145 Ever green (1/2)

Abi led Alex towards the table for five. Her dad and grandparents were all looking at them, although, their eyes were mainly on the man next to her.

”Oh my, you're really here,” Abi's grandma exclaimed as she slowly stood up and held the man's hand.

Alex didn't really know how to react. It was like he had stepped into a whole other world, one that he knew nothing about. Why was this old woman acting all warm like this to a stranger like him?

”Okay, take your seats now, both of you,” she told them before she also took her seat again.

Abi sat on her grandfather's right and made Alex sit next to her. Her grandfather was the one sitting at the head of the table so Abi and her grandma seat across each other while Alex sat across her dad.

The food splayed out on the table were all typical homemade dishes that ordinary people enjoyed like a feast. It wasn't extravagant but they looked and smelled so appetising that it could make anyone drool. However, Alex's face remained expressionless as he looked at it.

”Here, taste this, young man,” Abi's old grandma picked up some dishes and put them on Alex's plate, while the man just quietly watched his plate fill up until what looked like a mountain had magically sprouted on it.

He blinked and looked at Abi while the girl just bit her lips and smiled at him.

”My wife, don't scare the young man like that,” Abi's grandpa tried to stop his wife when suddenly…

”I'm not scared…” Alex suddenly said, with a straight and serious look.

Dad: ”. . .”

Grandpa: ”. . .”

Abi: ”. . .”

The old grandma chuckled softly as she spoke. ”See? The young man doesn't mind it,” she said before she put more food on his plate.

Once she was done, she finally settled down and asked everyone to eat.

Alex glanced at Abi again, almost like a big child asking for his mother's permission, silently asking if the food on his plate was edible or not.

Abi grinned at him. She knew that this was a whole new experience to him. In his world back in his house, everything this guy did, from the way he sat to the way he chewed his food, were all done with the utmost grace, as if he was born to act like a king in every way. Knowing this, Abi thought that she must lend him a hand.