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You didn’t know what to expect walking into Peppino’s Pizza. You remember catching the low budget cable access commercials on TV. You rolled your eyes remembering how corny they were. You never thought you’d apply to work here. You were down on hard times and needed income, so you took the first opportunity you could. Going to this from your cushy office job would not be easy. You told yourself that it would only be temporary until you found something better.
It surprised you to find that there wasn’t much going on inside the place when you stepped inside. You looked at the outdated decor and wondered if they were ever gonna update this joint. At least it smelled good in there; the kitchen was doing its magic making those pizzas. You approached the counter and rang the bell. You heard shuffling in the back before you saw the door open and watched Peppino head your way. He was disheveled and a little sweaty from being in the kitchen. You hoped he wasn’t committing any health violations.
“What can-a I do for you?” Peppino had a memo pad and pen out expecting you to order something. “We have-a many specials going on this week. Buy one extra-large pizza and get one— “
You shook your head. “Oh, no, I’m here for the interview.”
Peppino looked a little panicked. He didn’t forget about it, did he? “Ah, I’m-a so sorry! Things have been busier than usual around here.”
He looked so stressed out, and he needed help. There didn’t seem to be any other employees, from what you could tell. You wondered if he was running this place by himself.
"Well, let me tell-a Gustavo to cover for me.” Peppino disappeared into the kitchen for a few moments.
You overheard him and Gustavo speaking to each other in Italian. You understood little of it, but it added to the atmosphere. This was a real deal pizzeria.
Peppino returned and led you to his office. He sat you in a chair in front of his desk. The room was messy, with papers strewn everywhere.
“Forgive-a the mess,” he said as he searched his desk for the notes, he prepared for onboarding new employees. “You know, you’re the first person I’m interviewing since I’ve-a started looking for help.”
From what you could tell, the pizzeria was taking off within the past year. You wondered why he waited so long to hire more employees. Pushing that thought aside, you waited for Peppino to ask you questions.
The interview was standard. You told Peppino your name and talked about what you did before. You were furloughed from your previous office job and had to find somewhere to work for a while to get yourself back on your feet. You didn’t tell him you were only planning to stay temporarily, as he really needed the help. He was a sweaty and nervous wreck from being so overworked. With only one other person helping him, it had to be tough for him.
It wasn’t like other job interviews you’d been to before. At other places they were always stuffy and robotic when they spoke to you. It was as if you were just a number on a computer pushing you through the conveyor belt. Oh, and you didn’t want to get started on the group interviews. What a cattle call that was.
With Peppino, he was warm and inviting to you. He treated you like an actual human being and cared about what you had to say. Usually, you were nervous when you had to go to interviews, but there was something about the pizzeria that put you at ease. You felt bad for scoffing at Peppino’s commercials before. During the interview, your rapport went along smoothly. You were confident that you sold yourself well enough to get the job.
After the interview concluded, Peppino led you back to the main area. He thanked you for coming in and that he’d let you know if you got the job.
You heard from Peppino not even a day later. He said you were hired. You weren’t surprised by this at all, seeing how much help he needed. You told him when you were ready to train. From there, you were to become part of the crew. You had to admit you were nervous, as you hadn’t worked in food service in years. You remember how chaotic it could get dealing with customers, but that was the name of the game.
It was early in the morning when you came in on your first day. You walked in on Peppino and Gustavo having coffee together and having a conversation. When they saw you come in, they greeted you and invited you to sit at the table with them to have coffee before they opened for the day.
“Thank you so much for-a coming aboard,” Peppino said. “You don’t know how much this-a means to us.”
Gustavo nodded. “Yes, it is-a much appreciated. The business has been-a growing rapidly and we haven’t been able to keep up with the demand. It took-a some time to get Peppino to warm up to bringing someone on, though.”
Peppino said something to him in Italian that sounded to you like he was embarrassed about what he said. You wondered why it took him so long to hire someone to help. He turned back to you and said, “I had to wait for the right-a time. We weren’t making that much-a before, and it would have been difficult to afford to have-a more than just Gustavo and I.”
“Well, I’m glad to be here,” you said with a smile.
Peppino returned the expression, relieved that he finally had someone else in the pizzeria to take the load off his shoulders. But first, he had to train you and make sure you could handle the work. He started you off in the kitchen, making the pizzas. After he brought you to the kitchen, he explained how the pizzas were made and showed the process to you. You realized that Peppino was the real deal. He tossed that pizza dough like a natural, and he was in his element.
Watching the magic happen was mesmerizing. Peppino was in the zone making the pizza, and you didn’t dare say anything to him during it. This was his passion, and you couldn’t wait to try it when it was done. You watched him put the pizza in the oven when he was done putting it together. When he took it out after it was done, the smell was amazing. It was a basic pepperoni pizza, but he made with so much love and care.
Peppino offered you a slice, and when you put it in your mouth, you thought you died and went to heaven. You could’ve flown through the ceiling over how good that pizza was. You made an audible sound of approval and gave him a thumbs up. You couldn’t believe the pizzeria struggled for so long. Everyone had to know about this pizza!
“That was amazing,” you said. “honestly, I’m scared of ruining such perfection.”
Peppino rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, once you get-a the hang of it, it’s-a no trouble at all.”
There was a moment of silence as Peppino gave you the opportunity to make a pizza for yourself. You rolled out the dough as you saw your new boss do earlier. Then you tried to toss the dough, but you ended up dropping it on the floor. You picked it off the ground with a nervous laugh.
“I guess I’m not ready for that yet,” you said.
“It just-a takes some practice,” Peppino said. “Maybe you can start with putting on-a the toppings.”
“Sure,” you said.
After he finished showing you how making pizzas worked, he showed you how he handled customers. He told you about how he and Gustavo take turns driving Peppino’s vespa to deliver to customers. Peppino took you outside and showed it to you. Imagining Peppino riding the vespa was adorable. He offered you to try riding the vespa, digging the keys to it out of his pocket. You’d never ridden a vespa before, so you were excited to try it.
Peppino gave you the keys to the vespa and showed you how to start it up. Once you got it going, you rode it around the perimeter of the building. You had to admit it was the most fun thing you’d done in a while. Someday you had to get a vespa for yourself. When you came back to Peppino, you gave him the keys back.
“So, you’ve always delivered pizzas with the vespa?” You asked.
“Yes,” Peppino said, “had it for years. Ol’ Faithful’s put in the work for me since-a the beginning. Finally made enough to get-a her fixed up not too long ago.”
You nodded and made a sound of acknowledgment. He must’ve really struggled before. In brief glances throughout your time knowing Peppino, you could see the tired and forlorn look on his face. You didn’t know what it was, but you knew he had unspoken burdens he carried. You didn’t want to ask him about it, though, so you remained silent on your walk back inside the building.
The rest of the day comprised you getting the hang of things at the pizzeria. Peppino asked you to make deliveries for him while he and Gustavo took care of things at home base. You didn’t want to turn down the opportunity to ride the vespa again, so you happily agreed. You went to a few houses before coming back to the pizzeria. It was more exhausting than you thought, but it was exhilarating.
At the end of the day, you had a moment alone with Peppino after Gustavo left for the night.
“So, what did-a you think about your first day on the job?” Peppino asked you.
“It was great,” you answered. “I think I’ll enjoy working here. You’ve been a great boss so far! Honestly, you’re the first one I’ve had that treats me like a human being.”
Peppino gave you a shocked expression. “Really?! I don’t-a think I’m that great, to be honest… But I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t had such-a great bosses in the past.”
“Yeah, they were really crummy,” you said. “I don’t really wanna get into it, but I just wanna tell you that you’re miles ahead. I’ve only been here one day, and I’d trust you way more than bosses I’d had for way longer.”
Peppino wasn’t used to such compliments, and you saw him turn red. You couldn’t believe you made a middle-aged man blush, and it was so cute!
“Thank you, you’re-a too kind,” he said.
You didn’t know what to say after that and went silent. Peppino did the same, fidgeting with his hands. You noticed he had a lot of nervous habits, but you didn’t want to bring attention to it. You figured he’d be self-conscious about it.
“Well,” you said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Spaghetti.”
“Just-a call me Peppino,” your boss corrected you.
As you got into your car to head home, you watched Peppino get on the vespa and ride away. You realized he was using his personal vehicle for work, and you couldn’t help but feel bad. But he didn’t seem to mind it. You didn’t linger on it too much as you headed home yourself.
Every day at Peppino’s Pizza was much the same after that. You would come in and help with whatever Peppino or Gustavo needed. Sometimes you would help in the kitchen, while other times you would go out on deliveries. You got the hang of decorating the pizzas, but you still weren’t ready to toss the dough just yet. You never thought you’d enjoy working at a place like this, but Peppino made it a lot more bearable. When there wasn’t a rush, you two would make conversation about what was going on that day.
Peppino, despite being a nervous and high-strung individual on the surface, he was quite amiable once you got to know him. You still worried about his mental health though. You tried to do the best you could to get things done in an orderly fashion so he wouldn’t get overwhelmed. However, he did the same for you as well. If he saw you struggling with something, he would step in to help, but he gave you enough space to figure things out for yourself. Gustavo warned you that Peppino had a temper, but you hadn’t seen it. You hoped you didn’t have to.
On one busy weekend afternoon, you all were running around trying to get orders in. It was a rush of madness that you hadn’t experienced yet at the pizzeria. Peppino manned the kitchen while you and Gustavo took turns doing deliveries. You hadn’t worked this hard doing any job in a while, and it was exhausting, if you had to be frank. At least riding the vespa was fun.
There was one incident, though, that still sticks out to you to this day. During the afternoon rush, you stood at the counter while Peppino was in the back making pizzas and Gustavo was out on a delivery. You took phone calls and whoever came up to the counter to order a pizza. Everything went smoothly until a rather surly customer came barging in. You’d dealt with unhappy customers before, so you did what you always did and put a smile on.
“Hello, sir,” you said in your best customer service voice, “what can I do for- “
The customer slammed his pizza on the counter. “This is wrong! I was supposed to have olives on my pizza!” His voice was loud and argumentative as he opened the pizza box.
You panicked, not expecting this guy to be so intense. “I’m sorry sir, I — “
The customer cut you off and showed his receipt. “You’re making’ me pay for something’ I didn’t even get!” Oh, this guy was beyond pissed off. His face was so red, and his yelling was really getting to you. You did your best to keep yourself from breaking down in front of him, but the more he yelled, the harder it was to do.
“I can get you another pizza for — “ You started, but the customer cut you off again.
“No! I’ve had it with this place!” The customer yelled again. “I’ve given this place so many chances to get things right, and it’s just one fuck up after another! I can’t believe y’all are still in business!”
You were visibly shaking, and you tried desperately to make this customer happy. He was so pissed off that you couldn’t get through to him. If you were in the right mind, you would’ve asked him why he kept coming back, but you were too deep in your panic attack to say it.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me?!” The customer snapped his fingers so rudely in front of your face.
You were frozen. You didn’t know what to do. This customer was so mad, and you couldn’t make him happy. Something had to be done. You felt like you were bolted to the floor and couldn’t move. You needed Peppino. Everything was a blur when you heard footsteps behind you, and Peppino’s voice sounded like a faraway echo. In your panicked state, you didn’t know what was going on anymore. In your faint sense of lucidity, you felt someone lead you away from the counter.
The next thing you remember is being in the breakroom, sitting on the couch. You held yourself, still full of anxiety and panic over what had just happened. You could hear voices yelling in the background, probably Peppino and the customer. It fueled your anxiety, and you cried. You didn’t notice at first that Gustavo’s rat Brick was in the room with you, and he curled up on the couch next to you. You’d seen him at the pizzeria before, but he made occasional appearances. This was one time when his presence was appreciated.
When you noticed Brick next to you, you petted him. It calmed you down somewhat. Something to keep your mind off what was happening in the other room. You’d heard Peppino angry before, but not to that level. Gustavo was not kidding when he said the boss had a temper. You hoped you would never make him that angry.
After a while, things settled down as you heard the yelling die down. You heard the bell on the door to the entrance of the pizzeria ring, as if someone came through the door. Then you heard Gustavo’s voice. You heard him start a conversation with Peppino, but you couldn’t hear what they were saying. Brick jumped off the couch hearing his human friend’s voice and went into the lobby.
You heard Brick squeak a few times, to which Gustavo said something to Peppino. You wish you could figure out what they were saying. Lying on the couch, facing the ceiling, was what you did to relax yourself. You closed your eyes until you heard a voice some moments later.
“Y/N?”
You sat up and saw Peppino standing in the doorway. He looked so worried about you, a deep contrast to the rage in his eyes earlier. You felt a flutter of something you hadn’t felt with him before when he looked at you like that. It put you at ease, but you felt overwhelmed with emotion. You hadn’t felt like this with any other bosses you’d had. Or anyone.
“Are you-a alright?” Peppino said, trying to keep his voice gentle.
You tried to say something, you really did. But the tight feeling in your chest overwhelmed you so much you burst into tears again. Your head was in your hands, and you just let the tears flow. At that point, you didn’t care that you were crying in front of your boss. In any other scenario, you would’ve been mortified, but something was different about Peppino. At some point, you felt him sit next to you, and you couldn’t help but fling your arms around him and sob into his chest.
Peppino didn’t know what to do when you did this. He wasn’t the best at being comforting, as he himself was riddled with anxiety. He hated seeing you like this. It made him feel helpless. He had to make you feel better, but he didn’t know what. So, the only thing he could think of to do was wrap your arms around you and just let you release your emotions. He said nothing as you cried, as he was worried about saying the wrong thing.
It took some time for you to calm down, and when you did, you felt so bad about getting tears and snot on Peppino’s shirt.
“I’m so sorry about all of this,” you said. “I handled that all wrong. I just blanked out when that customer started yelling at me… The last thing I remember was him snapping his fingers in my face.”
“Don’t apologize for it,” Peppino said. “I should’ve stepped in-a sooner! I shouldn’t have let that happen.”
You looked down. He really felt bad for what happened to you.
“When I heard-a the yelling escalate, I had to get you out of there,” Peppino continued. “you were white as a ghost! I panicked, but I was-a focused on making sure you were okay.”
You looked back at him. The fluttery feeling you felt earlier returned, seeing how genuinely concerned he was for you.
“After I brought-a you back here, I went back to the customer, and he started-a yelling at me, too. He didn’t get-a olives on his pizza, right?”
“That’s the last thing I remember,” you said.
“Well, it turns out I made a mistake,” Peppino said. “I didn’t pay attention to what I was-a doing, and I put no olives on the pizza.”
You tried to think back on what happened then. You remember being on the phone speaking to someone about an olive pizza, but things were so hectic, you must have given Peppino the wrong order.
“No, it was my fault,” you said. “I think I gave you the wrong thing by mistake.”
Peppino shook his head. “It’s-a no matter now. I made sure that-a guy got his olives, believe me.” There was humor in his voice as he said this. He didn’t outright say it, but during his exchange with the customer, he made sure he wouldn’t harass you the way he did ever again.
You laughed, finally feeling more relaxed since the incident. You knew Peppino was trying his best to make you feel better, even though there was one unhappy customer that day. At least Peppino could take care of it for you. If that would’ve been any other boss, you would’ve been fired, most likely. At least, that’s what you thought, anyway.
“Why don’t we go back and-a finish the rest of the day off, huh?” Peppino said.
“Sure,” you said, following him out of the breakroom.
At the end of the night, you and Peppino shared a moment together. Gustavo was in the back cleaning up the kitchen, so the faint sounds of things shuffled around in the background. It was a contrast compared to the chaos from just a few hours ago. You’d been working at the pizzeria for a few months up to that point, and you and Peppino had become pretty good friends. He didn’t even feel like a boss anymore to you. After helping you with your panic attack earlier that day, really put things into perspective for you.
“I don’t know if I did this earlier, but thanks,” you said. “thank you for being so good to me, Peppino. You’ve honestly been the best boss I’ve ever had. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t help me during that panic attack.”
Peppino was taken aback by what you said. “You really think I’m-a the best? I wouldn’t go that far…”
“I’m not being facetious! You really did me a solid back there! That guy was yelling at me about those stupid olives, and I totally blanked out! And besides that, you’ve been more than kind to me the whole time I’ve been here. You’re patient and kind, sweet and funny…”
You felt your face get hot as you said all this. There was no way this was happening right now! And you saw Peppino’s face turn red, too.
“Oh, you-a humor me,” Peppino said, his face also as red as a tomato.
You didn’t remember the last time you were this happy at any workplace. When you first signed up for this job, you weren’t planning on enjoying it at all, but after being with Peppino, you almost didn’t want to leave.
“Thank you for everything,” you said. Then, without thinking, you leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. You swore you saw steam come out of his ears when you did this.
Peppino was speechless. He didn’t know what to say to you, but smiled at you with a silly grin. He couldn’t help himself, really. You two formed a close bond during your time together, and this just sealed the deal.
You stood up from the table you sat at, getting ready to leave for the night. “I’m sorry, Peppino. I hope that wasn’t too much.”
“N-No, it was-a alright,” he stammered, “I appreciate-a everything you’ve done for me, too. I don’t know what I would do without-a you here. You’ve been a big help for us around here.”
You smiled at him, appreciating every word he said. You pushed the chair in as you said, “I’m glad I worked here, Peppino. These are some of the happiest times I’ve had in a long time.”
Before you left for the night, you hugged Peppino and bid him a good night. You walked through the doors of the pizzeria. Another day’s work done. You couldn’t wait to come back tomorrow, and the many days after.