There was a saying that the secret to a man's heart was through his stomach.

That was a saying Yolanda lived her life by.

"Oh Juliuuuuuus!" She called as the bell chimed announcing her arrival. Bustling into the cramped sitting room; she would eagerly set the steaming bowl of chili on the table.

"Yoo-hoo Landi, is that you?" A high pitched voice would call in reply as the owner of the voice danced into the room. The corner of her mouth would twitch in amusement as he used his pet name for her.

As he came close; her sharp eyes would look over his outfit. It had been a long running joke between them that she looked like a pauper with her ever constant stained apron tied about her waist while he looked like a prince with his flawless way of dress; from his gleaming heart earrings to his polished shoes, he was never a mess. That was why she was always intent on finding something, anything wrong with his outfit.

Running her finger against his crisp collar; she would make a tut-tut noise with her tongue at a stray piece of fuzz. Picking the orange string off of it, she would shake her head. "Flawless Julius letting fuzz live on him? You must be in love." At her words he would beam with pleasure; his cheeks flushing in delight.

"She's an absolute doll, Landi! A doll!" He gushed to her; bouncing on the tip of his toes in excitement. Julius had always been a spitfire ball of excitement; even when Yolanda had known him as a child. Filled with endless amounts of energy, he had been fond of putting pudding in her shoes.

Nodding her head in agreement; she would reach for the red spoon she had brought with her. Dipping it into the chili; she would carefully bring it up to his lips. "Yes, yes, I'm sure - now taste."

Obediently he would part his lips, allowing her to give him the spoonful. Only Julius would be able to successfully eat it without a mess dripping down his chin. Closing his eyes, he would make a soft purring sound of happiness. "It's delicious! Delicious Landi. I'm sure she'll love it!"

Julius had always loved her food, just like all the men in her life had. She had always fretted over him as a mother would; wondering when the time would come when he fell in love with someone. To her delight this had happened a few months ago when new people had come to the island – her old friend Shelly and her granddaughters Luna and Candace.

Yolanda had always hoped he would have fallen for one of them and yet he had taken her by surprise – falling in love with Shelly who was withered and gray like her.

Seeing as the only way to Shelly's heart was through cooking or sewing; Julius had begged her, absolutely begged her to help him. What else was she supposed to do when he was on his knee's begging her to help him with it? She had always loved cooking – and it had led to her romance with the Mayor, Hamilton.

So off she had gone; rolling up her sleeves and gathering countless ingredients for meals that would foster love between the two of them.

Julius and Shelly – who would have thought?

She only hoped that Julius had a plan in mind for when they were married. She wasn't going to keep being his chef then. But seeing the love growing between them couldn't help but make her feel younger; especially since her heart felt a special kind of warmth knowing that she was helping their romance foster.

Oh yes, food was the secret to her love life. Or rather creating love lives for other people.

She wasn't a cougar, after all.