would anyone steal a menu?
CHAPTER 5
The Lady in the Red Hat Comes Back
E ach day brought several new customers to Piccolosâ Pizza. The Aldens were sure many more would follow once the restaurant started serving its big pizzas again. Finally the day came when the gas company was going to fix the broken gas line to the Piccolosâ brick oven.
Henry could hardly wait for the truck to arrive. âI wonder whatâs keeping them,â he said to the Piccolos. âThey were supposed to be here at eight.â
By nine oâclock, everyone was beginning to wonder. After all, Mr. Piccolo had gone ahead and made enough dough to fill most of their large-sized pizza pans. The Aldens had even handed out flyers saying the big pizzas would be back on the menu.
Henry picked up the phone. âIâm going to see whatâs holding up that truck,â Henry said. He dialed the gas company number. âThe repair truck was supposed to be here an hour ago,â Henry told someone at the other end of the line.
âCanceled!â Henry cried out a minute later. âOf course we didnât cancel. The Piccolos have been waiting over two weeks for the gas line to be repaired.â
When Henry hung up, he looked confused and angry. âThey said a woman called to cancel the appointment for the repairs. Can you believe it? Anyway, they finally agreed to radio the truck. It should be here in a couple of minutes.â
No one was sure what to do next. Mr. Piccolo didnât know whether to divide the big pans of pizza dough into small ones. Mrs. Piccolo wondered if she should put back the extra tomato sauce she had taken out of her deep freezer.
Benny had a breadstick problem. âShould I put these extras back, Jessie?â he asked his sister. âThey might get stale if we donât get enough customers.â
âNo, donât do that,â Jessie cried from the front door. She was on the lookout for the repair truck. âTheyâre here! Maybe they can get the big oven fixed before lunchtime.â
The children ran out to the truck and waved it down.
âFollow me,â Henry told the two workers who climbed out of the truck.
Mr. Piccolo followed them out back, too. Now that the repair people were here, everyone wanted to make sure nothing went wrong.
âLetâs make small pizzas, just to be on the safe side,â Jessie said. âWe can keep an eye on the repairs from the upstairs kitchen. If the brick oven is fixed in time, weâll just roll out some more dough.â
The children and Mrs. Piccolo looked out at the backyard. They saw Mr. Irons march out from the factory building to see what was going on. Jessie opened the window so everyone could hear what was happening.
âWhat are you doing on Mighty Mufflers property?â Mr. Irons asked the workers.
One of workers pulled out a clipboard and held it up for Mr. Irons to see. âWe work for the gas company and weâre here for repairs.â
âWell, all right,â Mr. Irons said. âJust stay out of the way of my muffler workers and get off my property as soon as youâre done.â He turned on his heel and marched back to his office.
A half hour later, one of the repair people shouted up from the backyard. âAll set! Your oven should work now.â
âNone too soon, either,â Violet said. âIâll get out more flour and run some warm water. Weâll be needing lots more dough this lunch-time.â
By the time the noon factory horn sounded, both the apartment oven and the restaurant oven were going full blast. The little restaurant was warm and filled with good smells. Upstairs, Jessie was in charge of the Personal Pizzas. Downstairs, the rest of the Aldens helped the Piccolos make large-sized pizzas for customers with bigger appetites.
âSomething for everyone,â Mr. Piccolo said to the Aldens when they came downstairs. âFrom dieters to hungry