Liked and Admired

After a few minutes of alone time, Laila and Noah met up with Maria and Steve who had been waiting for them in front of the shop they had chosen to have something to eat. Maria was leaning against the front window with her arms folded over each other, while Steve was standing beside her with his hands in the pockets of his pants. From the looks of things, Steve was the one doing all the talking while Maria seemed to be simply listening as his unwilling victim.

When Laila and Noah arrived, Maria jumped up from the window and rushed over to Laila's side before putting her arm through the crease of her elbow and pulling her away from Noah's side. When Noah tried to protest she sniped back at him with the words, "You promised I could have her for a full week. Just be happy that I didn't chase you away after this unannounced visit of yours and be grateful I gave you some alone time during my time with Laila."

Noah had no comeback for this and was forced to look at the two of them walk away while Laila glanced over her shoulders apologetically for a split second. After a brief moment of staring into space, Noah nudged Steve and said, "Let's go inside". Steve had been standing in his spot while the girls walked inside as he was still processing Maria's reaction towards Noah and had loved every second of it. He thought she was just a bit quiet but it appeared she was a bit feisty as well and knew how to stand her ground. A quality he liked and a trait he admired. Especially if it meant that he would have someone who would help him tease the mighty Noah whom he knew was a kind-hearted softy inside.

Though Noah didn't like Laila not being by his side, he also knew that no matter how much he didn't want to part with Laila again, he had been the one to go back on his word when it came to the girl's trip. Maria and Laila hadn't seen each other in a long time and he would have Laila all to himself after tomorrow. So, since she had been a good friend in giving him some time alone with his wife, he should now be a good husband and give his wife her alone time with her friend. Considering what Maria had probably been through while being alone with the overly excited Steve, he figured she had deserved it. Especially with her protecting and taking care of Laila during the past few days.

When he came inside, Laila and Maria were already seated at the table and Steve sat down next to Maria, leaving Noah the seat between himself and Laila. But while Noah did join Steve in walking towards the table, he didn't take his seat. He simply placed the pastry boxes he was holding on the table and without saying a word, he walked towards the bar at the far end of the restaurant. Three sets of curious eyes followed him and saw how he talked for a brief moment with one of the staff before heading back to the table. Without giving a word of explanation he pulled back his seat and sat down on the other side of Laila. Again the eyes followed him but Noah didn't seem to find this a reason to elaborate on his little trip to the bar and his secretive conversation.

Since their silent hint hadn't worked, Laila decided to ask Noah directly. "What did you talk about with that staff member?" Noah hadn't expected that his short leave from the table would gain such interest and responded accordingly. "I didn't do anything that deserves you three acting like a bunch of meerkats. Being curious at the slightest action." This comment caused the table to erupt in laughter as it was highly unexpected and they felt it was very fitting to how they had behaved themselves. Once the laughter had died down a bit Noah continued to say, "I simply went over to ask if it was okay for us to eat the pastries I brought along if we ordered some food and drinks from here as well. He said that it was okay and that he would bring us some extra plates and forks along with our order."

At this point all three of them had a 'A ha. Of course' moment and Steve responded with, "And this is why you are the real boss and I am just the pretty face." Before shrugging his shoulders and lifting his arms and saying, "Oh well, we can't all be the brains behind an operation." Another round of laughter erupted and their little meal was off to a great start.

After their orders had been taken and their food, drinks and their extra tableware was brought over, Noah was given the honours of revealing what he had brought along. Each pastry that was lifted out of the box in their little paper cake doilies was met with an 'Oeh' or 'Ahh'. Laila's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as she couldn't take them off of the many treats in front of her. Once they were all out on the table, Noah told everyone to wait as he wanted Laila to have the first pick. Though everyone was ready to dig in as everything looked so good, they waited patiently as they too felt that it was only fair to let Laila pick first. Not only was it her gift to begin with, she was a pregnant woman who had just been through an emotionally tough situation. If anybody needed something sweet, it was her.