When the gypsy met the gorga

Chapter 14: Stefan

"....Commitment is a promise

that I shall keep

for you my love,

are all I have

and all I need.

I shall keep that promise

even if it goes against the

very essence of my being."

I looked through the tea shop window from where my truck was parked. I couldn't see her. The winking girl walked by... winking at me. Initially before Millie and I even were friends, I used to wink at her. But after our first kiss, I just plain ignored Winky because..she didn't seem to be as hot as before. She was platinum blonde, a little too curvy and wore  tight and exposing pink clothes all the time and that day she had a fake tan. She must have been doing gypsy research to know that us gypsys love a good tan. I was impressed that she didn't give up. I turned away as a middle aged man in a tuxedo parked his BMW near my truck. Nice car.

"Look son..Do you fix cars?" I nodded. "Well could you have a look? The engine's  whistling ."

I took out my tool kit and looked at his engine. " The compressor belt's loose. You might want to take it to a mechanic."

"Can't you do something temporarily?"

"Fine,...could you get some cold water from the teashop. I'll wipe the oil off of your compressor belt." So I did ever so carefully with a cloth in my tool box  when suddenly out of no where a cardboard box with an electronic grinder hit the battery. I looked up and saw Millie who looked tensed.

"Uh..wait your turn or you'd be the one paying if a scratch fell on the nice car..madam." The man came and handed me a jug of water and I poured a dash on the belt and asked him to start the car. It made a screech initially but then it was smooth and then the whistling stopped.

"You my friend are a life saver", said the man.

"It's only temporary, you should take it to a mechanic as soon as possible."

"Alright". I was about to say it was free of charge but he handed me 50 saying I earned it even though I tried to return it. I took Millie's box to my truck and luckilly the grinder was actually broken when I unscrewed it. She brought a lot of other perfectly good instruments to come and talk to me while I just pretended to fiddle with them.

"What is it?", I asked as I pulled out a fused wire.

"Grandpa wants to meet you." I  stopped and looked up.

"Good to know you told him."

"He found it out through the local grape vine." Uh oh. Would my lot know? They don't talk to the villagers. What if they overheard a conversation? They wouldn't be that jobless, would they?

"When do I meet him?",I asked.

"Are you free tonight?" I decided on stuff like that. So it looked like I wouldn't be working that night. The sooner I talked to her Grandpa, the better. I had to show him Millie was in good hands. I nodded.

"Dinner at 7."

"Will he kill us with an AK-47 or something? I'm asking because you seem ...stressed."

"This wasn't how I wanted them to know."

"I know..I'm sorry. But ..I'll talk to him and hopefully..he'll see." She didn't look convinced. I turned back to the grinder and placed a new wire in and then screwed the two halves together.

"Try it out. It should work." She put it back in the box. "Now service charges." I nodded to the truck. "We can have a go at a public display of affection or get in the back of the truck. Your choice." She wasn't in the mood so she frowned and went back to the shop.

I had to make a good impression on her Grandpa so I got to her house at 6:50 and rang on their door bell. I was in a long sleeved grey tee shirt and black cuordroy trousers. I had taken off my wrist bands for the first time in 6 years. They didn't need to see the dragon's tail yet. I know, I should be honest but I didn't want to risk them telling Millie I was wrong for her. What if they looked at me down their nose because I was a gypsy? What if they try to persuade her out of this using the fact that I stopped school at 10? Maybe I should go. Just then, Millie opened the door. My eyes lingered. She looked beautiful in a knee length sleeveless white satin dress patterned with blue flowers and a blue sash at the waist. Her hair was nice and loose. "What?", she asked seeing me look.

"I..am I under dressed?"

"No you look good. I just wanted an excuse to wear this.  Come in."

There was no point in wearing a long sleeved shirt because her Grandpa was Frank.  Remember? The nice  lawyer that worked for the children's foundation in Clapton. He wore a red cardigan over his shirt. I noticed how short he was for the first time and looked older and weaker than I rememberd. I was wondering if it was stress about Millie or work related stress. He saw my tattoo when I was 18 and told me he liked it. Maybe he didn't like it now since he knew I was dating Millie. "I never thought it'd be you in a million years", he said. I smiled sheepishly.

I liked Millie's Gran. She's one of those small, plump women that wear those nice long, checked  dresses and smell of talcum powder and cinnamon. She hugged me as I handed her a bottle of wine.  She insisted that I call her Gran. I wasn't calling Frank anything at the moment.

We all sat down to an amazing dinner of roast chicken, garlic bread, breaded and stuffed mushrooms, roast potatoes and goat cheese salad.

"We don't have much", said Gran placing an extra helping of roast potatoes on my plate.

"Thank you.  This is more than I've had in days because I'm always out on the road."

"Oh, you can't work on an empty stomach. You stop here anytime dearie." Frank frowned. " Gran loves cooking", said Millie who was thankfully allowed to sit next to me. Our legs were next to each other's underneathe the table. Gran asked me about our kumpania and our culture. After we finished, Gran brought out ice cream and brownies that were nice and hot.

We sat in the living area and popped open the bottle of wine that I brought.

"Are you serious about this Stefan? ", asked Frank. "Because Millie really is and I don't want anybody hurting her."

"I am ,Frank", I said. "I really am. I wouldn't ever hurt her."

"She's 17 and you're 21. This wasn't what i had in mind and I know you gyp..Romanis marry early and don't really believe in education."

"I'm really keen on Millie's education. I support it. I'm happy she's getting what I couldn't and marriage..is... after that. We haven't thought yet." I wasn't ready for that.

"Can I believe you ?" I nodded. "Then welcome to the family son." Millie smiled. I suppressed my happy emotions.

Millie saw me off out side. I stood with my hands in my pocket staring at her rapt. She looked like an enchantress out of a fairy tale..wait do fairy tales have beautiful enchantresses? Aren't they ugly because they're evil. No one does...I don't remember which though.

"What?", she asked.

"You forgot to give my fees."

"They'll be watching." I took a step back and looked up to see the window then stepped forward.

"Coast's clear." She tutted but obliged as we kissed. I picked her up and swung her round while she squeeled and kissed her again as I held her in the air  like that. My hand stroked her hair as I put her back down. Our noses touched as we let go and her hands were around my shoulder. I cupped her face with my hand and then let go after a while.