Don't Cry Over Phở

Chapter 10: Steamy Phở

After a grueling 10 minute car ride, we finally arrived at the restaurant. I took in the familiar neon Open sign in the front and the bold restaurant name. I was going to see a lot of this place from now on, I sighed.

Hurrying out of the van, I still made a point to ignore Luca. I had enough to deal with on my plate, figuratively and literally. My mom led us inside and we all collectively put on our aprons in the break room of the restaurant.

Struggling to tie mine in the back, I gave a small sigh of frustration. My fingers were tangling themselves in the strings. Giving up, I said, "Mo-" before being cut off by a taller presence coming up behind me.

Luca's surprisingly gentle hands tugged the strings back and effortlessly tied them. I held my breath, goosebumps rising on my neck because he was so close behind me.

Turning around was a mistake as I almost collided into him. Our eyes directly met for a moment. His dark eyes held no hint to what his thoughts were. My eyes widened a little as I stared back. I wonder if he could read mine.

I cleared my throat. "U-uh thanks," I said, breaking the awkward moment between us.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's like the first time you haven't insulted me."

I glared back at him, my neck craning a little from his much taller height. "Don't push it."

My mom peered at us from the doorway. "Hey start working. Chop chop."

Tying my hair up, I walked over to the front of the restaurant to greet the customers, while Luca disappeared into the kitchen.

I greeted them and led them to a table where I quickly scribbled down their order. I was actually getting a lot faster at taking orders now. If I failed in school, at least I was an A-class waitress.

Luca was getting faster at making orders too so fortunately that was one less thing to bicker about. Compared to the other waiters and waitresses, I was the slowest at carrying out trays of pho bowls.

I don't know how they had the skill to rush through the restaurant carrying phở without the fear of dropping them. Meanwhile I was treating each tray like a newborn baby. I guess it's to be expected because I've only worked here for a couple of days.

"Liên, Luca! I have something for you guys," called my dad while I was idly waiting for more customers. He looked very excited about something as he gestured Luca and I over. Approaching him curiously to see what it was, I looked at what he was holding.

My dad held out a tray of 2 bowls of steaming phở to us. "Here, you guys working so hard so I'm giving you guys a break to eat these."

"Oh thank you Ba. Are you sure?" I asked uncertainly. Even Luca looked unsure by my dad's words.

"Mr. Nguyen it's alri-" he started, but my dad silenced him with a shake of his head.

"Nonsense! You two go eat in the break room," my dad insisted as he nudged both of us into the break room.

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Sitting down with my bowl of phở in front of me, an awkward silence filled the air between me and Luca.

Well I wasn't going to waste this opportunity. I was pretty hungry so I dug in with my chopsticks. I slurped up the noodles and dipped the meat into some Sriracha sauce. Mmm so scrumptious!!

I looked over at Luca to find him enjoying his bowl of phở as well. He ate neatly and quietly, unlike me who already spilled some of the broth onto the table. Without looking up, he said, "You're staring again." He continued to sip his soup.

Immediately whipping my gaze away and pretending I wasn't looking at him earlier, I replied, "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just wondering if you liked the phở."

A corner of his mouth quirked up at my blatant lie, but he didn't call me out on it. He shrugged one of his shoulders. "Could use more seasoning."

I scoffed a little. "Do you always have something to criticize about?"

He looked up at me to meet my eyes. "Well why do you think I work in the kitchen genius."

About to reply to him with a comeback, I paused. Damn it this boy had a point. Feeling curious, I asked, "So what would you add?"

Luca stopped eating for a second, leaning his head against his hand. He looked pensive as he stared down at his bowl. "Hmm I guess more lemon and some spices, like cardamom."

"Well then let's see if you're right." I stood up to grab a lemon and some cardamom spices from the counter. I handed them to him, our fingers brushing a little as he took them from me. I ignored the electric-like jolt that shot up my arm from that brief touch.

Clearing my throat, I sat back down to watch him. Pausing for a moment, he looked at me again. "I think it's better if I do your bowl first. Is that okay?"

"Knock yourself out."

He squeezed a couple lemon drops and shook some cardamom spices into my bowl. "Okay try it now." He stared at me in anticipation as I brought the spoon to my mouth, sipping the broth.

A sweet, flavorful taste entered my mouth and I was surprised by what a big difference some small ingredients could make. I nodded vigorously, "This is really good. Where'd you learn how to cook?"

Luca smiled for the first time I've talked to him and it transformed his face to be even more handsome. My breath caught in my throat for a second.

"I grew up in a Chinese household, but one of my mom's favorite dishes was phở so I always tried making it for her," he reminisced, gazing down at his bowl, "My dad also really liked phở and taught me his tips. So phở reminds me of good memories with them."

It felt strange having this previously cold boy share something so personal with me and I wasn't sure what prompted him to tell me, but deep down inside I was glad. "How do they like your pho now?" I asked.

His small smile fell from his face as he avoided my eye contact. "They passed away in a car accident when I was 12."

Luca was an orphan? "Oh. I'm sorry that's horrible," I said softly, not sure what else I could say.

He waved me off. "It's okay." He smiled a little as he glanced back up at me. "I'm glad you like it though."

My heart skipped a beat at his rare smile. Uh oh this boy was dangerous. Very dangerous. I tentatively smiled back at him, confusion and nervousness coursing through my body.

After our break ended, we resumed our work and I tried not to think about Luca and I's small bonding moment over phở of all things. Night fell and the chatter of the restaurant faded more and more as the number of customers coming in grew less.

The rest of the coworkers retired for the night and Luca left early, giving me a small nod as a goodbye. I snorted at the thought of it. At least he didn't just stare this time.

It was just me and my parents left at the restaurant and I mopped the floor, humming an Ariana Grande song to myself. Hearing my parents' hushed whispering in the kitchen, I stopped for a second, wondering what they were talking so much about.

Creeping closer to the swinging doors of the kitchen, I tried making out what they were saying. I heard my mom's hushed voice.

"Whatever you do, don't tell Liên about any of this."