the return

Chapter 8

I stare at Kai for a moment before calling the auto repairman. "How do you not know that flashing lights on the dashboard are bad? Kai, did you ever take driver's ed?" I ask, stunned and half assuming he guessed at the questions. He looks very offended at my serious question.

"Um, of course I did. How else would I have my license?"

I roll my eyes and start dialing the repairman. Kai looks kinda confused as to why I'm trying to call someone. "Hello? Yes, hi, I'm Aurea. My friend's car just broke down, and we're hoping you can come save us from the heat. Oh, and tow the car!"

The repairman was fortunately in our direction, so Kai and I only had to wait five minutes. The repairman looks around at the car and then notices something that should've been painfully obvious: a flat tire. I stare blankly at the repairman.

"So, you kids just have a flat. It looks like a pretty sharp shell punctured the tire. I'll go grab an extra tire, and you'll be all set." He smiles at us.

Kai smiles back shyly, looking almost embarrassed at his obliviousness. As the man, whose name we figured out was Jose, was at work, Kai turns to me and starts whispering.

"Hey, I'm sorry for not getting you ice cream."

I smile and look him in the eyes. "Don't worry about it. It just means you have to buy me ice cream another time."

He smiles and kicks around a pebble from the ground. Jose soon finishes fixing the tire, and we're on our way back to the dorms. I was pretty hungry, considering the fact that I was at the beach all day and Kai and I tried to get ice cream at six. It was soon nearing seven o'clock as we drove to the dorms with a new, unpopped tire.

"Hey, can we get food first? Considering I didn't get ice cream..." I do a huge dramatic sigh.

Kai rolls his eyes and makes a quick turn into a little mom-and-pop seafood place.

"How were we so close to this place?" I ask, because it had to be a coincidence.

"Seafood is my favorite, so I kinda know all the good spots. My parents and I went here all the time when we'd visit California."

The restaurant's name was Pattie's Prawn Shack. It was a small, adorable wooden building. On the outside of the building, it had plastic wood siding that gives it a beachside cottage-core vibe. In the middle of the building, it has a cutout for a window surrounded by fairy lights to brighten it at night. At the window, you can order food. Above the window, there was a menu listing all the different types of seafood you can order. Prawns, or as they're called in America, shrimp, all different types of fish, crabs, oysters, lobster, and almost any other type of seafood you could imagine. The smell coming from the shack was unlike any other. Instead of having an overly powerful fishy smell, it had a garlic buttery scent mixed with scents of herbs and sweet shrimp. There was also a smoky charcoal smell. It all felt so legit and real. This is the place that Kai and his family loved. The atmosphere was so inviting it was hard not to want to be here.

"What would you recommend?" I ask Kai as we walk up to the comforting restaurant. It feels like Kai and I have been coming here for ages, even though it's my first time.

"To properly start off the order, you must get Pattie's onion rings. They're deep-fried perfection. Then you need to get the sweet barbecue prawns. It sounds kind of weird at first, but the first bite has you in heaven. Then the lobster rolls. They're so buttery, and the lobster meat...the lobster meat is transcendent. To finish the order, you need a lemonade. Pattie doesn't make it too icky sweet but not too sour."

Kai's description of the food makes my mouth water. "Please, order all of that. Like, right now." I smile and laugh at myself for sounding so desperate for food. We both walk up to the ordering window. The lady, who I assume is Pattie, smiles when she sees Kai.

"Kai! It's been so long," she does a dramatic sigh, "you promised me that you would visit me more often." She does a little frown.

Pattie was very pretty; she has golden curls, blue eyes that look to have been faded to grey, and a captivating smile that probably made every old man fall in love with her. She seemed old by her admirable smile lines and wrinkles but had such a youthful spirit.

"Pattie, I was here last Monday. If I went here every day, I'd gain so much weight." Kai talks to Pattie as if they're old friends; considering that Kai went here as a kid, they probably are old friends.

"Ah, kid, a little weight never hurt no one."

Kai rolls his eyes and jokingly cuts her off to order some food. After a quick fifteen minutes, Pattie has our food. It smells and looks fresh, not some gross frozen food that's been in a freezer for a month.

"Try the onion rings first," Kai urges me.

The onion rings are held in an oval plastic basket lined with grease-proof paper. Next to the onion rings, there are two small condiment cups: one with ketchup and one with ranch. I pick an onion ring and take a bite. Kai was right in calling them deep-fried perfection.

Kai smiles brightly, probably from reading my facial expression. "Your eyes are huge," Kai laughs at me.

I roll my eyes, savoring my onion ring. I move on to the gigantic prawns.

"These are huge!" I exclaim in shock. I've never seen someone so generous with serving sizes. In the past, I've been served the cheap, tiny ones. The prawns were sweet and smoky. The barbecue glaze helped bring out the smoky flavor. I took a quick sip of the lemonade and wow. It was perfect. The cup even had a cute logo. Lastly, to finish the food trilogy, lobster rolls.

"This is my first time having lobster rolls," I mention to Kai.

"These'll be the first and last. Last because to consider any other would be shameful." He laughs jokingly and takes a bite out of a lobster roll. Then I take a bite, so many flavors hit my tongue: butter, lobster, lemon, celery, chives. All of it felt too good to be true.

"Damn, Pattie does not mess around," I say, taking another, even bigger bite. One thing I'll never underestimate again is Kai's food palette.

"Hey, Aurea, next time take me to a food place." Kai says, wiping the corners of his mouth, gazing into the sunset. There's a surreal feeling in his voice, almost extra deep, extra serious.

I smile, feeling slightly saddened by his serious tone. "Of course, but no promises it'll be as good as this shack."

Something feels off. Maybe it's because we're sad the perfect night is ending.