Wocky, Pearl, Rosa and William were now walking to the park.
“What was this park called again?” Rosa asked as she held her mother's hand.
“People Park”, Pearl answered as she held William's hand with her other hand.
“Pee-pull Park?”
“Yeah”, Wocky said as he carried the picnic baskets and blanket, “Your Grampops opened it up a long time ago, 'cause he wanted to give back to the community.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he wanted to help people”, Pearl said.
“Oh.”
They then walked past the gates and down the path past some trees and benches.
“Look at me!” Rosa shouted as she ran around the grass with her arms out, “I'm flying!”
William ran towards her and went along with her.
“Flying!” He shouted.
“They're so cute”, Pearl said as she and Wocky found a place in the grass to put down the picnic blanket.
“They're havin' fun”, Wocky said, “I'm glad.”
Rosa and William continued to 'fly' around until they heard a voice.
“Rosa!”
Rosa looked to see her friend Gloria Giorni coming towards her; Her parents were nearby walking to Wocky and Pearl.
She was wearing a white dress with puffy sleeves and black shoes with white stockings, and had black curly hair.
“Gloria!”
Rosa then went up to her and hugged her.
“I'm glad to see you!”
“Me too!”
Pearl then came over and took William saying to Gloria, “Hello, how are you?”
“I'm OK, Mrs. Kitaki”, She answered, “Is it OK if I walk with Rosa to the playground? My parents already said it was alright.”
“That's fine, just be careful and stay where we can see you.”
“OK, Mama!”
As Rosa and Gloria walked off, Pearl went back to sit with Wocky and the Giornis.
“Rosa's going to play with Gloria at the playground”, She said to him.
“Oh”, Wocky said, “So she don't wanna eat now?”
“I guess not.”
**
Larry and Adela were sitting on the other side of the playground, sitting under a tree eating their lunch.
“Why”, She thought as Alita, “Why did he have to pick the area with all these little brats running around?”
“Those kids look like they're having fun”, Larry said as he put pepper on his sandwich, “I always thought having kids would be cool.”
“I... I-I suppose”, Adela said.
She then started to look around for Wocky again.
“I don't see him anywhere!”
“Um”, Adela said as she got up, “I-I have to use the ladies' room.”
“Oh, alright”, Larry said as he got some mustard, “Just don't get lost.”
“Don't worry, I'll be fine.”
“I guess I'll just look around until I spot him...”
**
“Wheee!”
Gloria and Rosa were taking turns going down the slide.
“That was fun”, Rosa said, “Wanna try the swings now?”
Gloria looked over at the swings and saw four boys there, two of them on each of the available swings and two of them pushing them.
“I don't think we can”, She said, “We have to wait until those boys are done.”
“... Maybe we can ask them to let us on”, Rosa said.
“OK.”
They walked over to the swings as the boys looked at them.
“What do you want?” One of the boys on the swing said, “If you wanna play with dolls or somethin', forget about it.”
“No”, Rosa said, “Me and my friend want to get on the swings.”
“Nuh uh!” Another boy said, “You can't!”
“Why not?!” Gloria asked.
“'Cause the Boss said so”, The third boy said.
“... Boss?” Rosa asked.
“Yeah, kid”, The last boy answered, “Emilio Montoya. Y'know 'bout him, right?”
“Umm, no”, Rosa said.
She then turned to Gloria and asked, “Have you?”
“Yeah”, Gloria said, “He went to the same preschool as me... He's mean.”
Rosa started to become a little scared, “H-He is?”
“You bet he is!” The first boy said, “He's so cool! He smeared finger paint on the teacher's face!”
Rosa put her hand over her mouth.
“That's terrible!”
“I know”, The fourth boy said, “Ain't it awesome?”
“What're you guys doin' talkin' to a girl?!”
The boys looked over and saw another boy walk in with black hair, blue eyes, a white t-shirt and black shorts and shoes.
“That's him, Rosa”, Gloria whispered to her friend, “Emilio.”
Rosa looked at him in fear.
“They wanna get on our swings!” The boys said to their 'boss'.
Emilio went over to them with his friends following him.
He looked at Gloria first and said, “So you wanna go on the swings, huh?”
“Yeah”, She answered.
He then looked at Rosa and laughed.
“What's so funny?” Rosa asked.
“You're a funny lookin' boy”, Emilio said through his laughter.
“I am a girl!” Rosa shouted.
“Really?!” The other boys said, “I thought you were a boy when I first saw you.”
“Leave her alone!” Gloria said, “Come on, Rosa, let's go back to the picnic.”
She then looked back at the boys and said, “We don't wanna play on the swings anyway”, and gave them a raspberry.
Rosa looked down in tears as she held her friend's hand as they walked back to their parents.
“Girls are stupid”, Emilio said to his 'gang', “'Specially that cat-face one that looks like a boy.”
“Yeah”, They agreed, “We don't want their cooties on our swings anyway.”
**
When Rosa and Gloria got back to the picnic, Wocky and Pearl immediately saw Rosa crying as Pearl went to pick her up.
“What's wrong, Rosa?” She asked, “Are you hurt?”
“T-T-Those boys over there... T-They w-were mean to me.”
“They called her a boy and a cat-face”, Gloria said, “And they wouldn't let us go on the swings.”
Pearl was them reminded of when she was young when boys made fun of her as well.
“It's alright”, She said, “Just don't go over there anymore. Now let's have some lunch, that'll make you feel better.”
“O-OK...”
As they began to eat Wocky asked Gloria's parents, “Do you know what boys they're talking about?”
Mr. Giorni looked over at them and answered, “Oh, one o' 'em is Emilio Montoya. He was in Gloria's preschool class. Trouble makin' kid, he is.”
“He was the one that made Rosa cry, Daddy”, Gloria said.
“Did he now?” Wocky said, “Well, I'd like to talk to his parents and give them a piece of my mind!”
He then stood up and went over towards the boys.
**
Alita was now walking down the path past the playground opposite of where Larry had set up, heading towards a gazebo.
“Dammit”, She thought as she adjusted her sunglasses, “I can't find that brat anywhere! Normally he sticks out like a sore thumb!”
**
When Wocky got to the group of kids, he asked Emilio, “Did you mess with my daughter?”
“What are you talkin' 'bout?” He asked as he backed up a little.
“The little girl that was just here... You called her a name, didn't you? And you didn't let her and her friend go on the swing?”
“Uh, oh”, One of the other boys said, “She tattled on us!”
“Where's your parents?”
“They're sitting over there.”
He pointed to a gazebo that was about a hundred feet away with two people sitting in it.
Wocky took the boy's hand and said, “C'mon, you're comin' with me and havin' a talk with your folks.”
Emilio scowled as his friends followed behind.
“Tattle tale girl had to get us in trouble”, They whispered to each other.
**
“My feet are killing me!” Alita muttered as she took off her pink platform sandals, “I don't think I can take this much longer...”
Suddenly she overheard some people talking in the gazebo near her.
“... Excuse me”, The first voice said, “Is this your son?”
She turned around and saw two men, a woman and a young boy.
One of the men was standing up holding the boy's hand.
He had brown slicked back hair, a white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.
The man sitting down was a large man with short black hair also wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
The woman next to him had long black hair and was wearing sandals, a blue skirt and sleeveless blue shirt.
Alita walked up closer to see what was going on.
“Yeah”, The second man said, “What 'bout 'em?”
“He was messin' with my daughter”, The first man said.
“Not again”, The woman said.
“'Fore we do anythin'”, The boy's father said, “I wanna know who you are.”
“The name's Wocky Kitaki”, The man said as he introduced himself.
Alita's eyes went wide in shock and her mouth went slightly agape.
She sat on the ground behind the gazebo and covered her mouth.
“N-No way... That can't be him! T-There's no way!”
She looked back at him, not believing that this was the same person she duped almost ten years ago.
“WHAT?!” The man said, “Y-Yer jokin', right?! Y-Yer Big Win's son, right?!”
“U-Uh, yeah”, Wocky answered, “He's my dad.”
He grabbed his son and said, “O-Oh, I'm so sorry, sir! We'll give Emilio here a straight talkin' to!”
He then shook Wocky's hand and said, “I'm Vito Montoya. I do handiwork for a livin'.”
Vito then showed him to his wife and said, “This is Morela, my wife.”
“Hello, Mr. Kitaki”, She said, “Emilio's a handful... He's quite a mischievous child.”
“I've noticed”, Wocky said.
“H-Here”, Vito said as he handed him something, “Take my business card. If ya need anythin' fixed jus' call!”
“Thanks”, Wocky responded as he took it and put it in his pocket.
He then turned around and said, “Well, I'll be seeing you then. Behave yourself, kid.”
As Wocky walked away, Vito looked down at his son and said, “Causin' trouble again, boy?”
“B-But Dad”, Emilio whined, “They were tryin' to take our swings!”
“No buts, son”, His mother said, “When we get home, we're going to have a serious talk.”
Emilio hung his head and grumbled.
**
As she saw Wocky leave, Alita quickly got up and thought of something to get his attention.
She laid down on the ground and got her dress dirty a little bit, to make it look like she fell.
“He can't resist a woman in distress”, She thought with a devilish grin.
**
Wocky was walking back to his picnic, when he started hearing someone shouting.
“Help! Help! I've fallen!”
He turned his head towards where the voice was and saw a woman lying on the ground.
“D-Don't worry”, He said to her as he ran over, “I'm comin'!”
Wocky bent down and helped her up.
“You OK?” He asked as she brushed off her dress.
Alita turned to him and said as Adela, “Oh, I'm fine. I'm so glad you were around.”
“Yeah, me too, 'cause you coulda got hurt.”
Adela took his arm sweetly and asked, “What's your name? I must know the name of the handsome stranger who saved me...”
Wocky blushed a little as he said, “W-Wocky Kitaki.”
The woman giggled and said, “That's a funny name. Where is it from?”
“I dunno... It's just a nickname, though. My real name's Wallace.”
“I'm Adela Adeal”, Adela said cheerfully, “I'm an aspiring actress.”
“Nice to meet you, Adela”, Wocky said, “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go now. I was in the middle of a picnic with my family.”
“O-Oh”, She said, “W-Well, I'll see you later, then...”
Wocky then waved and walked off.
Adela reverted back to Alita and huffed in anger.
“I almost had him..!”
She then turned around and began to walk away, until she thought of something.
She turned back around and called out, “Oh, Wocky!”
Wocky turned and said, “Yes? Is there a problem?”
Adela walked up to him and asked, “D-Do... Do you mind if I... Oh...”
She then looked away and pretended to be bashful.
“Hmm?”
“... May I accompany you? I came here all by myself, and I was very lonely.”
“I guess so”, Wocky answered, “You seem nice enough. I'll introduce you to the folks.”
“Oh, thank you”, Adela said, “You're so kind.”
“And still oh so gullible.”
She then took his and and they both walked back to the picnic.
**
“Did you enjoy your lunch, Rosa?” Pearl asked as they finished eating.
“Yes, Mama”, Rosa answered.
“Are you still upset about those boys bothering you?” Mrs. Giorni asked.
“A little... They're scary. I hope I don't see them at school.”
“Don't worry”, Gloria said, “I'll beat 'em up if they mess with you again!”
“I wouldn't do that, mia figlia”, Mr. Giorni said, “You don't want to get in trouble at school, do you?”
“No, Daddy.”
“I'm back!” Wocky's voice called out.
Everyone looked over to him and saw him walking with a woman with long black hair and sunglasses. Her sundress was pink as were her platform sandals.
“Do you know her, Pearl?” Gloria's mother asked as she noticed her puzzled expression.
“N-No, Bella”, Pearl answered as she shook her head, “I've never seen her before...”
When Wocky finally got closer he said, “Sorry I took so long; That boy's father gave me his business card and this woman fell and I had to help her.”
“And who is she?” Pearl asked as she looked at him sternly.
Always afraid of her glares, Wocky stuttered as he said, “This is Adela Adeal... She says she's an actress.”
“Hello”, Adela said as she waved daintily, “It's nice to meet you.”
“I'm Pearl Fey”, Pearl replied, “I'm Wocky's wife.”
Adela looked at Wocky and gasped.
“You're married?! Oh, my, I had no idea!”
“Yeah”, He said as he showed her the ring on his finger, “Our seventh anniversary is in November.”
“Aww, that's so sweet...”
Adela then looked at Pearl and thought, “What a lucky bitch she is! That could have been my inheritance! I bet she's got more designer brands than I could ever afford!”
“We're the Giornis”, Mr. Giorni said, “We're family friends.”
“Yes, yes, nice to meet you”, Adela said.
Rosa went up to her and said, “I'm Rosa, my Mama and Papa's daughter.”
“You have a child too?” She asked Wocky.
“Yeah”, He answered, “She's five years old. She's startin' school next week.”
“She's so cute!”
“She looks so much like him it's frightening.”
“That that little fella is my son, William”, Wocky said as he pointed to the child in Pearl's lap.
“Hello, little one”, Adela said in a cute voice as she waved.
“Looks like a little snot, he does.”
She then turned back to Wocky and said, “What a lovely family you have!”
“Thanks”, He replied, “Do you have any family, Adela?”
Adela sighed and said, “Not really... My parents died when I was young and had no living relatives left, so I was put in an orphanage until I was eighteen.”
“Oh, my”, Bella said, “I'm so sorry.”
She then looked at her husband and said she nudged him, “Giovanni, say you're sorry!”
“O-Oh! I-I'm sorry that happened to you, ma'am”, He said.
“That's alright”, Adela said as she continued, “Anyway, when I got out I went out on my own, trying to find a way to make it in this big, cold, scary world...”
Pearl looked at her and thought, “I don't know, but this woman is rubbing me the wrong way somehow...”
She then shook her head.
“... Oh, no, no, I'm being ridiculous! There's nothing wrong with her! She seems to be alright.”
“... And then I realized I wanted to be an actress, since my mother was one.”
“Really?” Pearl asked curiously, “What was her name? I might have heard of her.”
Adela paused for a moment as she said, “... Um... Her name was... Oh! Her name was Alena! Yes, Alena Neala! I don't remember much about her, because I was so young when she died... I only know her and my father, Aidan Adeal, through the people they worked with.”
“I've never heard of her”, Pearl said, “Was she in movies or stage plays?”
“She did stage plays”, Adela answered, “My father was also an actor. They met through a production they did.”
“I see... Well, Ms. Adeal, have you had any jobs yet?”
“N-No, I haven't. My manager has been trying to get me a job, but...”
Adela then sighed and said, “... But no success.”
“It's alright”, Wocky said as he patted Adela on the back, “I think you'll find somethin'.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, sure! You jus' gotta believe in yourself.”
“Thank you!”
Adela then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
She then turned and said, “Well, I have to go now. My manager is waiting for me.”
When she was gone, Rosa said, “She sure was a nice lady!”
“Yeah”, Gloria said, “When I grow up, I wanna be an act-er-ess too!”
“Sad that her parents died”, Bella said.
They then looked at Pearl, who they noticed went very quiet all of a sudden.
“Pea?” Wocky asked, “Is somethin' wrong?”
“...”
“Pea? You OK?”
“... I'd like to go home now”, Pearl said as she stood up and collected the picnic blanket and baskets, still carrying William along with her.
As she started to walk away Rosa asked, “Mama, where are you going?”
She didn't answer as she walked away back towards the Kitaki mansion.
“... Mama?”
Bella picked up Gloria and said, “I... I think we should go.”
Her husband didn't budge as she said, “Giovanni, get up, we're leaving!”
“O-Oh! Comin', dear”, Giovanni said as he got up quickly.
After they were gone, Wocky picked up Rosa and said, “Guess we're goin' home.”
“What's wrong with Mama?” Rosa asked in tears, “I-I-Is she mad?”
“I don't know”, He answered, “But I know somethin's botherin' her.”
As he walked back to the house, he thought to himself.
“I bet this has to do with that Adela chick. I only helped her out, but she insisted on following me. I didn't really want her to, since Pearl gets mad when I'm around other women... I did notice she was flirtin' with me an awful lot... Dammit, I hope she won't hold this against me forever...”