#33 ** (Camren)

Chapter 75: Afraid to See Her

Lauren's POV

Knowing that we were in the same city and that Camila was so close to me, gave me a peaceful night's sleep. I woke up and checked my phone. There was still nothing from my agent. I got up and took a shower. I went downstairs for breakfast. I biked around the city hoping to encounter Camila again. I biked around for three hours but I did not see any sign of her, or the little baby, or that man who was with her yesterday.

It was lunchtime. I decided to go to the cafe that Bella suggested to me last night. I arrived there and it was a medium to a small cafe with about fifteen small tables. A woman in her fifties greeted me. I nodded and took a seat at the corner with a comfortable sofa. It had a French touch for the interior design. It was not big but it was warm.

The woman came to me, "Welcome to 7Paninis." She smiled at me and was ready to take my order. "Are you ready to order, miss?"

I looked at the menu, and they only have two menus chicken burger and chicken waffle for today. I frowned as Bella told me it was Italian. "do you have another menu? Italian menu?"

"Unfortunately, not today. It would be on Friday and Saturday."

"I will go with the chicken burger," I told her. 

"Ok, would you like our homemade chicken soup?

"Yes, please."

"Anything to drink?"

"bottled water."

"Okay." She left.

I took the menu again. They were only open for breakfast and lunch and only had two main menus for each day. It was quite interesting. They had an Italian name but with a french style design, and they served different kinds of cuisine. They got a burger and waffle today. Tomorrow it was only sushi. Thursday they had a French day. Friday and Saturday were with the Italian menu. Sunday, they opened but for breakfast only. They were not specific to one cuisine. They did not have one specialty. I did not want to put a high hope. I hoped it would be good enough and not too disappointing. I looked around while waiting for my food. The restaurant was small but delicate and well organized. I could tell the owner had put effort and paid attention to every detail, as it could be seen from the things placed and organized. It gave me a little more hope that they would also have a good standard for the food.

Few people were coming in, it was started to get busy and the woman was alone. She came with my soup, " Bon appétit" she was very friendly and looked like that kindhearted mama.

.

I started to eat. The soup was good, it was beyond my expectation. It was a simple chicken soup but it gave you a home feeling. They got the name right, homemade chicken soup. I finished and she came with my chicken burger. It had a good presentation. I hoped it tasted as good as it looked. I tried a bite and it hit me. It was so good.  I did not remember when the last time I had proper food like this was during my road trip, even though it was just a burger. I enjoyed my food quietly.

After I finished, the woman came to me, "Is everything good?" she was still smiling even though the cafe was busy. 

"Yes, it's perfect." I smiled at her. I seldom smile broadly, probably it was a good food effect.

"Happy to hear that, would you like any dessert or coffee?"

"No, thank you."

"Are you new here? I've never seen you before," she asked me.

"Just visiting Portland." I still did not like to make many conversations with strangers, even though I learned and met many recently on my road trip.