exit, she turned around. "Hey Andrew. It was really good to see you, but please don't tell my family that I'm in town. At least not just now." "Of course D, if that's what you want" he smiled at her.