Daniel passed her a large container with a small plastic fork. “Chips with curry sauce. You’ll love it. I know you will.”
Looking inside at the bright yellow sauce covering thick-cut French fries, Amelia held back a shudder. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
He laughed and pushed a forkful of the concoction in his mouth, groaning when it touched his tongue. “Give it a try.”
She pushed the plastic tines into a fry with a negligible amount of sauce on it, then brought the morsel to her lips, hesitant to open them and let the thing in. Fast food in general usually tasted so disgustingly delicious she had a hard time turning it down, but the fluorescent yellow sauce did nothing for her gastronomic desires.
“Go on then. Tuck in, love. If you don’t eat them, I think I just might.”
“Back off,” she warned, teasingly, using her fork as a weapon. “Get your own French fries.”
Daniel gasped in feigned horror. “Eh, no, you can’t go ‘round calling chips ‘French fries.’ There’s a difference. See how thick they are? Like someone’s stuck the potato in a wood chipper, aye?”
“I thought it was just a British thing, like how you call chips crisps.”
“When I as a lad, my Da explained to me that French fries are thin and crispy all over. Chips are thick and…” He brought another forkful to his lips “…lovely and…” The fork vanished and when it came out, it was empty “…sho gufd.”
“What is it with men and talking with their mouths full?” Amelia laughed and Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Would you just try it already?”
“Fine, fine!” Amelia took a breath and shoved the fry in her mouth before she chickened out.
And holy crap…chips with curry sauce tasted like nothing she’d ever eaten. Amelia stabbed a few chips at once and pulled them from the fork, chewing slow, enjoying the flavour.
“Ha, ha, ha, I told you they were good!”
Rolling her eyes, Amelia elbowed Daniel, then continued shovelling fries in like his threat to steal them was real.
They finished their meals in silence, staring through the windshield. Amelia had to admit, even the fried chocolate bar was good. All this fried food though and no vegetables meant that when she reached her final destination, she’d need to spend a few weeks getting back into the swing of healthy eating and exercise. At the end of the day though, she was only human. A lapse here and there didn’t make her any less than who she was.
Clouds overhead quickly moved from a threat of rain to full storm, raining fat drops on the pavement. Each drop thundered and splashed. Visibility was so terrible she could barely see a foot in front of the headlights.
“We should find somewhere around here to stay for the night,” Daniel suggested, collecting the remains of their lunch and replacing them in the bag. “Don’t want to be driving through this, especially not on the coastal roads.”
“I agree,” she said, squinting through the rain, scanning the signs along the street. “I can’t see a single thing in this mess.”
Daniel took the bag and placed a hand on the door. “I’ll throw this in the bin and hop back inside the chippy, and ask if they know of a place.”
He opened the door and took off in the rain without giving her a chance to respond.
Rain soaked through every layer of his clothing, right down on the padding inside his new shoes. Standing under the awning, Daniel shook his head, sending droplets flying out in all directions. He didn’t want to go inside the shop a second time, but he wouldn’t risk Amelia’s safety.
He hadn’t driven in years, and the only reason he got his license renewed was due to a new law passed giving inmates who had their driver’s licenses before entering the prison system a renewed license for when they came out. They gave him some spiel about jobs and rights, but he hadn’t paid much attention. They never gave him reason to be grateful and he wasn’t about to break down and thank the bastards when they presented him with the brand new licence.
Daniel gave himself a mental shake. Time to man up and ask for the nearest bed and breakfast or inn. He pulled the door open and stepped inside. The small group of customers he’d seen when he came in previously were gone now. Just a few people remained, and only one of them sat at a small Formica table eating a large serving of chips and scampi.
“You’ve returned then, have you? Problems with the order?” the older man behind the counter asked.
“No,” Daniel said. “No problem at all.” Make small talk. Don’t give him a reason to think he recognises you. “Everything was lovely. My…friend, she gives her compliments. She’s never had chips and curry sauce, or the dessert, and raved about them both.”