Souja
Chapter 2
Today though, was special because only this morning the Violet Skye which was one of the flagships that Salgria Shipping had- docked this morning and had been unloading its cargo all day. And there was one particular sailor you were hoping you'd meet again tonight. Because just looking at that ship had his face popping into your head and kept a small, secret yet excited smile on your face and had you grateful you were working tonight because the chances of him coming into Souja Tavern tonight were high.
You had slaved over this stew all day, making sure it would taste perfect. Rich and hearty, flavorful and comforting. You had made it especially good because you had invested in a robust and flavorful wine aged in a bourbon barrel at Fitsdale's bigger and more famous winery that was closer to Dunbower, across Fitsdale. Even though all the stews and soups you made were good. Just for the chance that he would come in- you wanted this to be one of your better ones. And it was the wine that really brought the stew to a new height of delicious as everyone who tasted it in the kitchen raved how it was one of the best ones you had made to date which made you happy because hopefully the object of your thoughts would think the same. And he'd always want to come back for more.
It was an hour before dinner would be served and you heard a ruckus of the doors practically slamming open. And the chorus of new customers as they greeted the barkeep and ordered the drink of their choice and a plate of supper as the clattering of huge stainless steel plates and bowls echoed through the place as the new customers eagerly clammered for them, eagerly handing over thier coins to pay for them. As the barkeep were picking up all the coins and quickly filled up the coin sacks behind the bar, the barkeep sorting which coins belonged in which bags.
All of the larger guests especially were eagerly grabbing their huge bowls and plates the size of platters that were specifically made and designed for orcs and the bigger folks in mind while the smaller folk happily got their own smaller plates to suit their smaller sizes. But they would filled just as heaping, along with a set of silverware, also stamped out of stainless steel.
Thanks to industrialization that had come to Fitsdale recently- became cheap and easy to aquire that was easy to clean and easy to make and almost impossible to break and not poisonous the way lead plates and utensils could be and held up to the tougher wear and tear pretty well. Even for the more heavy handed individuals.
Which most of these customers tonight were orcs because the vast majority of the ships in port right now belonged to Salgria Shipping. And the Salgrias were orcs themselves and preferred to hire and keep orcish crews. And in your opinion, no harder or more loyal or honorable worker could be hired than an orcish one. Orcs had codes of honor and behaved very well both on and off the ships. Or at least all the ones that Salgria Shipping hired.
And not a single Salgria Shipping orc found thier way onto the Pulp List. Which was a special list that meant that if you were ever seen on Souja property, you had a standing order to be beaten to a pulp. Thus the name of the list. And you had to be a particularly awful person to even get on this list. But not a single person on that list was going to be coming tonight. They all knew better than to even try.
These Salgria Shipping sailors especially- always appreciated the durability of the dishes, the very generous portions of the excellent food. If not the friendliness of the staff, the prettiness of the women and the handsomeness of the men and everything in between. And especially the warm welcoming service and often remarked that coming into Souja Tavern was like coming to a home away from home. And always the home of a friend. And the feeling was shared by all who came into the place and the staff here at Souja Tavern who knew most of these guests by name.
There was always good ale, grog and spirits to drink, great grub to be eaten. In summer, big fans that were powered by a special motor to keep a good breeze blowing so it wouldn't be hot or stuffy in the summer or in the cooler months and especially the winter, a warm fire that would stave away even the bitterest of the biter cold.
Souja Tavern always meant a good time spent with good company. A good band playing familiar favorites and a clean, soft, warm bed and even softer, warmer special company to be bought, no matter who you were and what kind of walk of life you came from or what you wanted because Souja had a little bit of everything and tried to cater to most.
To hear all the ruckus brought a brighter smile to your face and a smile to everyone else's faces in the kitchens, because that meant that you and everyone else at Souja would make good coin tonight. And within an hour, all the dishes were bought out. From the tavern side, the inn side, and especially the bathhouse side to the point that even all the reserves were being bought out.
Souja Tavern was lucky to have not just a tavern, but a huge inn and a large and very nice bath house under its massive roof. And for a special price- which by comparison to the other taverns- was expensive, but by value alone was amazing. And for most, within reach of their budgets. There was special deal- known as The Souja Tavern Special.
'The Special'- consisted of several amenities and perks. A person could get themselves cleaned and washed in the bath house, one set of clothes washed per day they stayed, a room for the usual time the crews spent in port between sailings. Or however long you needed it to be- the longer the better and more value in the long run. The Special- also included a bath once a day in the bath house with your choice of a whole bar of soap since the Souja Bath House had quite the selection of soaps in a myriad of scents and sizes and purposes. And three unlimited meals every day and night you stayed and any extra sets of clothes you had could be added on at the laundresses for a small fee per item. The linens on the beds too would be cleaned and changed out every day so that the guest was always going to sleep in freshly laundered sheets every night which kept the beds clean and the mattresses even cleaner and lasted longer.
Because of The Souja Special- it was why Souja had almost a cult like following and such a high return customer rate. Which is what the vast majority of Souja's guests chose to do. Especially the orcs who loved to stay as clean as possible in their person.
The huge dining hall of the tavern was soon close to bursting with hungry customers. Who seemed to stream in from all sides, most of them from the inn and bath house side. Already having their dishes and silverware in hand and simply looking for a table to sit at. The closer to the door of the kitchen the better. Because that's how the food got served.
The barmaids and other servers practically ran huge trays of huge steins to the thirsty customers who were on thier second and third refill of their stiens as others in the bar keep kept the beer and ale and grog almost constantly pouring. Then your Da called back that you and the others were serving a full house before your Ma came down and informed you and the other staff in the kitchen that almost all the rooms just got rented out and that most of them would be staying a usual stay. Almost all of them about a week and a day which was the norm.
Most ships stayed in port about a week and a day to unload and then reload. Giving their crews a break in work during the sailing seasons since Fitsdale had it's own crews that worked on the docks themselves. Unloading the cargo so the sailors could have a break in watching over and protecting the cargo- no matter it's value.
And even here in Fitsdale- Salgria Shipping kept crews here in Fitsdale just for that purpose and kept giant storehouses at both ports just to keep the cargo safe between being loaded and unloaded from ship to ship so that meant that even when most of greater shipping crews were out to sea, there were a fair amount of orcish workers who were a constant here in Fitsdale and quite a few of them had married into the Souja family. All of them taking on the Souja name too.
But for now, the stew was ready and you had one of your many "brothers" Angus, who was a minotaur, who was married to your friend Maggie, who managed the sausage station. Both of them were also on the dinner crew. Angus helped you move your very large and heavy caldron to it's rolling stand for serving before he moved on to help the others with their own spits and things.
Angus and his "brothers" were responsible for most of the heavy lifting in the kitchen. All of them helping you and your sisters pull your huge, heavy kettles, caldrons and spits out of the fire and put the kettles and spits on their special serving stands. Or in the case of whole roasting animals, to the huge butcher block to hack it up into serving sizes that were easier to manage before it got moved to the serving carts that was specially made to wheel them around without spilling anything on them and wheeled them out of the kitchen and into the dining hall which erupted into applause and cheers at the sight of you. All of you being met with the sight of a very full dining room. Full of mostly orcs, all packed in like sardines around all the tables, all hungry eyes on you and the other men and women that came out with their offerings and large grins and smiles as the scents of your foods wafted over them.
You couldn't help but scan the crowd, trying to find the object of your thoughts today. And when you saw him, your smile grew almost impossibly bright as your eyes met through the crowds. And his smile back to you when your eyes met was like warm sunshine to your soul and it took all your self control not to plow through the crowd and go straight to him but instead simply picked the side that he was sitting on.
Others followed your lead, about a third of the others picked this side and worked around one way while the second third picked the other side to work around the opposite way while the last third seemed to go out into the middle and fan out with their own special and magicked serving carts on wheels, all the patrons having bought their dishes for the night as your "sisters" were passing out steins of drink as the harlots that worked at the tavern purred their game to the current guests from their spots perched on the customer's laps.
Most of them sitting on the laps of their familiar favorites since most of these guys had their preferred girls and who requested them by name since Souja also sported a good percentage of the port's harlots. All of them doing their work here by free choice and actually wanting to do the work rather than feeling like there was nothing else for them to do to earn an income.Because a lot of women came here, hoping Souja had a job for them that didn't have anything to do with whoring, while others came here just for whoring.
And that was because the of Souja's Head Madam, Velhala Souja. She was kindly, professional, honest and fair and protected her workers and the customers here always treated them really well once their womanly canals or even puckers had adjusted to accommodate the larger cocks of orcs and minotaurs and the like because most of the clientele here were orcs, tiefling, halflings, minotaurs, dwarves and not just the big bodied clients but the bigger appetites bearing ones too.
And the reason why the bigger bodied individuals and especially the bigger appetite-ed people came here was because of the Souja Special- where you could "buy" your dish and your stien for a steep price for the meal if you weren't going to use the bath house or the inn but it would be refilled until you could eat and drink no more- between the serving hours. Like a buffet, but a buffet that came to your table.
Most patrons in the town themselves only needed two or three refills of drink and supper or whatever meal was being served. But orcs and the other bigger appetite having individuals? No, they could eat you out of house and home if you let them and for them it was much cheaper this way- than most of the other places that charged by the portion and if you had an appetite as large as orcs and the like, that could get really expensive really fast. Thus the outstanding value of The Souja Special.
And while Souja didn't have the prettiest or fanciest food, it was some of the best tasting, flavorful, comforting, rustic, hearty and filling. It was also very verried to accommodate just about every appetite and eating preference while having great quality to the ingredients. And the portions were always generous, whether it was your first, third or your fifth or eighth serving of it. And most of the sailors, especially the orcs, saved every penny they earned on their journeys and sailings just to come and spend all their time onshore here, getting fed and taken care of so exceedingly well.
And luckily for you. You still had that magic cauldron that would hold 20 quarts worth of stew or soup by the looks of it. But in reality, it would still make near limitless amounts of whatever you made in it to begin with.
And you had made a very hearty beef stew tonight with plenty of generous sized hunks of beef and bone chunks, hacked by a saw to help ease the marrow out of them so that all you had to do was gently suck at the marrow from the bone and it would slide out and slip onto your tongue. And bone marrow was a favorite ingredient to orcs especially and to anyone else who loved meat and butter. You had used the more grisly and tougher parts of meat from the young bull that had been slaughtered that morning for Souja Tavern, every little part used up, so that little to nothing went to waste as even the bull's head was boiling away in a pot back in the kitchen to make a decent head cheese for sandwiches the next day and make a good aspic too while other meats were in the smoker getting smoked for sandwiches tomorrow too.
Most taverns would usually only serve something like a one lonely stew, maybe a roasted bird or two and a roll of bread -as it's dishes for supper.
But not Souja. It was one of many dishes served tonight. And for every meal for every day, your Da got every crew's offerings since there was a breakfast crew, a lunch crew and a supper crew along with a night crew that cleaned the kitchen and helped with the dishes and took care of all the guests who found themselves awake and hungry at all hours of the night.
Your Da kept a special chalk board up on the back of the bar that had written down what each crew would offer for each meal and for those who couldn't read, your Da would happily read it all off for them. And especially with how Souja handled this - buy your dish for the meal, you could have some of everything for the price of the plate or simply order a portion of whatever struck your fancy.
Most bought the dish and happily got to enjoy some of everything because on average, there were at least a dozen different dishes to be offered for dinner. And that was only to be outdone by Dunbower- who served Viscount Whiteale and his family fifteen to twenty courses for dinner and the King's Palace that served almost thirty to fourty dishes and courses per meal. Which is why many came here to be treated and fed like royal nobility yet family.
Your stew had slowly simmered for hours all day and all the meat was perfectly tender and delectable, and cooking it that way, all the ingredients married and blended together to make something extraordinary. You usually worked on one major hearty stew or soup for supper for every day you worked and your pot was shared among all the other women who worked your station on all the other days.
All the other girls had their own magicked things in the kitchen to help them too. All the girls who worked with meat, really only had to roast one pig or only one cow or sheep or goat and their magicked spits and trays would act like they had cooked over a hundred of them or a few hundred of them in the respects to the smaller game items. The girls who worked with the birds usually only had to roast a few of them, but would get the same effect and no matter what the girls worked best with- the same effect would be had on their own ingredients and end products.
So that out of what was really enough food and raw ingredients to feed about 30-50 people, you would end up having enough to feed over a thousand people a day,
Because Souja Inn had over 400 rooms and when most of the rooms were being split at least two to four ways- that meant that the Inn could house 800-1200 people. Not including the family's wing. And many of those rooms had a couple of beds and so a lot of people chipped in to split a Souja Special Room- four ways, two in each bed. And then got extra places for the meals, the bath house visits and the laundry services added on. It was still a tremenous value at that rate.
Souja was now three stories high and looking to add a fourth and even a fifth story in the next year or two. And there was now over 250 people in just "the family" side of Souja. Including all the children. And "the family" ate their food in a separate family dining room which was still two to three times the size of most taverns anyway. And all the blessings of the magic would keep on producing food until you and the others simply asked it to stop for the day or night.
The ones who made all the bread stuffs only had to make one pan of each kind and once the whole lot was put into one of many sacks at her waist, the sack itself would give her unlimited amounts of whatever she put into it but the prices for such magic had been much kinder than the price you paid, thankfully so.
Prati, the spicer, really only had to buy one spice once, buy the best she could get her hands on. And once poured into a series of magicked spice pots, could give her unlimited supplies of it and thus could custom make whatever spice mixes anyone needed for anything. It was a secret you all guarded with your lives, your daily miracles to keep everyone happy and healthy and content and everything running smoothly at Souja Tavern. And whatever was left over after every last one had- had their fill- then the rest was given to the poor, the elderly, often the parents and grandparents of the workers here at Souja, the disabled and the most vulnerable of the area.
"Welcome back, who wants beef stew?" You greeted the customers pleasantly with a proud smile, because you were always proud of whatever you cooked. You greeted everyone like this whether you recognized them or not, you wanted them to always come here when they came back into port. Repeat customers and their loyalties and their own word of mouth singing Souja Tavern's praises were good for business and were worth the repeat business.
You got your big ladle and started dishing out the stew, filling each bowl until it was full from those who wanted it, before handing each one a roll that was perfectly crunchy and crusty on the outside that would soak up that broth from the stew but soft and chewy on the inside to balance the richness of it and would compliment the stew perfectly, moving on around the tables and down the line around the tavern. Meanwhile others gave out portions of a whole sheep or goat's legs or a hunk of pork or beef, spiced, cooked and roasted to perfection or steaks of the some of the finer meats. Or either halved or whole roasted birds, depending on their sizes with a side of vegetables cooked in a myriad of ways and sauces and salsas and dals. And even some grilled prawns or lobster halves or a plate of clams or other shellfish or a few grilled or fried fish so that eventually each table looked like a mini king's feast for everyone squeezed around each table, with barely enough room for the steins themselves between all the big dishes and for what your customers paid for it, it might as well have been a king's feast and would be the closest most of them would ever get to it anyway.
Besides, the earnings from all the meals alone was more than enough money to offset the expense of everything else considering the big help of the magicked items. But those responsible for making the meals got the highest cut of the earnings and with the way things were packed tonight, you'd be making enough just tonight to last you and your little family for a month or two at least. But you were always careful and cautious with your wages so tonight's earnings would probably go straight into your savings and you would probably need to buy another trunk to store it all in.
The dinner crew's captain tonight was Phillys, she made sure each person in the kitchen produced amazing food. She didn't care how old you were or what your background was or who or what you were. If you could cook really well and could make dishes that kept even the locals coming back and clambering for more, you got a spot in the kitchen. And even though you were heiress to this spot and despite your ladies agreement- you earned your place on this dinner crew just the same as any other. And there were three teams per crew so that in the seven day week, each person only worked two or three days a week and had a counterpart that did their job in the kitchen on their days off. It ensured that no one got overworked or underworked and everyone made good money.
And your sister soupers were Mallie and Yasa, they were also magnificent with soups and stews, all of you taking turns cooking at least one day through the week and one weekend day and took turns taking the extra seventh day from the week. It rotated to keep it all fair for everyone .And this week was your turn to work the three day week- to work Monday, Thursday and Saturday and today was a Saturday. The busiest night of the week no matter what.
Finally though, you reached the object of your thoughts all day as you finally got to his table.
"You always have the best stews Miss Nora Souja." The young man who you had been looking forward to serving all day, whose smile felt like sunshine complimented you which got you to smile your brightest, happiest smile at him. Whose handsome face tempted you to change your attitudes on marriage- as you filled his bowl with stew.
He was quite handsome but you had met so many sailors and visitors, while you could recognize faces, you were horrible with names. But with him, no you saw him around enough, every time he came into port actually he always came here. He was Johnny Gillsman, he was half orc and half human by the looks of it and was a crewman for the Violet Skye and he was eating right next to Kragan Salgria, the oldest son and heir of Salgria Shipping- who was the Captain of the Violet Skye. And he was mighty handsome man too. But even though he was an important man, when he was off the boat- Kragan was unassuming and easy going and despite their difference in position on the ship, because they were similar in age- they often roomed together and ate together when off the ship.
Johnny used to be a crewman for the Elspeth, another ship that belonged to Salgria Shipping, back when Kragan was his father's first mate on that ship and when Kragan got his own ship, Kragan took Johnny with him to work on the Violet Skye.
You had overheard the other crewmates from both ships praise how well of a natural sailor Johnny was. Johnny was slightly smaller than most orcs, but just as strong but quicker and light on his feet and could man the sails with ease without the risk of breaking any masts from his weight.
And you could tell he was some kind of sweet on you. Because others had reported to you that he had asked others about you and you had told them to be discrete yet honest with him but still, you were sure it would just be a passing fancy for him. Because to hope for anything more seemed scary to you for some reason. And you felt sure that this passing fancy he had for you was something he would get over just like all the others did. Although you'd be a fool if you'd try to deny that that would break your heart at least a little bit when it would happen.
"Thank ye Johnny, I know it's your favorite and I could feel you coming tonight so I made it just for you." You replied with a teasing smile with a wink which got the other guys at the table to erupt into laughter and jeers as they clasped and shook his shoulders as Johnny's cheeks flushed a dark pine green but his smile was like the dawnbreak, all bright and beautiful as you filled his bowl up before you reached in and handed him a roll from your sack, your fingers caressing as you passed it over as you ignored the familiar flutter in your chest because you were perhaps sweet on him too, sweeter than you wanted to admit.
But you saw, every day, how it could either work, or more likely- end in heartbreak. And you were guarded in an effort to keep the heartbreak at bay. You had seen too many of your "sisters" both by blood and otherwise fall for many a sailor, only to be met with disappointment because sailing had it's risks and challenges and sometimes the sailors came back. But most of the time, they went home, to any home other than Souja Tavern. Much less Fitsdale, leaving your sisters pining and yearning for a man who would never return to them and you had promised yourself as a teenager that you didn't want the same to happen to you which is why you had not wanted children as a teen yourself and why you had entered that trade and ladies agreement. And every time a young man caught your eye and your fancy, all you had to do was look to the other examples of the heartbroken to keep you from doing anything about it.
But even with all of that in mind, every time you saw Johnny, your heart skipped a beat and had your hope telling your doubt that it wouldn't be like that with Johnny. Even though you didn't know him from much of anyone else to know that or not. You weren't sure why Johnny always seemed to stand out to you, even in a crowd. But he did. And you were always keen to serve dinner whenever the Violet Skye first came into port. Hoping you'd see him and every time you did you could feel yourself swoon at just the sight of him. Both that first time a few years ago and every time since then. Since during the flying season that lasted spring, summer and fall, he'd come for a week every three months and this was the first time in seeing him in six months. It had been a very long six months, both through the rest of fall and winter and had you eagerly anticipating the spring orc ship sailings.
But you had no other interactions with him other than serving him food and fleeting glimpses of him in the port between the Violet Skye while it was in port unloading and loading up it's cargo. And in between shopping at the market at the skyport. And you really didn't have any opportunities to talk to him or get to know him much more than these passing, although fleeting but memorable and precious moments.
But in talking with the harlots, none of them had ever taken him to any of their beds. Not that they didn't try but he was always polite in his refusal, saying 'he was saving himself for his future wife'. Which you thought was awfully sweet. But he was an orc, from Orno of all places which was on the Nuvaric orcish Continent. Orno was on the very southern tip of the continent. Where Forestrong was, where Salgria Shipping was born and grew to encompass more and more of the supersphere. Surely he had an orc woman he had his eye on, despite being a halfling himself.
"Really?" He asked hopefully.
"Oh Aye, I make every soup or stew in my pot as if I know that my favorite person in the world is coming to eat from it that night. It's why every single one turns out so good." You returned with a proud smile.
"And I'm your favorite person?" Johnny asked eagerly and you felt you may have over done it and led the poor boy along, sweet as he was. And as much as you wanted to confess to everything, you couldn't bring yourself to say such things. Surrounded by so many people, especially his crewmates who were eager to see your answer and you didn't want to open him up to any more teasing or jeering, at least on your account. Johnny already had issues with being smaller than the others. You didn't want him to become the target of any more.
"No, that person be my Gramma Agnes. She's the one who taught me to cook and gave me the kettle I'm serving you from. She was the first person to believe that I could be one of the best cooks in Old Dale, if not far beyond. And I've made every stew and soup for her all my life. She's always the first one to get a bowl of it and tell me what's good about it and what can be improved on. But she did say that 'tonight's stew is one of the best ones I've made yet and said that there was nothing I could do to improve tonight's stew'. Which is mighty high praise coming from her. And the butcher did butcher a fine steer this morning and the veggies were dug up just yesterday at the farm and we'll be getting some cold weather tonight and a storm tomorrow, if my Gramma and her knees are to be believed. So it was a good day for stew." You gently broke it to him, not wanting to lead him on because he deserved better than to have some tavern keeper's daughter tempting him away from his future wife, which is something you had no other course but to respect.
"Besides, I've heard from some of the harlots that you'd be saving yourself for your future wife, Johnny. Which is vow I have nothing but the highest respects for. Whoever she may be, may she be blessed. And with a home like Orno, Lad, the clan that inhabits Orno is known for having strong clan ties and a homeland three times as big as Creegaria. With cities like Preborg and Forstrong. Both of which are twice as big as Fitsdale and twice as old as either Old Fits or Old Dale have been. If ye' had no clan, I'd be tempted to try to lure you here with me. But with you having such a clear and grand home as Orno, and having a plan for that future wife of yours and probably strong clan ties to boot. Surely one of these days, but not any day soon, mind you- because you have a good long career as a sailor ahead of you. But one day eventually, you'd be retiring from the sea and the sky, to go back home there and all the Souja Tavern would be to ye, would be a fond memory, if we're doing our best to serve fine customers such as yourself Lad." You specified as you filled the bowls of the other men at the table. .
"Ye must forgive me, I'm just havin a bit of fun with ya Lad. Your heart's too good and your honor too fine to be led astray by a tavern's cook like me." You tried to gently and sweetly reassure him a bit more seriously because you didn't want to hurt the sweet and kind man because you cared for him too much. Even though he be- not much more than an acquaintance to you.
"But that's where you'd be wrong Miss Nora. It's you who is too good to be led away from your home, even as impressive as Souja Tavern is by a poor sailor like me. But I fancy you all the same and I am undeterred. So what will it take for you to marry me Miss Nora?" He asked, undeterred and part of you wanted to say 'just ask'. But that was too much to hope for. Even for you, as all that seemed to flash and dance on your face as you were both flattered and floored by the prospect but you didn't think he was that serious. Or if it was his orcish charm just being...himself. You needed to let him down gently.
"I'm sorry to say Johnny, but I'm not looking for a husband at the moment. Besides my place is here and my home is here and I'm happy and content where I am, here at Souja Tavern. Since this is my parent's place and all and they're leaving it to me when they pass and I have sworn an oath that I'd never sell it. And so I can't go nowhere but here and it's in the agreement that I signed five years ago now. That I signed with Viscountess Merideth Whiteale herself, that I manage it myself when that does happen but I have to manage it with my name the way it is now. Nora Souja, So I can't take on any other name, even a husband's. And that vow and contract is something I take as seriously as I take my stews. So I'm needed and wanted here and I have no desire to call any other place home other than here." You clarified.
"And most men already have a home they wish to take a wife too and even if they don't have a penny to their name, least they have a name to give. Not many men are willing to give up everything, they have, including their name, to be with a woman and her family and her business and support her in her work and take her name instead of her taking thiers. Because most men are used to it being the other way around. But I can't have it any other way than that Johnny." You shook your head no, not sure who you were trying to convince more, him or yourself, as you finished filling his companion's bowls with stew and handed them rolls too and it almost broke your heart to say it but it was always best to be honest but tempered with discretion because most men, once they learned that, their interest in you often died with that knowledge.
"Oh." Johnny blinked as he turned to stare at his stew to consider all of that as you smiled sadly at the change in him, your heart breaking just a bit to see his desire for you wane in his eyes.
But in reality, you would probably have no less than a dozen proposals tonight since you had several every meal you served. Because despite the Souja family being a very large family, you were one of the few who remained unmarried. More people who had been widowed or widowered got remarried and others who were single had gotten married in this large extended Souja family. Especially in the kitchens, more of Souja's harlots were married than any who served in the kitchens. And yet, every time you got close to wanting to get involved with anyone, a close friend would have heartbreak and it would scare you off of romance again, or until you saw Johnny again and with everyone else you had gotten used to it but with him, it felt different. And this was his first time asking and as much as your heart wanted to leap from your chest and say yes, your mind and your reason held you back. Because you just didn't really know him and you had a family to think about and consider.
"Maybe next time or in another life Johnny." You offered as you gave him an apologetic smile.
Before you moved on, pushing your special cart and you made one round around the place before you had to go back to "refill" for another round as did the others and by the third round, most had slowed down in practically inhaling all their food enough that you could take what you had cooked and wheel it to the second dining room, where 'the family' gathered for meals where everyone who wasn't currently working had gathered for their own supper from all the farms, orchards, gardens and other Souja businesses and the like where all the kids and other families were getting their supper too.
"You been good today Lena?" You asked your daughter as you filled her bowl and gave her a roll as she and your son Grayson were sitting with Yasa's family since on your work days, your kids often kept with the other kids from the parents who worked in the kitchens when they weren't in the school house.
Lena was a tiefling hybrid while Grayson was something none of you had ever seen before. He almost looked tiefling but not quite. He had impressive horns, almost like a tiefling but no tail. But one look at the poor boy and your heart went out to him and he took to you immediately because you were the first one to see him come through the door a couple of years ago and immediately come up to him and tried talking to him and to feed him and you worried that he had not eaten for quite some time before he came to Souja but that seemed to settle the matter of becoming his mother and you had taken almost a month off just bonding with him.
But for living in a port, Grayson hated the sea and often cried every time he got close to it and when storms came in especially. So it was assumed was that he had been in a shipwreck brought on by bad storms. But that didn't mean he wouldn't wolf down seafood with the best of them. Grayson often ate anything offered to him and was the farthest thing from being a picky eater. And once you bonded was incredibly affectionate and very sweet. If not just a little clingy when you weren't working, which you didn't mind. Lena practically had to be kept on a leash when she was younger to stay with you. But Grayson always stayed right with you and often just liked holding your hand whenever you went anywhere with him.
"Yup." She nodded as she started chowing down.
"And you Grayson? You been a good lad today?" You asked him as you did the same with him as he nodded and did the same, using his own fangs to poke through the crust of the rolls like Lena did before biting through it all the way. Grayson had gotten that name because Grayson was- slate gray, with violet eyes and white hair. And your Ma had simply called him 'your gray son' and Grayson just stuck. And he had learned to come to that name easy enough.
"He keeps writing all his letters backwards and writing his old letters." Lena informed you.
"Well writing is hard. I have a hard time not doing that too. And he can write his old letters if he wants to, even if he's the only one who can read them. You'll learn Sweetheart, just keep trying. You'll get it eventually," you encouraged him before you kissed his cheek affectionately which got him to giggle before he kissed your cheek back in kind, despite his bulging cheeks.
"When will you be home tonight?" Lena asked you curiously.
"Probably not till late tonight, we got just about every single Salgria Shipping crew in tonight and a few dozen others in and a full house. It's only the third round, and most of the guests are orcs tonight, there will probably be seven or eight rounds tonight." You informed them as you crouched down between them and hugged them from behind as both of them leaned into and hugged you back.
"Who's that?" Grayson asked as he pointed to the door before you stood to your full height to see who was there. It was Johnny, staring in surprise at you at seeing you interact with your children.
"Hey, let us serve the wee little ones and our families real quick, and we'll get another refill and go another round ok?" You offered to Johnny who stared at you from the doorway just as the others noticed he was there and politely reminded him that this room was private and family only and politely urged him to go back to his own table.
"Uh, yeah, um, of course." Johnny slowly answered before he backed up and left.
"He was just a nosey customer, Darlins. It says 'private' right on the door but I don't think he reads too well." You finally answered Grayson before you hugged them again and kissed their cheeks again.
"He seemed nice though." Lena noted.
"Really? You think so?" You asked her curiously, because Lena usually hated most men on sight. But she had never hated the sight of Johnny. Which for you was always a good sign that he was a good man because Lena had a sixth sense about people. Men especially.
"Yeah, he didn't have the bad look, sound or smell about him. He's not from around here is he?" Lena assured you.
"No, I believe he's from Orno." You answered her.
"He's a hybrid, like Grayson and me and the others. He's orc and something else. But he's nice. He seemed like he works hard but has a good, kind personality. I have a good feeling about him." Lena insisted with a reassuring smile which made you beam one back at her.
"Ok, I'll take your word for it Sweetheart. I trust you and if you feel he's a good one, then he's a good one. Because I've heard from several others that he's good too but you're still the expert." You praised her which got her to smile brighter at you.
"What did you think of him Grayson?" You asked your son curiously.
"He had a good blade on his belt." Grayson answered with a shrug.
"Well you would know a good blade when you see one too." You answered with a chuckle before you continued to feed all the other kids along the table as the other girls were cutting the hunks of meat into bite sized pieces for the kids and loading up the magicked serving table before you went back to the food line and dumped your kettle twice into two other magicked cauldrons in the fire so the rest of the family could get some when they came and once they were all fed and more was set aside for the late comers, all of you quickly ducked out of the room and tried to slip back to the kitchens but Johnny was there and gently reached out to grab your arm to stop you from returning to the kitchen as he hung out in the little hallway.
"So who do those kids belong to?" Johnny asked as he nodded to the door that still said 'Private' on it.
"All of us in one way or another. Souja Tavern is more than a tavern Johnny, almost all of the people you see working here have families, we just keep them mostly out of sight." You answered honestly.
"So do you have a family that you keep hidden away?" Johnny asked curiously.
"Aye Johnny, I do. I have no husband but I do have little ones me-self." You answered.
"Oh, so...which ones were yours?" He asked.
"The ones I was standing behind when you went in there. I have two little ones, Johnny. A boy and a girl, Lena and Grayson." You informed him, expecting to see his interest in you completely die in his eyes just like it usually did for all the others when they found out about your little family.
But instead he looked perhaps perplexed as you could see him trying to do the math since your little ones were not that much younger than you. But they had not been babies when they had come to you. They were past nursing so you easily took them over and both of them had been rather pitiful when they had been dumped on Souja Tavern's doorstep and why you tended to make soups and stews because once you could get things started, you could let things cook slowly and go back and tend to them easier.
"But...how old were you when you had them?" He asked before you were called back to the kitchen by Bess.
"Look, Johnny, I would love to answer your questions but I have more rounds to do. When I'm done with my rounds, if you're still here, maybe we can talk then." You placate-ed him before you excused yourself as you went back into the kitchens to 'refill' your pot as you grabbed a quick bite to eat yourself because it was probably going to be another hour or two before you would get a chance to eat your own dinner.
"Well I don't think he'll ask me to marry him again after tonight." You murmured to the girls.
"He's an orc, orcs and elves adopt like crazy. I think if he's still into you, at least take him to a room tonight and try to see if you have chemistry and if he can lay you right. You don't even have to charge him that much if you really like him, just get your pipes cleaned out, everyone does better when they've had a good lay." Lilita murmured in your ear as you recalled that that was how she and Mac met.
Mac had been a pirate actually. Mac was born partially deaf so he manned a cannon on a pirate ship. Then he met Lilita and fell in love with her and her own adopted kids and left the pirate life to be a gardener and father to her previous children before fathering a few more of his own but loved and treated every last one as if he fathered all of them and was a really good father himself.
But you doubted Johnny would be up for that, or at least, settling down with you because you wanted more from him than just a lay whenever you saw him. But you could also see his love of the seas and skies was deeper and wider than most based marriages on. He was relatively young too. He had a whole career as a crewman ahead of him. And you were just a tavern's cook, with two kids. Nobody too special in your book.
It would be a very hard choice for him- if he really liked you and cared for you as much as he seemed to.