Making Memories

Chapter 26

*Time Skip*
We land in bright, beautiful Portugal, Spain's brother. We're staying in the capital: Lisbon. I told Woods,
"As soon as we wake up tomorrow morning, we're going to Bertrand. It's the oldest bookstore in the world, built in 1732." I said.
"I always knew you were a book nerd." Woods said.
"Whatever." I said.
"It's cute, and it makes you more knowledgeable and smart. You're smexy." Woods said.
"Um, alright." I said.

That morning, I do my makeup, and curl my hair. I come out of the bathroom. Woods complimented me on my whole look today. I mean it doesn't take much to impress Woods now. We're engaged, that's got to mean something. Woods gets ready after me. The only thing he really takes time to do is his hair. That quiff of his has to look perfect every time. It always does.

We head out the door and lead Woods to Bertrand bookstore. I followed the google map directions. A short walk later, and we walk into the bookstore. I go straight to the rom-com books. I try to find the English section, if that's even available. So far, most of the sections are in Portuguese. Good thing for Google Translate, right?(cause that works 100% all the time *sarcasm*)

I manage to ask one of the employees this;
"Você tem livros em inglês?"
The employee nods her head;
"Deste jeito."
I follow her. She points me to all the books they have in English. Again, I'm thankful for my diligent skills at learning a language quickly. I go for the To All The Boys series, because I loved it since I read it in high school. I want to read the series again, and I don't think my parents kept all my books, and neither did I. I had donated them to children who needed them more than me. Slowly but surely, I'm starting to collect all my favorites over again.
"Find what you're looking for, baby?" Woods asked.
"Uh-huh." I said. My arms are full of all my favorites.
"Let me get you a basket for all those books." Woods said.
"Would you please, thanks." I said.
Woods runs to get a basket and comes back. I dump all the books in. I stop myself before I break the bank. It's already broken from this trip, plus I can only fit so much in my suitcase. I end up with a total of six books. The To All The Boys series, which is three, and the Crazy Rich Asians series, also having three in the series. These two helped me get through high school. I relate to both stories. I've always loved writing, like Lara Jean. I've always fantasized about dating a British person, and if they're Asian that's just a plus, like in Crazy Rich Asians. I also wouldn't care if the guy had loads of money. All I would care about is if he truly cares about me and loves me. I'm a mix between both characters Lara Jean and Rachel Chu.
"Those books mean a lot to you? Romance, aw that's where you got all those date ideas from. The out of this world date ideas." Woods said.
"Are you judging me?" I asked.
"No, not at all. Just asking." Woods said.
"Well, to answer your question, yes. Both girls in the books are Asian-American. Though I am only half Asian, I feel like I can connect to their characters. Their stories got me through high school since I was never able to make a real relationship myself. So, I just read, and sort of isolated myself among the shy, nerdy people. Thinking back now, maybe that's the reason I value friendships so much, and have little friends." I said.
"Sounds like you just revealed a big chunk of your life just then. I didn't know you were like that back then. I always thought of you as the social type. I mean, you walked into Hi5 greeting every face you saw. What changed?" Woods asked.
"I grew up, I guess." I said.
"You cracked out of your shell. That's a good thing." Woods said.
"Yeah, now let's head back to our hostel." I said.
"I think we should get food. You realize we didn't even have breakfast. You marched us straight here." Woods said.
"Oh. . . Right." I said laughing.

I finish buying out my books, and we head to a nearby restaurant named Siamsquare. It's a Thai restuarant. I feel like getting Asian food today. I'm missing my mom's cooking, so this is why we're going here. Though, my mom isn't Thai, this is close enough. We're seated and I take a look at the menu. Everything looks so good.

I choose my appetizer: Po tiat tord. It's crepes with chicken, which sounds pretty good about now. Then, I choose a main dish: Kao ób- sap-pa-rod. It's oven baked rice with chicken and shrimp in fresh pineapple. I order it without shrimp because I don't eat seafood often. I'm going to be honest, I don't really like it. Woods orders his food. We get our drinks first, then our food. The rice is steaming, just as it should. This really makes me miss home. Home-cooked food from mom, she always made chicken adobo with rice(a Filipino dish). I can't wait to get home and tell my parents about my travels. Mom is going to be so jealous. That's all she wanted to do too, sadly she never got the chance, but instead raised a family. A smart choice in the long run, anyway.

I eat my beef and rice first. It's spicer than anything my mom would make. I guess Thai people love their red peppers and any spices that are hot. I'm not used to this kind of food. In Philippine crusine, there's little spice, but loads of savory foods and delicious desserts. Anyway, I take down the food, despite how spicy it is. I take sips of water in between.
"Your face is literally as red as a tomato." Woods says, taking an Instagram story.
"I don't like spicy stuff. I've never liked it, but I took it anyway. Ooo, it's so hot." I said, taking another drink of water.
"Wuss, it's not even that spicy." Woods said.
"Shut up, it is." I said.
"Alright, calm down." Woods said.

I finish up the last of the pineapple. We leave a tip at the table. I don't know if that's a thing in Portugal, but it's our custom, so I hope they appreciate it. We head out of the restuarant. We walk back to our hostel. I dump my books out of the bag and take a moment to decide what series I should start on. I choose the Crazy Rich Asians series. As I sit and read, Woods stums peaceful tunes on the guitar. He sings a few Dean Lewis songs, which makes me feel like he has quite the past too. He just hasn't told me yet. . .

I finish the first book in the series. I realize it's night time. I asked Woods if we can take a walk down the beach. Lisbon lies the the coast, and it looks so beautiful at night. This is why I want to go out there now. Woods agrees. We go out the door and walk all the way down to the beach. We walk about a mile down. Along the way, fans stop us here and there, asking for photos and to chat. The people here are so cute and nice. Also, we have fans from all over the world, that's mind boggling. After our nice walk down the beach, we trek back to our hostel. By the time we got back, it was legit so late. I fall asleep from the constant jet lag. I should be used to it by now, but I think it's catching up to me again. I plop down on the bed and bury myself in blankets. Woods lays next to me, spooning me. I feel loved. I fell in love with the right guy. I'm glad we get to spend the rest of our lives together.