Chapter 10

After about 5 minutes, Franklin and Christy broke the hug. Franklin spoke first.

"Gods, that picture didn't do you justice at all. Christy, honey, you truly are a dream come true for me, thank you for trusting me enough to come out here. I love you, Christy. Don't ever leave me; I don't think I could take it. You're the best thing that's happened to me since George took me in and loved me as his son. I don't know how, or why, and I don't care, but we are meant for each other, that's all I know."

"Franklin, Franklin, Franklin. Baby, I told you, I'm not leaving, ever. Of course I'll have to move out of my L.A. apartment, which may take a couple of weeks, but then, you're mine, and I'm yours, for as long as you need me. I need you too, more than you know. I've had my share of problems too. Gods I love you. Now, lets go buy dinner for tonight."

"Ok, but first, there's some stuff I need at the deli here. Come on, I'll introduce you to the people. I own 50% of it, so I come here quite often. I even had the isles widened to accommodate my chair. You don't mind if I introduce you as my girlfriend, do you?"

"Of course not, silly, because I am." With that, she giggled and kissed him again. Then they made their way to the deli, where Christy was introduced to everybody that worked there, including Gianni, Franklin's partner in the deli. Franklin bought some of the most expensive stuff she had ever seen, at half price, because he owned half the store. Once, Gianni even took them back into his office to get something special for a gift for Franklin, in honor of the occasion. Gianni spoke first.

"Frankie, my boy, you've been such a good partner these past 6 months, even after George died. He'd be so proud of you. And now you have this lovely young lady, how wonderful. I'd like to consider you both part of my family. Here's a little something I picked up on one of my trips to the old country. A gift, for all you've done to save my store. Thank you!"

With that, he turned around, and opened his safe. He got out a very elegant looking box, with gold scrollwork all over it. He handed it to Christy, having been informed by Franklin that he could never guarantee that he wouldn't drop something expensive. Christy couldn't read Italian, so she didn't know what it said on the box, but Franklin could and did. Franklin's eyes went wide when Christy showed him the box. In a shaky voice, Franklin spoke.

"Ohhh, Gianni, my friend, thank you so much, but I can't accept this. It must have cost a small fortune, and..."

Gianni cut him off "Frankie, you are a good boy, and an excellent partner. I want you to have it. Go have Willy get you some Gorgonzola to go with that, and then go home, and have a wonderful lunch on the patio. Just take it, please?"

Franklin sighed, smiled and said, "Ok, my friend, thank you. I appreciate this a lot. Be prepared, however for an extra special Christmas present this year, ok?"

Christy then spoke, "Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but am I missing something here, like what the heck is in this box I'm holding, and why I'm holding it?"

Laughing at the event, Franklin said, "Honey, I'm sorry, I should have been more thoughtful. You probably don't know Italian at all. You've probably never seen something like this before. Let me try to explain. This is true balsamic vinegar of a certain family, my birth father's family in a small town, in a certain region of Italy called Modena. This particular bottle has been aged in oak barrels for over 150 years. It probably cost Gianni at least $1000 dollars. He handed it to you because I can't trust myself with carrying something that expensive, I might drop it, and break it, that would not be a good thing, this is something to be cherished, not broken and spilled all over the place. You understand, babe?"

"Oh, ok, yeah, I getcha 'Frankie', my love. Can I put this in your bag back here?"

"Of course, Christy, that's what it's for."

With that, Christy got up, went behind Franklin's wheelchair, open the bag and carefully put the box with the expensive vinegar in the bag. She watched Gianni's face as he watched her, and snickered a little. Franklin caught it too and laughing, said to Gianni "Alright, you dirty old man, get your mind out of the gutter, she's mine, all mine."

Gianni laughed a full Italian belly laugh and said, "Frankie, my boy, I'm too old and far too fat for someone like your Christina. She'd probably give me a heart attack or stroke if I tried and she was willing. No, sex like that is best left to the young. Besides, I'm very content with my wife. Oh, yes, I'd like to invite both of you to dinner tomorrow, if you're both free. I'm sure Martina, my wife, would love to meet you, Christina."

An unspoken communication went between Christy and Franklin as they looked at each other. Christy and Franklin nodded to each other. Christy said, "We'd be delighted, Mr. Stefani. What time should we be there? Should we bring anything?"

"Excellent Christina, be at my home at about 3 o'clock, ok? No, you don't need to bring anything at all. I'd like Franklin to bring his computer toolkit, so he can help this computer illiterate old man upgrade the house machine, but that's all."

Franklin laughed again, and said, "Gianni, why don't you let me get you a new one? I know what you need. I can get it with my new interface device built in. You'd never have to type again. You wouldn't even have to learn anything new. I can have it delivered to you free of charge. You just pay for the machine."

"I'm too old, Frankie. Besides, I'd actually like to talk to you and your lovely Christina here about taking over this place, when I retire and move back home to Italy. I can't think of anyone who shares my love for the old country more than you, Frankie. You're like the son Martina and I never had. I wish you would have married one of my girls, but either they or you weren't interested."

Franklin thought, "At the time, I was interested, but they both saw me as a brother, not a boyfriend. Maria would have done quite nicely. Contesa was ok too, but neither of them could hold a candle to my true love sitting right next to me. Oh well. All is the way it should be."