Taking Dessert to a Whole New Level (Part 5 of 5)

“You’ve been waiting for this all night haven’t you?” Mateus asked Ana.

“Uh huh.” She said devilishly.

Marie pulled up a couple other chairs. She held up three spoons.

“I just knew it! I was sure he’d pick Mateus’ favorite. The instant I saw them together I knew it!”

“Do you think she knew?” Mateus jokingly asked Nick.

Nick thoroughly thrown off balance stared blankly at Mateus.

“Good omen, I think. Don’t you, Mama?”

“Yes, I agree, Anjinho.”

Nick was trying desperately to figure out what was happening.

“Who? What? Who’s the other chair for? Eduardo?”

Marie scoffed.

“Eduardo? No. Look. Papa’s coming out from the kitchen to join us.”

Nick watched as a man wearing a stained chef’s uniform approached their table with a large platter and a bottle of wine.

“Ah, good. He’s brought more treats and wine.” Ana remarked.

The man fondly grasped Mateus’ shoulder, kissed the top of Marie’s head and bestowed a long kiss on Ana’s lips. He sat down and extended his hand out to Nick.

“Welcome, Nick. I’m Alex.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

Nick felt left out, as if everyone else was in on some secret. His mind raced, attempting to work things out. He surreptitiously scrutinized each of his new table companions in turn. With comprehension beginning to dawn, his jaw slowly dropped. He turned with eyes wide open to Mateus.

“Your family owns this restaurant?!”

“Yep. My parents started it years ago, before Marie and I were born.”

Nick shook his head in disbelief. Mateus, stifling laughter, put his arm around Nick and leaned over to embrace him.

“I really wanted our first date to be here.”

“But, why didn’t you tell me your family ran the restaurant?”

Mateus squirmed looking slightly guilty.

“I just did. Surprise!”

Everyone laughed.

“Ah, you better do something Mateus. Nico looks hurt.” Ana chided.

Mateus leaned in, placed both hands aside Nick’s face and planted a long, passionate kiss on his lips. Surprised, Nick awkwardly mumbled.

“I’ve been ambushed.”

Nick’s face flared intensely red with embarrassment.

“You are welcome here, Nico.” Ana reassured.

“Yeah! And Mateus was confident you’d order the right dessert.” Marie added.

“Creme brûlée? I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps, the three of you should back up and properly explain things to this poor young man.” Alex suggested.

“Well, first off, I figured you’d be more relaxed unaware of the fact that my entire family was lurking about watching us.” Mateus explained.

“Entire family?”

Mateus gesture to his family at the table and then pointed at Eduardo and a few other employees bustling about the restaurant.

“Yeah. Mom, Dad, my sister, my cousin, my aunt, couple other cousins and my uncle.”

“Eduardo is your cousin too?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been surrounded the whole time.” Nick whispered.

“But, the real reason I wanted to take you here was because of this crazy superstition my mom has.”

“I’m sensing it has something to do with dessert.” Nick laughed.

“Uh huh. Now, for as long as I can remember, my mother told me the story of how she decided my father was her true love. She’d start with describing how her parents terribly fought all time when she was a teenager.” Mateus said.

Marie blurted out.

“I think it was because Vovô slept with whores. He was a fisherman. He’d be gone for weeks at a time.”

Mateus and his parents scowled at her.

“How could you say something like that about your grandfather?” Alex protested.

“Why else do couples fight? Secret lovers! Jealousy! Affairs!”

“Ah, me! Marie, you have a lot to learn! Couples fight for all sorts of reasons, most of the time it’s over nonsense. You’ve been watching too much tv. Just pipe down. ”

Marie acquiesced to her mother’s reprimand, but gave Nick a knowing look indicating she was convinced her theory was sound. Mateus continue explaining.

“Anyways, my mother had just met my father…”

“I’m the one the lived this story. I best tell it.” Ana interrupted.

Nick giggled watching the family banter.

“When my parents were young, they both had unbelievably short tempers. The fights were tumultuous. Neither laid a hand on the other, but we never had a full set of dishes. Mama was constantly throwing something at the wall. Papa would roar and slam doors. I hated it. As I became interested in boys, I’d prayed to Rita of Cascia.”

“She’s the patron saint of troubled marriages.” Mateus inserted.

“Yes. She helps unhappy couples. I prayed to her asking for a peaceful marriage. I begged that when the time came, I’d be given a sign that the man I planned to marry was the right one.”

“Then Mama had a vision.” Marie chimed.

“Shh! It wasn’t a vision. I had a dream. That same night, I dreamed I was sitting across the table from the most beautiful boy. Between us was an enormous piece of queijadinha. I said it was my favorite. It was his favorite too. He fed me a piece, professing his love for me. He vowed he’d never eat another bite of queijadinha again, until we were happily married.”

“Wow! That’s quite a dream! What is this pastry?” Nick asked.

“Kind of like a flan pancake. If you like coconut, you’d probably like it.” Mateus said.

“So, the dream..? Please tell me more.” Nick entreated.

“About a year later, Alex invited me out to dinner and the cinema. I had a wonderful time. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and then saw a horror movie. I suspect, he was hoping I’d cuddle up next to him in fear.”

Ana smirked lovingly at Alex who rolled his eyes back at her.

“It was a Japanese hibachi and the movie was ‘Scream II.’ It didn’t do any good. She’s doesn’t scare easily. There was no cuddling. In fact I think I was more frightened than her.”

“So the dream about queijadinha?” Nick asked.

“Nice pronunciation. I’m impressed.” Mateus said.

Nick smiled smugly.

“I listen.”

Turning to Ana, Nick begged.

“Please finish telling your story. When did you decide Alex was the right one?”

Ana laughed.

“We dated more. I really liked him. But, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dream St. Rita sent me. I didn’t want to just ask what his favorite desert was. I was waiting for something reminiscent of my dream to naturally occur.”

“So what did you do?”

“Suggested going on a date at a restaurant I knew that served it.”

“And he ordered it?”

“Not only did he order it. He suggested we have just dessert. And…he refused to share any with me. I told him about my dream.”

“What was his response?”

“He professed his undying love for me, but still refused to share his queijadinha with me.”

“Hmm, unconventional approach. I assume it worked.” Nick said.

Ana nodded emphatically.

“I knew he was the right one for me. Alex is someone who knows how to be honest and true to his heart.”

Alex and Ana affectionally kissed again.

“My wife is superstitious, but it worked to my advantage.”

Ana swatted Alex playfully. Nick could see that the whole family was close and showed their love for each other freely. He grinned at Mateus.

“Creme brûlée, huh?”

Mateus held up his spoon, eyebrows raised questioningly. Nick picked up his spoon and winked. Without coordinating the two men fed each other a first bite.

“Yes, creme brûlée is best shared.” Mateus avowed.