Raised From The Wild-Chapter 285: His Best Friend
Marx picked up Amaya after school the following day. She only had classes in the morning so Marx scheduled a lunch meeting.
They meet Major Emilio Garces at Lola’s, a famous restaurant that specializes in Lireyan cuisine on top of Amaya’s favorite fried chicken.
"I remember this place." Amaya got out of the car without waiting for Marx or the driver to open the door for her.
Marx remembered how Amaya became curious about the wall that was made from hardwood, coconut shells, and coco lumber. They were expertly crafted and the resulting wall finish was a masterpiece.
He remembered how she approached it and looked at it closely feeling every inch of the wall with her fingers. He remembered how Dave was embarrassed by Amaya’s show of curiosity about the wall.
As usual, a tall, slender, and pleasant-looking waitress escorted them to the Karles private room where she opened the room for them. The size of the private room was enough to accommodate the three people.
Marx scanned the area using his watch. When he ascertained that there was no bug installed within the vicinity, he led Amaya into the room.
A tall man in a dignified suit stood from his chair. His muscular body showed that he often exercised or visited the gym. If not for the trace of time on his face, one could not say that he was in his mid-forties or late forties.
"It is nice to meet you in person, Mr. Skylar." Major Emilio Garces extended his hand for a handshake.
Marx accepted it and nodded slightly.
The middle-aged man’s shifted his gaze toward Amaya. His eyes brightened when he saw the clear brown eyes that were so similar to the ones he held with reverie in the past.
"This must be Princess Amaya Rocas? The daughter of Major Ibrahim Rocas?" The major’s voice was stern. His gaze eased a bit but the traces of fierceness in them cannot be erased.
Amaya lifted her head lightly and gave the Major a bright smile. She extended her hand to him to express her greetings.
Major Garces accepted the handshake.
"Let us sit down and order food first."
Major Garces glanced at the waiter who was standing beside the door. The waiter was wearing a traditional Lireyan custom of a blue vest with intricate gold embroidery of the Lireyan mythical bird that looked like a phoenix on the right chest. He was wearing matching blue pants but the embroidery was on the left thigh.
The waiter passed the menu to the three of them. The menu was written on a hand-pressed paper making it look exquisite.
The two men waited for Princess Amaya to order first. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Amaya did not stand on ceremony. For the appetizer, she ordered baked scallops meat flavored with fresh garlic butter and oyster sauce.
For the main viand, she ordered the house specialty which is a deep-fried piglet wrapped in fresh lettuce with cucumber, leeks, and coriander served with the restaurant’s famous dipping sauce.
She ordered two kinds of salads. The first one was grilled eggplant, peeled and sliced with chopped onion and tomato tossed in a special dressing and served with salted egg. The second one was shredded mango with red onion and coriander leaves in lime-sugar dressing.
She did not forget her favorite fried chicken.
For dessert, she ordered three pieces of a custard cake stuffed in a spring roll wrapper, fried until golden brown served with caramelized sugar, and topped with roasted sesame seeds.
"Oh, I forgot the beverage. Please give me coconut in a shell." Amaya added hastily before asking the waiter to repeat her orders.
Major Garces and Marx were speechless as they looked at each other. Amaya ordered food good for six people.
Major Garces and Marx add one more dish each.
"Major, what is your relationship with Daddy Ibrahim?" Amaya asked after the waiter left. She looked at him expectantly.
"I was your Daddy’s wingman. We were roommates back in college and we also stayed in the same barracks.
"You are Daddy’s best friend?" Amaya’s eyes glinted with interest. She did not understand the word wingman but from the context, it must be similar to a best friend.
"You can say that. We were together in most of our missions. He saved my life many times while I only saved him twice."
"You make it sound like Daddy took dangerous missions. Wasn’t he just a military doctor?"
Major Garces was about to answer Amaya when three waiters came in with their orders. After the food was arranged on the table, Amaya felt that she was drooling. The way the food was laid out on dainty plates tantalized her appetite and she felt that she was drooling.
Except for the dessert, all the food was served all at once so as not to disturb the people in the room.
Marx picked a three pieces of the scallops with his spoon and placed it on Amaya’s plate. Amaya excitedly picked a piece and put it in her mouth.
"This is delicious. You two should try it."
The two men nodded and each took a piece of the scallop.
"Major, from what you have said earlier, it looked like the missions that my father took were not just that of a military doctor, is this correct?" Amaya reminded the Major of her question.
Major Garces paused and put back the spoon that he was about to put into his mouth.
"Princess, your father is too outstanding to be just confined to one profession. He was good in reconnaissance and in engineering. He designed the outfit and the weapons that can be concealed for our stealth operation."
"Of course, if my father can design things from primitive resources, he can definitely do much better with modern technology."
Marx who seemed contended by just listening to the two, enjoyed his food. A few of the dishes ordered by Amaya were something he had not tasted before.
"Your father was instrumental in foiling the plan of the Dark Phoenix." He cast a glance at Amaya when he realized a mistake.
"Sorry. I forgot that you might not know about Dark Phoenix." Major Garces mumbled.
"I know about it."
