Faithfully Yours

chapter 4

They entered the restaurant and were led to the kitchen. Hmm. This was weird she thought as they were seated in the kitchen. She looked behind her, at the formal dining room, and wondered why are they not sitting there.

Her misgivings soon vanished, as she watched the kitchen marathon before her eyes. She enjoyed watching the chef and the sous chef's well-coordinated work, as they prepared the food. She was amazed at how all the food was done quickly and plated beautifully.

She also enjoyed talking to the chef. He made them feel welcome and she enjoyed watching him prepare their food in front of them. He chatted with Lucas like an old friend. And soon she learned that they had known each other when they were in high school.

"Philippines has a lot of avocadoes. What do you say about this salad?" The chef asked her. It was unnerving for her as two pairs of eyes watched her eat. But the salad made with the avocado was tasty. And she does not have to pretend to like it. And the chef was delighted when she pretended to be a food critic and gave the salad a rating of five.

Lucas was smiling as well when she commented on how well each ingredient enhanced the flavors. The chef was preparing the next course and he was asking about it.

"Do I like muscles?" She asked confused.

"No, m-u-s-s-e-l-s. Not muscles..." he clarified and laughed.

"Oh," Kate responded understanding at last what he was talking about. She looked at Lucas who was looking at her fondly.

"Well, if you want to know if I like this, the answer is yes," she said touching Lucas's arm.

"I'm glad to hear that babe," Lucas said back to her, responding to the joke.

"I'm not talking about Lucas here, we're talking about food." The chef said, still laughing as he poured the wine over the mussels.

The mussels which were steamed in red wine and added with fresh herbs proved to be very flavorful and she love it. "Very good." she praised the chef.

The next course was the entree. A very sumptuous baby back rib. He explained that it was marinated with onion, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper for eight hours.

She was eating heartily when she felt his hand on her shoulder. Lucas had finished his meal and was enjoying his wine when he casually put his hand at the back of her chair.

"I'm glad you are enjoying the meal. These courses have a special place in my heart," he told her. "My granny used to cook these whenever I visited her," he said reminiscing.

"Is your grandma okay, or you just missed her?" she asked gently, as she reached for her wine.

"She passed away two years ago," he replied. He was staring at his glass as he twirl the wine inside it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You must have missed her so much," she said and put her hand on his thigh. It was the only place she could put her hand without attracting attention to themselves. But as soon as she did, she realized that it was a very intimate gesture. She was about to remove her hand from his thigh when he put his drink down and captured her hand in his.

His other hand was still grazing on her shoulders, he had turned slightly on his seat and was looking at her. They looked at each other, she held his gaze and hoped that she conveyed her message to him. She knew how missing someone dear felt.

"I am happy that the chef knew how to make her recipes, at least in that way, you are comforted." She said and squeezed his hand. He had intertwined their fingers.

As soon as she said those words, she asked. "How come the cook was preparing your favorite dishes for tonight's dinner?"

"Shall we just say, I called him earlier?" He simply replied. His features changed to amusement when she suddenly realized he had called a chef in an elite restaurant to prepare his meal.

The chef heard their last conversation, and he supplied, "I'm not on duty tonight, but Lucas asked for me. He said he will double my pay. I have a child in college who would say no to that." He laughed when she just looked at both of them.

"And besides, I'm curious of who's the special girl he's bringing for dinner." The chef continued to say while he laughed at seeing Lucas who shook his head at him.