𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 ⚔︎

21

as promised, the next morning mrs thompson welcomed giovanni into her office with open arms. together they sat down at her mahogany desk, where she helped him to read through the lease before he signed it with his signature in black ink.

"i don't get it," she said, shaking her head in a lighthearted fashion. "a big apartment like that and you don't have a girl to share it with?"

giovanni looked up at her from the plush black leather seat he was sat on, pen in hand. for some strange reason, the thought of jesse slipped into his mind. he simply shrugged. "nope. no lady friend, i'm afraid."

"oh, c'mon. not even one? a handsome young man like you?"

giovanni laughed, his cheeks aflame. "i'm a busy man."

after he had skimmed over every single one of the dozen or so pages, giovanni signed the empty space at the bottom of the last sheet. then, he gazed up at mrs thompson with a flash of excitement in his eyes.

"yup, that's everything," mrs thompson smiled, slipping the documents he handed to her into one of the drawers in the blocky shelves beside the door.

with a key, she opened another drawer, before lifting out a separate key with a red tag attached, labelled 'GV.' she wiggled them about in her fingers before tossing them over to the young man.

"congratulations on your first apartment, mr volkov," mrs thompson said, shaking his hand once again. "enjoy it, kid. i wish you nothing but the best."

giovanni politely dipped his head, putting the keys in the pocket of his suit trousers. "thank you."

after he left, he caught the subway from union square to hell's kitchen. he got off and walked two blocks to head up west 47th, a spring in his step as he went — practically floating up the street, a giddy smile appeared on his face as he burst through the front doors of the royale.

it was rather busy inside eddie's restaurant. he had to dodge a few of the waiters, dressed smartly in their white shirts and black ties, arms stacked high with plates — he remembered the uniform very well. he went past the linen covered tables, the customers gathered around drinking coffee from tiny cups and eating dishes worth somebody's entire weekly wage. an echo of conversation and the clinking of cutlery against the plates buzzed gently throughout the air. he pushed open the doors to the kitchen, squeezing past the cooks and the huge metal countertops, their surfaces almost fully hidden by piles of vegetables in netted bags and cuts of fresh meat, bright and red under the harsh artificial light.

he got to the door that led to the basement, opening it and shutting it firmly behind him. he trotted down the stairs, the low murmuring of four familiar men filling his ears.

"shit! here he comes—"

"shhh!"

"shut up!"

he got to the bottom of the stairs and leaped off of the last step like a little kid. he was immediately met by eddie, sal, mike, and benny, raising themselves up from the crinkled, old leather sofas, dressed in their signature double-breasted suits; eddie in his navy pinstripe, sal in his dark green, mike in grey, and benny in black. sal popped the top of a champagne bottle, the sound ricocheting from wall to wall. he began spraying it around the room, grinning, the foam landing on the cracked concrete floor like an april shower. giovanni laughed and victoriously outstretched his arms, bathing in the celebration. mike ripped open a bag of confetti and threw it over him, shaking it around relentlessly, laughing as the little multicoloured flakes covered the younger man.

suddenly, they all broke out into song, scuffing giovanni's buzzcut with balled fists and shaking him by his shoulders. "for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow... and so say all of us!"