Welcome to Bella Noche.

Here we serve the finest in high-class cuisine. We serenade you with soothing music as you dine in calm candlelight. Elegant sconces hang on the walls, and the chandelier, our crowning glory, only adds to the refined, yet welcoming atmosphere.

Ah, there you can see the owner and manager of our fine establishment, Mister Giovanni Wolfe. He likes to keep a close eye on both the kitchens and our esteemed patrons to ensure that our high standards of service are upheld.

Oh, you've noticed that we're a bit understaffed? Well, I am afraid to say that is true, at the moment. We are currently hiring another waiter...

~*~

Giovanni "Van" Wolfe sighed heavily and massaged his temple with one hand, the other paused in the act of jotting in a notebook. He had just finished interviewing yet another prospective waiter in his private office in the back of his restaurant. And, well, to say the least, the latest interviewee had been...

"As incompetent as all the others," Van muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he rolled his shoulders once to work out any kinks as he stood and went to stand in front of the window next to his desk. For a moment he allowed himself to zone out, simply taking in the sunlight, the breeze gently rustling the leaves of the trees outside.

There was a knock on his door, followed by a familiar voice. "Sir?"

"Yeah, Jacob?" Van tried to keep the weariness out of his voice as he addressed the head of the waitstaff. "What is it?"

"The next applicant for the waiter position will be here in fifteen minutes. You want some water or something in the meantime?"

Van smiled wryly to himself. That was Jacob, always looking out for him--and everyone else--in his own quiet way. Van knew that his waitstaff head was really reminding him to take a break and not overwork himself, something that he had trouble doing.

"No, I'm fine, thanks. I've just got a few more things to take care of before he... she... gets here."

"Okay, sir. I'll bring them back when they get here."

"Thanks."

Van sighed again and sat back down, resuming writing a bit in his notebook here, and another bit in his planner there. He was not a man who was accustomed to resting or taking a break when he wasn't in danger of keeling over.

"The next one had better be good... Hell, I might just hire them anyway and fire them if they turn out to be a dud. I've got other things to worry about in the meantime, anyway."

Stroma Murray moved from Scotland to America less than three years ago with her band. She wanted to try and crack America now that she had a small following back in her motherland, however she didn't really appreciate how large the country was or just how hard it was to get noticed. They played grimy bars and clubs all over before breaking up less than a year after they moved. Drugs was the main cause of the split as their guitarist, Niall, developed a habit that he just couldn't shake. She and Niall used to have an on-again-off-again relationship back in the day, but Stroma couldn't bear to see him ruin his life and drag her down with him. She still sometimes saw him around, but they never stopped to chat. He was just another twitchy, dirty, drugged up leach of the city and she was just another face blurring into the background.

After the band split, she couldn't bare to go back home to all the smug faces of the people she ought to care most about. They all told her it was a silly fantasy and she wouldn't be able to do it. She refused to let them know that they were right. On her calls back, she pretended that she was living well and being recognised, when in reality she was in a tiny apartment in the meat-packing district of the city with nothing but a horrible smoking habit and string of drunken one night stands to her name.

Desperate to make a change, she decided to apply for a few jobs. The only one to get back to her was a waitressing position at Bella Noche, one of the high end restaurants that she had no hope of ever eating at. She styled her long red curls into what she thought was a stylish and professional up-do and dressed in her best white shirt (that she felt accentuated her curves brilliantly) which she starched to the extreme, a pair of black dress trousers and a nice pair of black heels. She thought she looked like a managerial worker in an office rather than a crummy waitress, so it boded well.

She was led through to the back office in the restaurant by a kind looking man that introduced himself as Jacob. He wasn't a bad looking guy, Stroma observed, maybe a little too cute for her however. He knocked at the door and was instructed to wait outside until the manager came to fetch her for the interview.

"Thank you," she replied politely in a twang normal to the central belt of Scotland.

She smoothed her shirt down over her stomach as Jacob wandered back to the front of the restaurant and waited nervously for her interview.

"Sir? She's here." Jacob called quietly outside of Van's door.

Van looked up from his writing; had it been fifteen minutes already? He shook his head to clear it and stood. "Okay, thanks."

Going to the door of his office, he did his best to put on a neutral smile before opening it. "Miss Murray, was it? Come in, we'll get started right away."

He settled himself down at his desk once more, picking up her application that had been lying there. "As you probably know, I am Giovanni Wolfe, the owner and manager of this establishment. You should know that we have high standards for all of our employees here. It says here that you've only been employed in this country once before, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right, Mr Wolfe," she said cheerily as she walked into his office after him and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. "Aye, I've seen your restaurant mentioned in magazines a few time, it's reputation proceeds it. I've done some bar work, which was my only proper job here, though as I mentioned I have played a few gigs, both solo and in a band, around the country before I settled down here. I'm not sure if they'd count though."

She quickly fell silent realising that she was gabbling. She also realised that with the rate she was talking at the sort of things she was saying, he may not be able to pick out her accent properly. She tried to make a mental note to speak slower and enunciate a little more.

"It's an honour to even hear back for the interview, sir," she added in, crossing her legs nervously.

Van jotted down a few notes on Stroma's application as she talked. She had a confident, chipper personality that wasn't off-putting... she played gigs so that probably meant she was a self-starter... However, his stoic, neutral expression remained plastered on.

"You're from Scotland, then? Does that mean you have family here that you wanted to be closer to...?"

The talk was mostly just a pleasantry, to make her sweat a little more. The other applicants for the waitstaff position had either been overcome by awe and nervousness, or downright irritating in thinking they were entitled to the job at such a cushy restaurant. She was the most tolerable one by far while at the same time seeming that she could handle such a job, since she'd done bar-tending before.

"Yeah, I am indeed," she replied, feeling a little more at ease with the way it was going. "I lived in the outskirts of Edinburgh. My family are still over in Scotland. I moved here with a few friends a couple years ago, and I decided to stick around when we went our separate ways. I like the country."

Stroma made sure that she appeared to be completely calm and in control. She had an overwhelming urge to fidget with her nails, which in hindsight she maybe shouldn't have painted black. She kept her breathing calm and looked pleasantly at Mr. Wolfe as he read through her application.

Van jotted down a few more notes, then nodded. "All right then. I think that should do it." He stood, holding out his hand for her to shake. "If we decide you're a good fit for us, you should hear back from us within the week."

He made to escort her out, then sat back down at his desk. When he was sure Stroma was gone, he called out, "Jacob?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Make a note to call her with the job tomorrow. We have spare waitstaff aprons, right?"

"Yeah, we do."

"Good." Van sighed and grinned wryly to himself. At least that was one task checked off his list. One less thing for him to worry about.

Stroma shook his hand happily and was escorted out of the building. Although the interview could have gone worse, it also could have gone better. She highly doubted that she would get the job. However, the next morning she was roused from a deep sleep, hungover and groggy, to the sound of the phone ringing. It was the head waiter from Bella Noche, telling her that she got the job. She was delighted, she gabbled a quick thank you and for the rest of the week she was on cloud nine. Of course, the job was far from her dream, but it was a start. She was in the land of opportunity after all, and she was damned if she was going to let the disbanding of her band keep her down. Perhaps her ladder to the top was via the fancy restaurant that had just opened for her?

Her first shift started the following Monday, from 5pm until it closed at 11pm. She made sure that her hair was tied up and not likely to come loose and she also took off her nail polish to give a clean and presentable look. Understated make-up, although not her style, was also what she opted for. She had to ooze class if she wanted to keep this job. Before she left the house, she practised her smile and her "how may I help you" customer voice, that was just dripping with fake friendliness.

She arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes before her shift was due to start, heading in through the back entrance like she was told. Unsure what to do, she hung around waiting for someone to come and fetch her.

"Hello?" she called after a few moments when she didn't catch anyone walking around.

"Van... Van!"

"Nora...? Is that you?"

"Van, darling. Isn't this restaurant wonderful? I can't believe our dream is finally coming true. We'll be fine if we're together, right?"

"Yes, if we're together..."

"Daddy? DADDY."

Van frowned and groaned in his sleep.

"DADDYYY." Tito bounced a bit on the edge of the bed. "Wake up! You'll be late for work."

Finally, Van opened his eyes to see his small son glaring at him. "Oh. Morning, Tito."

"Daddy, you told me to wake you up if you overslept right? You've gotta go to work!"

"Yeah." He reached over to plant a quick kiss on the top of his son's head. "Thanks, buddy."

Van got out of bed and stretched, scratching his stomach a little as he yawned before trudging over to his closet to get dressed. Tito remained sitting on the edge of his bed, now smiling happily as he swung his legs.

"Daddy, I can come with you since it's summer vacation, right? You promised!"

"I did, didn't I?" Van pulled on a dress shirt and began buttoning it up. "How about you go get ready, too, buddy. We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes... you can eat some breakfast in the car."

In a flash, his son was out the door. Van chuckled as he finished dressing and glanced over at the photo of his late wife on the dresser.

"Nora... I'll be off now." He paused before whispering, "I'll keep trying to make our dream come true."

~*~

Later, just before 5pm...

Jacob heard a voice calling from the back of the restaurant. Heading over, he saw the new waitress, Stroma, standing there.

"Hi, welcome to your first day on the job! The name's Jacob Keely, if I didn't give that to you before." He smiled, pleased to get to know a new coworker. "Here, let me show you where your apron will be. You'll get it from this hook every time you come in." He pointed to a row of hooks on the wall.

"For today, you'll just be shadowing one of the current waitstaff. Let's see..." He consulted a clipboard pinned to the wall. "Looks like you'll be with Judy. I'll go call her."

A few moments later, a young woman with a simple updo similar to Stroma's own came striding into the back. "The newbie's here, Jacob?"

"Yeah. This is Stroma. She'll be shadowing you, so just show her the ropes as you go." He nodded at Stroma with a final smile before walking off. "I've gotta go back to work too. Good luck!"

Judy made a show of pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, the name's Judy, as Jake already told you. Judy Sparks. I've been here for three years." She seemed almost bored. "Get your apron on and follow me, we'll start right away."

With that she turned and walked off with a slight sway to her hips.

Stroma smiled warmly at Jacob as she followed him through the quiet restaurant to find out where to get her apron. She grabbed it off the hook and admired it as he scurried off to find her workmate, Judy, who would be helping her get to grips with the place. The apron seemed nice, plain black with the restaurant's name emblazoned on the front in a gold swirling font.

Stroma watched as Judy came in and introduced herself. She didn't really appreciate the tone in her voice or the fact that she was called a newbie, even though she was. Stroma's smile was a little more strained with her than it had been with Jacob. She really hoped that Judy would warm up towards her as the shift continued. Stroma tried not to let herself get annoyed this early on, especially when she wasn't even sure that Judy meant to sound as stand-offish as she did.

She tried her apron tight around her slim waist, making an elegant bow at the back, and followed Judy out to the front of house, mimicking the way that she swayed her hips as she went. Part of it was out of spite, part of it was to see if she would suit the swagger.

"Good evening, madam. How are you enjoying your meal with us?" Van smiled at the woman sitting at the table near the center of the room.

"Oh, it's wonderful thank you, Mister Wolfe. And who might this charming young man be?"

The 'charming young man' spoke up before his father could get in a word. "I'm Tito. This is my daddy." He looked proudly up at Van, who grinned back. The woman was obviously touched by the affectionate atmosphere between them.

"How sweet! Your wife must be so proud."

Van paused the slightest second before he nodded, the smile still on his face. "I hope that she is."

Across the room, he saw Judy and the new waitress--Stroma--serving a couple. There was no trace of Judy's usual apathy as she smiled brightly and joked a little with the patrons. Van grinned wryly to himself. Given the choice he wouldn't have paired someone as new as Stroma with Judy, but they were so overworked this season that there wasn't much choice.

"...and the Chef's Special for you, sir, is that right?" Judy confirmed the order with the patrons with a cheery flourish of her pen on the pad she held in her hand. "That will be out to you as soon as possible. Oh, and this is Stroma, a new waitress here. She's shadowing me to learn the ropes. Please don't hesitate to call either of us should you need anything else."

"Thank you, Miss Judy." The husband and wife were obviously quite taken with Judy's friendly demeanor. Nodding, she turned and sashayed away towards the kitchen.

"Okay, I have another table to get to, so take this into the kitchens to Arlo," she murmured to Stroma, the bored expression back on her face. Without waiting for an answer, she ripped off the order sheet, pressed it into Stroma's hand and left.