What prevailed in my mind at that time was that it had mangoes… and hopefully nothing else.
But little was I aware that it also contained something else… rum, in particular.
Because he lived near the school, I immediately snapped up the opportunity.
Once I entered his house, which looked kind of messy but still had some semblance of neatness, he offered me a glass and poured the mango liqueur into it.
I sipped into the drink…
...and felt nothing but bliss.
Yes… as if my tongue actually tasted the richness of diamonds.
The richness of the mango puree, and the suave feeling of the other liquid on the throat…
It was indeed bliss.
Seeing the satisfaction on my face, he poured more and more glasses of the sunshine yellow stuff, and I took them all like a queen.
Until I felt groggy, like something was pulling me in.
My body couldn't feel anything…
...and it finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
The next thing I knew…
I woke up back in my own room.
Oh, it's nighttime already?
Where's Flavio?
"Oh, he just drove you home. Why'd you have to freaking pass out?"
That was my dad speaking.
And fortunately, Flavio never took advantage of me. I could feel it.
Indeed, having too much of a good thing led me to this predicament.
As months went by, I desired more and more of those… intoxicating things, like a spirit was possessing me to ingest more of those spirits; until my life went all awry.
And then I met Fred.
***
"Wow, your eyes sure shine like diamonds when you're drinking that mango concoction," Aoi comments. "You're even sipping on the glass with reckless abandon, like you have no care in the world."
Realizing how her head is in the clouds once again (most likely due to remembering something), Leigh snaps back to reality and stops sipping on the metal straw provided with the glass.
"Sorry, sorry! I remembered something, that's all."
"That's OK."
And Angeli, who's still witnessing the events that transpire, can only chuckle as she knows we're all satisfied by the dessert samples we're being given.
She even emphasizes, "Alright. Looks like you're all satisfied by the desserts that will be on offer, hopefully in the next few days!"
"Aw, that's too bad…" Aoi laments. "I'll be heading off to Seattle in three days."
"That's OK. You still had the privilege of taste-testing our desserts, and few tourists like you have this distinction. You should be given a medal, even!"
"Well… since the minds of us humans can be fickle, I think I need something to remember this occasion by."
it just so happens that the head chef, Felicia, arrives at the scene.
"Don't worry, Miss Tourist. Rest assured that you'll be granted a keepsake of your dessert adventures here in Atlanta. Do you plan to visit this bar again tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course!"
"Excellent! Now get ready for the surprise tomorrow!"
Now we're all anticipating with bated breath the surprise Felicia will give us.
Tomorrow beckons, and we just wrapped up our performance once more.
This time around, Felicia's sample dessert is…
Three heart-shaped, pink pieces of bread with criss-cross patterns.
And these pieces of bread are being served on a plate that definitely doesn't belong to this establishment.
It's colored olive green, and there are many old-styled decorative paintings that are definitely out of place in this modern era of design.
But before I can barge into the kitchen and invite our head cook for questioning (like in a police procedural)…
The inventor of the dessert itself shows up in a timely manner.
"And here is my final dessert sampler, which was highly inspired by the Japanese tourist who visited yesterday."
And in what is called a stroke of coincidental luck, the tourist herself, Aoi Momozono, arrives at the establishment and draws near! Command?
Stay calm and let her give a seat on our table as usual.
"Good evening, Brave Ad 65 and Miss Aurora. And… oh! Is that melon pan?"
Felicia cuts in to give her answer, "Yes, it is! The bread itself was inspired by you, Momozono-san! And good evening, by the way."
"Aw, I feel so flattered."
"To be specific, my third and final dessert sampler, which will hopefully be a mainstay in the menu for the foreseeable future, is called the Heart-Shaped Melon Bread with Custard Filling."
"Hmm… so you're combining my two favorite treats, melon pan and taiyaki?"
"Eeeexactly."
"Aw, I feel much more flattered."
"And also, just for you, yesterday's sampler: The Hybrid Mango Smoothie Parfait."
We three, as well as Aoi, immediately dig into the desserts.
Satisfactory joy is felt on our faces as we take the initial bites and sips.
And in less than five minutes, nothing is left on the plates and the mason jar mug.
"Wow! Amazing! I'm sure the boss is watching us from somewhere, satisfied by this turn of events. I truly did my best, didn't I?"
I asseverate, "You truly did. Congrats on your experiments! Aaand… one last question."
"Ah, about that plate I've used for the melon bread? I personally call it… the 'plate of embarrassment'. It is so named because whenever my aunt, who was one of the two reasons I took up the culinary arts as a career – the second being my mom – ate her food using the plate, she always felt embarrassed. I dunno why it always happened… but it was similar to the other plates she once owned and then handed over to me when she passed on."
"I see, I see."
"And as for Momozono-san… here is the surprise you want to see! Ta-da!"
"Wow!"
An exact replica of the so-called "plate of embarrassment" Felicia used, only much smaller and recently made by the same porcelain dining ware company that is headquartered here in Atlanta.
"Doesn't this just beat all, does it?"
Aurora just react to this turn of events.
The tourist asks her, "Oh, Miss Aurora! I think I've heard of that phrase before. Perhaps… it was from a video game?"
"Hmm… I don't know much about video games, but this catchphrase of mine is what I grew up with."
"Haha… you're a funny little girl, you know."
"Hey, I'm not a kid!"
And thus, the dessert experiment, which was spearheaded by the chef, is a rousing success.
Before we leave the bar at midnight, the boss gives us employees the good news: The three desserts – the cheesecake, the mango treat, and the melon bread – will be permanent fixtures in the menu, starting next week.
This is the news we all want to hear.
But little does everyone know...
Someone named George will frequent the establishment for the cheesecake alone.