You just don't know how much you love something until you've lost it, or go a long time without it. I had forgotten just how good food could be, and Gramp's cooking was the best by far. Because I never had time to waste learning to cook, I usually just ate at restaurants. Viridian City had many decent establishments, but none that served food better than Gramps. Daisy had never been the best cook either, so even back then, before I was on my own, Gramp's food had been a blessing.
Normally, I would have waited for everyone to be served before eating, but I couldn't help myself. There also seemed to be an extra dish and silverware out for somebody who hadn't even arrived yet, despite the food already being hot and ready.
"Who's coming?" I asked out loud, trying not to talk with my mouth full.
"Oh, I've invited a special guest to dine with us, if you two don't mind." Gramps replied, bringing out more food from the kitchen.
"Not at all, especially if it's that new aide of yours grandfather," Daisy giggled, nudging my shoulder for some reason. "Blue, have you met grandfather's new aide?"
"As a matter of fact," Gramps replied, taking a seat at the table, "he has."
"Who? The Daphne chick?" I asked, completely out of the loop.
"So what do you think, Blue?" Daisy continued giggling in her seat.
"Think of what?" I asked, just wanting to enjoy a meal without Daisy annoying me for once.
"You know, Blue, Daphne's got quite a little crush on you." Gramps explained.
Leave it to him to put something like that so straight forward. Suddenly I was choking on the food I had been drooling over just a moment ago.
"Oh, the two of you would look so cute together!" Daisy cried out, hugging me tight and imagining the whole thing in her head. "So, is Daphne coming over this evening?"
"Unfortunately, no." Gramps replied, which was actually pretty fortunate for me. "She was busy this evening, I'm afraid. Though I'm sure that would have made for an even more interesting evening."
"What a shame." Daisy nudged me on my shoulder again. "Come on, tell me. What did you think of her?"
"What do you mean, what did I think of her?" I was beginning to raise my voice for no reason. "What does it matter, anyways? I'm leaving tomorrow!"
Both Daisy and Gramps said nothing and stared back at me with blank expressions. For a second there, I thought it had been something I had said, so I stopped to think about it. Distracted by my own confusion, I was caught off guard when I suddenly felt two hands fall heavily onto my shoulders. A warm breath by my right ear then said in a ghoulish voice, "GET OUT! LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Again, I was caught off guard. That's the only reason it caused me to leap out of my seat the way I did.
After snapping out of the sudden flashback from when I was a kid, I realized who the twerp who had frightened me really was. I had only gotten a brief look at his face, but it had been enough to Paralyze me. The next thing I knew, I got up, without a word, and sat back in my seat quietly. I couldn't even make eye contact with him. I just stared down at my half-empty plate as he made his way around me to greet Gramps.
"Red? How'd you get in?" Gramps quickly stood up to welcome him.
"Front door was open. I would've knocked first, but I heard Blue yelling and decided to surprise my old friend, for old time sake."
"Red! It's so good to see you!" Now Daisy stood up to greet him, running over towards him and giving him a huge hug as if she really knew him that well. "Why, I haven't seen you since you returned that map you borrowed from me. Look at you! You're so tall and handsome."
Both Gramps and Daisy seemed so glad to see Red. As for me...
How do I feel about seeing him again?
"Blue," Red turned to me, taking the seat next to mine, "I can't believe it's been such a long time since we last saw each other."