Page 7 of A Daddy for Christmas 3: August
Auggie nodded. “But not this one. They’re an older Greek couple. And Mrs. K. is an amazing cook.”
“I like Greek food.” Actually, there wasn’t much food Thor didn’t like, if he were being honest with himself.
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure about it at first, but Mrs. K. has made a convert of me. And most of my dinners during the week are thanks to her generosity. Although I’m never sure if she’s being generous or if she thinks I need fattening up…”
“So she’s not sharing Greek salads then.”
“Oh, I usually get some of that, too. But to be fair, most Greek food is actually pretty healthy. I used to hate eggplant, but I’ll admit that Mrs. K. has converted me between her moussaka and her papoutsakia.”
“Papoutsakia?” He’d never heard of that. Of course, all of his experience with Greek food was from restaurants. He’d love to go to Greece sometime and paint. Hell, he’d love to go lots of places and paint.
“Yeah, it’s this stuffed eggplant dish. It might be my favorite Greek dish of all time.”
“And you didn’t like eggplant, eh? That’s saying a lot for the dish.”
“Hated it with a passion. Still won’t eat it unless it’s from Mrs. K.”
The elevator doors slid open and they went in, Auggie pressing the button for the ground floor. Several times. Thor resisted telling him that once would have been enough.
He held the door to the building open for Auggie, then pointed to the right. “The Stag and Crown is just around the corner and comes highly recommended by my friend.”
“Cool.” Auggie fell into step with him.
“It’s a lovely evening.” It felt like fall was beginning to creep in. Soon the leaves would be gorgeous colors.
“It’s going to be cold soon. Especially if we have a rainy fall.”
Thor wondered if Auggie’s glass was always half empty. He wanted to find out. Of course he was technically Auggie’s employer at the moment, so he was going to have to wait to make his move.
He held the door open for Auggie again when they got to the Stag, then followed him in.
The place was dark and cozy—very much a pub in the old traditional sense. Dark wood tables and chairs filled the place,along with a bar. A huge fireplace sat at one end, surrounded by rocks all the way to the ceiling. It felt old and old-fashioned, and like it was going to be an experience.
“Seat yourselves,” the barman called out to them.
“There’s a two-seater there by the window,” Thor pointed, then put his hand against the small of Auggie’s back and guided him over. “There’s so much atmosphere.”
“I guess.” Auggie looked around. “It’s kind of dark.”
As if on cue, a waitress dropped two menus on the table, then grabbed a lighter from her pocket and lit the candle at the edge of the table by the wall. “Can I start you off with drinks?”
“I’ll just have a ginger ale, please,” Auggie told her.
“I’ll have the same.”
Auggie looked slightly surprised, and Thor chuckled.
“I like the bubbles. They tickle my nose.”
Auggie wrinkled his nose like he was feeling the bubbles but didn’t say anything. Instead, he took his menu and looked through it. Thor followed suit, finding a variety of fried foods, and a bunch of dishes he could only call comfort foods. Definitely pub fare. He hoped it was as good as he’d been told.
“I think I’m going to have the shepherd’s pie. It looks like they make it the traditional way with ground lamb.”
“I’m picking the burger and fries.”
“Not feeling adventurous?” Thor asked.
“Nope. And I don’t want to pay for something I might not like.”
