Landon and Mavis have just arrived. They were among earliest with their group. Despite being early, Landon noticed that tonight wasn't different from other nights. Judging by the numbers of cars parked, Villa Maria was already packed with tourists and locals. He wasn't worried though since their usual spot has already been reserved by Abby in the morning.
Overlooking the blue Atlantic on the south end of Myrtle Beach, Villa Maria was one of the oceanfront restaurants and was surrounded by many fine hotels. It's famous for its juicy smoke ribs and tempting appetizers where customers would really enjoy while overlooking the waves of the Beach and while reflections of the stars and the moon were glittering on the steady surface of the sea.
The usual spot of Landon and his friends has always been the best place to hang out. What could beat an open-air deck where one could hear the splash of the waves on the shore, smell the aromatic Atlantic Ocean breeze, and see the stars and the moon on the vast horizon of the sea? It's truly a heavenly sea spot for Landon and friends.
Alfonso saw Landon and Mavis as they opened the door, at the same time the young boy saw him. Mavis waved happily and ran toward him. It's been a while since Alfonso saw Mavis. Like the rest of Landon's friends, it was on the funeral that they had the chance to see the kid.
Mavis leapt into him open arm and Alfonso squeezed him tight, enjoying the closeness that they have.
"Is it only the two of you?" Alfonso inquired while staring at the door, anticipating another person to open it.
Landon simply nodded. "Deanna declined to join. She would rather take a rest than go somewhere to unwind."
"I see. Well, Abby and Enrico were the first to arrive. They've started sipping some wine."
"Nothing new," Landon expressed as they released some smiles. "How about Ricky?"
"He's in there." Alfonso pointed at the direction of the kitchen.
"Busy as always?" Landon asked.
"As always." Alfonso showed a small beam. "Wait! I heard Mavis had invited some new friends."
"I did and they're on their way," Mavis anxiously answered.
As they started walking, the front door opened and their eyes turned toward it assuming that the people on the other side of the door were their companions for the night.
After seeing familiar faces, "They're Mavis friends," Landon remarked informing Alfonso on the identity of the group that just entered.
As soon as Mavis saw Lea, he ran to greet them. He immediately hugged Lea and said, "You didn't say goodbye awhile ago."
Julie and the others clearly heard what Mavis said. It was loud enough that Lea felt a chill the back of her neck as if she's a thief in the night that has been caught red-handed. She had decided upon returning to the hotel that she would keep her mouth shut the happenings while she was out. When asked if she was able to meet her friends, she simply smiled at them and went straight to her room.
Sensing a suspicious secret from her radar, Julie curiously asked, "Did you see each other somewhere?"
Before Lea's friends could figure out the details, she was fast enough to answer before Mavis could spill everything. "We bumped into each other at the Church this morning."
Sensing how short and careful the answer of Lea was, Shira came closer to Mavis and asked him, "Did you have lunch with Lea?" She afterwards shifted her glance from Mavis to Lea and back to him.
Mavis just nodded as he felt like a prey being watched by hungry predators waiting for him to make the move.
"Now we're talking," Maggie said.
"You're really secretive." Shira pointed at Lea.
"More like a greedy bitch," Julie's expression was a mixture of jealousy and skepticism.
Lea wasn't surprised by Julie's words and reaction. "What?" she voiced out. "It was by chance. It's not as if it was planned," she tried to reason out. Though she knew that whatever she would say, they wouldn't listen to her.
"Oh really!" Shira added.
Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. And shouldn't we also think that the person you planned to meet wasn't really them?" she asked.
"Of course not!" Lea knew they wouldn't believe her. It's also the reason she didn't to tell them when she arrived at the Palace. They would only accuse her of being selfish just like what was happening. Despite it wasn't the first time Lea was placed in the hot seat, she hasn't got used to. She always felt the nerve wrecking interrogation word after word like piercing through her skin.
The boys on the other hand were silently enjoying watching the ladies bombarded Lea with questions. For them, they were always fun to watch whenever they entrapped one of them, pressuring to spill everything she was hiding.
Before anyone could ask more questions, Landon and Alfonso caught up to them. "Welcome to Villa Maria!" Alfonso greeted with arms stretched wide open.
"Are we in heaven or what?" Julie whispered to Shira as she stared at Alfonso's toned body.
Shira didn't respond but she totally agreed with her. Aside from Alfonso's body, he has the type of skin and face that were better than some ladies. They could sense that he was into fashion as his outfit was noticeable and was highlighting he's assets.
"Thank you for inviting us to join you tonight." Maggie's eyes surveyed the interior of the restaurant. "This place has a great vibes. Should we assume that this lovely restaurant is you're?" she innocently inquired.
"Uncle Al's restaurant is in the north side," Mavis quickly answered.
Alfonso smiled as he was amazed how Mavis grew into a talker. "I'm Alfonso Alexandris," he introduced himself.
"It's actually Alfonso Alexander." Landon grabbed Alfonso on his shoulder, "My good friend here likes to imagine that he has Greek origin but the truth is he's a Canuck."
"You're always killing my introduction," Alfonso complained.
Lea and her friends were controlling themselves not to laugh since Alfonso seemed to be serious about it, although Landon was already giggling. It was a pattern Alfonso experienced many times. If it weren't Landon, it would be Abby or Enrico who would spill his secret and lies.
After introducing the rest, they went to the open deck at the back of the restaurant to meet the others while Alfonso went to the kitchen to inform them that they would be starting and get Ricky to join them.
When they arrived at the open deck, amazement was all they could think about while looking at the place and the scenery. If the inside was purely elegance from top to bottom, from the chandeliers to the hardwood floors, the open deck was uniquely simple. It was simply set up with wooden chairs and tables, a small vase containing flower petals and at the center of the vase was a case. The lighting of the deck was enough to appreciate the dark beach background, which was illuminated by millions of stars and the crescent moon in the night sky.
Julie, however, wasn't attracted by the Beach view. Rather, her eyes were fixated on Ricky who was taking a sip of wine, seated next to Abby. Like in Alfonso, she couldn't believe on how lucky they were to be with heavenly blessed men.
"Where's Alfonso?" Enrico asked as his eyes searched for him among them.
"In the kitchen, he's informing them that we would be starting the dinner and he would probably drag Ricky with him." Not wasting any second, Landon introduced Lea and her friends with Enrico who was completely occupied catching the glance of Mavis hiding behind Lea's leg.
"What's wrong?" Lea whispered to Mavis as she noticed the tension in his body.
Mavis didn't answer. He just looked at her with fear painted all over his face.
It didn't take long before Lea sensed what caused the change in Mavis since she noticed he was avoiding eye contact with Enrico after taking their seat. She tried to calm him by holding his hand and assuring him several times that everyone present is a friend as he sat right next to her, opposite to his dad's seat.
"Am I just dreaming?" Julie whispered to Shira as she caught sight of Alfonso and another walking towards their table.
This time, Shira responded, "No you're not but if we are, let's not waked up." She made sure that she said it silently as possible so that the others wouldn't hear them.
"In a few minutes, the dinner would be served," Alfonso informed. "By the way, this is Ricky." He tapped him on his shoulder. "He's a chef like Landon and the owner of this restaurant. More importantly, he's my partner, my special someone." Alfonso and Ricky held each other's hand and made an eye contact before glancing back at them.
Lea and her friends just stared at Alfonso and Ricky, clearly wondering whether they have wasted God's gift of beauty or it's just one of their jokes.
As they were still digesting what they just heard, "They're happily married for two years now. Not here though. In Vegas," Abby added.
Although LGBT marriage has already been accepted and legalized in Myrtle Beach, Alfonso and Ricky have opted to tie the knot in Las Vegas since it's the place where they met each other being among the participants in one of the culinary competitions by the American Culminate Foundation which Landon has made a recorded of consecutive wins.
"I welcome you to Villa Maria! I hope you would enjoy not only the view but the meals that we will be serving you." Ricky showed a little beam. "We may not be as top notched as Landon--"
"Let me cut you there," Landon interrupted. "Don't be fooled by what he was about to say." He paused. "He and Alfonso have also won several competitions, here and in Europe."
"So is it safe to say then that you're all chefs?" Sam curiously asked as he turned his glance from Alfonso and Ricky to Enrico who was on the other end of the table.
"Oh no! I'm not a chef. I'm a florist. I managed and owned a small flower shop beside St. Andrews Church," Enrico corrected.
"The House of Flowers?" Lea asked.
"How do you know?" Enrico surprisingly stared at Lea. "Wait! Are you the one who went to the church this morning?" He remembered what happened when Landon and Mavis were about to leave his shop. Mavis dragged Landon to see a certain new friend who entered the church.
Lea guiltily nodded while she kept her face neutral. She realized that she just made a mistake. She immediately regretted saying the name of the shop. If there is one thing she would want her friends to forget that would be them knowing she had lunch with Landon and Mavis.
"So you were the one. I was wondering who could it be since I didn't see your face."
Lea could feel the spotlight and eyes were again focused on her. Probably, she thought, it would be better next time to keep her mouth shut like before.
Luckily, some servers interrupted them as they placed the variety of dishes prepared for them. Just by merely looking and smelling the aroma bursting out from the feast, Lea and her friends could sense the mouthwatering taste that they would complete their day.
There were tempting appetizers like rock shrimp tempura and crab hand roll, the restaurant's signature lamb kebab to kick the dinner started. Ricky also prepared his award winning smoked baby back ribs that has been marinated with Ricky's secret mix which brought more juice and tender. He also served them some of his seafood cuisine. Alfonso, on the other hand, also showcased two of his restaurant's pastas. One is his puttanesca sauce served over delicate capellini. Another is his linguine with clams, made Neapolitan-style with garlic, parsley and olive oil. To top the flavors of the dishes, they also have prepared a few bottles of South Carolina's best vintage wines.
When everything was in place, Ricky cleared his throat and said, "Bon appétit!"