Chapter 33
Watching Jasper walk away, Natalie suddenly realized that her earlier gesture of grabbing his hand was too forward. In the 1970s, such an act could be seen as flirtatious, She hoped he didn’t think she was being too frivolous,
But whatever–if he did, so be it. According to the original storyline’s plot, there was little chance of anything developing between them, so she didn’t care about his opinion of her.
Reassuring herself, she dried her hands and returned to the table to continue eating,
She polished off the crab meat, nibbled on some other dishes, and only took a few bites of the staple food before feeling full. Noticing that Sophie wasn’t eating much either, Natalie followed suit and set her cutleries aside.
Only Jasper and Zachary were still eating. They ate quickly but not messily, clearly accustomed to eating well. Yet, they didn’t waste anything, finishing all the dishes on the table except for half a box of prawns.
Natalie didn’t mind. She closed the lunch box, put it into her bag, and stood up to pay the bill. When she approached, the waiter recognized her and smiled, saying, “Miss, your boyfriend has already paid.”
The waiter lifted his chin and pointed over in Zachary’s direction.
Natalie was speechless. Jasper paid last time, and now Zachary had taken it upon himself to do so. When would she ever be able to repay her debt of gratitude?
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Natalie replied to the waiter, feeling helpless, and walked over to join Jasper and the others.
As she approached, she heard them discussing where to go next.
It mainly was Sophie suggesting, “Captain Locke, I want to check out Amity Supermarket and pick up a few things. I didn’t bring much for my trip to Kingston.”
When she noticed Natalie approaching, she unexpectedly invited her, “Ms. Talia, do you want to come with us?”
Natalie was about to decline when Zachary said, “Ms. Talia, come with us! It’ll be a nice way to walk off lunch. Jasper and I aren’t good at shopping, so you ladies can help each other.”
Zachary was trying to create more opportunities for Natalie and Jasper to interact.
Unaware of his intentions, Natalie felt somewhat compelled by his enthusiasm and the fact that he was covering the meal. So, she reluctantly nodded. The group left the Aroma House and strolled toward Amity Supermarket.
This was Natalie’s second visit. The first time, she had at least some cash from the Locke family to buy a couple of outfits, but this time, she was just window shopping after a meal.
She had ten dollars and a few ration coupons left over from the last time she planned to pay for d to spend it.
dinner. Although she saved this money, she was hesitant
After all, she was staying with the Locke family and felt it was already shameful not to contribute any living expenses. She didn’t want to find herself in a position later where she needed to borrow money.
She sighed and couldn’t help but reminisce about her life before transmigrating into the book.
