This Love Must Go On

Leon

Leon

It had to be the aromatic tomato-based broth, with basted beef, brisket, fried duck eggs and pickles onions that made the air heavy and caught my fancy; it gave me buoyancy to find my feet in the dining hall straightaway. The incapability of getting my mind aligned to the splendour and Lessie tucking into some purple-tinged, lacquered shine pastry silently was the jump scare as if I was at the crest of the dangerous ocean's tide while she had already found a calm shore.

"God, what's all this? So, festive-ish," I busted out. For the whole while I felt as though the tablescape was done for the Hollywood royalties in attendance. Diversity and tradition went side by side.

It wasn't like I had never seen such grand celebrations in life, but the surprise had its unique charm. The dishes were opposites of their aromas. Every platter had strata of ingredients I would rather name wrong. A motley crew. But a classic one.

But I appreciated the revival of the long-stopped practice of lavish, indulgent meals which was presently rolled down in the form of an entire miles-long spread on the table. My grandfather held close his approved braises for dinner. The thrilling want to have a mouthfeel of every (unique) dish endangered the small intake of my everyday diet.

I clapped my hands and picked a squashy cube of supposedly chicken from the main plate directly, to which Lessie made a face. "Where are your manners Uncle? Use a spoon."

Adding to her sadness, I licked the juice of tangy churrasco chicken with my little finger. God, the way it mingled with my taste buds. The unconventional twist of slaw with the same. I raised a taunt finger in the air while piercing at Lessie's playful eyes.

There, a bubbling cauldron conjured up before my eyes in a beat. I glanced up at Amy from within the eddied smoke that formed fog before my eyes.

I wasn't really shocked to accept abnormalities and this was one of such since her arrival in my life. Like today, she might in future take exceptionally weird endeavours to push me to have a change of heart but I knew I had to maintain a steady outlook.

My Virgoan eyes fell on her dirty apron and she instantly dumped the plate on the table only to struggle to remove it. A nervous smile that never left her face. "Oh, I think there's a knot."

Maximo broke the silence with enthusiasm, "Exactly the kind of sweet homecoming we all yearned for."

She looked too exhausted and depleted to even move her arms to her back so I did her a little mercy by helping her. "Shame on them for not teaching you the basics right!" Amid breaking the tie open I asked hovering, "Truth is, I'm quite stunned to comprehend that hospitals can also be a place for patients to unleash their cooking potential. Wow. All fun and games."

From the side, I saw her frowning.

"I'm quite jealous of Doctor Connor's job now. I'm sure he must have asked you to make him coffee a couple of times a day." I tried to stay serious and pulled the strings tightly toward me.

"Luckily, he makes his coffee himself." I paused and her side glance broke my reverie, "Why don't we invite him for dinner?"

"Sure. Sure. But I think you are not ready. The cuisine is more like a potluck and has no class." She was not quivering until I held the ties of her apron tightly and pulled her toward me. "I tell you the idea of tempting the strongest-willed diner like him would be plain vain."