It wasn’t the first time that I started thinking of people back home. I knew that I didn’t miss home and that I didn’t want to go back. However, recently, I’ve been thinking of the people back at home more and more. I shook my head a little to shake away my thoughts. Perhaps Reiner’s words telling me to go home was finally getting to my head.
“Natalia…” Reiner called my name softly.
My chopstick stopped midair in my surprise. I lifted my eyes to look at Reiner.
“Hmm? What is it?” I asked curiously.
Reiner glanced away as if he was hesitating to say what he had in mind. I cocked my head to the side curiously as I watched him and waited for him to continue.
“Actually, never mind…” Reiner said emotionlessly.
He continued eating just like nothing had happened. I picked up my teacup and sipped at the warm green tea as I peered at his face over the rim of my teacup. I wondered what he was about to say…
Lunch came to an end without us sharing any more conversation. To my relief, lunch was over, and we were leaving the restaurant. I couldn’t believe that I was thinking this, but I truly wished to return back to the office and do some work so that my mind wouldn’t need to think about anymore useless things.
After exiting the restaurant, things didn’t quite go as I had expected. Instead of leading me back to the car, he led me to the lobby of the hotel. I followed after him without asking any questions, but I was surprised when he started walking out of the hotel.
“Let’s stop by a cafe,” Reiner suggested.
Did he want desert or something? I didn’t think that Reiner would normally drop by a cafe in the middle of a workday. Perhaps, he just wanted some coffee?
“Do you want to get coffee?” I asked as I walked at his side along the pavement.
“Not really…” he replied vaguely.
Reiner was acting a little strangely and I didn’t quite understand why. I continued walking by his side as we strode past various shops that lined the side of the road. Soon, we arrived at a beautifully decorated cafe. This light pink cafe decorated with pastel-colored flowers made Reiner look so out of place. I couldn’t believe that he brought me to a place like this.
Had he been here before? Most probably, he has. Who did he come here with; I wonder? This just doesn’t look like a place that man like Reiner would come by himself.
I turned to see him looking at the various cakes and confectionaries that were displayed magnificently in the store’s window. Reiner’s large frame as he bent over looking at the small pieces of cake, tarts and the like felt strangely out of place. A smile curved my lips before I could understand what kind of feeling had taken over me.
“Shall we head in?” I asked, encouragingly.
“Yeah, we should…” Reiner replied a little blankly as he followed me inside the cafe.
The waitress quickly led us to an unoccupied table before passing us the menu. Apparently, Reiner wasn’t just looking to get a simple takeaway coffee. I glanced at him to see what he would order. Apart from the drinks section of the menu, the other parts of the menu consisted of mostly cakes and other desserts. Are we really going to eat cake together here?
“You should order a cake,” Reiner spoke up without looking at me.
“Oh…ok…” I replied, a little confused.
“The blueberry cheesecake here is good,” Reiner said with his eyes still on the menu.
I cocked my head to the side as I got even more confused than before. Did he bring me here for me to eat blueberry cheesecake? It had been a while since I ate cheesecake…
My eyes scanned the menu but couldn’t find blueberry cheesecake written on it. I glanced at the waitress who quickly provided the answer to my question.
“It’s not a regular menu here but we do have it today,” the waitress said with a sweet smile.
“Oh, I see. I’ll go with what he suggested then. One blueberry cheesecake for me please,” I turned to order from the waitress.
“Yes, Miss. Anything else?” she asked sweetly.
“I’ll have coffee and some apple juice for her,” Reiner said as he ordered a drink for me as well.
My eyes watched him intently as he spoke to the waitress politely. I wondered what he was thinking. I couldn’t read him at all…
I offered him a small smile when I felt his eyes settle on my face. Reiner looked like he wanted to say something but, in the end, nothing ensued between us except for silence. I better find something to talk to him about. The waitress returning to our table with our order saved us from more awkwardness. The arrival of the blueberry cheesecake also provided me with something to talk to Reiner about.
The cheesecake looked amazing. Just as expected from a cafe that had such an impressive and eye-catching display. I admired the cake for a while before picking up a small fork and cutting a small piece. Without hesitation, I placed a small piece of cake into my mouth.
“This…” I murmured before trailing off as I got lost in my own thoughts.
Was it just my imagination?
I took another bite of the cake, this time a larger one. Either my imagination had started running wild or my taste buds are fooling themselves, but this cake tastes a lot like the one that Reiner used to make for me when we were back at Lucien’s mansion. My eyes glanced over to Reiner who seemed to be enjoying his coffee.
It couldn’t be…
I stuffed more of the cake into my mouth as I savored its familiar taste. Regardless of whether this cake tasted like the ones that Reiner made for me or not, the taste made me feel better about everything that was going on. I was smiling before I knew it as I put more cake into my mouth before sucking lightly on the little fork. It tastes so good and so familiar.
–To be continued…