The afternoon started on a pleasant note as they arrived at the acclaimed Bombay Wok, a high-end Chinese restaurant in Kayooma.
Reyona had heard of the restaurant being the best Chinese restaurant in the country, but she had never been there before.
Just as Maxwell was parking in the sectioned parking lot, Junior was the first to exclaim. "Look! Look at that giant cat! Wow! Why does it have all that stuff? And he is waving at us!"
Reyona smiled as she came face to face with the biggest Maneki-neko she had ever seen.
The statue is otherwise known as the beckoning cat and is always like a figurine that the Chinese and Japanese put in their places of business for good luck. It was mostly placed on desktops or near the cashier, but this particular one was set on a pedestal at the forefront of the restaurant, almost like a guardian angel.
"It is cute" Allysyn said as they came closer.
"What is that written on its body?" Junior asked in confusion as he pointed at the 千万両 written in red letters to match the red, white and gold colour of the calico Japanese bobtail raising its hand in a wave or a beckon, depending on who was looking.
"It is a Chinese character," Maxwell answered as he smiled at the fascination on the kids' faces.
"Chinese! I know Chinese! The people in the cartoon! What... what does it say?" Junior asked curiously as he bent his head like that would help him understand the characters better.
Maxwell looked at Reyona as he answered "Well, that is a tough one, kiddo. I think it says something about luck, yeah?"
Reyona smiled as she said, "Yeah, something like that."
Then she turned to point at 福 written on the gold pendant attached to the cat's collar as she said, "Do you see that?"
The children nodded. "That says "Fuku" and it means luck. While the bigger letters on the body say "sen man ryou" and that means 10 million gold pieces"
"Woah. That is a lot." Junior said in awe.
He tried to count that many gold pieces in his hand and then gave up as he repeated "A lot."
"I see someone paid attention in history class", Maxwell teased Reyona.
"Not all of us went to school to compete for the hottest on campus" Reyona countered.
"Oh, burn. I will get you back for that. I also won't forget that you think I am hot," Maxwell said with a wink.
Before Reyona could respond, he turned to the kids just as Junior moved closer to the statue and said "Okay, kids. If we do not get in there soon, I am sure the owners might accuse us of staring too much. You wouldn't want to be sent off before you enter at all, would you?"
"No, no. I want to eat chicken meatballs!" Junior declared as he moved away from the statue. "I know what the writing means now. The owner wants 10 million gold pieces. Do you have 10 million gold pieces to give him?"
"No, dummy. The statue means good luck. He wants good luck."
"I am not…"
"You are both right" Reyona quickly interrupted Junior's protest. "The owner wants good luck that would let him make up to 10 million gold pieces."
"Woah!" Junior said with his eyes widened in speculation. "The owner will be rich! I would like to be a Chinese restaurant owner!" he declared.
"What an ambition, bud. Way to go!" Maxwell said as he fist-bumped him. "I call dibs on being your first customer, but before then, let's eat here first."
"'Kay," Junior said solemnly, then in the next moment, his face lighted up as he called out. "Look at birds! They have red things on their heads. Look at their super thin and tall legs. Woah!"
"Those are called cranes. They…"
The look Maxwell gave Reyona made her smile, and then she quickly said, "You know what? I will tell you more about them later. Let's go in first."
The Maneki-Neko and the two beautifully sculpted cranes flanking the entrance on each side were the least of the many beautiful artefacts that adorned the restaurant.
As they entered, Reyona wondered how people managed to get any eating done in the restaurant when there were many unique and historical artworks everywhere. It was almost like going to a mini-museum.
The main floor of the family-friendly Chinese restaurant has bright lighting, with a huge dining room. One couldn't help but pay attention to the large murals on the Great Wall of China along with displays of Chinese paintings of emperors, warriors and other scenes from China's imperial history, which adorned the wall with intricate detailing.
The floor has earth-toned tiling, the wall features wood panelling that resembles bamboo shoots. While different groups of people and a handful of individual customers enjoyed varieties of delicacies on the solid wood rectangular, table tops and matching vertical chairs in dark mahogany.
After Junior had proudly declared to the owner that they were only eating there until he could open his restaurant and make his millions of gold coins, they were led to their private dining room, where the contrast to the main floor was so significant.
The room had muted ambient lighting compared to the main floor.
It had intricate piping along the ceiling, and a teal and grey tile floor, while hand-painted and embroidered wallpapers adorned the beige walls.
Their table had an exquisitely padded seat that matched the antique lighting.
Objets d'art and etched oval-shaped fake windows depicting pastoral views illuminated the room with their splendour.
Junior and Allysyn marvelled at the reversible tabletops and Allysyn even went to check out the fake window to be sure it wasn't real.
One of the attendants assigned to them threw them into an excited frenzy as he pointed a remote at the window and the pastoral scene changed to that of a water brook where fishes were leaping out of the water and splashing themselves.
For the first time, Reyona heard Allysyn laugh, it was such an enjoyable, tinkling sound that had her smiling wildly.
She felt Maxwell touch her hand and she looked at him as she blinked back the moisture that was setting in her eyes.
He looked at her in understanding as he curled his hand around hers.
Reyona didn't protest as they both looked back at the children marvelling at the change of scenery.
At that moment, Reyona understood what Toria meant when she said she was going to get hurt anyway.
Reyona could see how much the children had come to mean to her within the last few months.
She was going to miss them a lot when it was time to say goodbye.
They all laughed out loud when the attendant changed the scenery again and the children danced back in excited shock when the furious face of a horse filled the window panel.
Allysyn even squealed as the horse neighed and threw his head up proudly.
"Ally shouted like a girl!" Junior clapped his hands in excitement.
"No, dummy. I did not!" Allysyn said with a chagrined face.
"Hey, Ally is…"
"Children, children. I think we should settle down now, okay?" Reyona said to avoid a confrontation. "These gentlemen are looking forward to feeding us some chicken meatballs."
"Meatballs!" Junior forgot about horses and annoying sisters as he ran to sit beside Maxwell.
Reyona leaned towards Allysyn as she sat and said "You know he doesn't like you calling him dummy. Why do you keep doing it anyway?"
Allysyn forgot her embarrassment as she smiled slyly and responded, "Because he does not like it."
Ah
A logic that could best be understood by someone with siblings.