The Heart of A Dragon Rider

Chapter 22: How I Met Your Mother

Aye! Morning, beauties!

Hope you enjoy!

MAJOR EDITS AND CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.

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My mother was one master cook, let me tell you this now. If you placed her in the kitchen and asked her to make the worst biscuits and gravy in the world, they'd still turn out delicious as hell. That's how I felt as I was munching on the fourth biscuit out of fifteen she made. I couldn't help it, her cooking was to hard to resist.

"Slow down or you'll explode," Mom chided me, sounding amused, as she spread strawberry jelly on her biscuit. 

"I can't help it! You cook wonderful food," I defended, brushing my hands together and ignoring the urge to grab another. "How come you don't open up a restaurant?"

Mom tucked her bottom lip in between her teeth, her eyes going distant for a moment. "I thought about it once, before I met your father."

I studied her expression, furrowing my eyebrows. "What stopped you, then, if you wanted to do it?"

"I thought about it," she corrected, biting into her jelly biscuit. 

"Same thing," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Stop avoiding my question."

She chuckled softly. "The thing that stopped me was my family."

I stared at her.

Mom licked some stray jelly from her lips and set her food down.  "My family had high expectations for me ever since I was young," she started, "They wanted me to be like my mother, who was fierce, a battle-ready when needed, patient. Unfortunately for them, that was not me. I was very eager to be something different, I didn't want to go to battle unless it was absolutely needed and to protect my loved ones .. Even today I'm not a fan of battle. Anyways, I loved to cook when I was younger and had actually started saving up to buy a small building near my house. It was beautiful; unused for years. I imagined a little cafe, or small restaurant where anyone could come and relax or just eat." That distant look appeared again for a moment, then faded.

"Did you ever get enough money?" I asked her curiously, amazed by her story. Grandma certainly wasn't battle-ready these days, but then again she was older now.

She nodded her head and bit into her food again, and when she swallowed she answered, "Yes, I did. But when they found out, my parents I mean, they shot me down. I wasn't allowed to start the restaurant I wanted."

"What?" My mouth gaped open slightly, surprised by the answer she gave me. They just told her she couldn't go through with her dreams? That's sort of messed up, in my opinion. My grandparents never seemed like they were those kind of people.

"They really needed me to be able to find my dragon,"Mom told me softly. "They wanted me to follow in their footsteps."

"They crushed your dream," I murmured, placing my chin on my hand as I propped my elbow up on the table. "That wasn't fair."

"No, it wasn't," she agreed, looking disappointed a little bit. She smiled reassuringly, then. "But now that I have a job, a family, and a big secret I have to constantly keep from my human friends, I understand why they did that, even if it still makes me a little sad."

"When you were older, you just didn't get the opportunity or time to start the restaurant," I guessed.

"That's right." Mom nodded in confirmation. "I got pregnant with Kevin right before I was about to buy the little building. When your father found out I was going to have him we decided we didn't want just one." She smiled, now looking happy. "We wanted three. We needed a bigger house, and I was tired of London. So we moved from London to the United States."