KAYLA'S POV:
As we sat in the restaurant, I looked around. It was a Japanese restaurant. A waitress came up to us and started speaking in Japanese. No wonder his father wanted to come here, he must have been missing his homeland.
But then why does he live here in Manila? Why doesn't he go back to Japan when his whole family is there? Only him and his son, Theo, are here. Mom once said he's been living here since high school but why alone? Why did his family never plan on shifting here with him and his son?
He finally spoke up.
"So, kids… do you know why we are here today?"
Theo and I both shook our heads.
"Okay… then I'll tell you. Today is my… birthday."
Birthday?... Birthday?!
"Yeah! Why?" he raised an eyebrow. "Do you two think I don't have a birthday?"
Theo spoke up,
"No… we just thought you never celebrated your birthday. And even if you did… not with us…"
"Yeah, because," he said quietly, "there was no one here to celebrate it with. And you know Leyla, your stepmom she never remembers anything. But today, I remembered. So I brought you two kids to celebrate with me."
I spoke up,
"Sorry… if you had told us earlier, we would've brought gifts. But happy birthday!"
He smiled and nodded.
"And you two can still do me a favor today…"
"Favor?" Theo and I looked at each other.
Favor?! What favor?! Is he going to ask for my hotel as his birthday gift? Absolutely not. Never.
After staring at us for a moment, he chuckled.
"Yes… a favor. You two just have to… try my favorite Japanese dishes."
Theo and I exchanged another look.
Just try dishes? Not wash them? Then it's totally fine.
"Okay… okay."
"So, let's start."
The waitress came with a bowl of soup.
"This is miso soup."
Miso soup?
Theo and I looked at each other.
"Go on, try it."
We both tasted it.
"Hm… not bad. It's actually pretty good," I said.
"Yeah… it's very delicious," Theo agreed.
After we finished, the waitress brought another dish and placed it on the table while another waiter took away the leftovers.
"This is oshizushi."
"What zoshi?!" I blurted out. It's not my fault, the pronunciation is too difficult.
"Oshizushi," Theo whispered to me.
"Ohhh…"