The White Queen (S.Rogers)

Chapter 71

After their talk, they ordered dinner.

Again, she ordered as much as she could, intent on making sure he was as fed as she could make him. If it caught her eye, and she thought he would like it, she ordered it. Meats, breads, sides, vegetables, and fruits. All the fruits she could think of, that they had on hand, she ordered for him. She also ordered a full dessert cart. Several bottles of wine were suggested, and she ordered them too. When the room service arrived, it took several of the people pushing the carts to set things up on the table, for which she tipped generously.

Papa looked at the table, which was near to groaning with the amount of food on it, his arms folded and eyebrows raised. "You plannin' a party, Baby Girl?"

She waited until the last person left, before raising one eyebrow at him, folding her own arms. "I'm planning on feeding a super soldier, Papa. You wouldn't know one, would you?"

He frowned. "That mouth has definitely gotten sassier, since you've been out. I'm sure of it." He complained. "Why has that happened?"

"New York." She shrugged. "You aren't sassy, you get run over. Sometimes literally. The taxi drivers alone are insane." She waved a hand at the table. "It's getting cold, Papa. We don't have to eat cold food any more."

He gave her a look that said he wasn't amused, but took a seat, taking off the gloves he had put on when the room service had arrived, putting them aside on the table. Rubbing his face, he looked at the table with actual confusion. "This is still... it's a lot, Brooklyn."

"Then you had best start making a dent in it." She grinned, taking her own seat, reaching for a plate. She paused, then looked at him. "When I was a child, you made sure I had food, even if it meant feeding me off your own plates. You went without, sometimes, to make sure I had enough. I remember that. This is my turn to make sure that you have enough. If only while we are together, let me make sure you have enough. Please?"

He nodded shortly, before frowning. "It just doesn't sit right. I feel like I should still be..."
"Responsible for giving me what I need?" She began to put food on the plate, not really paying attention to what she was grabbing. "Normally, I would let you, Papa. I would be more than happy to let you. But for right now, it's my turn, okay?"

Papa sighed, but picked up a plate himself, digging in as well. "Well, I still don't know if we will be able to eat everything."

"That's okay." She said firmly. "I have been learning that its okay to not eat everything on your plate. I have learned that.. well, that I don't have to worry about food, any more. I can say with absolute certainty, that for the first time in my life, I will not go without food."

"That's good." He nodded, setting his full plate down, picking up a fork and shoving food into his mouth, chewing for a bit before nodding again. "That makes me happy, to know that."

"It's gonna worry me, you know." She began to eat. "That you might still face that. I don't suppose I could convince you to let me give you my debit card? So I know if there is an emergency, you have access to funds to help you?"

"And leave a paper trail?" He frowned, shaking his head. "Brooklyn, you know better."

"Yeah." She sighed, putting another bite of food in her mouth. "But I could hope, right?"

They ate in comfortable silence, making headway into the meal, passing the different dishes between themselves, before she pushed the plate in front of her away, sighing as she leaned back into the chair.

"Okay, I'm full." She admitted, giving her father a rueful smile. "Maybe I went a little overboard."

Papa who was using a knife to cut up a green apple raised an eyebrow at her. "Just a little bit. It's okay. Give me an hour, and I can probably clean the rest of it up."