Nodding back to all the employees who greeted him as they entered through the main door, Seth lead them to the bar first. June watched the people around her throwing their budget out the windows to have the best meals of— apparently— their lives. She knew firsthand how exquisite and delectable the food here was.

"My sister Valentine," Seth told them upon approaching the bar, "came up with the idea of a bar which is an actual bar—not just a waiting area, and I love it."

A fine dressed, short plump barmaid greeted Seth with curtsey upon his arrival. He nodded back to her, placing an arm over the crystal bar counter and gesturing the ladies to take a seat at the stools, which were in a striking contrast with the counter, a brilliant shade of purple. Same shades of purple and silver decorated the rest of the bar. An abstract painting in the shades of purple and white hung right by the door they had entered from, and with it was a floor to ceiling window which over looked a lawn decorated with fairy lights and a little fountain in the middle.

April pulled a high stool nearest to her, and sat down, humming alongside Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding playing in the background. June knew, to everyone else, it looked like she had a crush on Seth. But. By the way her ears raised to hear what Seth had to say next, June could tell that it was mere curiosity. If she were to ask her about it, the answer would be noting different from you don't get a private free restaurant tour followed by exquisite French cuisine every day!

June resisted rolling her eyes at her sister as she decided to remain standing.

It's the barista in me, she told herself.

"The drinks," Seth explained, "the tables, chairs, setting, glasses, music—everything you see here is her idea. Even Elin!"

He gestured to the barmaid.

"She's the best barmaid in town." He said, making the lady giggle. "Drinks?"

"A soda." April shrugged, "I'm not drinking on an empty stomach." She added to it.

"Same." June nodded.

But then her eyes went wide in surprise when Seth ordered a soda and sparkling wine.

"On me." He added to June and she didn't know what else to say. If Stanley had done it, June would've made it clear to him that he would have to drink it for her now. But it wasn't Stanley, and now she had to accept it.

"Okay." She nodded.

Flashing his dashing smile, Seth continued.

"We have the best wines and spirits collections here," he gestured to a wall behind them where stood a floor to ceiling wine rack. "but you don't be afraid, the place isn't haunted."

A silent snort escaped June and she covered her face. Seth grinned, seeing she had understood the joke, but April just looked between them with both her eyebrows raised in question, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"We have a little place to dance here if anyone wants," Seth gestured towards a little clear area behind him which was empty at the moment. "and every Friday night is karaoke night."

"Cool." April grinned, looking around just as their drinks arrived.

June took the flute filled with the fizzy golden liquid, but before she could take a sip, Seth clinked his glass with her's with a cheers. the gesture left June appalled, but then he did so with April too, and took a sip, savoring the taste.

"Perfect." He nodded to Elin, and then excused himself, gesturing the sisters to follow him.

Slightly blushing and the flute filled with still-un-sipped wine, June followed him through a door to what looked like a hall.

"This is my favourite part." Seth told them, walking backwards. "This is the smaller part of Scrumptious with the little four person booths on one side," he gestured to his left, "and the tables on the others."

June looked closer at the tables, each with four chairs around it. Every table had, what looked like an air plant decorated in the middle by the candle stand and the salt and pepper shakers.

The whole place was in a contrast of green and brown with a dash of beige—the pendent lights on the ceilings and the table cloths.

"It's relaxing." Seth said almost to himself, and ten he remembered. "—We have a little aquarium here too!"

And what June saw next was not little.

It was a half the wall made of glass with little colorful fishes swimming in it. June could hear the slight splashing of the water, and the faint buzz of the water pump. The fishes swam gracefully from one side to another, over and under the bubbles and through the stream of air. There were three particular fishes which swam together, only putting a distance when there was some obstacle in the way.

"The slight splashing of water," Seth stopped just in front of the fishes, "and their random slow movements are proved to be quite relaxing."

April's eyes went wide with excitement.

June knew that look in her sister's eyes, and knew what was going to happen next—it had happened many times before too, and had been quite embarrassing— but before she could stop her, April placed her glass of coke on a nearby table, the liquid sloshing over the edge onto the table cloth, and pressed her face to the glass.

"Fishy!" She whispered excitedly, fogging up the glass. To June's surprise, the fishes didn't swim away from her.

"Meat eaters." Said Seth. "Pretty and deadly. They're not shy like the other vegetarian one's."

"Awesome!!" April exclaimed, repeatedly tapping the glass with her index finger, making bonk bonk bonk noises to match with her mouth.

June shook her head at her sister, and turned away, looking for something other than being embarrassed to do. She took a sip from her flute. The slightly burning taste made her wince but she didn't let it show. It had been a while she had taken alcohol. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Seth gesture to a passing waiter to see to the now dirty table cloth.

"You'll like the next part even more." He told April, handing her back the glass of coke and leading their way back. June took the moment to pass her sister a little glare of warning so that she remained in her best manners, sparing June from being ashamed.

Unsurprisingly, April just shrugged, took a gulp of her drink, and hurried to match her pace with Seth who was now explaining why they were backtracking.

"It's not as if there isn't a way to get to main hall through here," he was saying, "the way from the green hall—that's what we call this hall—is more direct than the one we are taking. It's just that I was hoping to make a little detour to the kitchen. I hope you will enjoy it."

And the detour, as June has thought it would be, was not little too.

"Here we are." Seth pushed open the double doors, and held one for the ladies to enter. "The place where half the magic happens."

As June passed him, she caught a whiff of his cologne again, and she felt her ears turn warm.

The clattering of culinary and dishes over the banter of the chefs at work welcomed them as they entered followed by the manager. No one spared them a second glance— except two, or maybe three of them nodded at Seth and then turned back to their work just as quickly— as they were too busy cooking up food, or wiping the counters to make more food. June watched as what seemed to be more than twenty men and women wearing a toque blanche, white double-breasted jacket, pants in a black-and-white hound's-tooth pattern, and apron, working at different stations.

The noise was so much that June knew, if Stanley was here, he would've preferred staying outside than go in. But still, June kept following Seth between the rows of counters, pressing her nails into the palm of her hand. She could imagine Stanley's eye brows shooting up to his forehead, a gesture he used to give instead of saying I don't know, it's your choice with an under tone of aren't I the one you said you love?

Just in front of her, April stopped by a guy who was tasting some liquid from a pot, and June bumped into her. Ignoring her clumsy sister, April asked the guy—who's name plate June couldn't read because of its angle with the lighting—if she could try too. The chef, who looked almost April's own age, smiled and held up the spoon to her lips.

"Careful." The guy told her, as she sipped, wincing at the touch of hot metal and then almost swooning at the taste.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed, taking the spoon from the chef to finish off the rest of it. A few steps ahead of them, Seth noticed that he wasn't being followed by the sisters anymore.

"Tomato soup." He told June, coming back to stand right by her. "it's on the menu for tonight, you'll get to taste it too."

He held out his hand and June looked down at it. Then she realized that she was holding a half empty flute. She passed the flute to Seth who handed it to someone behind him.

"You'll get a fresh one of this too." He told June, excusing himself as he pushed pass April, leading them forward.

June bit her smile, following Seth and dragging April by her hand behind her, deeper into the maze of kitchen stations. June watched Seth looking around him, as if in search of some one.

Then she heard it.

At any other time, the sound of a little girl giggling would not have surprised June but, here, in the middle of a busy kitchen of a big restaurant, it made her ears stand in curiosity. She whipped her head around, following Seth's gaze, and saw a little girl who was almost identical to Seth sitting on a work station, and sparing with a chef with a salad knife in her hands. June thought she knew the man, but she didn't get time to look properly, as, with a dimpled laugh, the girl threw the spoon at him and he fell back on the kitchen floor and faked his death.

If Stanley was here, he would've recognized the man in an instant. He had that kind of memory. June just remembered what she read, which was very helpful while she read novels.

June noticed a lady stand by the girl, a hand placed protectively on her shoulder, and her eyes went wide with shock. June remembered the woman from when she had come to The Scrumptious the last time. The chef and the Lady had been dining with Seth when he had sent her the ice-cream. Today she was wearing a beautiful warp dress which seemed to be the colour of Seth's eyes. But just as June approached them, she noticed that it was the colour of her own eyes too.

Up close, June could see the resemblance between them; same eyes, smiles, nose, everything. The lady's jaw was softer then Seth's, her teeth a bit asymmetrical, but the rest was same. They could be twins, for all June knew. But one thing was for sure; the lady was Seth's sister.

And that meant that the girl was the niece Seth kept talking about.

"Noel!" Seth called out, walking up to the chef and helping him up. June watched a passing older lady roll her eyes at the two of them.

"Seth!" the chef—Noel—greeted Seth with a half-hug-half-handshake style June had seen many men do.

"Uncle Seth!" The little girl held her arms out to Seth to hug her.

Seth grabbed the girl by the waist and gently placed her on the floor. June noticed that she was barely the size of his leg. She must be five—six at most, and the first thought that came to June's head was that she read Danny the Champion of the World.

How? She thought. But didn't get an answer.

"Ooh!" April pushed past June and picked up the little girl from the floor. "Who is this little angel?"

The girl giggled.

"Bethany." The girl told her. "Bethany Durand."

June looked over at the lady and saw her surprised to see what April was doing.

"This is April." Seth told to the woman and she looked at him as if asking how's that supposed to explain what's happening to my daughter?

"And this is June." Seth continued, and at that June watched the lady's expression go from utter confusion to resolve, as if everything made sense now.

"And these," Seth turned to June, "Are my sister and her husband—who is also my Head Chef, Valentine and Noel Durand."

"No-el." Noel corrected him and held a hand out for June to shake.

As she shook his hand—soft, yet firm— June noticed how differently Bethany and Seth uttered the surname Durand. Bethany had said it like do wrong, just with the n more nasal and not saying the g sound, whereas Seth simply uttered it like an Englishman; do-raand.

"It's so nice to meet you." June extended a hand to Valentine with the best of her smiles.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine." Valentine shook her hand with a warm smile and enthusiasm June couldn't help but instantly liked.

April shook hands with the Valentine too and then with Noel and then, started explaining how she had loved the tomato soup she had tasted on her way here, and the fishes, and the bar and—

June felt a small hand wrap around her fingers and looked down to see Bethany asking for her attention.

"You are Aunt June Miller." She exclaimed, almost as cheerfully as April from when she had seen the fish. "I read your book!"

Read... June thought again. But she was five, how could she—

Then the thought struck her, and as in confirmation, Bethany explained;

"Uncle Seth read it to me! I loved it!" she told her. "Merci beaucoup!"

June recognized the French expression for thank you very much from a book she had read ages ago, and her eyes went wide.

A bilingual girl who reads storied June had read when she was in her early teens. June was impressed.

"No problem." June told her, and then watched her run away giggling, and hiding behind her uncle's leg.

"If you excuse me," Noel said, grabbing an apron from his counter, "I have to check on a few things."

"We'll wait." Seth told him, and seeing April was busy having fun with the little girl now, June nodded too.

After fifteen minutes of Noel winding up in the kitchen; shouting orders at the others and roaming around supervising things, and of April chatting up with Valentine and her daughter, while the kitchen clattered and roared around her, June found herself in the last part of the restaurant she hadn't seen; the main hall.

"The Wood Hall," Seth introduced, walking beside her, holding Bethany's hand on the other side. "as we like to call it—"

"Seth and Noel." Valentine explained from behind them.

"—is the main dining hall of Scrumptious." Seth continued. "We shall be dining here tonight as you," he looked down at June, "have already seen the patio."

"She has?" asked Valentine from behind her. June turned back to see her and April walking side by side behind them.

Just then, Seth grabbed June's arm and pulled her toward him. For a brief moment, June felt his breath touch her face and warmth crept up her neck. She could imagine Stanley's nostrils flare and his eyes narrowing. The memory of her name slipping from his lips just before they had met her's came back to her, but then she noticed that he had just saved her from bumping into some posh dressed stranger's chair who was drinking red wine.

"Sorry!" June apologized over her shoulder but the man didn't seem to have heard. She turned her face away just as Bethany and April started giggling.

"Yes she has." Seth told his sister, fixing his collar, just as Noel caught up to them. "She was here almost a month ago."

"Par ici, s'il vous plait." Noel told them, guiding them to the other end of the Hall.

"He means this way, please." Valentine told them, following right after her husband, looping her arm in his outstretched one.

As they made their way through the place packed with people, June noticed why they called it the Wood hall.

All the furniture; round tables and chairs, the decorations; the candle stands on every table, the paintings on the walls, and in fact one whole wall was made of wood. There were shades ranging from the dark brown of oak trees to the lightest shade of clay. Beige, cinnamon, cognac, amber, honey, russet, chestnut, chocolate—every shade of brown June could think of was there in one way or another.

June noticed how the plates looked more like they were carved from ancient trees, and the salt and pepper shakers looked like pottery decoration pieces.

"Woody." April murmured behind her, and June wondered how had she heard her over the clattering and the chattering of the crowd, until she noticed that April was leaning forward over June's shoulder, and pointing to the wooden wall.

"Wow."

On what looked like a plain wooden wall from the entrance, June saw fine carving which, at taking a few more steps closer, turned to look like words.

"Comments wall." Seth told her, smiling with pride. "A friend came up with this idea. It's made of soft wood and we let special guests carve comments onto it."

"Of course they don't do that themselves," Noel added from the front. "We have people for that. They copy the handwriting from the paper onto the wooden panel."

Turned out, the table reserved for them was just beside the comments wall, and so as they got closer, June could read some of the messages carved there.

Amazing place, amazing food, amazing service. I'd love to come back here every day! —Alex

Haven't been to any place better, Keep shinning!!—ADH

Best of luck with the amazing idea!! You go guyz!!! – Kris M

Appetizing, delectable, delightful, juicy, luscious, piquant, savory—did I miss something? Oh yea, SCRUMPTIOUS!!—J&R

"People seem to love it." June told Seth who pulled a chair for her, and then for April.

June noticed that the table was set for six, but there were only five seats. Then Noel came up with a baby seat, placed it between him and Valentine, and sat Bethany in it.

"Merci!" the girl kissed her father's cheek.

"De rien." Noel told her, pulling a chair for his wife.

"She's bilingual!" April seemed astonished, making Valentine giggle.

Chuckling silently beside her, Seth held out a hand to a passing waiter who immediately stopped and lowered his head to listen to what the manager had to say.

June watched as Seth whispered his request to the boy who seemed to have just gotten out of his teen age. She couldn't hear what they were saying; the Can We Kiss Forever by Kina in the background was too loud, but the respect she saw in the boy's eyes for Seth was eminent. June smiled to see Seth pat the guys shoulder as he left and murmured a thanks.

"June?" Valentine calling her name pulled June's attention back to the table.

"Seth told me," she explained, setting down her drained glass, "that you work at the Café—what was his name again?"

"Becky and J's." provided Noel.

"Yes, that." Valentine turned back to her. "And that you make excellent coffee."

"Oh." June looked over at Seth who was looking at something on his phone.

He had been talking about her.

The thought made something glow inside her, but she suppressed it.

"Mmhm." Valentine nodded, smiling a very kind elder-sisterly-smile. "how long has it been?"

"Almost eight years." June told her.

Seth leaned a bit to his side, and showed his phone's screen to Noel, who read something off it and smirked.

"I told you, you'll make it." He told Seth, who grinned boyishly and June wondered what they were talking of. Then Noel explained more to his wife then to anyone else, and June got to know that Seth was reading a text related to the man he had met in the morning. Apparently, the man's—June couldn't remember his name—secretary had just contacted him via email and had made an appointment.

"Congratulations." She told Seth, and he grinned back at her.

"You did it!" Valentine reached for her husband's hand and gave it a squeeze. "My hardworking young boys."

"I'm not a boy, mon Cherie." Noel pointed out, but didn't pull his hand back. Instead he smiled, and kissed her knuckles.

"Awe." April smiled dreamily from beside June. "you're cute."

Dinner arrived a while later— cutting Valentine midway as she explained why she didn't allow Noel to cook at home— starting with tomato soup just as Seth had told June. It was delicious, and April did swoon this time from the first sip to the last.

Then came the hors d'oeuvres; potato skin, which made June's mouth water. Bethany didn't really like the taste and settled for having some of the soup which was left over intentionally in Valentine's bowl just in case Bethany doesn't like the appetizer.

"I could've ordered chips for her." Seth shook his head at his sister.

"You don't have to, little brother." Valentine replied, emphasizing on the little.

June smiled, looking from brother to sister and then back as an argument raised up. But just before it could turn into a cold war, Noel intervened.

"Well, why don't we save this for back home, mon Cherie?" He talked over his wife, making April and Bethany giggle. "It sounds better when it's disturbing the news bulletin."

June lowered her head, and bit her smile, trying hard not to laugh. The siblings huffed, and let the matter settle for now.

June enjoyed the salad more than the hors d'oeuvre; Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad, according to Noel.

"Elliot— the new boy who made the tomato soup—" he added, "made it under my supervision."

"Then it must be effing delicious!" April dug in with her fork.

And it was. June resisted the moan which almost escaped her the moment the salad touched her tongue.

"Bloody delicious!" Seth verbalized her thoughts out loud.

Bethany messily picked out all the chicken and cucumbers from her plate with her fork, leaving the tomatoes, olives and avocadoes for her father to eat, because;

"I ate the potato skin, love." Said Valentine.

"Then I hope you will like dessert too, mon Cherie." Noel replied, quite politely.

Truffle chicken and potato gratin was served for the main course, and June wondered how was she going to eat that. She had already eaten way more than what she was used to.

"Let's see if it tastes as fun as it was making it." Noel mumbled before taking a bite. Then he nodded and took another.

"That means it is." Valentine smiled, shaking her head.

June took a little bite too, and nodded.

"It is." She told Noel, who straightened his back.

"I'm bursting, but I'm still eating!" April told them, with her mouth full.

"My proud little husband." Valentine grinned. If she weren't sitting so far away from him, June thought that valentine would've stroked his hair too.

What surprised June the most was the dessert.

"There's caramel syrup this time." Seth told her, his voice low enough that it only reached her. June looked up at him to find him looking down at her, his lips stretched into a faint smile, and his eyes a beautiful hazel gold.

"Ambrosial!" April moaned, licking her spoon clean, and then digging in again.

"Yumm!!" Bethany copied April, just that she made more a mess than April.

A few minutes later, April had ice cream on the corners of her mouth and the back of her hand— June wondered how did that even get there? —and Bethany had ice-cream everywhere but in her eyes.

"How did you even get it in your hair?" Valentine asked, wiping her daughter's golden locks with a tissue paper.

"She needs a bath." Commented Noel, sitting cross armed, leaning back on his chair, watching the two.

A group of people sitting just behind them gave the couple and their daughter odd looks, but they didn't care. For some reason, June thought it impolite to point out that Valentine could use the bathroom for cleaning up her daughter too.

Just then, Ed Sheeran's Shape of You started chiming away on April's phone.

"Mum." She told June, excusing herself from the table to pick the call.

Why would mum call at this hour? June wondered, eating the last of her ice-cream, which was mostly chocolate and syrup now, making sure that it didn't stain her skin, or Valentine might just scrub her too.

"Did you like the food?" Noel asked her from across the table, breaking what little silence had fell over them.

Seth turned to her too, putting down the napkin he was just dabbing his mouth with.

"I loved it." June told Noel, "it was amazing."

"Merci—"

"You like his cooking," Seth talked over Noel's thanks. "you should taste my sister's. She's better."

June looked over at him, surprised. Then she saw him slightly wink at her. The hint of mischief in his eyes reminded her of the times she had played along with Stanley's jokes around the dinner table. But with Stanley, June thought, she used to understand what was he going to do by just looking at his boyish smirk. With Seth, June didn't know what was she supposed to say.

"Oh." June turned back to noel. "But... she doesn't cook here."

"Of course I don't." Valentine said, pulling another tissue out of her purse as she discarded the last one on the heap of tissues on the table. "I don't like the noise when I work; constant clatter clatter clatter and two number tens and three number fourteens!"

How many tissues does she have in there? June wondered.

"Mommy!" Bethany jerked away from her mother, giggling, as she wiped her little neck. "That tickles!!"

"But she cooks better." Seth added, bringing then back to the point he was trying to make. "Best food I've ever had."

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Noel leaned forward in his chair, narrowing his eyes at Seth, "Because if you are, she loves me too much to do that just because of you."

Seth chuckled, but before he could reply, April came back, pocketing her phone.

"Mom says she'll be coming over—" She told June, then she noticed something on the table, and her eyes narrowed.

Still standing behind her chair, she leaned forward and placed her elbows on the back of it.

"—Why do you look like your hiding his credit card you know his pin code?" she asked Seth pointing to Noel. Then she noticed Noel, her eyes narrowing even more. "And why do you look like you changed the pin code a month ago but there are chances he knows the new one?"

Then her eyes fell down to table where Valentine had dumped just another tissue, and was now scrubbing her daughter's face with a wet wipe;

"And seriously," her eyebrows raised to her forehead, "how many of those do you have in there??"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Bethany rubbed the cheek which Valentine had just wiped. "Mommy your nails!"

"Pardon, mon ange." Valentine said to her daughter, continuing the scrubbing.

June roughly translated that in her mind as a little sorry dear.

"Ange." Noel repeated, chuckling to himself. "One doesn't do that to an angel, mon Cherie."

Oh. June realized. Mon ange is my angel.

"Anyways," April turned back to June, "Mom says she's decided to visit us."

"What??" June couldn't believe it. Then she realized that she had said it too loud. A happy old couple from the next table turned to look at her.

"What?" she lowered her voice. "When?"

"Yup." April nodded, her tone serious. She wasn't joking. "And I—she asked for me, so you can stay—have to go home immediately."

Saying that, April reached under the chair and grabbed her chained quilted bag. June hadn't noticed she had bought that with her.

"I called a cab." April shouldered the chain. "And I can't wait for you to say your good byes and all, so," she turned to the others. "I'm really really sorry I have to go— mum is a big emergency you know, when she says jump, you ask how high. I really had fun, and the food was delicious! Thanks Noel."

With a quick salute with her hand, she turned away, and June watched her scurry her way to the exit, dodging people and tables here and there.

If Stanley was here, he would've shook his head, sighing.

"And... she's your sister right?" Noel asked just as she disappeared out of sight.

"She is." June told him, still unable to understand what had happened.

Then she realized.

How would she go home?