Fried Chicken and French Fries

Marx allowed Amaya to enjoy the view. She snapped a lot of photos. She approached Marx, placed her cheeks beside his, and took their selfie with the colorful lights as the backdrop. Amaya's actions were very casual.

Karl's lips twitched. He stole a glance at Marx. He started seeing him in a different light.

'What happened to my cold and aloof brother?'

When Amaya got tired of the view Marx led her to the table in the middle of the restaurant. There were only four of them as Marx has the entire restaurant cleared earlier.

The chefs personally delivered the dishes and arranged them intricately on the table. The table spread looked delectable and appetizing.

Marx pulled a chair for Amaya and he sat beside her. Karl and Chloe occupied the remaining two chairs.

Amaya swallowed and looked at the table with gusto. She took out the fork and reached out for the chicken leg placed beside her. The drumstick shifted. She tried a second time getting it with the fork. She failed. When she failed on her third attempt, she put down her fork and just grabbed two of the chicken legs with her hand and put those on her plate.

"Miss that fried chicken goes well with this gravy and french fries." A chef drizzled the drumstick with gravy and placed a few strips of fries on her plate.

Amaya took a bite using her bare hands. She heard the crunch in her mouth and she loved the juicy feeling.

"It is crunchy and juicy and absolutely delicious." She picked up a few golden-looking strips and popped them into her mouth.

"It tastes heavenly." She reached out for two more drumsticks and gobbled them up.

Karl and Chloe exchanged incredulous glances. They were eating at the most expensive restaurant in the whole of Usturia and all she wanted to eat was fried chicken and french fries.

"Aya, try something else. Try a little bit of everything. You will get full if you just eat that." Marx signaled the waiter and he took out the fried chicken from the table. Amaya followed it longingly with her gaze but did not say anything more.

A waiter handed her a rolled white towel. Amaya removed the thin film and put it in her mouth to take a bite. She frowned when she tasted the cloth.

The waiter was shocked and so were the chefs and Karl and Chloe.

Marx coughed awkwardly.

"I thought it is some delicacy." Amaya stammered and grinned.

The waiter recovered. He took the towel from Amaya and handed her a fresh set. "Miss this is for you to clean the grease from your mouth and hands." the waiter said politely.

"Oh, I see." She took the towel from the waiter and wiped the grease from her mouth and hands.

Marx glanced at the chefs. They introduced the dishes one by one and placed small portions of them on Amaya's plates.

At the end of the meal, Amaya felt so full and bloated.

Marx poured her a glass of wine. "Have some wine to digest your food."

Amaya clinked her glass to Marx and then to Karl and Chloe before sipping it leisurely.

…

That night Amaya had trouble sleeping. She felt she had too much to eat.

Marx spent some time with her. He was working on his laptop while she busied herself with the paper and colored pencils that she asked for earlier.

"What are you working on?" Marx asked.

Amaya showed him her drawings. It was a few pages of different designs of necklaces and tiaras.

"I saw many beautiful pieces of jewelry in the mall earlier but they are not something I like. So, I drew the ones I like."

"The quality of this paper is very smooth. My pencil glides when I write or draw, unlike the ones that Daddy and I made in Miraga. They were very rough and hard to write on."

"That's what technology can do. Everything just becomes easy."

"Marx, how do people in Usturia make jewelry? Can I learn? I'd like to gift my family with necklaces and tiaras." She said out of the blue.

"You don't have to do it yourself. We can hire a jeweler to make it for you."

"Really? How fast can they make it? When Daddy and I tried to make them, it took a really long time and it was hard work."

She drew something on the paper and then passed them to Marx. Marx was surprised at how fast she drew. He had seen the coloring materials she used back on the island. They were very crude and difficult to use so he was quite surprised to see how fast she adjusted. He started to believe Ibrahim's observation that Amaya was a genius.

"This is a flower I saw in Miraga. Don't you think it looked good as a necklace? I can use ruby or maybe amethyst on this." Amaya blabbered.

Marx was having a headache. He didn't know anything about jewelry at all nor does he has any interest in them. Nevertheless, he could see that Amaya was a gifted artist. Her drawings looked great and he doesn't want to disappoint her.

He sent a message to Karl in the middle of the night.

'Get the best jeweler to come to Amaya tomorrow.'

Karl has set a different notification sound for messages from the boss so he would know if it was from him. He has just fallen asleep when he heard a notification from Marx. He immediately checked the message thinking it was something important.

'A jeweler?' Karl frowned. 'What is he going to do with a jeweler?'

Amaya drew a few more necklaces and tiaras. Her inspiration came from the unique shapes of flowers and plants on the island. She knew them by heart and she made different combinations that resulted in a totally unique design.

She fell asleep on the couch without her noticing. Marx closed his laptop. He lifted Amaya and carried her to the bed and tucked her in. He swept a strand of her hair that covered her forehead before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

He gently closed the door and headed for his room.