“Yes. Because cupcakes are nice, and I wanna give Clement a nice thing. Because I love him. And we’re going to have fun at the zoo because zoos are better with best friends. Daddy?”
“Hm?”
“You should bring a friend to the zoo too.”
“I should?”
“Yeah. Because the zoo is always better with a friend, and you wouldn’t want to be lonely at the zoo, Daddy.”
“Of course not. What was I thinking?” The sarcasm was lost on Kaira.
“Wow, I guess you really couldn’t wait,” a voice said from the right.
Jordy and Kaira both turned to see Rowan a few feet away. “Mr. Rowan! Do you know about the best cupcakes ever too?”
“I do indeed,” Rowan said with a grin. He took a step closer and leaned down as if to tell her a secret. “In fact, I was the one who told your daddy about this place. No one should keep cupcakes this good to themselves.”
Kaira beamed, delighted. “Are you going to get a cupcake today, Mr. Rowan?”
“I already bought one,” he said, waving his hand toward the counter.
“What kind?”
“I love their pineapple one,” he said like it was another secret.
“Pineapple?” Kaira said with distrust, because she was Jordy’s daughter.
“Yes. Pineapple is delicious.”
Kaira wrinkled her nose. “Daddy says pineapple is the devil’s fruit.”
Rowan jerked back and flung both hands to his heart as if shot. “What? You wound me as you wound my favorite fruit! Daddy, how could you say such things?” He swooned into the extra chair at their table, and Kaira giggled with delight.
Jordy arched an eyebrow and said nothing. Rowan pouted and Kaira giggled harder.
“Rowan!” a server called, and they all turned to see a cup of tea and a cupcake placed on the counter.
“That’s me,” he said, waving, and Jordy thought for the first time Rowan looked unsure of his next move.
“Mr. Rowan? Can I try your pineapple cake?”
“Uh….”
“Kaira, not everyone likes to share their food. If Rowan doesn’t want to share, then you have to accept that,” Jordy said firmly. He turned to Rowan. “It’s up to you. I don’t mind her trying a small bite of pineapple if you don’t mind sharing. But Kaira’s okay with hearing no.”
“Oh, I don’t mind sharing.” He looked a bit poleaxed, like he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten here. When he returned with his food thirty seconds later, Jordy told him again that he really didn’t have to share. Rowan waved him off. “It’s fine.”
He used his clean fork to slice off a semi-generous bite. Not too big, but definitely a piece with more cake than was required to taste-test pineapple.
He placed it on her plate, and Kaira popped it into her mouth. For a beat, she chewed and showed no reaction. Then her face morphed into a look of disgust and she stopped chewing. She looked down at her plate, which still had some chocolate cake, and then up at Jordy, clearly uncertain what to do next.
Holding back a chuckle, Jordy picked up a napkin and held it out for her to spit the cake into. Mouth clear, she grabbed her water and took several long pulls.
“Daddy, pineapple is devil fruit.”
“Yes it is, peanut.” He couldn’t resist looking toward Rowan and giving him a smug smile.
Rowan shook his head sadly. “I feel sorry for you both. You’re missing out. It’s the fruit of the gods.” He took a large bite from his cupcake, unrepentant, and Jordy rolled his eyes. “So, what are you two up to today?”
