Chapter 231: Moving
Recently, Frank had been spending a lot of time with the Milkovich family. He often visited their home and got to see a different side of Mandy.
Though Mandy wore heavy smoky makeup and dressed in a style that screamed "don't mess with me," underneath it all, she was actually a good girl—very different from Karen.
Through his interactions with both girls, Frank realized that Mandy and Karen were two completely opposite types.
Karen appeared sweet and innocent on the outside, like the perfect good girl. But on the inside, she was calculating—what people might call a "green tea bitch," someone who hides manipulative tendencies behind a sweet facade.
Even after the father-daughter purity ball and Frank's emotional talk with her, Karen had changed—at least on the surface. She acted more reserved, more well-behaved. But in truth, her manipulative streak hadn't disappeared—it had just gone underground, making it even harder to spot.
To use an analogy, Karen looked like a white lotus, but inside, she was a high-level green tea manipulator.
Mandy, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Her appearance practically screamed, "I'm a bitch, stay away." But deep down, she was soft-hearted and caring. She practically ran the Milkovich household, cooking and cleaning for a bunch of rough, sloppy men.
When you really think about Mandy's background, it makes sense why she turned out the way she did.
The South Side was a slum, full of all kinds of people. The public schools there were a mess. The Milkovich family, infamous even in the South Side, had tons of enemies. In an environment like that, Mandy had to project strength—make herself look dangerous—just to avoid being victimized.
In essence, Mandy and Karen were opposites.
If Lip kept stringing Mandy along while still chasing after Karen, it was bound to backfire. Karen wouldn't care, and Mandy would end up heartbroken.
Frank had noticed something during his visits to the Milkovich house: Mandy didn't seem interested in any guy besides Lip. She barely interacted with other boys.
In one of their conversations, Karen had even admitted that despite all the rumors about Mandy—about how she'd sleep with anyone for money—in reality, Mandy's private life was actually quite clean, especially compared to her and Lip.
Most of the rumors were just angry, horny guys talking trash after she ignored them.
So, if Mandy was with Lip, it was probably because she genuinely liked him. It wasn't just about sex.
Just yesterday, Frank had gotten Lip drunk and asked him directly about Mandy.
Lip didn't seem to like Mandy—not really. At least, in his heart, Karen was clearly above Mandy.
"Instead of worrying about me," Lip said casually, "why don't you go talk to Ian? He's been wanting to have a word with you."
"I will," Frank replied.
"Moving day~!" Debbie and Carl shouted excitedly as they burst through the door.
"Is the house next door finished?" Frank asked Fiona and Pinkman as they walked in.
"Yep," Fiona nodded. "We can start moving stuff in now. Once this place is empty, we'll begin renovations here."
"Pinkman, help Debbie carry her stuff from upstairs," Fiona ordered.
Pinkman had been staying with the Gallaghers for a while and had become good buddies with Carl. Now that it was moving day, Fiona didn't treat him like a guest—she put him to work like family.
"Frank, got any booze? Gimme a bottle," said Fat Tommy as he walked in with a few undocumented workers he'd hired to help with the move.
"Thanks for coming," Frank said, tossing him a bottle.
"The place next door turned out great," Fat Tommy said after a swig. "Your daughter supervised the whole thing. No corners cut, I promise. Ask around if you want—everything I used was top-tier. That ten grand you spent? Worth every penny."
Then he turned to the workers. "Listen to Fiona, move fast, and no slacking off."
Not that the undocumented workers needed much prodding—they were already helping Fiona haul stuff.
Compared to licensed contractors, undocumented workers were cheaper and much more efficient. They never complained, always followed orders, and as long as they got paid, they did whatever they were told.
Thanks to the American Dream myth, many people from poorer countries did everything they could to sneak into the U.S. Every year, a flood of undocumented immigrants entered the country.
There were tons of them, but very few legal job opportunities. If a business got caught hiring them, the owners would face heavy fines.
Even if they got hired, undocumented workers earned far less than regular employees. But they still competed fiercely for every job—there were too many of them and not enough work.
So, to leave a good impression and hopefully get hired again, they worked their asses off.
The Gallagher house buzzed with activity as they moved. With so many people living there, there was a mountain of stuff.
Fortunately, Fiona had started organizing weeks ago when the renovations next door began. Clothes, bedding, supplies—everything had already been packed and labeled under her supervision.
But things weren't going perfectly smoothly.
"What's the point of keeping this? Just throw it out…"
"No way, it's still usable!"
"This old rag smells like mold—toss it already!"
"Just wash it, it's fine!"
Before long, Frank and Fiona were butting heads. Fiona, traumatized by years of poverty, didn't want to throw anything away. She believed everything could still be used.
Frank, on the other hand, wanted a fresh start. Now that they weren't broke, why keep all the old junk? He wanted to ditch everything and buy new stuff.
The two argued constantly—sometimes over the dumbest things—and it made the moving process hell for the workers.
The undocumented movers were stuck in the middle. Frank would tell them to toss something, they'd move it out, only for Fiona to change her mind and tell them to bring it back. Back and forth, over and over again.
What should've taken one day was barely a third done by nightfall.
"You guys can't keep holding up the job like this," Fat Tommy complained. "These guys aren't cheap by the day."
"Sorry," Fiona said apologetically.
"Tomorrow, figure out exactly what stays and what goes. No more back and forth," Tommy said before leaving.
"Fiona, let's go out tomorrow," Veronica said, changing the subject. "Remember Tracy? That sugar daddy we met back when we were bartending at the club?"
"Well, he's throwing a party on his yacht tomorrow. Invited me and wants you to come too. He keeps asking about you. Seems like he's into you."
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