Meeting Papa

I suddenly realized what I was doing and quickly let go of his hand and looked away, feeling my cheeks warm up as well.

"Your food is ready, I hope you're still hungry!" Jose announced cheerily in a sing song manner as he walked in carrying 4 large steaming hot plates

"Jose, be careful with that." the old man reminded carrying 2 additional plates

"Yes, sir" he carefully slid in between the couches and placed the food above a small wooden table in front of us, it was piping hot and smelled heavenly

"I hope you don't mind us joining you." the old man asked sitting down and handing Jose the other plate he was holding "I added the specials to your order" he said gesturing to the food in front of us

"N-N-No sir, it's okay. We don't mind" I said quickly "They look delicious!" after everything that has happened I now remember how hungry I was as the aroma danced around in the room

"This is our special Chicken pie" Jose introduced the meals placed neatly in white plates, the crust was tender and golden brown that seemed good enough to eat on its own "Your order of Sweet and Sour pork ribs, beef stew with vegetables to warm you up and for dessert we have banana bites ala cocoa!" all of the dishes were standing out on their own

Monty took a knife in the bundle of utensils Jose placed beside the pie on a separate plate. As he cut through its center the smell intensified as smoke seeped out from its filling, he put a slice on a plate and handed it to me and cutting a slice for himself

Through its exposed sides a rich, thick, creamy white sauce covered its walls and in between was shredded chicken meat and vegetables,

I took a small piece with my fork and gently shove some into my mouth seeing how Monty did and was greeted by tenderly cooked chicken and the vegetables were not soggy nor bland at all. The crust has a light flaky layer to it while the sauce was full of flavor tying everything together "Hmm" I said closing my eyes to savor its creamy texture and the balance of saltiness and chicken meat on my tongue

"I'm glad you liked it, it's an old family recipe" the old man chuckled

"It tastes wonderful!" I complimented "How long have you been making them?"

"It's been in the family for about a couple of centuries now and this place was built on it, you see we were refugees from a nearby land where bandits terrorized the people. We managed to escaped and got here, the Late King welcomed us with open arms when we unknowingly docked near his castle" the old man was reminiscing

"I see, how long have you been serving this here?" I asked curiously

"I started this shop 45 years ago when I was still young and full of energy, this is where I met Donna" his eyes were beaming at the mention of her name "Oh, how rude am I. My name is Emilio and this is my nephew Jose" he introduced himself, Jose raised his head and waved his hand to us then went back to picking his food

"My name is Mia and this is Monty, my boyfriend" I said

"You both look familiar for some reason" Emilio said wondering where he saw us from

"You might have seen us wandering around, sir. We've been doing a bit of exploring these day" Monty answered him

"I see, no need to call me sir now that we know each other. People around here call me Papa except for Jose who calls me sir when he's working, you're both a very young couple and just as old as my children" he added

Monty seemed flustered maybe because he wasn't used to such informality coming from a stranger, I put my hand on his and smiled "We're making friends now" I quietly said he nodded

"Where are your children, Papa?" I asked him

"They're all married now and have settled deep within the forest, I plan to move in with them once I'm done here. I'm training Jose to take over this shop so I can be with my sons" he said sounding excited "Are you getting married soon? Couples these days don't date long and just get married"

"Not yet Papa but we will" I happily said looking at Monty but he's expression was rather sad, his face suddenly looked gloomy, the corners of his mouth were drawn downwards as his eyes were and his lips pursed tightly together "Hey, are you alright?" I asked him he just nodded and went back to eating quietly

I was almost done with my pie when Monty handed me a bowl of beef stew I looked at him warily as I was almost done but he eyed me and looked at Papa so I didn't have a choice than to eat everything that was on the table

The old man had short white hair, wrinkles were evident on his face especially at the corner of his eyes and the sides of his nose to the corners of his mouth that made him always look happy. He was also always smiling after the incident, he seemed to be a happy person with a bubbly personality. He wasn't tall and was chubby with a round belly. He looked old but was actually pretty fast for his age.

We continued talking and almost finished everything on the table, Monty and I were stuffed. Papa and Jose had finished their food ahead of us and were enjoying freshly brewed cups of coffee that we later got to enjoy as we were resting from eating too much

"Wouldn't we get indigestion?: I whispered to Monty

"We can just walked it off later" he simply answered taking a sip of coffee

Hours passed and we enjoyed each other's company. Papa told us about stories of his youth and how he met his wife Donna while staring his store

"She was the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on" he said with love in his eyes "she was popular back in the day, men lined up just to see her" he described her full of compassion and admiration "She went here with her friend to find a job to support her parents and younger sister that lived in the forest" he went on "She was finding work when she passed by my shop, they both worked in a small vegetable store delivering supplies to food shops like mine.

"Did you meet her family?" I asked gently putting down the now empty cup that was filled with hot black coffee a few moments ago

"Yes, I did! We got along really well and they lived here with us!"

Monty was quietly listening to the old man's stories, he seemed calm and relaxed than he usually does around other people, I felt closer to the old man as well as if he was my second father or even grandfather.