by Laurie Lochs
It was a perfect day. But it was even more perfect when, a second later, I pulled into a very familiar parking lot and let Kyle out of the car.
His jaw dropped the second he saw where we were.
“We… We’re getting pizza?”
I grinned. A second later, I pushed open the door to Nino’s.
Chapter 33
Kyle
* * *
“Nino!” I cried, rushing towards my former boss. His eyes shot open but he quickly relaxed into a smile.
“Boy,” he said, pulling me in for a hug. It felt so nice to have his arms around my shoulders. “I hope you’re well.”
“Yes, Nino,” I said, sinking into his soft chest. I remembered Mark was standing right behind me and quickly introduced the pair. “Mark,” I said, “you already know Nino. But let me introduce you to Mark.”
I stepped back and let the two shake hands. I couldn’t believe I was taking control of the situation. Mark shook my former boss’ hand and smiled promptly.
“You make amazing pizza, sir,” Mark said, “I used to come here all the time during college.”
“It’s the best in the city,” I said proudly. My cheeks burned. Though he’d fired me, I was so proud of my former boss.
Nino handed us our order — a large pepperoni — and smiled. “I pray you’ll tell me if it’s not up to your standards.”
“I doubt it, sir,” Mark said with a laugh. “My assistant and I had the same pizza last month. It was every bit as delicious as I remember.”
Nino smiled. But a second later, his eyes got more serious.
“Boy,” he said after a long pause, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”
“What is it?”
“Well,” he said, pausing to hand Mark a stack full of napkins. “I’m thinking of selling the place. This will be Nino’s Italian pizzeria no more.”
My jaw dropped. I turned to Mark but he was as surprised as me. “Why?”
“It’s not profitable, son. I’m thinking of getting what I can for the land and fixtures and moving to Florida. If it were up to me, I’d run the business until I died. I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life and feel a certain obligation to the community. But my wife wants to get to her son and daughter-in-law in the Sunshine State. I’ve heard Key West has an excellent retirement community, and… Well, she’s right. It’s about damn time to retire.”
I couldn’t believe it. “But we need your pizza, Nino. Minneapolis needs you.”
“That may be the case,” Nino said with a shrug, “but they certainly aren’t showing it. I’m afraid my hands are tied. If I don’t sell now, I may never get my money out of this place. I wish I had a crystal ball to tell me whether the place would turn around. For now, I need to get what I can and go.”
My heart sunk. I leaned into Mark’s chest and sighed loudly. “Did you hear him, Mark? Can you believe Nino’s going to sell?”
“No,” Mark said softly, draping his arm around my shoulder. “No, I can’t. Nino,” he said, addressing my former boss, “when will you make this decision by?”
“Not until the end of the month,” Nino said with a brief nod. He wiped his hands on his apron and shrugged. “But when I do sell, I know who I’m going to call.”
“It better be the Pressure Free Agency,” I growled, but not before quickly moving my hands to my mouth. Did I really just say that?
“Kyle, please,” Mark said, squeezing me. “That’s a horrible way to advertise the business. We’re supposed to be pressure free.”
“Oops,” I said, “sorry, Daddy.”
Nino chuckled. “In fact, I was going to call the Pressure Free Agency. I’ve heard great things about the man who runs it.”
I gasped. “Oh, my God,” I whispered, “he means you, Daddy. Nino wants to sell his building using you.”
Mark cleared his throat. I could tell he was struggling to remain professional. “I tell you what,” Mark said, “why don’t I give you a card? I know I’ve got a spare somewhere.”
“Thank you, sir,” Nino said with a smile. He had a twinkle in his eyes for the first time in forever. When Mark handed him the card, we bid farewell to Nino and walked into the night.
As much as I wanted Nino to stay in business, I understood why he needed to leave. It would be horrible if he sacrificed his retirement to make pizzas for a city that didn’t appreciate him. He was getting old. When I worked there, I’d noticed as much. If moving to Florida would give him the life he wanted, there wasn’t anything I could do to stop him…. Even if it meant shedding any juvenile fantasies about “saving his pizzeria,” whatever that meant.
But… Well, shit. I could live with that if it was true. But I knew Nino too well to know that it wasn’t. Nino had said at the pizzeria that if it were up to him, he’d keep working there forever. If it was his own dreams holding him back, that made sense. But if it was something so silly as a lack of clientele that was holding him back… How was I supposed to be okay with that?
“Kyle,” Mark said when we pulled into the driveway. I’d been deep in thought the entire ride home and I’d completely forgotten I was in his BMW. “Bring the pizza in. I’m going to do a teddy bear haul.”
I nodded softly. “Thank you, Daddy,” I whispered, taking the pizza. I grabbed three of the huge stuffed bears and put them under my arms. There was no way I was going to let Daddy do all the work. I walked up to the house and set the pizza on the kitchen table. When I came back, I saw Daddy holding five enormous teddy bears and grinning like he’d just come up with the most genius idea in the world.
Chapter 34
Mark
* * *
“It’s simple, baby,” Mark said when we finally sat down for pizza. "It’s called a plan of revitalization."
"What does that mean, Daddy?" Kyle asked, his eyes wide. He took a bite of pizza and tried the word out in his own mouth. Revitalization. It was a big word for such a little boy.
"It means we're going to get help Nino get his business back on its feet. There are so many people in Minneapolis and everyone loves pizza. And," I said, gesturing to the delicious pizza sitting in the middle of the table, "Nino makes a delicious ‘za."
Kyle visibly cringed across the table. "Please don't say that, Daddy."
"What? Revitalization?"
"No," Kyle said, pretending to stifle a grin. "‘za."
I couldn't help but burst into laughter. Hadn't I had this same conversation with my assistant only last month? How had I flip-flopped so fast on the word? It was a horrible, disgusting, awful word. But for some reason, it fit.
"Sorry, baby boy. Daddy will do better next time."
Kyle giggled and took a long bite of ‘za. A bit of cheese fell to his chin, but he licked it up with his tongue. When he glanced back up at me, his eyes were filled with a trust I'd yet to see on another boy in my life. It let me know that Kyle had taken a leap of faith and had given his whole heart to me, that he’d let go of whatever had been holding him back and sacrificed some part of his independence for my protection and care. I would do everything in my power to honor that gift he had given me, for it was the specialist gift in the world.
"Anyways," I began, winking at Kyle. "We know it's not the pizza that's the problem. Nino makes some of the best pepperoni pizza in town. No, what Nino's needs is a marketing campaign to put him back on the map. I went to his Yelp page and he barely has any reviews. It's like reading a great book on Amazon that has zero reviews, even though hundreds of people have bought and enjoyed the book. Nobody will know that it's a good book unless people leave positive feedback. And if someone leaves a horrible two-star review because they don’t exactly understand the book, no one will ever read the book again."
"That makes sense, Daddy."
"But…" I began, unsure of how to poise the question. I decided to start again. "Well, Kyle… A central part of my plan is to incorporate Nino's in a new marketing campaign for the Pressure Free Agency. I'd love to host a block party a
t Nino's and advertise free pizza. Of course, we would pay for it and take care of the tab. But I want the event to be held at Nino's. It would be great publicity for us and for Nino's, and it might even be enough to get his restaurant up and running again."
Kyle's jaw dropped. "You mean it, Daddy? You'd do that for Nino?"
"Yes, baby," I said, nodding slowly. "Daddy thinks this is the best way to help Nino with his business. It will allow him to stay at his restaurant and continue doing what he loves best."
"Making pizza," Kyle said, taking a bite of the slice he was holding. His pale skin reflected the red of the pepperoni and it almost made him look like he was blushing.
"Yes, little one," I said, "making pizza. Nino said it himself that he doesn't want to go down to Florida to retire, even though his wife wants to. If it were up to him, he'd stay making pizza forever. And I want to see Nino's stay on the map. Though I know I haven't been playing my part by ordering from his restaurant, I'd hate to see the pizzeria that I've loved since college go. It's a fixture in the neighborhood, and a cornerstone of my past. Nino's has given me too many memories. I want to do everything in my power to save it and let Nino live his dream."
Kyle grinned and wrapped his small arms around one of the teddy bears. "But, Daddy," he said hesitantly, "where do I fit in?"
"That's the thing, Kyle. Daddy would love for you to be the face of the campaign. But that means…"
Kyle stared at me blankly. He had no idea what I was trying to say.
"Well," I began again, "that means Kyle has a decision to make. He has two options on the table and one of them is better than the other. But it requires that he trusts Daddy and puts his faith in him. Kyle has to know that Daddy will never let him down."
Kyle took a deep breath. "I know, Daddy," he said, "I know you'll never let me down."
"Okay," I began slowly, "Kyle can either continue interviewing with brokerage firms around the state, like RE/MAX results, or he can take the offer that Daddy is about to give him and come work with the Pressure Free Agency."
Kyle's jaw dropped. "Are you saying –"
"Yes, baby. Daddy has been looking to hire a lot of new agents but you're the one who would fit best. Daddy has seen you every week in class and knows that you are going to be a top-notch agent with or without our help. And Daddy has already told you as much. As such,” I continued, “I want to offer you a full time position at the Pressure Free Agency, contingent on you completing your class and passing your real estate exam. We would start as soon as possible."
Kyle moaned and buried his face in his arms. "Oh, my God. You want to nab me before anyone else can."
"Exactly. I know you're going to be in hot demand. But I swear this isn't a plan or a conspiracy to get to you before the competition can. I genuinely and truly believe that you have what it takes to succeed as a Pressure Free agent."
"Yes, Daddy!" Kyle shouted, leaping from the table and racing across the room. He got halfway across when he suddenly tripped over his own feet and went sprawling headfirst into the floor. But before he face-planted into the glossy hardwood, I leapt from my seat and grabbed him in the nick of time.
"This means so much, little one. You make Daddy so happy and he wants to give you the world."
"Thank you, Daddy," Kyle whispered, burrowing into my shirt. "You're the best Daddy in the whole wide world. I'm going to be able to help Nino. When I start making money, I'll be able to help Ma."
I beamed and kissed Kyle on the forehead. I parted his hair and stared into his eyes. I couldn't believe how great of a person my little boy was. It was as if the gods had conspired to put in him all the kindness and humanity in the world. There wasn't a trace of nastiness or malice in this boy's mind. It was innocence, nothing but innocence and a puerile desire to do good in the world and help people.
Kind of like you, Mark. Kind of like you before you met Bruce.
I hugged Kyle and grabbed a fifth slice of pizza from the table. After opening his mouth with my thumb, I inserted the tip between Kyle’s lips and forced him to take a small bite. "Baby needs to eat if he's going to be a big, strong real estate agent in one of the most competitive markets in the entire Midwest someday," I whispered, kissing his cheek.
Kyle looked up at me with starlight dancing in his eyes. "Thank you, Daddy," he said, chewing softly. His eyes twinkled and his cheeks were a beautiful rouge. "You made me so happy. We're going to help Nino and I'm going to become a real agent after all."
"Yes, baby," I whispered, stroking his hair. After setting the half-finished slice back on the table, I grabbed Kyle's hand and led him to the bedroom. To his surprise, he saw close to twenty-five enormous teddy bears wrapped snug in the bed. He looked like he wanted to cry tears of happiness, but instead I pushed him toward the bed and changed him into the monkey pajamas he loved so much. When I finished, Kyle leapt up and drove straight into the sea of teddy bears, wrapping them all in his arms.
"My boy," I whispered, squeezing his thigh. Kyle didn't even notice my presence. He was too caught up in the sea of teddies.
But a second later, his head popped up from under the pile. After turning to me with blazing cheeks, he whispered, "Thank you, Daddy."
I changed into pajamas and slept in the bed right beside Kyle. As we dozed off to sleep, his pale cherub face had the biggest smile I'd seen in my life on it. It looked like it was going to escape his face and crawl onto the bed. When the moonlight started to creep through the window, I kissed the nape of his neck and rocked him to sleep.
The next morning, I didn't have to check the weather forecast to know it was going to be a great day. After dressing Kyle in a very becoming white button down with a purple tie and a pair of Ralph Lauren dress shoes, I led him to the BMW and took off towards the office. Though we left most of the teddies on the bed, I told Kyle to take two for the road. I didn't want all of the teddy bears getting lonely. My suggestion had caused his cheeks to burst into a stunning shade of crimson.
When we finally reached the parking lot, I stopped the car to go over the plan with him. "Okay, Kyle," I said, flicking my sunglasses from my eyes. "There are three things we need to do. First, we're going to sign the paperwork that will let you legally help us with the advertisement. It's not boxing you into anything, and I promise you can still back out at any time. Under any other circumstance, I would recommend that you have a lawyer review it… But it's short enough so that you'll be able to check it out on your own. If you change your mind, you can always back out with no strings attached."
Kyle nodded. Go on.
"Second, we're going to come up with some of the ad. We might not film the entire thing today, but we're at least going to come up with the script that will represent Nino's in the best possible light. We also need to devise a neighborhood wide marketing campaign to get the word out around town. That might involve flyers and putting mailers in people's doorsteps. Is that something you can handle?"
"Yes, Daddy. You know I'm perfect for the job."
"Perfect," I said, taking a sip of the hazelnut coffee I'd picked up on the way. Kyle took a bite of banana bread I’d bought for him on a whim. I stole a corner piece and savored it, along with the coffee. It was so delicious it almost inspired me to learn how to bake banana bread, but then I remembered I had more important things to do with my time. "The final thing we're going to do is start filming the ad. It's going to be a local project and it's only going to run on Facebook. My assistant Rachel has been helping me tremendously with Facebook ads. I’m going to take a page out of her book and restrict our targeting to the ZIP Code around Nino’s to give us the best chance at success. That way, we're only going to attract the clientele who will likely frequent Nino’s. It might be possible that the only reason they haven't been ordering pizza from him is that they’ve forgotten Nino’s exists."
Kyle nodded enthusiastically. "I like it, Daddy. That sounds like such a good plan."
"I hope it works, baby. I've never done such a novel marketing campaign
before. But it could be the perfect thing to put Nino’s back on the map."
"Perfect, Daddy," Kyle whispered, stealing a sip of my coffee. He closed his eyes and let the warm hazelnut flavor wash over his tongue. I wondered what it would taste like on his body, or if it would be any better if I drank it out of his navel like people sometimes did in nightclubs. But I snapped myself back to the present and remembered that I hadn’t been in a nightclub in over five years. "Perfect for baby, too."
I grinned. "Yes, baby," I whispered, gripping Kyle's thighs. His body snapped to attention and I noticed that something shifted his pants. But I wasn't going to pull his cock out in the middle of the parking lot, not here. There was a time and a place and we would have plenty of space to ourselves to make love when we got back to the house.
I opened the door of the BMW and led Kyle inside. Wrapped snug under his left arm was one of the teddies he’d taken from our bed. I held the other, along with my coffee. After entering the escalator, I yanked on Kyle’s purple tie and pressed him up against the wall. His cheeks burst into flame and he wrapped his small arms around my waist. The soft smile on his face was enough to let me know that I’d done the right thing. He trusted me with this marketing plan and his life.
This was the biggest gift anyone had ever given me in my life. He’d placed his trust in Daddy. I would fight to the bitter to never let him down.
At last, we stepped off the elevator and walked into the office. I was about to flip on the light when, suddenly, something green flashed in the back room. I damn near dropped my coffee. There was never anything in the back room that was green. I pressed my finger to Kyle's lips to let him know not to speak and pressed him against the wall. Did someone break into our office?
