"Mama's Boy"

Chapter 15: Kondescending Kitchen "Grand Nexus Special"

Leo sat in his human disguise in the main lobby of the hotel. He was in his new nice clothes with Suzie and Abigail to his left and his mother to his right. They were seated at a long table with a paid audience off to the side.

He was soooo bored! He already sat through three hours of Swaggart yelling at people for their cooking. They had to eat a bite or two of every plate and give feedback, but they'll tasted great to him. Thanks to Leo's preferred diet (vegetarian with chicken or fish on occasion), the food they had to eat were mainly vegetarian and vegan.

The foods they ate included a pumpkin based pasta with a creamy peanut sauce, a mushroom risotto, and vegan pizzas. Leo's two favorite dishes were the mushroom risotto and a grilled tropical fruit salad. It had all his favorite foods! Pineapple, coconut, mango, black raspberries, strawberries, and mint! It was amazing!

Suzie really enjoyed the pumpkin pasta. Abigail liked the decorated caesar salad and Big Mama took a liking to a black bean and sour cream & chive burger.

If it wasn't for the delicious food (and his mom's deal to the human) Leonardo would've placed out after the first hour. But seeing his mother sitting with a sense of grace and perfect-ness made Leo want to try and copy her. He kept a bright smile on his face and literally bit his tongue when he thought about saying what he was thinking.

Swaggart was screaming at another poor human for one thing or another. Leo was snacking  snuck in. from a bag of banana chips he snuck in before the live show started. Swaggart was once again screaming his head off, this time at a lady who made a four cheese ravioli. Leo could feel a headache coming on.

“Seeing the poor talent I’ve brought with me, let us see what it takes to be employed here at the Grand Nexus Hotel.”

“What?”

Leonardo was not expecting this and would wreak havoc if this human made his friends cry. From their places off to the side four of the hotel’s chefs walked out, begrudgingly. Benjamin, Steve, Patrick, and Francine. Leo waved to them excitedly and they waved back at him. It was damn near impossible to not love the young master and not smile around him. He was like a little ball of sunshine.

“I want you all to cook your specialties today.”

The four glared at the human and turned to Big Mama for instruction. She gave them a subtle nod as she wiped Leonardo’s face free from sauce from the ravioli. The four sucked their teeth and bit their tongue and started cooking. They were like a well oiled machine and worked together in a beautiful harmony.

Francine made an apple and turkey bacon risotto with apple slices and ninja star shaped carrots, Patrick made a chicken pot pie with shavings of coconut, Benjamin made a sweet mango chutney chicken curry, and Steve made a french strawberry tart with thin slices of lemon and a mint sprig on top.

Leonardo and Suzie were practically vibrating in their seats when they saw what was being made. These four chefs were, in fact, the hotel’s head chefs that worked on a quad-weekly rotation. Their specialities are the food of legends! Swaggart approached Francine with a microphone as she was finishing her risotto.

“Young Miss, what is your name and the name of your dish?”

Francine was born and raised in Italy and took great pride in her work.

“Francine Vitali. This is an apple and turkey bacon risotto with apples and carrots on the side.”

“Miss Francine, why are the carrots in childish shapes? You work at the prestigious Grand Nexus.”

“I do indeed work here. I cater to the children of our guests and make their food fun so they get all the nutrition and vegetables they need. Fun, “childish,” help with that. Here you go, Young Master and Mistress.”

Suzie and Leonardo both ate some of the risotto happily while Big Mama and Abigail chuckled. Swaggart was annoyed, but moved his sights onto Steve. Steve had his tart sliced neatly into small triangles and served them to his employer and her family. He sneakily added pineapple juice to Leonardo’s slice. He was the youngest chef employed at the Nexus, but had respect equal to his fell head chefs. Where the others were already past two hundred, he was growing closer to his first hundred at only ninety five.

“My name is Steve Laurent. I made a French strawberry tart with lemon.”

Leo sucked greedily on his thin lemon slice and made a puckered sour face to make his mom laugh. She did. Not finding anything to yell at Steve about, he turned to Benjamin.

“Benjamin Shaan. Mango chutney chicken curry.”

Benjamin wasn’t one for words and got overwhelmed quickly. Leo liked his cooking, but it wasn’t his go to when he was hungry. It was sometimes too spicy. The mango curry though was perfectly balanced between sweet and spicy.

“This curry is rather hot, don’t you think?”

“Mr. Swaggart, I’m eleven years old. If I can eat the curry, you can too.”

Oops. Swaggart went red in the face when Big Mama snorted into her tea and ruffled Leonardo’s hair. She was impressed with her baby-shell’s sharp tongue and his quickness to stand up for Mr Shaan. Swaggart plastered a fake grin on his face that was just too wide and scared Leo out of his wits. He grabbed onto his mother’s arm. Swaggart spoke through gritted teeth as Suzie was starting to growl.

“Thank you, young master Nexus. Onto the final chef of today.”

Patrick was by far the slowest out of his coworkers (especially for a sloth yokai), but his food never showed that. No one understood how he does it, but if you took your eyes off him for more than a second, he would be already done with whatever he was doing.

“Patrick Ford. I made this chicken pot pie.”

Leo always enjoyed Patrick’s food. It always brought him a sense of comfort and warmth.

“Thank you for tuning in to watch the “Grand Nexus Special of Kondescending Kitchen.”

“We’re out!”

The paid audience started shuffling out of the hotel, Patrick started heading back to the kitchen, the other three went to their rooms, and Swaggart was at their long table.

“Thank you again, Miss Ophelia, for your generosity. Might I repay the favor with a dinner for two?”

Leo almost gagged. Rupert Swaggart was hitting on his mother, in front of him, Suzie and Abigail, need he remind you, who is her girlfriend!

“I appreciate the offer, Mr. Swaggart, however, I have a partner already and two children. Toodle loo.”

Leo was lifted in her arms as she, Suzie, and Abigail started leaving. He made eye contact with the human, pulled his lower eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at him. No man is stealing his mama away from him or Suzie or Abigail. Their little family of four will destroy those who try.

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