Page 93 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
He had made most of it earlier in the day, he just needed to reheat and finish it off now, as well as heat up naan to go with it.
Emmeline was thoroughly impressed.
“Do you think Saphira will like it?” he asked, voice low so Saphira wouldn’t hear.
“She’s going to love it,” Emmy replied, smiling. She heated up the naan while Aiden finished off the curry, and then she left to join the girls on the couch, the three of them chatting and laughing.
Aiden looked over at them from the kitchen, admiring the homely scene.
Then, when the food was ready, he placed it on the table with the naan in a breadbasket, glad he’d made a lot but nervous because he had not made this dish for company before. He had made other curries, but not this particular one.
“Dinner is ready!” he announced. The girls came over.
“Mm, smells amazing,” Ginny said. Saphira was right behind her, and when she saw the table spread, her face lit up with recognition. She gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“Oh god, did I ruin it?” he asked. “Have I offended you?”
“No,” she laughed. “It looks perfect! But how did you … this is … I mean …” She was at a loss for words, voice thick. Then she looked up at him with shining eyes. “Thank you.”
They all sat down, and Aiden replied, “Emmy’s mother gave me the recipe. I hope it’s similar. It probably won’t be how your grandmother used to make it, but I hope it’s close.”
He served Saphira first, and then the others. Aiden waited, his stomach churning as he watched Saphira take the first bite.
“Oh mygod.” She pressed a hand against her heart. “It’s so good.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Aiden let out a breath, relaxing. He served himself, and they all ate.
“So, so sorry to crash your special date, but this is actually delicious, so I’m not really that sorry, honestly,” Genevieve said.
“Exactly same,” Emmeline added.
“Well, thiswassupposed to be a special meal just for Saphira …” Aiden said.
“No, it’s okay!” Saphira smiled. “You know, I always wished I could share meals with a bigger family when it was just me and Nani-Ma. She would always tell me stories of when she was growing up, how her and her family members would be fighting over the best piece of meat and stealing from eachother’s plates, how busy the table would be … I finally know what she was talking about.” Saphira sighed happily. “So thank you, all of you.”
“Aw,” Ginny said.
“That’s so sweet,” Emmy agreed.
Aiden was just happy that Saphira was happy. Under the table, he squeezed her knee, and she put her hand over his.
They all ate, talking about random things, the girls telling embarrassing stories about Aiden from when he was a kid, followed by Aiden begging them to stop. Then Emmeline was complaining about Luke, who ran a chimera-roasted coffee company, and Genevieve was talking about her classes at college, where she was studying Dragon History.
“You must be really excited to get your own dragon,” Saphira said.
“Yes, oh my god, I cannot wait,” Ginny replied.
“What are you most excited for?”
“Riding, of course! The baby part is too chaotic for me.”
“What! I want Sparky to stay this little forever, he’s such a cutie.”
The dragon in mention was big enough to eat proper food now, so he was eating the same thing as them from his dragon bowl on the floor, clearly enjoying himself.
