Chapter Text
The shipwrights of Galley-La’s Dock 1 were practically celebrities. Local newspapers included sections on the latest pirate Lucci whooped, Paulie’s scolding of lewdly dressed women, and pictures of Kaku soaring in the sky. Iceburg’s speeches were always given a broad amount of attention; the most famous man in Water 7 deserved this recognition, obviously. Everyone on the island appreciated the Galley-La folks and some even had favorites that they were fans of. Kaku and Lucci always had young women chasing after them, though the latter would just stare as Hattori shooed them away. Tilestone and Lulu had a following of men who wanted to be manlier like them. Paulie, however, was more often chased by debt collectors than fans in all honesty.
“Paulie!” one of the men in suits yelled, barely dodging the trash can the shipwright had knocked over. “You owe us a lot of interest!”
“Sorry, fellas,” the blond laughed, “I’ve got a very important appointment to get to. Maybe you’ll catch me next week- ACK.”
Paulie had just rounded a corner and smacked right into someone. He gaped as he watched the woman flail for a moment before collapsing into the canal, her groceries bobbed for a moment before sinking along with her.
“Shit,” he mumbled as he bit his cigar, reaching to pull off his shoes.
“I’m okay,” the lady coughed. She surfaced just before he could jump in after her. “Only casualties were the veggies!”
“Lemme help you out of there,” he offered. It was easy to pull her from the water and onto the cobblestone. “So sorry about that, lady.”
She gave him a small smile from where she knelt. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m a bit clumsy so I’m used to spills like this.”
Paulie couldn’t help but notice the way her turtleneck sweater and flowery skirt clung to her body. He flinched at the realization she was missing one of her flats and her tights had a large gash in them. Women always lost their minds when a shoe was damaged, never mind lost.
“Here.” He offered his jacket as penance. “You’ll get cold.”
Brown eyes blinked at him owlishly. She replied, “Oh, that’s very kind of you, but I can just walk home. It’s not that far-“
The debt collectors decided to make their appearance, shouting out Paulie’s name. He climbed to his feet and saluted the woman.
“I gotta dip, sorry!”
“Wait-“ she called out, “what about your jacket?”
He laughed as he used his ropes to reach an overarching bridge. “Don’t sweat it,” he informed her. “Just stop by Dock 1 whenever you get the chance.”
The drenched woman could only watch as the debt collectors raced after Paulie. Strands of gray hair clung to her forehead. She sighed before trudging back home; she knew she should’ve just taken a yagara.
~*~
Paulie wiped the sweat off his brow. It was the hottest day so far in the week; the forecast was predicted to get even hotter by the time the weekend came. Even Lucci seemed to be feeling the heat, having removed his normal tank top. The fans outside the shipyard were enjoying that scene. Paulie cursed Kaku for wearing his jacket even now. Speaking of the long nose, Paulie wondered what he was doing near the fence?
“Hey, Kaku!” the foreman snorted, “quit flirting with the fans and get to work.”
“Gee, sorry ‘bout that,” the man replied with a wave, “it’s just that this fine lady says she was told to come here to return your jacket!”
Every shipwright paused in their work and stared towards the fence before whipping to Paulie. Sure enough, there was a woman wearing a black turtleneck and loose fitting brown pants. She flushed under everyone’s gazes and partially hid behind the blue jacket in her grasp.
“Oh, it’s you,” Paulie casually greeted, walking up to the fence. “Sorry about the other day. Thanks for returning that.”
“No harm done.” She smiled. “Apologies for interrupting you at work. I’m glad I caught you before your lunch break.”
The shipyard was silent. Everyone was clearly trying to eavesdrop and a wave of disappointment swept through them when Paulie said goodbye to the woman. She ducked her head as she escaped everyone’s line of sight.
“Golly,” Kaku whistled, “I didn’t know ya had it in you, Paulie. She seems like a nice gal.”
The man flushed. “It ain’t like that, so all you better stop smirking like you know a secret. I don’t even know her name, idiots.”
Hattori spoke up and ruffled his feathers, “Go ask her on a date, you imbecile! She’s your exact type, coo coo!”
“I gotta agree with him,” Lulu huffed. “Milly is probably the only woman who fits Paulie’s outfit requirements. I don’t think she owns a skirt shorter than mid calf and is always wearing turtlenecks.”
“You know the pretty lady?” questioned Kaku with a tilt of his head. “Milly is a cute name, too.”
Lulu smiled. “She’s my aunt’s boss. She owns the big bookstore in the shopping district.”
Tilestone barked out a laugh. “Great! You can set a date up with her for Paulie then!”
The aforementioned shipwright slapped a chisel down. His eyebrow was twitching and his annoyance was fully displayed.
“Would you idiots shut up and get back to work? I ain’t interested, so piss off!”
The employees of Galley-La rolled their eyes. Just by exchanging glances, they knew a plan would be created. Maybe they could even rope Kalifa into it under the premise of distracting Paulie with a woman so he wouldn’t insult her own clothing anymore.
~*~
Mildred “Milly” Harding had been the owner of Babbling Books for nearly eleven years. When she was first given technical ownership, she was thirteen years old and had lost her father. The shop itself had almost been wiped out the same night her father passed away. With no business acumen and even less knowledge about taxes, Milly came very close to losing the last remnant of her parents. Her saving grace arrived in the form of Peepley Agatha, beloved aunt to Peepley Lulu. The boy himself had just started his apprenticeship with the Galley-La shipwrights yet never failed to spare time in delivering meals for the ladies or getting groceries while they were busy with sorting finances. The Peepley family had been friends of Milly’s father for a number of years. She would be eternally grateful for all of the support they provided her with.
Once Babbling Books was back on its feet and flourishing, Milly made it her mission to pay Agatha back for all that she had done. The stubborn old woman refused any money, however, unless it was in the form of an average paycheck that she earned by working the shop. Agatha was gladly welcomed as the first official employee under Milly’s management. Thankfully, the woman was fully capable of handling things as the clerk while Milly worked on perfecting what her father had taught her and was her true passion: repairing books. The scent of leather and glue had always been associated with him in her mind and that would never change. She didn’t have many friends her age, but the few she did always joked she spent more time sniffing the pages than actually reading them. This was untrue, of course, as she was a vivacious reader and had finished practically all of the books in the store. Some had even been reread thrice, as those were her favorites.
Nowadays, however, Milly lost touch with her friends and struggled to connect the same way with any of her regular customers. She always spared a moment to discuss their latest buy and made a habit of telling abbreviations of fairy tales to the anxious children waiting to get ice cream after a full day of errands. Despite the effort she tried to put in with making new friends, Milly always seemed to fall short before a solid bond could be formed. Outside of the Peepley family and her only other employee, Milly never had meaningful conversations with anyone nor did she leave her workshop often.
All of that changed, however, after the day a shipwright knocked her into the water.