Chapter 140. FIONA

Chapter 140. FIONA
The entire factory was fascinating. Joshua took me to see the process of making various types of bullets before he left for a meeting with his clients. The one bullet I fired had apparently gone through a complicated and lengthy manufacturing process. I didn't really understand it when Joshua gave me a brief explanation, simplified to make it easier for my small brain to understand. Still, I didn't understand the various physical and chemical processes involved in making those bullets.
But I really enjoyed the sophistication and beauty of every corner of the factory. Joshua said he emptied all his savings to build it. I wasn't surprised, because the factory was so sophisticated, so modern, and so clean. The factory's waste was also claimed to be environmentally friendly. But despite being environmentally friendly, Joshua still built the factory far from residential areas. There wasn't a single house within a ten-mile radius of the site. So yeah, when we returned home, there was nothing but complete darkness along the road we were driving. Joshua's weapons factory shone brightly in the distance. The white lights from its chimneys looked like twinkling stars in the sky.
"How was your tour with Erick?"
"Hmm... It was fun. But we didn't finish seeing everything. The place is huge. I was exhausted after three hours of touring. Erick took me to his office, and then you suddenly appeared."
"You can come back another time."
"Is there a next time?"
"Why not?"
"I don't know. I'm just not sure."
I hesitated to bring up the topic of our marriage. But I was so curious. And I had a feeling Joshua knew.
“Josh, about our marriage…”
“Are you hungry?”
Joshua suddenly cut me off with something completely unexpected.
“I had pizza earlier. So I’m not that hungry.”
“I am. We’ll stop at one of my favorite restaurants before we go home.”
“Okay. Whatever you want.”
We fell into silence again on the way home. It seemed his factory wasn’t much of a topic of conversation right now. The only thing I wanted to talk to him about was our relationship and our marriage. I didn't want to talk about his sophisticated weapons factory if our relationship wasn't clear.
“Is this your favorite restaurant?”
“Why? You seem surprised.”
“Of course. I was picturing a fancy restaurant with uniformed waiters guiding us to our tables and the world’s best chefs cooking in a luxurious kitchen. This doesn’t seem like your style at all.”
“I'm not always fancy. But I do like good food. Come on in.”
Joshua took my hand and led me into a one-story brick building. The place was simple, yet homey. The yard was spacious enough to accommodate about five cars. A cherry tree was bearing fruit so heavily that it was falling to the ground. My hands itched to pick the ripe cherries, but Joshua pulled me inside.
I smelled the delicious aroma of spices as soon as I stepped through the door. We were immediately greeted by a dining room with wooden tables and chairs. There were no chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Just a plain white neon light and an "open" sign at the entrance. The cashier and ordering counter were on the left after the entrance.
"Armando."
"Joshua. Welcome. It's been a while since you've been here."
"A little busy."
"You're always busy."
Joshua let go of my hand. He walked over to a large, elderly man with a thick mustache and hugged him. The old man was probably around Joshua's grandfather's age. He didn't look American. He had an accent that sounded like French or Spanish.
“Are you with a woman?”
He smiled seductively at Joshua. I could see their closeness was genuine. I mean, a closeness formed over years of interaction, not just a brief encounter of a day or two.
“Yeah. My fiancée. Fiona.”
“You’ve finally found your soulmate, huh?”
“I’m a lucky man to have her.”
I leaned in closer to Joshua. He put his arm around my shoulders.
“Fiona, this is Armando. And Armando, this is Fiona.”
“Hi, nice to meet you, Armando.”
“Me too. I’ve known Joshua since he was very young. You were ten when you first came here with your grandfather, right?”
“I guess so. It’s been a long time.”
“I’m so sorry about your grandfather. May his soul rest in heaven.”
“Thank you.”
I listened to their conversation like a clueless stranger. They talked about Grandpa's past and glory days. I knew nothing about any of that.
“Armando is Spanish and moved to America to work at one of Grandpa's hotels, isn't that right, Armando?”
“That's right. After I retired, I decided to remodel my house into a simple Spanish restaurant. His grandfather used to come here often to eat my cooking. I'm honored to be able to serve him my food.”
“Your cooking is the best, Armando. There's no Spanish food out there as delicious as yours.”
“Tsk, don't praise me like that in front of your fiancée. She's beautiful. You're very lucky, son.”
“I am. But I don't know if she feels lucky to have me too.”
I coughed softly at his joke. He left me speechless in front of Armando.
“I'm sure Fiona feels lucky to have you too. You're a lovely couple. May God bless you.”
I nodded simply because I didn't have anything to say to him.
“Please, have a seat. I'll prepare some food for you.”
We sat at one of the tables and waited for Armando to arrive with his signature dishes.
We fell into a strange awkwardness after Armando left. He was the one who dominated our entire conversation. Joshua didn't seem to bother to strike up a conversation with me.
“What’s his signature dish?”
“Paella with orange and olive salad, and patatas bravas. He also makes delicious sangria.”
“I’m sure his food is delicious if you say so. You’re a picky eater.”
There was silence again. I was getting fed up with this awkwardness. It was like he was deliberately letting the problem linger in front of us without trying to fix it.
“Joshua, I need to talk to you seriously.”
“Sure. Let’s talk.”