Lucky Coincidence // Stuart Twombly

XX

"There they are!" Lara called, pointing at the four interns standing on the curb outside a pizza place. The cab driver nodded and honked. They looked up and a smile appeared on each of their faces. The taxi stopped and the three passengers got out. Lara quickly paid him before he drove off. 

"Welcome back, Billy boy!" Lyle greeted the two men.

"You did it," Stuart grinned, greeting his girlfriend with a loving kiss on her lips. She smiled proudly. 

"Of course, I did. I have to help my favourite team someway," she told the others. "What happened in there?" She asked, motioning to the pizza place. 

Yo-Yo no longer had a right eyebrow so she guessed it didn't go that great. "Well, he didn't bite so it's didn't go well," He told them. 

"You know who else it didn't go well for?" Billy questioned. 

"Lay it on us, big daddy," Stuart commented, with his arm still wrapped around Lara as she had hers around his neck. 

"That's right. That little steel girl. When she took it on to perform in front of those stuffed shirts, she tumbled and fell. Do you want to hear something completely nuts? She got back up, tightened her little ass and pumped those small legs. She danced her way right back into our hearts and into a slot at that dance school," Billy told them with so much passion in his voice that it was impossible to feel defeated. 

Lara fished a sharpie from her bag and handed it to Nick, who started drawing a new eyebrow on Yo-Yo. Ever since Stuart had told her about the boy's tick, she had been carrying a sharpie with her everywhere she went in case the team needed it. 

"And that's what we're gonna do," Nick stated firmly. "Tighten your asses, let's get going." 

"Get it done, guys," Lara stated with a proud smile and she couldn't help but pat Stuart's butt as he walked in front of her. 

They re-entered the pizza shop. Behind the counter stood a bald man who was cleaning the wooden surface with a damp rag. 

After a short introduction, Billy went straight to the point. Lara stood at a few feet distance as she officially wasn't allowed to be involved in the team's pursuit of victory, but she was sure as hell gonna stick around to see what they managed to do. 

"Listen, guys, we've always done things the same way around here. Yellow pages, flyers, San Jose Marcarinos," The man, who was apparently the boss, spoke. 

"Look, we're all creatures of habit, amirite, Sal?" Billy stated. "We all like what we know, there's no question about it. But do you know what the scariest thing about life is? The thing in life that frightens us the most?" Sal shook his head shortly and one of his employees, presumably his son, joined his side behind the counter. "Change," Billy said. 

"And I think most people are guilty of getting set in their ways," Nick joined in. "I know I need change to give me a little kick in the ass every once in a while." 

"Listen, guys, I know where you're going with this, but I'm not gonna change anything," Sal said. "I already told your friends. We're getting by okay." 

"Sal, with all due respect, if you fight for your limitations you get to keep them. Do you hear yourself? You're getting by okay. Okay is not good. Okay is not great, and okay is not fantastic!" Billy exclaimed, waving his hands through the air. 

"Look, I don't wanna get sideways with you, you're as big as a boar. But you're an artist, Sal!" Nick took over. "You make this great pizza. You're Picasso with pepperoni." 

"And do not even get me started on the sauce," Billy added. "Is there nutmeg in there? I respect the fact that you don't wanna divulge, but if I'm right, don't say anything." 

Sal remained quiet and a sneaky smile made its way onto his face. With a large grin, Billy smacked the counter. "Exactly!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Sal, come on! All I'm saying is, why should Papa John's make all the dough when Papa Sal's got the better sauce?" 

"You know what? Now you start to sound like him." Sal motioned to the young man standing next to him. "He wants to open up a Sal's in Los Gatos." 

"The bigger chains are killing us. We're barely staying afloat," The guy told the group.

"When you franchise, you lose quality. You lose the taste that people trust," Sal protested. "You wanna know why my sauce is better than the others? It's because I go to the farmer's market every day to buy those tomatoes myself. I walk down the street myself. I get the basil, the oregano." Sal stopped, letting out a sigh and leaning his palms on the counter. "Look, guys, I know these people. They're part of the fabric in this neighbourhood. That's good enough for me." 

"Sal, that's better than good enough," Billy said. "That's the best. And we're not suggesting that you abandon the neighbourhood here. All we're saying is... What if that neighbourhood got a little bit bigger?" 

"Look at this." Nick turned his phone to Sal to scroll through the comments on Sal's pizza. "These are all people that love your pizza." 

"Talk about word to mouth, huh?" Neha commented. 

"They're talking to you, Sal. Don't you wanna talk back to them?" Stuart added. 

"Did you know that there are as many people from Los Gatos searching for Sal's as there are from Paolo Alto?" Lyle turned his computer around to show a statistic to Sal.

"Yeah, and they pop in when they're in town, but what if there was a location closer to them, they'd be regulars, right?" Neha said. 

"Boom! I found a commercial spot right on Los Gatos Boulevard." Stuart showed his laptop, displaying the perfect spot for Sal to build his new place.

"It's point 3 miles from the nearest farmer's market. You can smell those tomatoes from your front door," Yo-Yo added. 

"Farm to table!" Neha commented. 

"F to T, baby!" Lyle exclaimed. 

"F to T! That's exactly what we've been talking about. We're not asking you to abandon your artistry, just expand the reach a little bit," Billy pointed out. "At the end of the day, these kids got their laptops, they have their information. I know it's all accurate and I know you do too." He paused for a short moment. "I don't blame you for being a little afraid. Hell, we were afraid out there for a very long time."  He motioned between himself and Nick, who was sitting right beside him. "And the Lord knows I've fallen on my ass for more than a time or two. But I'll promise you something, if you lift your head up and take a breath, you will find a lot of awesome opportunities out there."

"New customers, new franchise. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, Sal. It's all waiting at the click of a button," Nick stated. 

Sal still hesitated, so Billy added, "Everybody's searching for something." 

"And they are searching for you. We just wanna help them find you," Nick said. 

Lara checked her phone and to her fright discovered that she needed to leave right now to make it to the meeting in time. She rushed over to the group. "I have to get going. Hurry so you'll make it in time. It would be a shame if you came in too late," She told them and they all said goobye. "Good luck," She said before pressing a kiss to Stuart's cheek and rushing out of the pizza restaurant.