Marcus' Perspective

Choosing the upscale one would be the best decision after we helped our son, Simon, move into his dorm room as he started college. 

It has a private room, which is designated for VIPs, especially cultivators in the elegant restaurant that offers a different menu. 

“It’s been like what… ten years since we dined in Luxe.” Larson, my extremely handsome husband, remarked after we were seated in the diner’s posh chairs, which seemed to be magically infused and would put anyone into relaxation.

“It seems so,” I replied.  “Well, this is the first restaurant I invited you to during our first romantic date.” 

“Nostalgic, indeed. But then changes happened and then we have this exclusive VIP room for cultivators, something we could not see before. For cultivators, we have the third floor.” 

Larson sent his feedback. It was more than a quip. But it is laden with information.

“Don’t you dine here while you stay in the city?” I asked. 

Luxe is within the big city where Larson has been working. Though the distance is almost a hundred miles from his office building, for cultivators, the location seems irrelevant.

“This is within the university district which is over a hundred miles from the Upper Serfem district. So I mostly dine in fine dining restaurants within that circle of the office building.”

“So it’s been ten years?” I reckoned while asking.

“Yes and yet pleasant as I can reminisce your naughtiness here. Haha!”

My husband’s response sent a bit of embarrassment to what he was referring to. I was young, wild, and free at that time when my cultivation clan removed me from the roster after the death of my mother. As for my father, I never really saw him. Ever.

Red-faced, I quipped back, “Well, I was young and very much in love.”

“Aren’t you still?” Larson asked with a grin on his handsome face.

“Always, babe…” while reaching out his hand to hold on the table. I was seated beside him as we reserved the opposite seat for Simon.

We were in this VIP room for more than thirty minutes. We decided to be early as we had to discuss business before Simon’s arrival.

“You know we could do something before Simon arrives.” My naughty side is awakened as I regard the exclusivity of this room. With our ability to make this soundproofed and even shielded, it would be a matter of immediate decision to make my desire happen. And so I looked at Larson’s eyes, which changed from clear to haze. Haze with lust. I know my handsome husband very well now. 

 

But then his response made me a bit frustrated.

 

“Well, as much as I want to have you writhing with pleasure with your back on this table, our son is approaching this room as I speak.”

 

“Damn, what a spoilsport.” I reached out for the glass of water to moisten my mouth, which seconds ago was dry with wanting for my husband’s endowment. 

 

“Is it me or our son?”  Larson chuckled as he also turned to a glass of wine to sip. 

 

Truth be told, it seems seconds after Larson’s remark that Simon came knocking on the door to the exclusive room and then he let himself in to join us. 

 

I stood up to embrace him while he was reaching for Larson’s hand to shake. His father greeted him with an embrace much to his shock. 

 

“It was hours ago since we left you. And now, it feels that our son is a different person.” I complimented them as I held him in my embrace which he accepted with glee. 

 

My relationship with Simon is always changing from that of a co-parent and big brother. Lately, before his move to college, I became his teacher and best friend. 

 

Learning of his proclivities made me remember about my things and experiences when I was younger. His recent break-up and heartbreak though has been hard for him so I became an impromptu best friend and confidante for him while his blood father is away for work. 

 

“It’s good to see you guys again.”

 

I let go of the embrace after hearing that. Looking at his face, he seems happy to see us.

 

“Same here, kiddo.”

 

“Let’s get you settled.”

 

After watching him seated and comfortable, I decided to initiate the discussion. 

 

“So, how has it been? How are you liking your dorm room?”

 

“It’s been great. Thanks to you Dad. Outside on the balcony, I am also presented with the best view of the city in the university district.”

 

Simon responded with a sip of a glass of water. 

 

“You know this restaurant is awesome. It has a fourth floor for VIP’s. And it’s exclusive!”

 

“Indeed. I chose the best. Hahaha!” I quipped with a heartfelt glee before I stopped myself from blurting out that this was where his father and I had our first romantic date.

 

But then I forgot that my husband is more straightforward and a bit talkative.

 

“We had our first date here.”

 

“Oh! So you also did, you know…” Simon trailed while trying to imply what he wanted to know though the information might be too much for him as an offspring unconsciously wanting to learn a bit of his parents’ sex life. 

 

“No! This was not here before.” I immediately retorted whatever he was thinking though I would have recoiled if I balked at stopping his thought, however naughty it might seem.

 

Larson chortled though which turned into a big laugh. Simon joined while I remained beet-faced.

 

“Well, your daddy was suggesting something naughty while waiting for you here thinking it would take you another hour to arrive.”

 

“That might be a watchful for me to take. I don’t like to see my old man…”

 

Now, I balked not knowing how to respond to the way my husband had been steering the conversation.

 

But then my quick-wittedness seemed to retract as I gained a foothold of what to rebut.

 

“Well, you are an adult now, so this discussion needs to be normalized. Not that we want you to watch us though. But your father and I are still virile and very much in love.”

 

“That’s a good one, hone,” Larson remarked. He seemed pleased with the way I handled this matter though it is not anymore concerning considering the age of our son.

 

“I don’t want to learn much about your sex lives though. But I am happy that my parents are happy with their married life after several years.”

 

Simon’s smart response sends me a new light about what our son has been transformed into after less than a year of teaching him cultivation techniques including light magic spells he can use with his daily life dealing with chores as he attends the university.

 

“Luxe has been part of our dating journey and even after we got married. We even held our reception here after the wedding though it was a small affair among colleagues at work.”

 

I relayed more information as I wanted though but Simon did not have the intention to ask more. Instead, I heard the usual thing from my husband.

 

“Again, being here seems nostalgic. As much as I wanted to dine here while working in the city, its distance is inconvenient from the office building. If I want someone to bring in here, he should be someone as important as Marcus. But so far, it is only you, son, who is as important as him to me. I don’t want to breach the sacredness of this place, which seems to hold importance for me and my husband.”

 

That long declaration should put tears on my face. It did. My husband still finds a way to send a magical message that would tug at my heartstrings and would add to my love for him.

 

“That’s romantic, Dad. I never thought you still had it.” 

 

“I may be strict with you. But I love my husband very much.” Watching as he said it beaming with love, I couldn’t help but feel more tingles on my spine as my eyes were brimming with mist. I did what I ought to do at that point. 

 

I hugged him tightly.

 

“I love you, babe. Always.”

 

That overflowing love came from within and it resonated with those words, however simple it may be. But those words remained powerful.

 

“You too, babe. I love you!”

 

I didn’t know Simon’s reaction at that point but then I heard a chuckle after minutes of embracing Larson, which for me, was longer than what we had with an audience.

 

“It’s good to see you lovey-dovey dads. But the smell of this food makes my mouth water now.”

 

I unentangled from Larson as I then gawked at Simon who was eyeing the food. 

 

I was amazed at the way he managed to learn the mechanism of bringing food to the table, which seemed unconventional. The VIP room did not need waiters to come and take our orders. 

 

Rather, the table is magically laden with a mechanism using the menu to select the food and then once selected with a magic chopstick, the table transformed into light where the food selected and ordered would appear, fresh and ready to be consumed. The process would only take a minute from the time of the selection of orders to the appearance of the selected orders on the table. 

Since my face was away from the table when I embraced Larson, I was unaware that both of them already ordered.

 

Every selection was what I also wanted. Spirit foods are our sources of nourishment for us cultivators though the times we consume them would vary. 

 

For Simon, spirit foods are important for him though in controlled amounts as overconsumption would pose a potential risk to his cultivation.

 

For me and Larson, spirit foods are like staples though we opted for fast pills with recovery and regenerative effects that would last us weeks before we desire to consume another food. Within the duration of the fasting pills, we can still opt to eat spirit foods both for nourishment and indulgence. This is the time we decided to enjoy spirit foods while within the effect of the fasting pills.

 

“Three days from now, you will be celebrating your wedding anniversary.”

 

“It’s good you remember it, kiddo. That is why we have this special dinner. It is the best time to celebrate our anniversary while you are here.”

 

Larson pointed out his remark and appreciation for his son while trying on a steamed fish spirit mackerel. 

 

While I was munching on a magic-infused vegetable tempura, I added, “There is no better place to celebrate our anniversary than at Luxe.”

 

Conversations flowed freely as we consumed whatever we wanted. Simon almost decided to order for the third time until we stopped him. This is different from mortal foods which Simon used to enjoy before he started his cultivation path. 

 

Larson and I knew how much Simon had become a foodie while doing sports. The nourishment of the foods in the mortal realm could be attributed to a few spirit ingredients laden during the cultivation process of fresh produce, livestock, and even those processed. So they are free of ingredients that would harm the mortal population. 

 

Hence, mortals on this continent are living healthily except for those still living in poverty by choice even with the support of the governments.

 

For Simon’s part, his youthfulness can be attributed to genetics as well as healthy living. Being an athlete, his height is taller than average mortals. Though Larson and I are equal in height and are much taller than Simon, perhaps, in a year or two, Simon will add two or three more inches to his height that might be almost equal to ours. However, we are also expecting Simon to really grow taller than us or even equal to us in height.

 

 Before we parted for the night, Larson and I gave Simon our respective gifts. It was great to see our son accepting our gifts with an expression that reminded us of when he was a child in our care and then received his first-ever birthday gifts from us.