“The biggest fan,” Sofia said firmly, zero traces of doubt in the lilt of her voice. She’d never been one of those girls who didn’t eat— she liked food, loved to eat, and she would gladly indulge on the Italian kind whenever an opportunity came about. “Oh yeah, they take good care of you here, don’t even worry about it. I promise you’ll be satisfied and full when you leave here.”
Chuckling, she nodded and said, “Yeah, a pillow throne does sound more comfortable, you’re right. Or just like… a king sized bed or something, floating through life on it.” Effervescent laughter rose and billowed, her eyes shining with mirth.
The waitress greeted them and quickly took their orders, writing away on her little pad at lightning speed— clearly not a newbie. Sofia thanked her and turned back to Andre again, facing his question, which was undoubtedly a good one and far from the expected one when it came to first encounters. She liked that.
“What makes me happy? My family, especially my little brother and sister, and my friends too of course, and literally any fluffy animal out there? Even some of the non fluffy ones too, I guess. And… helping people. What about you though? What makes you happy?”
“Oh, I believe it.” Andre nodded. Sofia certainly didn’t come across to Andre as anything but genuine. So her enthusiasm about the restaurant and the entrees they would soon be enjoying was contagious. “Maybe I’ll be so moved as to write a shining Yelp review.”
Andre knew that his question was unorthodox for a conversation with someone he’d just met, but that’s why he liked it. People spent so much time with surface level questions that didn’t really reveal anything about the other person. Life was precious, especially for someone like Andre who suffered from a chronic illness; therefore time wasn’t something he believed should be wasted. He nodded along with Sofia’s responses, grinning as she named a few things he could relate to.
“My faith; I pray every day. Being able to help people who’re struggling, especially kids. Family, definitely. And don’t make fun of me when I say this because I’m 100% serious--love. I love falling in love, being in love. It feeds my soul to share myself with someone else, you know?”