“So, what does this mean?”
“Well. The person sitting in front of us right now is my mother. I couldn’t see her face clearly because it looked grim, but I recognized her voice immediately.”
Kent asked, and Patty replied.
“I’m so sorry, Kent. I never imagined you were dating my daughter, so I said some strange things. Kent, this isn’t a place for couples to come. Patty, you shouldn’t come to a place like this either?”
Eliza switched from her business persona to Patty’s mother and spoke to Kent and Patty as if admonishing them.
“We’re not exactly…”
“Yes, I understand. We’ll only come to this shop this one time.”
When Kent tried to deny their relationship, Patty covered his mouth and apologized to Eliza.
“Kent, please keep up the pretense that we’re dating.”
Nodding.
Patty whispered softly into Kent’s ear so Eliza couldn’t hear. Kent didn’t understand her intention, but decided it was best to go along with it and nodded.
“Right. This is a place to drink alcohol, so we all need to talk openly about various things. Shall we talk over drinks? What would you two like to order?”
Eliza made the proposal.
“Then, the same thing as last time, by the bottle, please.”
“Don’t order anything that expensive. Now that I know you’re my daughter’s boyfriend, I don’t want you wasting money like that.”
Eliza rejected Kent’s order.
“Kent, what did you order last time? Wasn’t this place a fixed-price all-you-can-drink restaurant?”
“Not all of the alcohol here is included in the price. We have a separate menu. Here’s the list. This is what Kent ordered before.”
When Patty asked with a puzzled look, Eliza showed her a board with the menu and explained.
“Huh? What? These prices are unbelievable. Are alcohol bottles really this expensive?”
“Yes, this is the most expensive item we serve, but customers rarely order it because of its high price.”
Eliza added as an explanation to the surprised Patty.
“It’s to celebrate the reunion of parent and child, so it’s fine. Eliza, please don’t hesitate to drink.”
“Well, if you put it that way, I can’t refuse… All right.”
When Kent spoke, Eliza, realizing it was futile to argue further, placed the order. Then, a loud cheer erupted from the table seats in the front.
“Huh? What?”
Patty exclaimed in surprise at the unusual cheer.
“That’s when an employee gives a cheer as a form of gratitude when an expensive order comes in.”
“So that’s the system. But Kent, is it okay to order something so expensive?”
“Don’t worry about the money. I want you two to talk until you’re both satisfied.”
Patty said, looking at Kent with concern.
“Patty, is Kent from a well-off family?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. Kent works part-time at the same place as me. In fact, he’s the one who introduced me to this job.”
“I didn’t ask for details, but the salary my daughter receives is more than what your father and I could earn working hard for a whole day together. Is there a part-time job where you can earn that much while studying?”
Eliza asked.
“Patty, did you perhaps not tell them about your part-time job?”
“Yes, I don’t recall being asked for the specific location, so I don’t think I mentioned it.”
“I see…”
Kent asked, and Patty replied. Actually, Patty had told her parents about her part-time job before, but for some reason, both Patty and Eliza had forgotten about it.
“Thank you for waiting. Here is the blue bottle you ordered.”
“Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”
Just then, a waiter carrying the bottle entered the room. Eliza took the ordered bottle and told the waiter to leave.
“Now, let’s toast. It’s not really the occasion for this, but it’s part of the job…”
Eliza prepared three glasses, poured the wine from the bottle, placed them in front of each person, and said.
“Cheers!”
Clinking their glasses, the three of them took their first sip together.
“I can’t really tell the taste of the alcohol, but it’s probably delicious since it’s so expensive.”
Patty drank with satisfaction.
“So, where is your part-time job? You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”
“That’s fine. Our part-time job is at a regular bakery.”
“Eh? You mean like a bakery that sells food?”
“Yes.”
Eliza, who had been expecting some sort of amazing job, was taken aback by Patty’s surprisingly ordinary answer.
“Do bakeries make that much profit?”
“It seems to be quite profitable. In terms of sales alone, it might be the highest-earning bakery in this country.”
“Is that Marie’s Bakery?”
“Yes.”
As expected of a famous shop, Eliza seemed to know its name.
“There’s a regular customer who works at Marie’s Bakery No. 2, and they said the pay was so good they couldn’t work anywhere else.”
“Is that so…”
Although she shouldn’t talk about others, Kent was surprised to learn that there was an employee at the second branch who frequented such expensive places.
“But I heard that they don’t hire new employees easily at that shop and you need connections to get hired.”
“Is that so? I was hired just by Kent’s introduction? And my younger siblings too.”
“Are Bry and the others working there too?”
Hearing about her younger children, Eliza asked in surprise.
“Yes, it was a bit difficult at first, but they learned the job and are now working diligently.”
“I see… So many things have happened without me knowing…”
When Patty said that, Eliza replied with relief.
“By the way, Mom, why are you working here?”
When the conversation settled, Patty brought it up.
“That’s… I’m so sorry. Your father and I were so focused on playing and relying on your earnings that we ended up in a situation where we had to leave our home. We did something terrible.”
“It’s okay if you understand.”
“And you know, once you get into the habit of playing, it’s hard to break. Even after you all left home, I continued to gamble, even borrowing money. Before I knew it, the debt had ballooned to an unmanageable amount. But I had to repay the money I owed, and the collectors became more aggressive, so I had no choice but to start this job with good pay. Your father is also working in a high-paying job, albeit one that carries risks, and has left town.”
“So that’s what happened. How much is the debt? I have some savings, so I can help you repay it.”
Hearing the situation, Patty offered.
“I refuse that. If I accept your help now, I’ll end up relying on you again. This is a challenge that we must overcome. Your father and I will work together to repay the debt.”
“If you say so, I won’t say anything more. But if there’s anything I can do to help, please tell me, okay? We’re family, aren’t we?”
“Thank you, Patty.”
Watching the parent and child holding hands, Kent drank the wine in his glass.
“I guess the awkwardness is gone for now?”
Kent murmured in a low voice.
(Speaking of which, didn’t Eliza say before that she had two sons and two daughters? But Patty and Bry, Antoni, Till, and Hanako make it two sons and three daughters. Did I mishear?)
Kent suddenly remembered his conversation with Eliza the last time he visited this place. However, he had been drinking then, so he assumed he must have misheard.
