“We’re, uh… on a date,” I say slowly, and nod in agreement with myself when I realize that it’s enough of an explanation for now. Weareon a date. “Our second date, to be more specific.”
“And you bring himhere?” Scarlet asks, clapping her hands togetherhappily now that she’d let me go. “Go sit at your table, sweetheart. We’ll bring you the menus.”
They both squeeze my shoulder affectionately before going back to their respective tasks.
I lead Nate to the window table, where Jack’s name and mine are still engraved on one of the legs and I smile as I slide my hands on the roughly carved letters.
“This place is nice,” Nate says, pulling out my chair for me to sit. “Did you paint the furniture too?”
“I did.” I nod, sitting. “We came here a lot, and they basically always fed us for free. Jack wrote most of his first book at that table while I was painting everything.”
He takes the seat in front of me and studies the room. It’s cluttered and completely chaotic with all the strange items from another time, overgrown plants, and bright colors everywhere. A far cry from Nate’s minimalist and tidy home…
“We stumbled in once because we were seeking shelter from the rain on our way back from school. They served us hot cocoa while we waited for the weather to settle a little, and we came back nearly everyday after that.”
“You were escaping your family?” He asks softly.
“Yeah,” I pause, looking at Claudio getting busy with drinks behind the counter. “Scarlett and Claudio felt… Safer.”
“They look like they care about you.”
“To be honest, I think they do. More than our actual parents—although, that’s not hard.” I chuckle dryly. “But every time we stopped by after school, they asked how our day was, to see the results of our papers, and helped us with homeworks when we did them here…”Which our parents never did. None of it.
“They scolded and encouraged us for things that mattered. Jack came out to me here, in front of them. Theyhuggedhim and told him they loved him for who he was. I’m not even sure our parents told us they loved us even once in our life.
“And,” I add, pointing at the blackboard behind me with my thumb. “They named two of their deserts after us.”
He looks at it, narrowing his eyes to read better. I don’t even bother turning. One of the first things I checked upon entering the restaurant wasthe board.
And it’s still on the desert menu. Written inrainbowchalks.
Jack’s Favorite:
Compose your pride Waffle!
Choose your colors and toppings and be proud of who you are <3
Prue’s Heart Fillers:
Get 5, 10, or 20!
Choose the filling and fill your soul with mini heart donuts <3
Nate smiles, shaking his head softly.
“I was crazy about their little donuts, and Jack loved waffles. He still does, but he’s always upset that we can never find some as good as here.”
“I’ll have to try those, then.”
Claudio stops next to our table, handing us the little plastic menus. “What do you kids want to drink first?”
“I’ll have a Dr Pepper,” I ask with a smile.
“Same for me, please.”
“Do you want the list of our ingredients of the day?” Claudio asks me with a knowing smile. “I’m guessing you’re composing your pasta?”
“Definitely,” I giggle, taking the small blackboard he’s handing me.
