Chapter 17 #2
“Hey, now it’s my turn to ask. Are you okay?” Matthew grabs my hand, drawing me out of my now overpowering thoughts.
“Yup!” I answer, a little too brightly. Drawing my hand back quickly, I pick up my own menu and start to graze over the items. He grabbed my hand so naturally while I had a near panic attack in the car just thinking about it. What is wrong with me?
I have to say, I’m a little surprised that the menu seems relatively—normal.
It has your standard diner breakfasts and lunch sandwiches.
There’s an array of platters and hearty meals for dinners.
I flip the laminated menu over and smile.
There it is. A whole page dedicated to gingerbread delicacies.
Matthew chuckles from behind his own menu. “You didn’t think they would miss the opportunity to have holiday themed food, did you?”
“I was beginning to worry,” I tease. “Is this the holiday menu? I would have assumed they would have this type of thing available all year round.”
Matthew doesn’t say a word as he pushes a smaller laminated menu toward me. It’s the official holiday menu with turkey dinner on a plate, turkey dinner sandwiches, and just about every other turkey and cranberry dish you could think of.
“What do you recommend?”
“Well, you can never go wrong with a burger. It’s a staple here. Has been even when it was Woodland Springs and it hasn’t changed, thank goodness.” The last part is muttered under his breath, but I still hear it.
“While that does look amazing, I feel like I would be doing the town an injustice if I didn’t have something gingerbread while I was here.” I flip the menu back over, my eyes widening and stomach rumbling. “B.L.T. with a side of poutine! Yes, please! That’s a year-round comfort food.”
It has turkey gravy, so I feel like it’s a good compromise. At least that’s what I’ll tell myself.
“Did I hear the B.L.T. with a side of poutine? That’s my kind of girl,” Nancy says as she walks up, sliding a metal teapot with a paper-wrapped bag in front of me.
“What can I say? I’m easy to please.” I sneak a glance at Matthew, who’s giving me one of his bright smiles, before I turn back to Nancy. “I think I’m going to do a slice of the gingerbread cheesecake after though. That sounds heavenly.”
“It’s pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
I have to say, Matthew, I know you’ve only been back a couple of days, but I’m surprise you haven’t brought Avery in here yet.
” She turns to me and continues. “He’s in here most nights working.
He says he likes this spot because it’s hidden away from most of the other diners, when there are some.
Really, I think it’s because it’s close to the kitchen and he thinks he gets his food faster. ”
I start laughing with Nancy and am relieved when Matthew joins in.
“I’ll neither confirm nor deny that, Nancy.”
“Well, you can’t blame him for either of those reasons. And for your question, I live in Kamloops and it’s the first time I’ve been able to get away because of work. Plus, I don’t want to interrupt him when he’s working.”
“Well, welcome to Gingerbread Grove. I hope we see you around more. It was nice bumping into you earlier, and I’m glad you both found your way in.”
I think back to my run in with her earlier today, so glad that we were able to make it here tonight. She seems like a really welcoming woman, and I feel like she has taken it upon herself to take care of Matthew while he’s here.
“Thank you. I’m glad, too.” I sneak another glance at Matthew to find him already watching me with a coy smile on his face. I feel my cheeks heating under his gaze and wonder if maybe I’m not alone in having feelings and praying that what’s happening between us isn’t entirely fake.
“Well, I have Avery’s order. What about you, Matthew? Your usual?”
“Uh, yeah. The cheeseburger and fries, please,” he responds, not looking away from me.
“A Jolly Ginger Burger coming right up!” Nancy takes our menus and shuffles off, leaving us alone in our corner.
“I love gingerbread, but please tell me there aren’t any ginger or holiday spices in that burger.”
Matthew laughs. “Thankfully, no. It’s just the name they gave it.”
“Phew.” Reaching for my tea bag, I rip the paper and carefully pull it out before quickly flipping the top of the metal teapot and throwing it in.
“I’ve never understood why they make tea pots all metal.
Yes, it holds the heat in longer, but how are you supposed to put the bag in without burning yourself? ”
Without a word, Matthew breaks the paper holder on his napkin and unravels it from around his cutlery before bunching it in his hand and using it like a paper hot pad and lifting the lid. The corner of his mouth ticks up in a mischievous way along with his eyebrow.
“Okay, fine, Mr. Smarty-pants,” I chuckle, throwing my empty tea bag wrapper at him.
Matthew reaches to the side of the table and grabs a packet of sugar and creamer, pushing aside a cup with plastic tubes filled with liquid.
“What are those?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at them, trying to see.
“Gingerbread honey.”
“What now?” I snap my attention to him.
He’s unfazed as he adds his sugar and creamer to his coffee before swiftly picking up his spoon and stirring it.
“From what I’ve been able to gather, Candy Cane Creek has candy canes at all their tables for people to mix into their coffees so, of course, we had to have something similar.
Someone came up with gingerbread flavoured honey.
There’s a beekeeper in town here that works with city council to make sure that all the businesses in town with coffee are always fully stocked with it year-round. ”
“You’re joking,” I reply blankly.
“I wish,” he huffs before taking a sip.
“They really take this feud seriously, huh?”
“The people of Gingerbread Grove do. Apparently, the people of Candy Cane Creek don’t pay much attention to it unless they’re dragged into it for some reason or another. I don’t know, it’s a whole thing. I tend to tune out when my mom is going on and on about it.”
This makes me even more curious about this feud, but I know I’ll have to talk to the townspeople to get more info on this.
This town just keeps getting more and more interesting the more I learn about it, and I feel the more I do, the more I’ll be able to unravel about this enigma of a man across from me.