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phantomdoofer · 1 year ago

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Chapter 5: Ricordi

Peppino carefully taped the sign to the front door of the pizzeria:

We will be closing at 4 PM for family business. Thank you for you continued support!

Peppino smiled as he unlocked the door. While he hated closing early twice in one week, this was too important. A lot has happened. He was actually quite proud of that sign. He'd printed it on the new computer and printer Gustavo had convinced him to buy. It was a cheap, small laptop, but before he hadn't even been able to afford it. Small steps lead to big things, Pino.

He heard the back door open as Gustavo came in. "Buongiorno, amico!" Peppino called. "How are you feeling today?"

"Bene, amico, grazie." He looked at the sign. "See you finally took my advice. Going to see Mama tonight, eh?"

"Sì," Peppino replied. "It's been too long. And with this whole clone business, she's wanted to see me in person."

She'd tried to call him the day before. Gustavo needed me, though. When he'd called her back, they'd had a short discussion about what Giuseppe had told her. "Come see me soon," she'd told him. "There are things I want to say face-to-face."

Of course, he'd already decided to do that. But Mamas will be Mamas.

The bell jingled as a customer walked in. As Peppino turned to greet them he heard a scratchy voice say, "Buenos dias, fat boy. Saw the sign, you going out of business again already?"

Oh Mio Dio, I do not need this stronzo today. He resisted the urge to punch the Noise directly in his toothy maw. "Like the sign says, I've got family business. Are you here to order? Otherwise, get out." Both Peppino and Gustavo crossed their arms. Peppino felt a vein on his forehead begin to throb as he worked to control his temper.

The Noise, of course, was unfazed. "Ah, fat man, you know I keep this place running! Why, I practically own it!"

After the Tower, Noise had made a lot of money on franchising deals, which he'd used to restart NTV. He'd invested in the land around his studio, and a lot of the Tower residents lived there. Not me, though. "I'll say it one more time. Order or leave."

"That's no way to talk to a paying customer! I outta-"

Suddenly a goopy, dripping arm reached down from the air vent, grabbing Noise by the head. He started shrieking as the hand flung the little creep out the door and across the street. As Noise picked himself up, Fake Peppino oozed down, waved, and ran outside, chasing the screaming Noise down the street and out of sight.

Peppino climbed down from out of Gustavo's arms, where he'd leapt in abject terror at the sudden appearance of the goopy clone. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "That thing still gives me the shivers."

"I noticed." Gustavo was trying not to grin. "Let's get to work, eh?"

~~~~

Peppino's scooter whirred its way down the side of the highway, a pair of freshly-made pizzas strapped to the back. His Mama had asked for them. Reminds her of Papa, she said. As he puttered along, he remembered the years where she had cared for him, after the war. Always either drunk off my ass, picking fights, or huddled in a corner. They had been bad years, and she'd been infinitely patient. Then, she had suffered some kind of attack. The doctors told Peppino it had been stress. His guilt had driven him even deeper. Only caring for her had kept him from trying to finally join his lost brothers.

One day, cleaning an old closet, he'd found his Papa's old recipe book, flipped through it, and found a note.

Pino, as I write this, I don't have much time left. The disease will take me before you reach seven. Your Mama, bless her soul, cannot accept my passing. I, myself, only regret not being here for the two of you. From your first cry, I set aside my dream for a new one: to ensure your happiness. I do not know when you will find this. But know that I think you have it in you to be great. You have always been my light, my inspiration. I hope you will be the man I dream you will be. I love you, my son.

On that day, Peppino had received a blessing from beyond the grave, and it gave him strength enough to drag out of the abyss. He'd worked to improve his skills, gotten his health back, gone back to school, and received his food license. He'd taken out the first loan, and opened the pizzeria. A copy of the letter was in his wallet. The original was with his Mama.

I wonder if she remembered to show it to Giuseppe when he visited. Probably not. Her memory is spotty these days, and there were a lot of other things to talk about.

His stopped his scooter at the bike rack outside his Mama's apartment. Locking it, he grabbed the pizzas, looked up, and took a deep breath. She already knows, Pino. The worst is already over. He walked up the steps, found her door, and knocked loudly.

When she opened the door, his heart sank, as as it always did, at the tiny, frail woman she had become. "Ah, Pino, il mio piccolino. I was getting worried that little scooter had broken down on you."

He kissed her on each cheek. "Not yet, Mama. How are you?"

In response, she took the pizzas and walked them to the table. "Oh, you know. Other than being an dried-up vecchia who sometimes can't remember what day it is, I'm doing well." She tottered to a cabinet, grabbed two glasses, and turned. "Will you take vino tonight, Peppino?"

"Just a little tonight, Mama," he said. He was careful about his drinking - while he didn't abstain, he'd drank several vineyards and breweries dry before he'd cleaned up. But he felt safe doing it here. She poured for both, then they sat down to dinner.

As they ate, and the pleasant buzz of inebriation softened his mind, she looked at him. "Your brother had a lot to say."

I bet. "Well, he's been kept away for thirty years, after all. That's a lot to catch up on."

She set down the slice she had. "I could not believe him at first. The lies, the secrecy. But he knew things that only we would know. And he looked so like you." She looked down. "But his life has been so hard. Not that your life hasn't been as well, Pino," she added hastily.

Peppino swallowed the slice he'd been chewing. "He told me some of it. We've both been through a grinder, in our own ways." He patted her hand. "It's OK, Mama. I think I've come to terms with... who and what I am. You don't have to walk on eggshells around me."

The elderly woman visibly relaxed. "I'm glad. I was so worried when I was told. Your mind was so fragile after you came back from the war. I know you have worked to be better, but I see it in your eyes." She reached across the table and cupped his cheek. "You still struggle. The darkness still sits in you. You miss your fratelli, the ones you lost in the war. You miss your Papa. And now this clone business. I worried that you would fall again. And this time you might not come back." She leaned back. "So I slapped him. For what he was putting you through."

Peppino leaned back. "But he's your son. Your actual son."

"Are you not as well?" she said. "You started out as him, yes? I raised you, held you when you cried, lifted you up. You are also my son, regardless of how you started, Pino," She smiled. "That has not changed."

Peppino felt tears well up again. "Grazie, Madre." He stood up and gently hugged his mother. "I don't deserve you."

"È una sciocchezza," she said.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Peppino said, "so you slapped him. A decorated special forces Major?"

She laughed. "Sì. He took it like a champion, too." She sighed. "Then I hugged him just as hard. He acts strong, but I can see in many ways he is still just as emotional as you, Pino. He is simply better at hiding it." She looked sad. "Even after so long, I can see when my sons are sad. He misses his friends, too. He's had to watch too many go out to die. He's had to send them. It weighs on him."

Peppino remembered the tired eyes, the slumped shoulders. I don't know if I could do that.

She leaned forward again. "Pino, you and I both know my time is limited. I want to tell you - be there for your brother. He will need you, and while he is strong, he is even more alone. You have your business, your dream, your friend. Soon, he will have nothing but you."

"Don't be silly, you've got years left in you!" Peppino knew it was a lie, but he couldn't, he refused to say the truth out loud. I don't know what I will do without you.

She smiled. "Still you hide, ragazzo. You know the truth." She smiled again. "I no longer have any regrets, now that you have a life to live. I know your Papa is proud of you." She looked at the wall, where the letter was framed. "He told you himself, after all."

She stood, and took the letter down. "Pino, I want you to take this with you."

Peppino gently took the frame. "But why?"

"To give to your brother," she replied. "I forgot it when he visited before. He will likely see you soon. He said something big was coming soon, and he wanted to be with you when it happened. So give it to him then. It is something he needs to see - just as much as you did."

"Sì, Mama," Peppino replied. "I think he does."

"Then I am content. Come, let's sit and watch TV for a while. You should not drive until you're safe." She grinned wickedly. "You have enough drunkenness on your record."

He laughed. "Ottimo, Madre. If that's how you want it."

They sat and watched TV for hours, reminiscing about everything and nothing.

As Peppino drove home in the dark, he thought of the letter strapped tightly to the back of the scooter. A letter from a man who never knew his blessing would apply twice.

It wouldn't have mattered to him, Peppino thought. Not a bit.

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#peppino spaghetti #peppino pizza tower #peppino #Mama Spaghetti #pizza tower fanfic #pizza tower au #pizzatower #pizza tower #tower town au

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technically-a-kiwi · 1 month ago

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Baking pizza chef (Cooking mama inspired idea)

I imagine the gameplay to be far more nerve inducing, with every step of the recipe being something very absurde (chopping veggies with your bair hands,LITERALLY kicking the dough, crushing tomatoes with your fist etc...)

The recipe would be very fast food themed, just like in the game, to avoid redundence with only making pizza, you see ?

Also there could be some kind of challenge mode where The Noise would come to bother you in every step by covering the screen, slowing down your cutting etc, and you'd have to somehow get rid of him ( Tapping on his dumb face until he leaves the screen, pushing him out of the way etc...)

Anyway, I'm tired, I'll go to sleep, and so will you, that's an order.

#pizza tower #peppino spaghetti #rambeling random bullshit #cooking mama #crossover

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sallymew4 · 10 months ago

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ok