Rialoves2cook: It's hard to believe this is the final prompt of the month and a personal favourite Tastes of the World! I've loved sharing my Thailand adventure through these posts, and it's pushed me to get creative without having a traditional kitchen. Your support has been incredible, and my first two weeks in a new country would have been miserable without you (and yes, I'm also looking at you, my lovely Thailand crew). Friday night calls for a sweet treat, so I'm taking you to France for a crepe with a tropical twist.
#sweettreat #Frenchbliss #crepes #internationaleats
Posted: October 26, 7:00 PM
***
On the last afternoon of October camp, Maria supervised her students in the gym, sweat dripping down her forehead. The kids bounced, unaffected and clutching cardstock cutouts they tried to place on the savannah, mountains, and rainforest scenes in front of them. They shouted the English words they'd learned as they recognized the animals in their chubby hands. Maria couldn't believe two weeks had flown by, and she'd be saying goodbye after this.
"I didn't know there were elephants in the Rockies. I'll look harder next time I visit," Emma joked as her class waited behind Maria's.
"They're so into it. I don't have the heart to correct them." Maria turned to her students. "Class, three more animals, then we move to a new game."
Kru Jan spoke to the kids in Thai, and they pouted.
"One more, Miss Ma-lia?" Ploy asked, clutching a moose with wide eyes.
"Yes."
"This moo?"
"Moose," Maria corrected.
Ploy focused on the cutout and repeated the word without cracking a smile. Maria fought laughter at Ploy's intensity as she approached the mountain summit and placed it there. She'd become much more engaged and upbeat since their first day of camp.
"I'm going to miss this," Maria said.
Emma laughed then glanced over to Shawn and his older students. "I am ready to teach my regular classes, though these guys are adorable. You coming out tonight?"
Maria pressed her lips together. Becca had mentioned it several times, but Maria wasn't looking to humiliate herself again, and she had an early video chat with Adrian. "Not this time."
"Why not?"
"Feeling a little run down."
Maria guided a few of her students toward Kru Jan, who was waiting with the group who'd finished playing then waited for the last three.
"That's too bad. It's more fun when you're there."
Maria laughed. "I doubt that. I was a mess last time."
"One part of the evening doesn't define you. If going out is the issue, we could hang out. I don't think I can take another night of the Becca and Mitch show."
"They seem all right." Other than some understandable irritation at Mitch's aloofness, Becca seemed happy enough. Mitch was harder to read. Maria sent her final three students off with Kru Jan to the next station, so Emma's class could have a turn with the game. "But, if you want to stop by, I'm making crepes and don't mind sharing."
Emma grinned "I'll bring the tropical fruit."
***
Adrian: Hey, beautiful! I hope you're treating yourself to a nice night in after your busy week. I'd have kombucha and cashew cheesecake for you if you weren't so far away. You deserve all the treats super teacher <3.
With a smile, Maria laid in bed and scrolled through the pictures he'd sent her this morning or yesterday evening for him. His mom had taken at them at his cousin's wedding in the spring when Maria had worked less, and they hardly fought.
Maria: I'm cooking crepes, and a friend is stopping by to hang out.
Adrian: Sounds delicious. You keep giving me more reasons to hop on a plane ; ) Who's the lucky friend?
Maria's stomach somersaulted. Would he fly out here? He had to be joking, but if he wasn't... She banished the thought. She had too much to worry about with her new classes next week to add hypothetical options she knew Adrian couldn't afford.
Maria: Emma, my teaching partner.
Adrian: I'm glad you're making friends. I gotta run off to my creativity stifling job, but I can't wait to see your stunning face tonight or tomorrow morning, not sure which time zone is less confusing for you. Have fun!
As much as he hated it, it was nice to see Adrian taking on an actual job. It gave her more hope for the future. Did that make her a bad person to want him to understand her sacrifice, even if it came at the cost of his dreams?
Adrian: Don't forget about me ; ) lol
Despite making it look like a joke, she sensed the fear that lurked in the veiled confession. Being forgotten ate at his self-worth, sending his mind to dark places.
Maria: That's impossible <3
She ran her fingers over the case, waiting for his response. The quicker her reply, the more likely he was to believe her.
Adrian: <3
She smiled and echoed his response. After setting the phone on her food prepping table and starting her cooking playlist, she gathered the ingredients ready for crepe batter. She whisked the milk and eggs together, adding the naturally melted butter, compliments of her un-airconditioned apartment. Next, she measured the flour, sugar, and salt, and added the liquid mixture gradually until everything was mixed to a watery consistency.
All that prepping got her sweating, and her window offered little relief, so she went out to the hall where she could open the bigger ones and plop down in a chair between her and Mitch's doors. His door swung open as if the slightest thought of him triggered his presence.
"That was quick," he said.
Maria quirked her eyebrow.
"You were cooking something, right?"
The walls were thin, but she wasn't that loud preparing food.
Mitch studied her face and laughed before settling into the other chair. "When I hear that Filipino rock song, I smell delicious things from your place. You're training me to salivate to music, a 21st century Pavlov."
Maria laughed. "It's not intentional. You know Pavlov?"
"Anyone who sat through a first-year developmental psych course knows Pavlov." He grinned and bit his lip. "What band sings the first song you always play."
"Rivermaya. My dad listened to them a lot growing up, so they stuck with me."
"Cool, I'll check them out."
Adrian had written them off as some generic sounding rock band. "You don't have to."
Mitch gave her a funny look. "Do you not want me to or something?"
"No, they're just... it's..." she couldn't come up with a decent reason. "They're not everyone's taste."
He laughed and ran his hand through his long hair. "Play another one, and we'll settle it."
When he stared at her, she put on one her dad played a lot around the time Tina was born. Mitch's outstretched foot twitched to the beat, and he smiled. "I like their sound, and I can't argue with the food they inspire."
Maria chuckled as her chest warmed. "Shawn mentioned you ate most of the biko. That was for everyone," she teased.
He flashed his white teeth and shrugged. "Not my fault they weren't fast enough."
Footsteps echoed down the hall as Emma strode toward them, swaying with the beat. She extended her arm to Maria and pulled her out of the chair. They danced and clapped to the music. Mitch took her hand and spun her a few times before he got too close, and she jerked away. What the hell was she doing? He was with Becca, and her relationship with Adrian was on the mend.
Emma grabbed Maria's hands and drew her farther from Mitch. "You okay?"
"Fine." Maria forced a smile.
They danced until the dough had settled long enough for Maria and Emma to cook the crepes. Mitch seemed to read the awkward vibe and returned to his place without saying much.
Inside her apartment, Maria rubbed a little cold butter on the hot skillet.
Emma fanned herself and stood beside the window. "Thank god it's Friday, heh? Any plans for the weekend?"
With a ladle, Maria poured batter into the pan, tipping it, so it spread thin. "Skyping with Adrian, cooking with Prae, then hopefully relaxing on Sunday."
"Adrian? Your ex?"
"Yeah, he's been sweet. I didn't believe anyone when they said distance would be good, but we're getting along more than we did in Edmonton." and let it brown for another thirty seconds before she'd pull it off.
"Oh, yeah? He hasn't been giving you a hard time?"
Last weekend he had, but that would feed into Emma's weird assumption that he was abusive. "Nah, he's sweet, look." She placed the crepe on the plate then showed Emma the pictures from the wedding and his encouraging texts. "He sends me these every morning."
Emma furrowed her brow.
"What?" Maria asked.
"He's checking in on you, a lot."
"He's asking how my days are going? How is that weird?"
"This," Emma pointed to Thursday's messages, "asking who you're with. He masks it with compliments, but he's always checking. That's not right."
Maria chewed on her lip and set down the phone. She'd gotten used to answering it years ago because his jealousy could spiral into anxiety and self-doubt, and it was far easier to answer than to re-convince him she still loved him. Out here, she assumed he wanted to involve himself in her life by learning more about her friends and coworkers. "It's an innocent question. What harm does it do?"
"It gets in your head, like what just happened with Mitch."
Maria spooned a new crepe into the hot pan. "He's a total flirt, and I don't need to cause drama at work."
"And last weekend, you freaked out when Tom was trying to help you walk down the street."
"I'd been drinking."
"You said your ex would know you were with another man, Maria. You were having a panic attack."
Sweat beaded on Maria's face, and her heart beat faster. Had that really happened? The walls surrounded her like an inescapable maze. "I had blacked out and wasn't making sense."
"No, you weren't. Just be careful with your ex. He's rattled you pretty good, and you don't deserve that."
She was nothing but careful after he'd broken her heart. After his confession last week, she'd replied with flirty messages, but hadn't admitted she still had feelings for him. Talking to him cured some homesickness. Maria stared at the crispy crepe that she'd let fry too long and sighed. She scraped it onto the plate with the other before bumping down the heat.
***
Very early Saturday morning, Maria ensured she'd disposed of stray bottles and washed dirty dishes before her video chat with Adrian. With a slight surplus of money and abandoned storage room items, she'd furnished her place with pictures and a purple orchid. She checked the time, chosen to accommodate Adrian's schedule. After missing many of his shows, she would do him this favour. Two inspections in the mirror convinced her that her pyjama tank top was cute enough without trying too hard. She found him in her contacts list, and after a deep breath, hit call.
Her bearded ex answered with a casual smile. His head lay against a black pillowcase, and he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "How's my favourite girl in Thailand?"
Despite the cheesiness, it made her grin. "Great!" She told him about the classes she taught and her cooking lessons with Prae.
When she stopped herself not to bore Adrian, he encouraged her to continue. "I forgot how stunning you are when you're happy."
A blush tinted her cheeks. Compliments always sounded sweeter from his lips. "We had our end-of-camp celebration, and the real teaching starts Monday with bigger classes and older kids. I'm nervous, but I met a few of my students, and they seem nice."
Adrian scratched his trimmed beard. "You'll be great."
"How's everything at home with the band, your family?"
"Good. We're booking a couple of shows a month."
"Any new songs?"
A long breath delayed his response. Did he think she was nagging him? "We haven't worked on new material." He rubbed his forehead and looked away from the camera. "I keep hitting a wall."
"That's surprising." He'd spent hours composing in the living room while she wrote her term papers last year. When she'd nearly given up, he'd rekindled her motivation with impromptu romantic or goofy lyrics.
"I've been working on something, but I can't play it for them."
Maria raised an eyebrow. His music had never shunned sensitive topics like depression, relationships, or overwhelming emotions, nor was he embarrassed to sing about them. "Why?"
"The songs are about you."
Her breath caught in her chest and weighed her down like an anchor sinking to the bottom of the ocean. To double-check his feelings, she added, "Lots of bands have break-up songs. They'd understand."
"The lyrics would upset Kelsey and the guys." He chewed on his bottom lip and took a deep breath. "They're more romantic than bitter."
A pregnant silence hung in the air. Neither spoke, Maria unready for his next words. If she hadn't moved abroad, would they get back together now or did the distance cause his epiphany?
"H-how's Kelsey?" Maria asked.
Adrian sat up and smoothed his brow. "Do you want to know?"
"She was my best friend." And Maria needed to learn how involved he was with the woman. No point in getting strung along with empty words.
He looked down and chewed his lip. "Term papers and midterms are keeping her busy. I forgot what it was like when you and I went through that. I'm lucky if I can see her two nights a week."
As Maria's nails dug into her palm, she stepped away from the laptop, inhaling shaky breaths. They were still together, yet he sat here confessing his affections for Maria. His admission didn't make the decision easier.
"Are you there?" he asked.
"Yeah." Maria wiped a stray tear. "I'm getting water. It's boiling out here." Taking her time pouring the clear liquid into her glass, she admired the Thai script on the bottle.
Had she expected the two of them to fizzle out already? Kelsey had been in love with him for years, and if he treated her like he used to treat Maria, she could understand why Kelsey stuck around.
Maria sat at her desk chair. "Is she happy?"
He shrugged. "She's stressed. You could talk to her."
An itch spread over her arms like a thousand mosquito bites. "I have nothing to say."
"You talked to me."
"That's different. She and I were best friends. How can I trust her after what she did?"
Adrian looked her in the eyes. "How can you trust me?"
Another cloud of silence engulfed the room. His pain and self-doubt were the catalysts for his cheating while uncontrolled lust motivated Kelsey. At least he was showing remorse and effort, not that he had in their earlier conversations.
"Forget I mentioned it." He reached for his old guitar. "How about I play you something new?"
After Maria nodded, slow chords came from his acoustic guitar. His voice carried, deeper and more encompassing than during his regular songs. A warm blanket of his regrets, fears and insecurities surrounded her, transporting her to the icy moment where everything crumbled in their bedroom with him, Maria, and Kelsey. His chorus rang out with the unspoken feelings he'd denied and wished he'd shared instead of driving Maria away. Consequences of fear. Adrian kept his head down, his dark hair obscuring his face. He finished the song on a few tentative notes and the lyrics 'If only'.
Big, teary eyes met hers through the screen. The rawness of the acoustic melody combined with his powerful voice left goosebumps on her arms. As much as her family doubted him, Adrian was talented.
"What do you think?"
"It's the best thing you've written," Maria said without hesitation.
Adrian cursed and put down the guitar, and her brow furrowed.
"Why do you have to be so far?" his voice cracked on the last word, and he turned away.
"All you had to do was ask me to stay."
With a sigh and a smile, Adrian said, "Can I have a rain check?"
Maria forced a trembling grin. "Even if I wanted to come home, I couldn't afford the flight."
A tear trailed down his cheek as he met her gaze. "I miss you so much, Ria. I watch your contest videos constantly so it feels like you're here with me."
While his expression broke her heart, she'd spent months just as shattered. He'd ignored her pain, blaming her for it, then led her on only to restate he picked Kelsey over her. She'd have to be mindful of her actions and words to avoid getting hurt again.
"I miss you too." She longed to hold him, but she only grasped a plastic copy. "You should record those songs. They're amazing."
"The band would never play them." He left the reason—that he was still dating Kelsey—unspoken.
"So play them alone and post the audio anonymously. Someone should hear them."
Adrian strummed a few notes then said, "I'll send them to you when they're done."
"I'd like that."
His grateful gaze brought back memories of consoling him after a disappointing show, a dispute with her family, or his anxiety. Three words threatened to slip past her lips like they used to, but she held her tongue. He had Kelsey and his parents he could turn to if he needed tonight.