Flores :: Carlos Sainz

Cuatro

Eleanor sat down and removed her sunglasses from her face. The sun disappeared behind some buildings. Carlos sat down in front of her.

"It looks nice here," he mentioned and looked around. "This is new to me."

She nodded. "To me as well."

He smirked and put his sunglasses in his hair.

"No, I read that this is a pop-up restaurant. They move every three weeks to another country."

"How did you find this?"

"A Dutch newspaper wrote an article about them and posted on Facebook that they were located here. And an ad on TripAdvisor," Eleanor mentioned. "From what I remembered, this is a concept where three guys let the world meet with Dutch dishes. But they give it a twist with the cuisine of the country they are located in."

Carlos nodded. "Sounds promising, Dutch food."

"If you want to eat somewhere else, we can go..."

"No, no, I'm really curious to see what you eat in the Netherlands," he warmly smiled. "But you have to guide me through it."

"I'll do my best. You did an amazing city tour; I will give you an amazing food tour," she promised and stroked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I feel like I have seen more of Madrid in those two hours than I have in the last three months."

A proud look came on his face. "That means I am a good guide," he proudly said. "When I retire, I will become a tour operator." It made Eleanor giggle. Carlos realised what he subconsciously said. "Or something."

"'Carlos' tours. Or something.'"

"I will use that name."

They laughed and kept looking at each other for a couple of seconds.

"Good evening, goedenavond," a waiter said and smiled. "English, Dutch?"

"Nederlands," Eleanor replied, but she quickly realised that Carlos wouldn't understand a word of it. Her lips parted to say something about it, but the guy started to talk.

Carlos looked at Eleanor when the guy was talking to her. Carlos would nod something, just acting like he understood the story - making it not awkward for the waiter. His eyes went to the waiter for a couple of seconds before looking at Eleanor again. She looked good; she looked more rested. A happy smile rested on her face, and she nodded every now and then.

"What do you want for a drink?" Eleanor asked Carlos.

"Whatever you have," he replied.

Eleanor looked at the waiter again and talked to him. "Thanks," she said and turned back to Carlos when the waiter walked away. "Oh, my god, I'm sorry," she said and covered her mouth with her hand. "I didn't want to interrupt him, and I forgot you were not Dutch." Her eyes were slightly rounded.

"It's fine, don't apologise," Carlos replied and shook his head. "I can imagine it feels nice to speak Dutch in the out and the open again."

"But still, it's impolite," she muttered and straightened her back. She opened the menu and had to stop herself from being overly happy. "Anyway, the concept: you can pick the Dutch cuisine or the Dutch-Spanish cuisine. Some dishes can be prepared in both ways."

"Let's go full Dutch, right?"

"Sure," she smiled. "I really hope the translations make sense."

It was beautiful to see how much happiness and excitement Eleanor had. The smile was still resting on her face; it reached her eyes. The corners of Carlos' mouth curled up, and he quickly scanned the menu, it did not make much sense.