Page 24 of Briggs
Todd’s eyes widened. “They have chocolate fudge? That’s not on the menu.”
I chuckled. “There are several flavors that are up on the board there.” I pointed to the menu that was on the wall behind the counter. “There is a full milkshake menu on the counter by the register.”
“What?” Todd stretched a little to try and see better, but it was no use. There were too many people standing in the way. “Now I’m never going to be able to decide.”
“What was your first choice?”
“I was leaning toward strawberry, but you said they had fudge. And I do love me some chocolate.”
“How about this? You get your strawberry, and I’ll get chocolate fudge like intended. Then you can have some of mine, and you’ll get both flavors.” We moved up in line and were now in the front, and Todd could see the counter. His eyes widened even more when he saw how many choices there were.
“Why so many? I’ve only ever been in the drive-thru, and it doesn’t list all of those.”
“I’m sorry. If I’d known it would distress you, I would have suggested a different restaurant.”
“Don’t be. It’s completely my issue.” Todd leaned closer. “I just…I struggle with food choices sometimes,” he whispered. It didn’t matter that he was whispering—I heard him.
“What can I get for you today?”
I smiled at the teenager behind the counter, taking orders. I quickly gave him mine and looked over at Todd, who was staring at the list of flavors on the counter.
“So many.”
“Yeah. They keep adding more too. Like, why can’t they just keep it simple, you know?”
“Yes,” Todd said before he sighed. “Can I just get a strawberry milkshake with extra strawberry?” Todd looked up at me. “Is that all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” In a way, I wish we were already mated because then we could talk through our bond. But I was almost certain that Todd wasn’t quite ready for all of that. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn’t think so.
“Is that all? Did you want a meal with it too?”
“Oh, yeah. Can I just get the same as him?” Todd asked, pointing up toward me.
“Sure thing.” The teenager input the rest of the order before looking at us expectantly.
“That’s it, I think,” I told him before glancing at Todd.
“I’m good.”
I chuckled again and pulled out my card. After I paid for our food, we took our cups and the little tent thing and went to get our drinks. When we encountered the soft drink machine, I bit my lower lip.
“What? Why…I really need to get out more,” Todd said under his breath. I couldn’t help but bite my lip a bit harder. He struggled with around eight different milkshake flavors. There were literally over a hundred options. “I can’t,” Todd said and handed me the cup. “Please just surprise me.”
I managed to grab the cup before he dropped it. Todd took the little tent with our number and wandered off. I watched him for a moment before he sat at a booth on the right side of the restaurant. Not sure what he wanted, I filled his cup halfway with ice and then added a flavored drink. I gave myself something different, and after I grabbed straws, I followed my mate and placed a cup in front of him before sliding into the booth across from him.
“I’m sorry it seems to be stressing you out so much.”
Todd sighed. “That’s not it. It’s really not.” He glanced around before leaning closer. “Because I barely had anything to eat or drink for so long, I really enjoy everything now and want to experience it all. But at times, it can be overwhelming when there are so many options.”
“Well, if you don’t like your drink, you can have mine.”
Todd shook his head. “I’ll like it. I meant it when I said I like all things. I do. But there’s so many options. We didn’t have a whole lot beyond the very basics growing up either, so I’m sure that is part of it as well.”
Immediately, I understood what he was telling me. Either his parents, or his pride, or possibly both hadn’t provided a whole lot of variety when he was younger.
“We’ll have to make sure you try all of the things and get you out more,” I told him. Todd offered a smile, but whatever he was going to say was cut off when our food was brought out to us.
It was an experience watching him try his drink and then his shake. I’d obviously done well on choosing the drink because he closed his eyes and quietly moaned.
