Like Gods

[20] Dotty's Café

"But enough of my blabberin', what do you wanna order?" Dotty stopped leaning against the counter and took a step back. 

"Two hot chocolates and, uh, two blueberry pies," Chris answered almost instantly. Dylan smiled. Chris must have really planned the day out. Down to the food. Dotty nodded with a smile.

"Alright, you boys can grab a seat and I'll be out with it in a minute," she made a waving motion with her hand, gesturing for them to find somewhere to sit.

They chose a table in the corner by the full-wall window toward the terrace. The sun was still shining bright as it ever so slowly inched its way toward the horizon. Dylan shrugged off his jacket and hung it over his chair, then sat down.

"So, what is this place?" Dylan asked when Chris had also taken a seat. 

"This is where I come to be alone," Chris said, a gentle smile on his lips, "not many people know about this place, and it's usually only tourists that pass through every once and again." 

"So why did you take me here?" Dylan asked.

"Well, you said that you don't know much about me, so I'm changing that right now." 

"But you don't know a lot about me either," Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"I know that you'll be a marine biologist after college, I know that you have two siblings, one of whom doesn't live at home. I know that you like learning but not studying, yet you still do it because you have to if you want to achieve your dreams." 

Dylan stared, his mouth agape in wonder. And confusion.

"How do you know all that?" He asked after a moment. Chris gave him a weak smile. 

"It's just things that I've noticed. Or things that you have told me." 

Dylan continued staring, mostly in awe of the person in front of him. He'd never have thought that this was how it would turn out. A moment of silence passed between the two of them, and just then, Dotty waddled out from the kitchen. 

"Here ya are, boys," she beamed as she placed the slices of pie in front of each one of them, "I'll be out with the chocolate in just a moment." 

Dylan took a deep breath, feeling the steam from the pie enter his nostrils. It smelt absolutely heavenly, but it was probably a good idea to wait. It was still fresh out of the oven and he didn't have any desire to burn his tongue off. 

A moment later Dotty returned, a large cup in each hand. Dylan was pretty sure that he was drooling as she placed the cups down on the table. There was everything that you could possibly put on hot chocolate; whipped cream, marshmallows, crushed candy canes, chocolate shavings, and drizzle. 

Chris chuckled from the other side of the table and Dylan tore his eyes away from the artwork in front of him. 

"I know, right?" The raven-haired boy grinned. "Dotty makes the best hot chocolate that I've ever tasted, and I've tasted quite a few." 

"I didn't take you for a hot chocolate person," Dylan answered, his eyes moving back to the cup.

"Who isn't a 'hot chocolate person'?" Chris laughed. He lifted his cup and took a sip, and Dylan followed suit. 

"Okay, you wanted me to know more about you, so tell me," he said.

"What do you want to know?" 

"Tell me about your family." 

Chris squirmed. "There's not much to say. Mom is a dentist and dad is an engineer. We have a relatively small house because mom wants to travel a lot, or well, they want to travel a lot. Dad used to be a football coach."