Chapter 36: CH36: Planning a trip
""Don't wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty.
Chocolate isn't like premarital sex. It will not make you pregnant.
And it always feels good."."
- Lora Brody
=========================
A week before their trip, Delilah and Ai Meili decided to meet up to discuss more about their trip itinerary. Ai Meili had already booked their hotel, which was in the city centre. Delilah does not mind where, as long as it was within her budget and has a bidet in the bathroom. After all, she does not plan to stay in the hotel for too long. She only needs a place to sleep and place their luggage. For most of the days there, she planned to get out more and explore the state.
At that moment, Delilah was working, skimming through the reports that Aubree had given her. She decided to finish all of her work before she flies off. This was so that she wouldn't have much work when she gets back. She wanted to relax a bit after returning from the holiday. Fortunately for Delilah, most of the work that Aubree had given her were mostly reports for their new services as well as Deegan's report. All Delilah needs to do was to skimmed through and check whether anything was missing and so forth.
It was already a new month for them. And when new month arrives, it was usually the time when Deegan would be rotated to another department. That month, he was placed under the General Affairs, where he will be working with the admins. Delilah had already introduced him to the head of General Affairs, named Ben. He was a Chinese man, in his late forties. He was a tall man, with a lean body. His hair already has that streak of white hair on the side of his head, making him look more mature. He was also strict when it comes to work and dislike noises. He would reprimand anyone who talked loudly in the office or has their phone still ringing. Delilah was glad that she was not on the same floor as him. This was because she tends to make noises herself when she eats her snacks in her cubicle.
Amy was one of the admins but she usually worked at the other branch. Hence, for now, Deegan would be working at the HQ where he will work together with Ben and the other admins. Delilah thought she would probably send Deegan over at the other branch to make him familiarize with both branches.
It was nearly time for working hours to end. Deegan and Firah had already packed their things and were preparing to leave the office. Before leaving the office, Deegan had quickly placed a chocolate bar on Delilah's desk before Delilah could say thank you.
She sighed in resignation. Well, she already said her piece. She can't exactly reject his good intentions now. He probably thought that he was being a kind friend. She inwardly shrugged as she dutifully switched off her computer and placed her piles of reports in her drawer. She locked the drawer before packing her things and leave the office. She and Ai Meili had agreed to meet up after work. They decided to meet up at a kopitiam in the business centre, which was popular for their hi-tea meals.
Less than an hour later, they arrived at the kopitiam in seperate cars. The restaurant was a small shop, located in the middle of the business centre. There were more people walking on the streets, compared to people driving on the roads. Hence, the parking there was hard to find. It took Delilah another twenty minutes to look for one, until she opted to park at the other side of the road. There was a huge sign that reads 'FunTime Kopitiam' on the storefront of the restaurant and a black and white awning above the entrance. Inside, the interior design looked attractively charming with rustic metal chairs and tables. There was also a small flower vase with a daisy that decorated the table. Looking closely at the flower, one could tell it was plastic but looked real. It made the place looked more homey with photo frames with motivational quotes in it decorating the walls.
Ai Meili was already inside, sitting at one of the tables when Delilah walked in. She waved her over and invited her to sit down. Delilah placed her handbag on another empty seat and settled in comfortably. She picked up the menu and asked Ai Meili, without looking up, "Have you order yet?"
Ai Meili nodded. "Yeah, I ordered us some Roti Kawin and a drink."
Delilah frowned. "You mean, your drink," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Ai Meili shrugged. "I don't know what you want for your drink," she replied carelessly.
Delilah just rolled her eyes and called for a waiter to take her order.
Once that was done, Ai Meili immediately took out her iPad from her handbag. She has the latest iPad, which comes with a stylus pen. It was her favourite gadget at the moment since she liked to doodle, using it. And she claimed that it made her handwriting looked prettier. Even though, Delilah could find no difference when it comes to her writing on a notebook and on the tablet. But she did not dare to say it out loud because she knew Ai Meili would argued non-stop.
Ai Meili started off by writing a huge title on the notepad app, 'Places to go!'. She put down her stylus pen and looked at Delilah in the eye. "Alright. One task done. Where do you want to go?"
Delilah had been on her phone, scrolling and searching for places to eat in the state. Every time she found a place that she liked, her eyes lit up and her fingers automatically saved the page. She continued doing this until Ai Meili called out to her. She gestured at Ai Meili to give her the pen and began to pull the tablet closer to her. Delilah then began to write the places that she wanted to go. To be precise, restaurants that she wanted to go. She even wrote the address, opening hours and types of restaurants.
While she was writing, Ai Meili looked over in amazement. She then said, "You are definitely the first person who would write places to eat, instead of places to go."
Delilah ignored her and continued writing.
As she was writing, their food has arrived. The waiter placed their food and drinks between them, on the table. Thanking the waiter, the two women reached for their drink and took a sip.
"While I'm writing my places, you go ahead and search for places you want to go," Delilah instructed.
"I want to go sightseeing, as well," Ai Meili said.
"Oh, me too. I'll write them down later after I'm done with this."
So, the places that they wanted to visit were the Snake temple, Floating mosque, the Skywalk, Teddy Museum and so much more. Since they have five days in the state, why not make the most of it, right?
After she was done, she passed the tablet back to Ai Meili. She then took a piece of the toasted roti kawin. Roti kawin is basically toasted bread which was smeared with kaya and butter. Delilah loves roti kawin. It was simple but satisfying. She loved the crunchy taste of the toast after biting into it. Especially when it toasted perfectly, not too burnt and not too soft. And with the combination of kaya and butter, it added an extra taste of sweetness to the toast. Crumbs coated Delilah's mouth as she bit into the toast. She licked them away and finished the toast in one bite.
While they were talking and deciding on the places that they would like to visit, Delilah suddenly received an email notification in her phone. She picked up her phone and saw it was an email from work.
She frowned. It's already past office hours but sometimes she would receive work messages, especially from Sheila. When Howard first mentioned Sheila to her, he used to tell her to ignore Sheila's message if she texted after office hours or during day off. This was because she never did notice the time when she texted or the day. She would even texted anyone about work during weekend, which annoyed Delilah sometimes.
But then again, the good thing about Sheila was that, even though, she would not scold one for not replying to her texts straight away. She would just non-stop sending messages until she's done.
Ironically, looking down at the email, even if Howard warned her about Sheila's after-hours work messages, it seems like he did not look in the mirror. Why? Because the email was from Howard. Delilah sighed and decided to ignore the email. She will just check it out tomorrow at work.
She placed her phone back on the table and continued to talk with Ai Meili about the places that they would visit in the state.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
TheTalkingCupcake
TheTalkingCupcake Last chapter for the mini mass release! Enjoy!
So, do you know where they are headed to? The clues are in the chapter! So much fun!
Anyway, the recipe for the food in this chapter are so super easy! And I'm surprised that there's a recipe for it when you actually don't need one. It only has three ingredients. But whatever. Have a look and enjoy!
https://whattocooktoday.com/southeastasian-classic-kaya-butter-toast.html
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