The word hung in the air.
Mrs. Wells let out a soft laugh. “Strangers?”
Zay didn’t blink. “Yeah.”
“I’m his grandmother, not a stranger.”
“You ain’t seen my lil man since he was born. You gotta earn that,” Zay said sternly, standing in front of us.
Mrs. Wells studied him for a moment, her smile thin.
“Zacian,” she said calmly. “Your tone is becoming very disrespectful.”
“Yeah, if you say so.” Zay sat at the table as if nothing had happened.
Dinner started not long after that.
At first, it felt painfully polite.
Glasses clinked. Silverware touched plates. The staff moved around the table pouring wine and water.
The first course had already been set when we sat down. We were eating European food, shit that looked like it was only there as decoration.
A shallow white bowl with something green and creamy in the middle.
I leaned closer before realizing it was pea soup, but the fancy kind. Smooth and bright green with a swirl of cream and a tiny pile of shaved truffle floating on top. I didn’t have any, but Zay gave our son some, and he loved it.
The second course came out next.
Thin slices of yellowtail, arranged in a circle with olive oil and lemon, tiny pink peppercorns sprinkled over it. Somebody quietly said the word crudo while setting the plate down.
I glanced at Zay.
He turned up his nose and didn’t touch it.
Neither did I.
Ares nudged him, chuckling.
“Where are the hot wings, bro? I’m not eating raw shit,” he told Ares.
Ares chuckled again. “I’ll take y'all somewhere later to get some. But better food is about to come out.”
The main course was where the room started smelling incredible.
Roasted lamb.
Sliced thick and sitting over creamy mashed potatoes with rosemary and garlic. On the side were roasted baby carrots and asparagus, the kind that still snapped when you cut them.
Ares ate like he had done this a thousand times.
Yuna barely touched her plate.
Zay only ate the lamb and gave our son the mashed potatoes and carrots.
I ate bites while trying to pay attention to the conversation.
Because the food was incredible to me.
