Written for the Assigned Character Prompt. Thank you all for reading!
The bell chimed softly as the door to the restaurant opened. Raeger turned around and saw a blonde woman. She was dressed up in a pale red dress. He knew the moment he saw her face why she was here. Still, he gave her his service smile and greeted her with the usual line.
"Hello miss, I'm sorry to say, but I'm not open for the day yet," he said.
"Oh, um, I'm… I'm not here to eat. Well, not yet anyway. I actually wanted to um speak with you," she replied shyly.
On the outside, Raeger maintained his charming persona and gave the woman a nice smile. On the inside, Raeger was sighing and mentally preparing himself for what came next.
Step 1: Listen to the confession.
"If that's the case, how may I help you?" the chef asked, motioning for the woman to take a seat at a nearby table. She smiled at him as she sat down. Raeger took the seat across from her.
"I'm not sure if you know, but my name is Vanessa. I come here to eat every once in the while…" she said trailing off.
Rule #3 for Step 1: When a woman trails off, she is asking for you to enter the conversation.
"I remember you. You like to order the okomiyaki, right?"
"Yes!" she replied, beaming. "I've order it so many times, you've given me three recipes so far. Anyways… I'm glad you remember me. I came here today because I think I've fallen for you Raeger. You're charming and such a nice guy. I'd love it if you would consider going out with me."
Step 2: Apologize but make it quick.
"I'm sorry, Vanessa. I'm afraid I don't reciprocate your feelings. It wouldn't be fair for me to go out with you."
"Oh…"
"I'm sorry."
"This is so embarrassing," she choked, fighting back tears.
Step 3: Acknowledge and thank the woman for her courage
"I know it took a lot of courage for you to come here today and confess your feelings. I admire your actions. Thank you for sharing how you feel," the chef said softly. Despite saying such a rehearsed line, Raeger's words flowed naturally with a certain charm that made them well received.
A weak smile tugged at the woman's lips.
Step 4: Offer a small service to ease the pain if the woman doesn't flee the scene
Rule #5 for Step 4: Never offer a hot beverage.
"Would you like a glass of juice? It's on the house," Raeger asked.
The blonde nodded as she grabbed a napkin from the table to dry her eyes.
"You rejected me, yet here you are offering me a drink. Why are you being so nice?" she asked when Raeger set a glass of apple juice in front of her.
"Like I said, I admire your courage. I may not feel the same way, but that doesn't mean I have to treat you poorly."
Vanessa took a sip of juice, avoiding eye contact with the chef. After finishing the juice, she stood up to leave.
"Thank you for the juice. I better get going now," she said politely.
Rule #1 for Step 4: Never ask a woman if she'll come back to the restaurant for a meal.
"I hope your day gets better, Vanessa," Raeger said as she opened the door. The woman offered Raeger one last smile before walking away.
As soon as the door closed, Raeger sighed in relief. The confession rejection had gone smoothly. Raeger walked over to the mirror. He eyed his uniform. His look wasn't quite right.
"At least this time, I didn't have to change," he mumbled as he rolled up his white sleeves. Raeger readjusted his tie and looked into the mirror again. His face clearly expressed his annoyance.
He was getting tired of the confessions. It was almost the same story every time. Every woman that came in to confess would eat at his restaurant several times and suddenly confess her feelings without ever trying to have a proper conversation with him. There was barely any small talk when they came in to eat, and what annoyed him the most was that they never really tried to get to know him. In their eyes, he was just a charming chef.
Raeger couldn't exactly change his restaurant persona. He didn't like to admit it, but he owed some of the restaurant's success to his charm. His cooking skills could only get him so far. As much as Raeger appreciated the routine business of many of Oak Tree Town's villagers, their visits were not enough to keep him in business. It was the repetitive visits from his female admirers that secured the roof over his head.
Raeger did try dating a few customers before, but it never ended well. None of those girlfriends ever cooked for him or gave him small presents to show their affection. They expected him to cook for them and for him to treat them like princesses nonstop. It was exhausting, and dating them made him unhappy. What Raeger really wanted was just one quality girl. He would happily trade all the attention of his female customers for someone special. Someone that would ask him how his day was, someone that would offer to help him when he needed it, someone that would equally give and take.
Someone like Annie.
Raeger banished that thought as soon as it entered his mind. Annie was with Fritz. Fritz, the clumsy, penniless farmer, had hit the jackpot. Annie was spirited, skilled, beautiful, and, above all else, kind. Annie and Fritz were in love, and they had made sure Raeger knew it. Just last Wednesday, they were in his room gushing about each other right in front of him. Despite Raeger's mild disgust and his slight jealously, he was happy for his redheaded friend. Fritz may be the worst farmer Raeger ever met, but Fritz had so much passion and tenacity that Raeger actually admired him. Of course, Raeger never mentioned or even hinted at his admiration to Fritz. He knew the farmer would blow it out of proportion.
As if on cue, Fritz walked into the restaurant. Raeger looked at the clock.
"Raegerrrrrrrrr, I'm starving," Fritz cried.
"I don't open for another seven minutes," Raeger replied, trying hard not to sound amused.
"Don't do this to me, man. I gotta eat something, or I'll pass out," Fritz moaned.
"Five minutes," Raeger replied flatly.
"RAEGER!"
"Fine, tell me what you want," the chef said as he walked to the kitchen.
"Mitten crab soup."
"Pick something on the menu."
"Pleaseeeee?"
"No."
"Aw well, it was worth a shot. I'll take a slice of apple pie."
Raeger raised a brow. "I thought you said you were hungry? Shouldn't you order something that isn't a snack?"
"Nah, the sugary goodness of your homemade apple pie will give me back my strength," Fritz said with his fist raised shoulder-level and a fiery look in his eyes. Raeger shook his head but started working on pie anyway. Fortunately for Fritz, Raeger had already prepped the dough and apples last night. All the chef needed to do was put them in a pan and bake it.
"Your total will be 460 G."
"It should be a crime for pie to be this expensive," Fritz said, while completely emptying his right pocket.
"I have to stay in business," Raeger replied.
"I know…" Fritz said as he begrudgingly handed over his money. "You know Lillie said it was going to snow tonight. Annie and I are planning a snowman-building contest. You could help judge."
"Annie is the winner."
"Hey! We haven't even built the snowmen yet!"
Raeger let out a small chuckle. The bell rang as a woman with long wavy strawberry-blonde hair entered the restaurant.
"Welcome, how may I help you?" Raeger asked.
"Table for one, please," the woman replied. Raeger smiled and motioned for her to take a seat. He slid a menu onto the table.
"Just let me know when you are ready to order," he said. The blonde nodded.
"Is my pie ready yet?" Fritz moaned.
"Not yet, it'll be a few more minutes," Raeger answered.
"Pardon me, I'm ready to order," the woman called.
"What can I get for you today?" Raeger asked sweetly.
"I'd like a baked fish, a mushroom spaghetti, and a cream puff," she stated.
"I'll get those started right away. Please let me know if there is anything else you need," Raeger said. She nodded.
Raeger walked over and got to work on the orders. In between seasoning the fish and preparing the pasta sauce, he took the pie out of the oven.
"Finally!" Fritz rejoiced. "I'm ready for my pie!"
"Please wait a few more minutes. It needs some time to cool," Raeger stated. Fritz groaned and put his forehead to the table. Raeger mentally rolled his eyes.
After a few more minutes, Raeger slid a slice of pie towards Fritz. The farmer's eyes grew wide, and he eagerly scooped up a bite of the golden goodness with his fork.
"So good! Raeger, you're the best."
Raeger gave his friend a smile, before getting back to work on the woman's meal. He soon finished the order and set the items onto her table.
"For the lovely lady, here is one baked fish, one mushroom spaghetti, and one cream puff. I hope everything is to your liking."
"Oh my! This looks great. Thank you."
"It's my pleasure."
A few more customers came in, and Raeger took their orders.
"Psstttt. Raeger, that girl won't stop staring at you." Fritz whispered. Raeger glanced over at the blonde. She gave him a smile and returned her attention to her cream puff.
Not another one.
"You think she likes you?" Fritz asked like an excited puppy. Raeger shrugged and handed Fritz a napkin.
"You have crumbs on your face," Raeger stated, changing the topic.
"I do!?" Fritz asked in shock. Why is he so surprised? "She's staring again. What do you think she wants? Is she another one of your adoring fans?"
"She's a new customer. Don't you have a farm to tend to?"
"Yeah… I guess I better go. See ya, man."
"Bye," Raeger replied. He glanced over at the woman, who was motioning for him to come over.
"How did you like your meal?" Raeger asked her.
"It was just as charming as you," she said, smiling. Charming again. She raised her hand towards Raeger. "My name is Felicity, Felicity Jackson."
"F.C. Jackson, the food critic?" Raeger asked in surprise, shaking her hand. She nodded.
"The meal was quite lovely. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be giving your restaurant a formal review," she replied. "I usually don't tell the chefs, but I made an exception this time, since your restaurant is on par with the one I work at in Echo."
"Thank you for your praise. I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed your food."
Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky as Raeger made his usual trip to the inn. Melanie was dancing around in front of the building, with Lillie standing nearby.
"Raeger!" Melanie greeted excitedly. "Lillie said it's going to snow all night, and the snow will still be here tomorrow! We're going to make snowmen and snowangels before Lillie goes to work tomorrow. Do you wanna join?"
"I'm not much of a morning person," Raeger laughed.
"Pleaseeeee," Melanie asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Melanie, don't force Raeger to come if he doesn't want to," Lillie chimed in.
"Oh please, you want him to come more than I do," Melanie teased.
"Melanie!" Lillie scolded as her cheeks began to turn red. A smile tugged at Raeger's lips.
"So when are you two finally going to get together? I know we already consider Raeger to be apart of the family, but we might as well make it official."
Lillie's cheeks turned a brighter shade of red, and a faint blush painted Raeger's cheeks. Melanie sighed.
"Listen Raeger. My sister is hopeless when it comes to this kind of stuff, so you're going to have to make the first move. If you don't ask Lillie out soon, this new guy, Johnny, is going to sweep her off her feet. He already brought her flowers- mmmgmgmgmgg," Melanie explained, getting interrupted by Lillie's hand cover her mouth. Raeger frowned at the mention of Johnny. He wasn't sure why, but imagining another guy with Lillie bothered him.
"Melanie's been w-w-watching too many romance movies lately. Johnny is just a new hire who brought me flowers to congratulate me on my 500th forecast event," Lillie explained, speaking a little too fast. Melanie broke free.
"I thought you said you wanted my help!" Melanie shouted at Lillie.
"This wasn't what I had in mind…" Lillie replied quietly. Lillie turned to Raeger. "I'm sorry. This was probably awkward for you too."
"No worries Lillie. I'm used to Melanie by now," Raeger responded. Melanie rolled her eyes. "How was your day at work?"
"Oh, it was good. They are letting me do more forecast work for the report. It's definitely more fun to predict the weather and tell people about it than to just read from a script."
"Good for you," Raeger replied genuinely. "How was your day, Melanie?"
"It was ok. I didn't get to play with Lutz as long as usual because his mom was making him study extra today. But Lillie is going to play with me tomorrow morning, so that'll be fun. Can you please come too?"
I don't think I'm going to get out of this one.
"Oh alright, I'll come."
"Yay!" Melanie cheered.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Is it true that a famous food critic came to your restaurant today? I heard about it at the station," Lille inquired.
"Yes, the review will be out first thing in the morning," Raeger replied.
"I can't wait to read it," Lillie said.
"Me too," Raeger chuckled.
The Charming Chef of Oak Tree Town
If you want a tasty meal and want to be served by a charming host, look no further than Oaks Eatery. The current owner of the restaurant inherited the establishment from his grandfather and is successfully maintaining the restaurant's reputation.
I tried three dishes, and I was not disappointed. The baked fish was seasoned with just the right amount of lemon and …
Raeger kept reading the article. Overall, he was satisfied with the review, but he had this unsettling feeling. While Felicity had highlighted the quality of the dishes, she still had made it a point to emphasize his charm. He sighed. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much. After all, it wasn't a bad thing. Raeger tossed the paper to the side and headed out towards the inn. The town was blanketed in pure white snow.
"Why hello Mr. Charming Chef," Melanie greeted, swing her blue scarf around.
"Hello, Miss Melanie," Raeger replied.
"Glad you could make it!" Melanie said, smiling.
"Congratulations on the review. I'm sure you'll be getting more business," Lillie said.
Raeger frowned for a split second, but Lillie still noticed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. Melanie looked between Raeger and Lillie.
"I'm going back inside to get my mittens," the young girl chimed as she took her leave.
'It's not a big deal," Raeger stated.
"You can still tell me if it's bothering you."
Raeger looked at Lillie. He had known her for so long. Her face was kind, and her voice was sweet. He knew he could tell her anything.
"I guess I'm a bit worried about people only seeing me as … charming."
"You're so much more than that! You're a hard worker. I know for a fact that you work really hard every day. You're kind. I know you opened your restaurant just for Fritz, and you always make us soup when one of us gets sick. Charming is just one of your qualities and there is nothing wrong with it. Oh gosh! I didn't mean to go off like that I'm sorry."
Raeger looked at Lillie again. Something felt a little different this time. Her face was flushed, and he thought she looked rather… cute. Was he just now noticing this? No, he had seen it before, just not in this way. It finally dawned on him that he had been overlooking this wonderful girl for years.
"Thank you, Lillie."
Raeger gave her a smile. After a moment of silence, he stepped closer to her and looked into her eyes.
"You look cute today," he said softly. Lillie's hands rushed to her red cheeks.
"Eeep!" she squeaked. Realizing the noise she had made, she rushed inside. "I'm going to find Melanie."
Raeger watched her run off in amusement. Lillie's words had improved his mood. Besides, being charming did have its advantages.