Chapter 4
Dining Together
We chatted a lot during the drive, mostly about work, of course. Maximilian had been living in the Kingdom of Indonesia for two years. His Indonesian got better every day. He always practiced diligently.
“What would Your Highness like to eat?” Maximilian asked.
“Anything is fine. I’ll go with whatever you choose,” I answered honestly.
“In that case, what’s your favorite food?”
“Just call me by my name, Max, and you don’t have to be so formal. We’re not in a formal setting, and I like shrimp.”
Maximilian nodded. A few moments later, he raised one eyebrow and asked, “Did you just call me Max?”
“Oh, your name is too long, so I called you Max,” I explained as I toyed with my seat belt.
I turned toward Maximilian, and he was looking at me too. There was a flash of delight in his eyes.
“Max, huh? I like that nickname. It makes me feel like we’re getting closer.” Maximilian continued, “Since you like shrimp, I know a great seafood restaurant nearby with a famous ocean view. We’ll eat there.”
“Sure, I’ll go with you,” I replied.
“What about you two?” Maximilian asked Elvie and John, his personal assistant, while looking at them through the rearview mirror in the center of the car.
“I can eat anything, so I’m fine with whatever,” Elvie answered.
“I haven’t had seafood in a long time either, so I’m in,” John added.
“Okay, then it’s settled. We’ll be at the restaurant soon,” Maximilian said.
I rubbed my palms together. The air-conditioning in this car was freezing.
Maximilian reached one hand toward the air-conditioning controls and asked me, “Are you cold?”
I looked at him and answered, “A little.”
Maximilian turned off the air-conditioning and said, “I’ll turn it off, then. I’ll open the window a little for some air circulation.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“No problem. If you start feeling hot, let me know. I’ll turn the air-conditioning back on later.” Maximilian returned one hand to the steering wheel.
We arrived at the restaurant not long afterward. A large sign reading “Aneka Seafood” stood in the middle of the restaurant building. Maximilian parked right away and opened the car door for me.
“Thank you,” I said to Maximilian.
“My pleasure,” Maximilian replied.
We walked together toward the entrance. A host opened the door and welcomed us. After confirming a few details about the number of guests and seating area, we were escorted to our table. Not long after we sat down, a server arrived with the menus.
I flipped through the menu. After reading it from cover to cover, I already knew what I wanted to order.
The server came back and waited to take our orders.
Maximilian ordered a seafood platter. I ordered Jimbaran-style grilled shrimp with rice and stir-fried genjer greens. Elvie ordered salted-egg crispy fried squid with rice, and John ordered fish and chips. For drinks, we all chose bottled water.
“Will you be ordering dessert later?” Maximilian asked us.
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe?” I answered.
“I will!” Elvie exclaimed.
“I want to try es campur. I saw a picture of it in the menu earlier, and it looked delicious,” John said.
Our food arrived not long afterward.
We began to eat. The aroma of the grilled shrimp seasoning nearly made my stomach growl. I scooped up a shrimp and ate it. It was absolutely delicious—sweet, savory, and slightly spicy.
Maximilian watched me eat with gusto, then scooped a shrimp from his seafood platter onto my plate.
I was startled and stared at him in confusion.