“Oh, no, I couldn’t impose,” he said reluctantly.
“You sure? It’s so hard to make decent meals for one person. It’ll go to waste before I can finish it,” I added, hoping he’d cave.
“You’re making me break a lot of rules today,” he groaned.
“What rules?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “Fraternizing with customers for one.”
“Technically, you’re off work, so I’m not your customer,” I countered.
He nodded in agreement. “I like the way you think. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nope,” I said and gestured to the table. “Make yourself comfortable.”
While he took a seat, I followed him to the table with two plates loaded with lasagna. “What would you like to drink?”
He gave me a pointed look. “Really?”
“I didn’t want to assume,” I laughed and filled two glasses with lemonade before joining him at the table.
“I will never say no to your lemonade,” he admitted and shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. “And this,” he groaned. “Holy shit, this is good.”
I beamed proudly. “Thank you. It’s my Nana’s recipe.”
“You got any more of her recipes?” he asked and continued to shovel food into his mouth. He was almost halfway finished before I even had two bites of mine.
I pointed to Nana’s special recipe book on the counter. “There are two more books full of her recipes in the cabinet. Nana loves to cook.”
“I’m guessing you do too?”
“I do.”
“Did she teach you?”
“Yes,” I answered proudly. “She started teaching me when I was little. Even after all these years, I still learn something new from her every time we get to cook together.”
“Is that often?” he asked, keeping the conversation flowing. And he seemed genuinely interested in my answers.
“A few times a year. Usually when they come home for holidays or birthdays.”
“Where are they when they’re not home?”
“Traveling. They bought an RV and are fulfilling their retirement dreams,” I smiled wistfully.
“Sounds like you miss them,” he observed.
“I do, but at the same time, I’m so happy they’re gone.” I immediately cringed and covered my face with my palm. “Oh, that sounded bad. That’s not what I meant.”
He laughed while I hurried to explain.
“Papa got sick a few years ago, and things weren’t looking good for a little while, but he pulled through. When he was up and at it again, Nana said she wasn’t wasting the second chance they’d been given. Within a month’s time, they bought an RV and hit the road.”
“Your grandparents sound like pretty awesome people.”
“They are.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin and leaned back in my chair, glancing at his clean plate. “Did you save room for dessert?”
“If you made it, yes,” he grinned.
