The Beauty and the Guido

It was a beautiful day on the Jersey Shore as a mother and her daughter - Gianna - strolled past the shops. Gianna was the youngest of three daughters, and she just loved being in the presence of others. She was soft-spoken, gentle, and patient, which was a complete contrast from her overbearing older sisters.

The whole reason why Gianna and her mother traveled to the Shore was because of her sisters. The two older sisters nagged and nagged their mother to get them a new tanning bed, as their current one just wasn't good enough anymore. The mother finally caved, and off to the Shore she and Gianna went. Gianna didn't want the tanning bed though; all she requested was that they get a snow cone.

There were pop-ups for customizable tank tops, snow cones, and tanning beds. The mother and Gianna stopped to take a look at the brand new tanning bed that SunLite just released, when a salesman from the snow cone shop next door grabbed their attention. They had a brand new flavor - rose and honey - and he insisted Gianna try it.

The mother purchased it for Gianna, and as soon as he handed the snow cone over, the salesman ripped off his work apron to reveal himself as an aggressive, meathead guido, with that permanent tanning bed skin and tall gelled-up hair. He instantly grabbed Gianna's hand and pulled her away from the side of her sweet mother, demanding that she become his new gym partner.

At once her mother became overcome with fear. How could this happen? What could she do to get her youngest, sweetest daughter back?

Gianna calmed her mother down and reassured her that everything would be okay. If this guido needed a gym partner, a gym partner she would be. Her patience and understanding enabled her to be exactly what this guido needed.

The guido and Gianna left the Shore to go to the nearest Gold's Gym. Upon arrival, the guido went straight to the mirrors to flex and look at himself, and Gianna noticed that he didn't necessarily like what he saw. Immediately Gianna knew that all this man needed was someone to listen to him and support him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you look really strong already," Gianna said in an effort to encourage the guido.

He looked away from the mirror and to Gianna, and for a quick second, she saw kindness in his eyes. But he turned back to the mirror, flexed one more time, and walked straight to the bench press.

"We are not leaving this place until I beat my bench press PR, so get comfortable," the guido muttered to Gianna.

Gianna motivated him and assured that he was strong enough to do so, and he did just that.

As he completed his new PR, his meathead appearance started to fade away. His fake-tan skin turned into a beautiful natural olive; his gel-covered hair was replaced with soft, fluffy brown hair; and his overall guido nature transformed into that of a sophisticated, lovely young gentleman.

All along, the guido just needed someone to be there for him for his true beauty to come out. Gianna provided a safe shelter for him without judgement or hate, and he felt safe because of that. Their connection was undeniable, and they became attached at the hip. Gianna had found an unexpected prince charming, and the guido found a home in her.

Author's Note: This is a "Jersey Shore" take on the fairytale "The Three Roses" from the book "The Key of Gold" by Josef Baudis. I tended to stay similar to the original storyline with only some minor changes. I kept the characters the same, changing the name of the daughter from Mary to Gianna, and the basilisk to a guido (defined as a man of Italian descent known to be vain, aggressively masculine, and unsophisticated). The biggest change in the story that I made was that the daughter was taken by the guido rather than the mother having to turn her in. In the original, the mother gives up her daughter to the basilisk for taking his roses. But for my story, I wanted the daughter to be a strong character that made the decision herself to help her mother (kind of like in the Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast). I thought it made most sense for how I wanted to set it up. Another change was the ending; I didn't want to end it in a stereotypical, fairytale wedding. I felt that was too traditional for our modern times, so I kind of left the ending up to the discretion of the reader, letting them infer how their relationship transformed.

(Found on Pikist, represents the setting of the beginning of the story on the Jersey Shore)