"Young lady, I am waiting for a proper explanation and you will not leave this room or this house until you explain yourself!"

Paloma keeps glancing at the bedroom door and the pile of clothes her grandfather was holding, wishing Viktor was home to back her up. She had forgotten that her night activities clothes were mixed with her regular clothes and had washed them, but her grandfather had found them. Of course he didn't buy the excuse that they belonged to Viktor, they were much too small to be his and he wouldn't believe her if she claimed she wore them herself. At least for that last bit, she could hide her secret for a little while longer.

"I am going to ask you again, why do you have men's clothes mixed in your laundry?" Her grandfather asks. "And don't lie, God is watching and he hates liars!"

"God isn't going to smite me for having men's clothes in my laundry." Paloma scoffs as she snatched the trousers and shirt from his hands. "They...are not mine."

"Then whose are they and why do you have them?"

Dear lord, forgive me for this lie... "They...are my boyfriend's. I'm washing them for him."

"B-boyfriend?!" Her grandfather sputters. "Who in the hell are you dating?! And why am I just hearing this right now?!"

"Because I knew you'd act like this!"

Maybe that wasn't a good idea, her grandfather looked ready to have a stroke just now. He stumbled for a nearby armchair and collapsed in it, holding his head in his hands and muttering under his breath.

"Grandfather?" She asks carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Please tell me he's at least a well behaved boy, the last thing we need is another unplanned baby." The older man moans.

"Dear God, I'm not doing that!" Paloma groans. "I'm not repeating what you and grandma did!"

"You better not! I practically raised you all to do better than that!"

It took all her willpower to not roll her eyes, so instead she set about folding the clothes. "And I thank you every day for that. Now if you excuse me, I must head to work."

Paloma hurriedly tucked the clothes away in a drawer, making note to find a better place to hide them tomorrow, checked her hair in the mirror and quickly grabbed her coat before hurrying out of the house. By the time she arrived at the diner, her mind was buzzing with what new trouble she had just gotten herself into. Boyfriend? Of all the excuses she could have given, she just had to choose the worse! Yes her grandfather bought the excuse, but knowing him, he was going to demand to meet this man. She only knew two men personally, and one was old enough to be an uncle while the other was so cold and indifferent he might as well been an ice sculpture in terms of affection. Maybe she could ask Mitzi for help, she must know someone among the staff who could be of use for this.

"¡Señora May! I need help!" Paloma says when she spots the older woman at the counter reading a newspaper. Lucky for her, there were no other patrons aside from Mordecai, who was busy reading his own copy of the newspaper while drinking his usual cup of tea.

"Oh, what's wrong now honey?" Mitzi asks as she looks up. "You look a bit frazzled, something happened?"

"I...it's a little lie that kind of spiraled, I need help!"

"How bad is this lie?"

"I...how to explain...I need novio!"

"A what?"

"¡Novio! Not yet husband! Uh...partner for romance!"

Mitzi furrowed her brow in confusion. "You mean a boyfriend, honey?"

"¡Si! Grandpa...he almost found out about my...night activities. Found the clothes, asked who they belonged to and I panicked!"

"Oh sweetheart, why didn't you say they were yours?"

"He not believe! So I need a novio for now!"

Mitzi lets out a tired sigh before her face lit up. "Alright, if its a boyfriend you need, then a boyfriend you shall get, and I know the perfect one."

"Sure you do." They hear Mordecai say from his seat.

"Mordecai, you get to be our little dove's beau."

The older man let out a choking sound and spat his drink out, coughing violently. "I what?!"

"You've been selected to date Paloma, congrats!" Mitzi says as she pushes Paloma towards him. "Now, if her grandfather comes, just say you are her beau."

"You cannot be serious! And why me of all people, get one of your band friends to do it! Except Zib, anyone but him."

"Well Rory it seems has very...high expectations for future husbands for Paloma, and you look quite sophisticated and successful, so he will back off if he sees it is you dating her. Also you so rudely opened your mouth earlier, so he who speaks up shall be picked."

"That makes no sense!"

"It makes plenty of sense, now be nice and stop being so stiff around the poor girl. Paloma, would he be suitable enough for your grandfather to approve?"

"I mean, his main expectation for a husband for me is that he must share the same faith as me and our family, and have a decent job." Paloma says with a shrug and looks to Mordecai. "Are you catholic by any chance? Or family?"

"My family are religious, however we don't share your faith." The older man responds. "What does religion have anything to do with-"

"Palomita! You forgot your purse!" The three turn to the door to see Paloma's grandfather at the door of the cafe with a leather purse in hand. "Also we need groceries, can you obtain some after shift?"

"Of course, thank you." Paloma says as she hurries forward to grab her purse from him.

"Oh Rory, Paloma and I were just talking about you!" Mitzi says as she hurries forward to push the elderly man into a booth. "Your sweet girl mentioned to me that she accidentally let slip that she had a beau and was worried you wouldn't approve of him. Rest assured, I can promise you that the man she's dating is a good young man and very respectable and respectful. In fact, he works for my husband with one of his other business ventures."

"And...where is this novio?"

"That would be me." Mordecai says as he steps forward. "I was at the cafe the first day you two arrived."

Oh he's actually going through with this? Paloma wonders as the two chat. Is this how one dates in America? At least in my family, my cousins would bring their potential boyfriend or girlfriend to the house and the whole family practically judges or interrogated them to make sure they weren't-

"I must get going, pleasure meeting you." Paloma snaps out of her thoughts to see the two men shaking hands and she lets out a sigh of relief and her grandfather sporting a small smile before he leaves.

"Well, he didn't seem to mind me at all." Mordecai says once the older man is out of earshot and out the door. "Kind of expected him to get upset over the religion thing, but he didn't seem to mind."

"I am sorry you got dragged in this." Paloma sighs. "But we have to keep it up."

"She has a point, if she gets caught leaving the house at night, she could use the excuse that she's going on a date with you and he won't bat an eye." Mitzi agrees. "And during the day too, you sir now have to take her on a few dates to keep up appearances."

"I already spend too much time around her at night, must I during the day too?" Mordecai asks with a groan.

"Well unless you want us exposed because an elderly man who might support the prohibition on alcohol exposes us and we all end up in jail, be my guess. But no dates for today, you can do one tomorrow or some other day. Paloma's got some hungry mouths to feed and she can't do that if she's here and not in the kitchen!"

"¡Aye! I was supposed to start ten minutes ago!" Paloma exclaims as she scurries to get behind the counter. "We talk later!"

---

"Its been four weeks and I can't do this anymore! Four weeks!" Mordecai yells as he is polishing his gun while Viktor is inspecting the interior of the truck they were to use tonight. "How do normal people do it?"

"Vat, date?" The older man asks, his voice muffled as he is fiddling with the truck. "Easy, you no stress."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one dating her! She seems to think we actually are dating, and I keep telling Mitzi to explain what we are doing is fake, and she has yet to!"

"You tell then."

"Have you seen what that woman does when she's angry? She almost shot off someone's privates for calling you a rude name!" Mordecai shudders at the memory, still fresh in his mind and that only happened a few weeks ago. "I'd hate to think of what she'd do if someone broke up with her."

"Paloma not like that, trust me." Viktor says as he lifts himself out of the truck and slammed the hood down. "Maybe she be sad, cry a little, no guns."

"Who be sad?" The two turn to see Paloma in the garage and carrying a plate of something in her hands. "I make sandwiches."

"No thank you, I am not hungry." Mordecai responds as Viktor wipes his hands on a rag he had attached to his belt and grabebd a sandwich. "Yeeugh...Viktor, that's unsanitary."

"Hands clean, is fine." The older man scoffs between bites. "Anyway, you have date, right?"

"Not today, or this week. Atlas has him busy." Paloma chuckles. "Sorry cariño, and Mitzi has had me pretty busy too, she now having me accompany her to places."

"First off, my name is not...carino, or however you say that." Mordecai says with a small frown. "And second, it sounds like she's attempting to make you have a role similar to mine since I have to shadow Atlas."

"Is term of endearment, calling you amor doesn't feel so right." Paloma explains with a chuckle. "Mitzi just wants me to meet more people, I can't be acquainted or friends with only neighbors, and people I work with."

"Eww rat!" They hear someone yell as something small and brown rushes past them and dives underneath a table, earning yells from the other gangsters.

"Ugh, we need to get more traps, I keep telling Atlas that's unsanitary!" Mordecai gags. "And if they ever got into the food stock from the diner or underground that's even worse! Someone- what are you doing?"

Paloma had just walked away from them and was trying to pull aside the table the rat had bolted under. The vermin was still there, disgusting, but what was she going to do? She then walks away and comes back with a shovel in hand.

"Oye, this is how my family dealt with rats and other vermin, watch closely and do it next time you see them. First you smash it!" Paloma raised the shovel and slammed it down on the rodent's body twice with a sickening crunch. "Then you cut the head off!" She slammed the sharp end of the shovel onto the rat's neck, decapitating it's head. Calmly, she walks back over to the two stunned men and hands Mordecai the bloody shovel. "Done. I have church to get to, I see you boys later."

All Mordecai could do was stare at the shovel and the rat with a baffled expression before turning to his larger companion. Viktor looks back at him with an equally stunned look before it slowly morphs into a small smirk.

"Full respect now." He comments before taking the shovel.

"What do you even mean by that, you had no respect for her at all?!" Mordecai asks as the older man walks over to a crate to sit down on and starts to eat the other sandwich Paloma had brought. "Even after the multiple times she has saved our skin?! Outrageous!"

"Nie, always had respect for her. Full respect now as a gangster, scared shit out of everyone here in the process." Viktor responds. Mordecai glances back to see the other gang members looking uneasy as they are attempting to clean their respective cars and guns, looking anywhere but the corner where Paloma killed the rat. "Little dove put fear of her in them now."

"Who wouldn't be startled, she did it with no hesitation!"

"Farm girl, used to that thing."

"And she so casually announces she's off to church not a minute later." Mordecai mutters with a shake of his head as his friend smirks. "Oh what now?"

"You grumble, you complain, but you like." The older man states in a matter-of-fact tone. "You like her, especially when spicy."

"That is absolutely preposterous!" Mordecai exclaims. "As if I would have any sort of feelings of affection or-or lust for that woman! Of all the women in St Lewis!"

"Snatch before someone else. You be sad later." Viktor responds with a shrug. "I help, if you like."

"Romantic advice from you? Please, you can't even woo an elderly woman!"

"That what you think."

Ugh that stupid smirk Viktor is sporting is starting to annoy him. Stupid man thought he fancied that stupid woman, nonsense. Sure she was quite beautiful on comparison to the other women he had been around, and she had a sweet smile that could get one to lower their guard enough for her to stick a gun under their chin and-

"NO NO NO!" Mordecai yells as he smacked the top of his head to clear his thoughts and glares at Viktor when he hears him laugh. "Do not put weird ideas in my head!"

"Romantic ideas?" The older man asks with a grin.

"Who's giving Mordecai romantic ideas?" Mordecai groans as Mitzi is making her way over towards them. "And why are you holding a bloody shovel?"

"The rat problem has been dealt with - for now." The gunman responds as he shoved the shovel into Viktor's hands. "What do you want?"

"Is that...a decapitated rat?" Mitzi asks, ignoring him as she squints at the dead creature.

"Little dove killed it." Viktor responds casually.

"Paloma did that?"

"No hesitation. Mordecai in love now."

"Lies!" Mordecai shouts. "I do not-"

"Oh Viktor, leave him be. If he's not in love with her, that's fine." Mitzi scolds but then smirks. "But then that'd be a shame, I think one of the band members mentioned having an interest in her after seeing her at the cafe, and I think our sweet little dove wouldn't mind dating such a classy man. Better him than...well, Mordecai."

"Are you really comparing me to a musician who's drunk half the time?" Mordecai asks with a glare.

"It's not Zib if that's who you are implying."

"Well whoever it is, I doubt they can handle her."

"Of course, you barely have a grasp on her."

Mordecai scoffs. "Well think whatever you want, I am not interested in her romantically as you have been implying. You forced me into this relationship with her, failing to mention that it's meant to be fake!"

"She knows, doesn't she?"

"No!"

Mitzi looks at him in surprise. "Well...that's certainly going to complicate things. You best tell her soon."

"Why didn't you tell her?! She's practically glued to your hip now!"

"Because I thought you were going to! How was I supposed to know that she didn't get that this was fake in order to protect her second job?"

Mordecai lets out a frustrated groan. "Fine! I'll tell her myself another day! Lets just hope she doesn't try to shoot me for it."

"Good luck with that." Viktor mutters before giving him a glare. "But you make little dove cry, I not happy with you."

"And will you be happy with her if she tries shooting me?"

"You deserve it."

"Now see here-"

"Alright enough, Paloma is already upset with you two for what happened the other month, don't give her a reason to shoot you two into behaving yourselves!" Mitzi scolds as she gets between them and nudged Mordecai back. "And you, at least be nice to her when you admit the truth. Also stop thinking that sweet girl will try to shoot you for telling her you two are faking your relationship, she's not that crazy."