~The Gift.~
”Tom Hiddleston.”
”Welcome to Connaught – Mayfair Espelette Restaurant Mr. Hiddleston; your table is ready. Please follow me.”
The Connaught – Mayfair is a 5-star Hotel in London, built in 1897. The Espelette is a bistro-style restaurant inside the Connaught Hotel.
I followed Tom in a huge hall full of people. The warm smell of tea tickled my nose and the small talks start dancing in my ears.
”Thank you very much.” Tom said to the man who had lead us to our table.
The man walked away and Tom looked at me. I heard him laughing and I turned to look at him.
”This place is amazing…!” I excelled excited and smiled wide to him.
”I’m glad you like it! Since you told me yesterday that it’s the first time you are coming here, I had to make some calls and I booked us this table.”
”What’s so special about this table?”
”Well, you see my darling, this street is called Mount Street. And if you look there!” Tom came closer to me, without caring if the people in the hall would see us. He placed his one hand around my shoulders and with his right hand he pointed out of the window. “If you look there you can actually see the Hyde Park.” He continued and turned to look at me with a gorgeous teeth-full smile. ”This is the Park we are going next.”
”Next?”
”Yes, the actual charity will be there. Here we came just for a cup of tea and chit chats.” I giggled and noticed that Tom had come behind me and had pulled slightly the chair. “My lady?” He gently said.
”Oh, thank you.” I answered as I tried to speak with an English accent and not with my American.
”Ehehehe! Not bad darling. Not bad at all!” Tom answered and sat down.
For once I looked out of the window, the Mount Street… So much beauty.
”I remember my English teacher telling me about the Hyde Park.” I said to Tom.
”What she was telling you about?”
”The garden and the flowers…”
”I’m sure you are going to like it.”
I smiled and looked at the people in the hall.
”Do you know all these people?” I turned to ask him by whispering.
”Not all of them…” Tom answered also by whispering and leaned forward, on the table. As if we were plotting something.
”I feel a bit stupid, I don’t know any of them…”
”You know me!”
”Yes, and I think you are the most interesting man in the whole hall.”
Tom’s cheeks turned a bit pink as he looked down for a second.
”Good morning. Are you ready to order?” A waitress, shorter than me asked us.
”Yes of course.” Tom answered right away.
Panicked I looked at him. I had no idea what I should say.
”I would like an Earl Grey Tea, please. And…” Tom looked at me and smiled. “What flavour of tea you like?”
”Umm… I don’t know.” I answered while awkwardness was trying to choke me. “Maybe… Passion Fruits...?” I said while I was rubbing my palms on my thighs, under the table from nervousness.
”Alright. We serve the side menu from Afternoon Tea. Is there something you don’t want us to bring to you?” The lady asked me but I had no idea what she was talking about.
”We’ll taste each one of them.” Tom answered politely and smiled to the waitress.
”Thank you very much.” The woman said and walked away.
”Now I feel really stupid…” I thought out loud, but without noticing it.
”Why you say that?” Tom asked me and placed his left hand on mine.
I looked at him, his eyes weren’t judging me. They were looking me fully with love.
”Because… all these are new for me… and I feel I’m acting like clown or something. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of all the high society…”
”Who told you that you’re embarrassing me?”
”They don’t have to say it… Can you imagine? Tom Hiddleston is dating a clown?”
”I don’t see you as a clown at all! Probably like those acrobats that walk across the rope…” He paused and looked at me, I was smiling again. “And… so what if you embarrass me? We are humans, we aren’t perfect.”
”But you are perfect. In every way! Most of the women in this hall are perfect. How can I compare to this?”
”The only perfect woman I see right now in this hall it is only you Alice.”
I felt my cheeks burning from the blushing. I weren’t fishing for compliments, I was telling him the truth. And he… he was answering me his truth.
”Silver tongue…” I murmured and looked at him.
Tom gave me a wry smile and caressed my hand.
”I wonder, how is it possible: to feel like I know you so well, yet I don’t know anything about you…”
”I’m an open book Mr. Hiddleston. Ask me and I’ll answer.”
Tom laughed and he was ready to ask me something when our waitress came.
”Earl Grey…” She said and placed a white cup of tea in front of Tom. “Passion Fruits…” She continued and placed my cup in front of me.
A waiter came to our table holding a huge food tray with both hands. He stood close to the woman and she begun placing on our table all shorts of finger-foods. From mini sandwiches, to cakes and cheesecakes, to macaroon and scones. HEAVEN! I WAS IN HEAVEN!
In the end the waitress placed carefully a china, white set tea-room and looked at us pleased.
”Enjoy your tea.” She said kindly and walked away.
Tom was, once again, just about to say something when I interrupted him.
”Ssshhhh!!! Can you hear the Cherubims?”
”EHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHA!!!!!!” Tom laughed out loud. He had to cover his mouth before all the hall turn and look at him.
”This is what you call English tea?” I asked him extremely excited.
”Yes! Now, I think it would be better if we could stop staring them and start tasting them.” Tom pushed a spoon slowly towards me. “Do it.” He growled with husky voice.
”They look amazing! All of them! Are you sure they brought them here to eat them?”
”Eheheee, I’m pretty sure! If you like them so much we can come again anytime you want darling.”
I looked at him, he wanted to be with me! He was enjoying my company!
”I’ll start.” Tom said and took carefully, but full of grace the china teapot and placed hot water in his cup.
Automatically I took my cell-phone out of my pocket and opened the camera.
”Hey, Tom! Think fast!”
Tom looked at me and smiled.
”Uhuhuhu!!” He laughed and with only one move he lifted his right eyebrow and placed his right hand close to his mouth. After I took the photo I burst into laughter.
When the hot water run into his cup, where the tea pyramid was already lying, I strange smell covered my nose. A smell that I had never smelled before and I couldn’t describe. It was like a fruit but nothing like it.
”Do you want some?” Tom asked me.
”Yes please!” I answered cheerfully and carefully I raised my empty cup.
The steams from the hot water smelt amazingly. That familiar smell of Passion Fruit tea. I smiled to Tom and placed my cup in front of me.
”Milk?” He said.
”No, thank you.”
”No, I mean can you pass it?”
”No…” I teased him, he laughed and I looked at him.
“Pleaseee…”
Tom raised the inside edges of his eyebrows, like Loki and looked at me.
”Hahaha, okay okay here!” I said and passed him the milk.
”Much better. Thank you.” He replied and dropped only a split of milk into his cup.
He looked at me while I was carefully placing some sugar in my tea.
”I think seven tea spoons of sugar are enough don’t you think?” I teased him but with a serious look on face like I wasn’t kidding at all.
”Ehehehehe!! I’m afraid that if another grain of sugar falls into you tea I’m gonna have to chase you through Hyde Park.”
I laughed and took the cup in my hands. I placed it close to my lips and closed my eyes. My tea was still steaming and I felt the flavours dancing around my nose like bees around a flower. I smiled and let the hot tea meet my lips.
After I placed the cup back down I looked at Tom.
”It seemed like you had a very special moment with your tea.”
”Oh, absolutely!”
We laughed.
”So… are you ready to start tasting?” Tom asked.
”I think I am.”
We both took our silver spoons in our hands.
”From which should we start first?”
”This one.”
Since the waitress placed all the dishes on our table I had marked the one I wanted to taste first. It was a chocolate long pepper cake. Tom brought it between us and we both sank our spoons deep into it. It was perfect.
When I placed it in my mouth I closed again my eyes. My grandmother had taught me that trick. She had said to me: “When you taste a new recipe, my dearest Alice, you should always close your eyes, this way you let the food introduce itself to you. You let it show you all its flavours and its colours. For every person the flavours are different and the food leaves another taste in their mouths. Some, like you and me, can recognize all the species in its different type of pastry; but there are few that can actually see all the colours…”
Brown sugar… sweet vanilla flavour… mmm, dark chocolate… that bittersweet taste of strawberry… long pepper, lots and lots of long pepper… I opened my eyes. Tom was looking at me.
”I have a question…” He said and I smiled.
“I know what you are going to ask.” I answered and licked my spoon. “Let me show you why I close my eyes.”
Tom looked at me surprised.
”Come closer…” I encouraged him and we both brought our sits closer to the table.
I took my spoon and sank it deep into the chocolate long pepper cake once more. Tom’s clever eyes were following my every move. The light of the sun were turning them showing even greener, if this is possible.
”Now…” I warmly said. “Close your eyes and open your mouth…”
Tom heard me right away, slowly, almost seducingly, he closed his eyes and let his thin lips separate a bit. I smile and carefully I placed the edge of the tea spoon in his mouth. Tom’s lips shield as he took the cake inside and I took the empty spoon.
”Keep your eyes close and roll over in your mouth the spoonful…”
I saw Tom’s chin and lips slowly, nearly lazy, moving. His beautiful cheekbones showed off even more.
”What do you taste?”
”Chocolate… strawberries… I-I-I’m not an expert I can’t tell the other flavours…”
”Try…”
”I taste something that reminds me… pink… a-a-and red…”
”Colours…!” I thought.
”Purple and bark brown…” Tom continued.
“…Like your grandfather, he didn’t know anything about pastry but he could see. He couldn’t recognize the spices or even the types of chocolate I was adding in my recipes… But he could see the colours in his mind. There are not many people who can see the colours; but if you find at least one, stay. They have a gift, and they turn out to be the best and most pure men. We are blind without them and they may never find their gift without our help…” My grandmother had told me.
Tom looked at me and when his eyes opened they sparkled for a second. He licked his lips and smiled to me.
”You can see the colours…” I exhaled moved.
The picture of my grandfather holding close to him my grandmother came to my mind. They were happy, the most in love couple I had ever seen. Tom, like my grandfather, had the gift of seeing the colours.
”It seems like I can.” He replied and drunk some of his tea. “Why is this a bad thing?”
Without caring if the hall was full of reporters and cameramen, I got off my sit and kissed him. I took him by surprise but he didn’t pushed me away. His lips and tongue tasted like chocolate and long pepper while his cold fingers caressed my hair and touched my neck.
”No, it is a very, very good thing…” I giggled and kissed him again.
