“You’re probably right. I don’t know how I passed up this caramel every time I came here.” Jia said and shook her head. She took another bite of her ice-cream. It was delicious. The ice-cream itself was very smooth and soft. The almonds added a much needed crunch to the soft, sticky dish. She would have to try this dish again someday.
“I don’t have an intense sweet tooth, but I do like something sweet every now and again.” Jia was more of a fan of spicy and sour foods than sweet or salty ones. Her dad had learned to cook authentic Chinese food from her mother, and he made her those kinds of dishes all the time. In a sense, it was his way of keeping Yanlin’s memory alive while giving some of her culture to their daughter. Of course, she grew up as an American just like he did, so he probably couldn’t have done much aside from cooking Chinese food. Yanlin had taught him some things, and he tried to pass those down to Jia Li, but there was only so much the man could do without his wife.
Jia nodded at the comment that the overflow as just for show. It made sense. The aesthetic of food was almost as important as the taste. If something didn’t look appetizing, who would want to eat it? The dryad knew she was as susceptible to attractive things as the next person, if not a bit more due to her species.
Earthy green eyes moved toward the couple to whom Marie had motioned. Her gaze widened a little. How could two people eat that much ice cream? This one scoop would keep Jia full for a while though she may want an apple or something before dinner time. She chuckled softly and shook her head. “I always thought a dish like that was made more for a party of people than for two or three of them.” Then Marie confirmed that statement by saying that she’d never seen a couple of people polish it off, but groups were able.
Jia definitely appreciated the low price of the quality ice-cream Matilda’s served. As a college student who needed financial aid to get through her courses, she needed to save every dollar she could. However, this didn’t mean she wouldn’t live a little. She always managed to save a bit of money for herself. Would college really be worth it if she had to slave her way through it? Well, actually… it probably would still be worth it, but it would definitely put a serious damper on her levels of happiness.
The dryad-femme waited patiently while Marie attended a customer who wanted coffee. She was happy to wait. This person seemed really nice, but she was also on the clock, so she couldn’t be expected to ignore her other customers just so she could chat with one who had already been helped.
When Marie returned and told her what her major was, she nodded approvingly. “Maybe we will have some classes together. I know my focus is mostly on forests, but I want to be pretty well rounded, so I’ll have to take some ocean-based courses.” Jia had just attended a protest against BP and the oil spill the company had caused, and she found herself wondering if this woman cared about the oceans that far, or if it was just her interest to study the ocean and the life that inhabited it, so she decided to ask.
“Do you go to protests or anything like that, or are you just interested in studying the ocean in general?” Jia loved going to protests, she just didn’t always have the time. There was just something so rewarding about doing her part to help the planet heal from the damage that had been slowly degrading it for so long.