1987 (#16) - Mark's financial problems and Donna's job at Griffey's

When Donna decides to make the painful decision to break away from her family to live with Mark, she is hopeful and convinced that the boy is ready to settle down and work hard to maintain their cohabitation. However, even this extreme injection of trust by Donna is betrayed and not even minimally repaid. Even at this juncture, in fact, Mark continues to show himself for what he is, that is, a real bum and a no-good. But in order not to give in to Storm and his mother, and to keep alive the expensive dream of independence, a proud Donna decides to go out of her way to pay Mark's rent, who has recently lost his job and is increasingly pressured by his grumpy landlord Harold Benson to pay his back payments. After stooping so low as to go so far as to steal from Storm and her mother Beth's savings, a repentant Donna sets out desperately to find a waitressing job. Unexpectedly, it is Rocco who helps Donna, promising the girl to put in a good word to her employer, Richard Griffey, to hire her. Rocco's attempt is successful, and so Donna soon finds herself working as a waitress at Griffey's, one of the most fashionable places for young people of the moment, in close contact with her sister's charming boyfriend. Rocco, obviously overjoyed by this news, soon manages to find a greater feeling with the girl, who thanks to Rocco and Katie re-establishes a relationship with the family, often going to dinner at their place. And so, when Mark, instead of showing gratitude to Donna, shows his jealousy of the fact that he works closely with Rocco, Donna begins to realize that her relationship is deteriorating to the point of having taken a road to no return; and at the same time, without being able to admit it to herself, she begins to have feelings for Rocco. When the guy manages to snatch a kiss from Donna at the end of a hard shift, she doesn't think the least about being watched by a distraught Katie. More than with Rocco, it is with Donna that Katie is particularly disappointed and bitter; however, seeing a real sense of guilt and repentance in her sister's eyes, Katie decides to forgive Donna and move on from this episode. This is all under the reassurance of Donna who, worried that she might destroy her sister's self-esteem, reiterates that it was just a simple episode that won't happen again.