Chapter 18 - Shrimp Pasta
Chapter 18 – Shrimp Pasta
Arriving at her apartment, Anne invited Aaron to sit on the small sofa in front of the television, while she headed straight to the kitchen to make dinner. Anne remembered that she had bought pasta and shrimp yesterday, and she wanted to cook them for their dinner.
While Anne was busy in the kitchen, Aaron looked through the neatly arranged interior of Anne's simple apartment. His smile appeared when he saw that the small apartment was comfortable and warm. It was very different from his large, luxurious, yet cold and lonely house.
"Do you live here alone, Anne?" asked Aaron loudly.
"Yes," answered Anne shortly.
"Where are your parents? I don't see any of their pictures that you put up here?" Aaron asked again, as he stared at Anne's pictures on the table.
"My mother died when I was small and haven't even learnt how to walk yet, while my father died when I entered high school. So I don't have any photos of them. The problem was that my family was very poor. Let alone going to the photo studio to take pictures, it was difficult for us even to have food to eat," said Anne honestly. .
Aaron immediately fell silent when he heard Anne's words. He then walked over to the kitchen where Anne was cooking the sauce for the pasta.
"Are you serious?" asked Aaron incredulously.
"Why would I lie? After all, it's very sad when you still have parents and said that they are dead. Isn't that a very dishonorable act?" answered Anne softly, smiling at Aaron.
"Then where is your family?" asked Aaron again.
Anne stared at Aaron without blinking for a few seconds. Then she waved her hand at him to help her lift the heavy pan off the stove. Aaron then did as Anne ordered. He brought the pan filled with pasta to the dining table which was not too far from where he had sat before.
"You want us to eat straight from the pan like this?" asked Aaron incredulously.
"Of course not, we will still eat with plates. It's just that I prefer to put the pan like that on the dining table. It's more practical and I don't need to get the bowl dirty," said Anne, speaking bluntly.
"You're really a strange woman," said Aaron coldly. Usually the girls he knew were shy and so reserved. But the girl in front of him now seemed to be indifferent and didn't really care about all that.
"Come on, sit down, I'm already hungry," said Anne quietly, as she placed a clean plate on the table where Aaron would eat.
As he was hungry, Aaron sat in the chair next to Anne without a word. Anne immediately filled Aaron's plate with the pasta she had just cooked. She also put some prawns on top of Aaron's pasta.
"If you like it spicy, you can use this," said Anne quietly, showing a glass bottle filled with black pepper.
"No, thanks," Aaron replied briefly. He actually lost his appetite when he saw the food in front of him. He was very disturbed by the pan in front of him, even though the pan was lined with a rattan mat, he still felt uncomfortable seeing cooking utensils on the dining table.
Anne, who was already hungry, immediately enjoyed the shrimp pasta she had made voraciously. She had done her duty of making dinner for Aaron. The matter of whether Aaron would eat it or not was up to himself. Therefore, she didn't want to insist him to eat, and continued to eat her pasta shamelessly.
Seeing the way Anne ate for a while had made Aaron tempted. The aroma of the pasta she made really made the worms in his stomach protesting to have their fill. Aaron hesitantly took the fork beside his plate and started to put the pasta into his mouth, Aaron's facial expression immediately changed as he chewed on the pasta. Not long after, Aaron ate all the pasta on his plate. Anne, who sat in front of him, just smiled as she watched him eat.
Soon they had finished their dinner. Out of guilt, Aaron decided to help Anne tidy up the dining table. While Anne was washing the cutleries in the dishwasher quietly, she felt quite happy as Aaron enjoyed the dinner. The man even took more pasta in large quantities, making her happy as the food she had made was all gone without a trace.
"Sorry and thank you for today, Anne," Aaron said softly, as he washed his hands beside Anne who was putting the plates into place.
"Why do you apologize?" asked Anne, confused.
"Sorry because I underestimated your cooking and degraded the way you ate earlier, and thank you for making such good food for me," Aaron replied,honestly.
Anne just laughed at his words. She was actually not at all offended by what he just said. Her way of setting the food might seem a little extreme and would definitely make other people surprised. But this way of eating actually created a sense of kinship between people..
"Actually, you don't need to apologize, because I'm sure other people will feel uncomfortable when they see that big pan on the dining table, hehehe," said Anne, quietly.
"Well, it's already late and I'm sure you need to rest, so I better go home. If tomorrow morning your barista hasn't sent you any news, you can call me again. The payment method is still the same as today, you can cook me food as a payment for my work," said Aaron, as he wore his jacket.
"Don't worry, that can be arranged. After all, I already have your number. I'll just send a message," said Anne, smiling broadly.
"Well then, goodbye, and thank you again for the food. That was the best pasta I ever have," said Aaron, honestly praising Anne's cooking as he walked toward the door.
Anne just smiled without a word in response to Aaron's words. She then closed the door to her apartment when Aaron had entered the elevator.
Aaron, who had arrived in the lobby, immediately walked to the main road. He then walked back towards Anne's coffee shop where he had parked his car. When he was about to get into the car, his cell phone suddenly rang loudly, Aaron reflexively grabbed his cellphone in his shirt pocket. His smile grew when he saw the incoming message.
"You stupid girl," Aaron said quietly.
Continued