When Alex stops in front of a building, something clicks in Malia's mind; this is the place she had come to for a part-time job.
Alex saw her reaction and didn't mind her. He came out of the car and went to her side to open her door. He then held her hand to help her out of the car.
"You look beautiful," He told her as he led her inside
Malia said thank you, and thanks to her blush, Alex smiled. As they got closer to the entrance, the older lady that Malia had met last month came out to welcome them.
She was smiling while looking at them walk closer to where she was. "Mr. Ford, Malia" She bowed in respect.
"Madam Claudia," Alex said with a slight nod.
"You remember me?" Malia asked in surprise because it had been long and she had only come once.
"Of course, my dear, I remember you," She said warmly with a smile.
Alex saw their interaction and smiled. He wondered how they had met since Malia didn't live on this side of town.
Madam Claudia let them inside to a private room. As they moved through the room, Malia saw that most of the furniture in the main room of the cafe was covered.
'Is this why I wasn't informed to resume work? Maybe they were renovating the place.'
When they entered the room that Madam Claudia had prepared for them, Malia saw that it was different from the others. She wondered whether they had done it because of them.
Alex looked at her facial expression and could guess what was going on in her mind. "They decided to expand and are working on private rooms first," He tried to explain to her.
"Oh, I understand. I came here last time to look for a part-time job, but there was no sign of any renovations" Malia decided to explain why she was curious.
Alex nodded and asked how she knew about a hob vacancy at such a dististant place.
"I didn't know. I had escorted Amber to that big hospital at the other end of the road, but I wasn't allowed entrance, so I walked around. I came across a poster for a part-timer and decided to check it out," She explained patiently.
When she spoke about the day Amber had appeared around there, he remembered perceiving her scent. He had thought that maybe he was overthinking, but she was indeed in the area.
It was indeed fate with her. Everything made sense when he looked deeper into things. Alex wanted to know more about her, but he didn't want to make it obvious, just in case she felt uncomfortable.
"Mr. Ford, how do you know Madam Claudia?" Malia had seen how Madam Claudia was respectful towards Alex, and she might have been mistaken, but she could feel that respect being extended to her too.
"My mother was her best friend," Alex explained in the simplest way possible.
"What do you mean by was? Is your mother gone too?" Malia asked with sadness in her eyes and voice.
Her statement made Alex, who was looking at his phone, raise his head. "Yes, both my parents died ten years ago. I am sorry about your mother,"
"I am sorry about your parents too. I never knew my mother since she died while giving birth to me," Malia tried to explain although the topic had scratched some scars open.
Each time she was asked about her mother, she opened a pandora's box that contained every scar of hers. One statement always reminded her of how she had killed her young mother.
Alex saw her sad expression and how her eyes had turned red and decided to change the topic. "What would you want to eat?"
Malia was grateful to him because her mind was beginning to take a journey down her painful memory lane.
"I will eat anything you order as long as it's not seafood. Malia hated the smell of seafood and how it made her feel nauseated. She just wasn't willing to try it.
"Ok, baby," Alex responded, then pressed a button on the table to signal the kitchen people that they were ready for their meal.
Malia looked at how natural he was just after he had called her baby. She thought she would be normal by now since he always called her baby.
Each time he called her many of the pet names he had given her, she would blush, but still loved each one of them. They made her feel special.
He poured her some warm water to warm her stomach as she waited for food. A few minutes later, the door opened, and madam Claudia came in with the servers carrying food.
After the food placed on the table, Maam Claudia wished them a nice meal and left with the servers.
The table spread with different dishes making Malia bubble in excitement. It was her first to eat such food at a restaurant. She looked at Alex gratefully and thanked him. He only responded with a smile and then placed more food on her plate.
He was happy to see her excitement over food. At least she wasn't fake in any way.