“Oh dear! I am going to be late!” Harold’s sleepiness was all gone as he jumped up from bed and tore his pyjamas off. He quickly put on the clothes at the side of the bed.

Doris was awakened by the rustling of clothes. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and perplexedly asked an almost dressed Harold, “Harold, what are you doing? Isn’t it your day off today?”

“Day off…” Harold, who was about to go out, halted. He slapped his forehead and smiled awkwardly. “I drank too much yesterday. I forgot that today’s my off day. Sorry, Doris. I woke you up so early.”

“It’s fine. You have been working very hard recently. I should have reminded you last night,” Doris said with care and concern. She stood up and hugged Harold gently. Her slender fingers massaged his temples lightly

Harold closed his eyes and enjoyed his wife’s ministration. It soothed the headache caused by the hangover.

He was a director of sales at a furniture company. Because he had not reached his sales quota for the second half of the year, he had been going to the office at six in the morning and drinking with his customers till late at night.

Although he earned quite a lot, the intense work and high pressure made him exhausted.

Fortunately, he finally closed the deal with his big client last night, and reached his second half of the year sales quota in advance with this deal. He could relax for a while now.

The warm fingertips were pressing down on his forehead gently, and it was so comfortable that Harold wanted to go back to sleep again.

“Let’s go and eat breakfast since we are already awake,” Doris suggested gently.

“Breakfast?” Harold opened his eyes and yawned. He shook his head, and said, “I don’t feel like eating now. I just want to sleep. Besides, you know, I never eat breakfast.”

Doris gazed into Harold’s eyes, and continued to say gently, “You promised Kathy to bring her out for good food previously. You were very busy with work for the past few months, so I didn’t mention it to you even when she asked me a couple of times.”

As Harold gazed at Doris, he suddenly realized that he had neglected his family, and left the running of the household to her because he was busy with work for the past few months. She even had to take care of their child, so she wasn’t having things easier than him. He suddenly felt a little guilty.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing nice for breakfast. Why don’t we eat out for both lunch and dinner?” Harold grasped Doris’s hand and placed it on his face gently. He lovingly said, “I haven’t eaten a meal with you for a long time. Let’s go to Ducas Restaurant.”

It was where they declared their love for each other.

They would alway go there every year on that day as a family. However, because he was busy with work, he didn’t bring her there this year.

“I have promised Kathy that I will bring her to Aden Square to play today.” Doris shook her head slightly. She worriedly said to Harold, “The doctor said we cannot ignore your gastric problems anymore. It will worsen if we continue to skip breakfast. I heard there is a rather nice restaurant called Mamy Restaurant in the square. Let’s go and try it.”

Harold wasn’t concerned about his gastric problems. He could tolerate the occasional pain, so there was no need to eat breakfast.

He was feeling thirsty and dizzy, so he was rejecting the idea of breakfast.

However, looking at Doris’s expression, he couldn’t bear to reject her, so he nodded smilingly. “Alright, let’s wash up and get ready to go.”

Soon, the family of three left their house. A girl about seven or eight was holding the two adults’ hands.

You are reading story A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World at novel35.com

“Dr. Matthew, are you already back from your morning exercise so early?” The family met an old man doing his morning exercise as soon as they left the house, and Harold greeted him with a smile.

This was their neighbor, a famous doctor in Chaos City.

Dr. Matthew’s steps faltered as he said to Harold with furrowed brows, “Harold, you don’t look very good. Did you drink a lot of alcohol again last night?”

Harold took a quick glance at Doris before he shook his head and smiled. “I did drink a little last night, but it should be because I have been overworked recently. It’s okay.”

“Please take a look at him, Dr. Matthew. He threw up when he came home yesterday. There was blood in the vomitus,” Doris said, full of concern.

Kathy, who had a ponytail, also pleaded with Dr. Matthew, “Grandpa Matthew, please take a look at Father.”

Dr. Matthew stared at Harold for a while before gravely saying, “Harold, although you are still young, your stomach’s condition is worse than for an old man like me. Come to my clinic later. From today onward, you can’t consume alcohol anymore, otherwise it is not going to hold.”

“Yes. I will come,” Harold replied with a smile before boarding a horse-drawn carriage with Doris and Kathy.

Even though Dr. Matthew is a good person, he still likes to scare people with his doctor’s tactics, Harold consoled himself silently, but a shadow still hung over his head when he looked at his wife and daughter sitting across from him.

“Let’s go to Mamy Restaurant,” Harold instructed the driver.

…

A sentence was written on the wooden plaque on Mamy Restaurant’s door. “Today’s new item: Youtiao and soybean milk set meal! Only for breakfast!”

“What is soybean milk? What is youtiao? It’s only available for breakfast.”

“Soybean milk and youtiao may be one single thing?”

“No matter what it is, Boss Mag finally came out with his first authentic breakfast set meal.”

Although it was still early, a long line was already forming at the door. The customers were guessing curiously as they looked at the sign.

Harold’s horse-drawn carriage stopped outside of Mamy Restaurant. He saw the long line at the restaurant’s entrance, and said in astonishment, “It’s not even seven, why are there so many people lining up here?”

“I heard this restaurant came in first in the latest Delicious Cuisine Rankings, so it’s very popular, but I didn’t expect there would be so many people here.” Doris was astonished too. Even though she was mentally prepared before she came, she didn’t expect there would be so many customers.

Kathy’s eyes lit up as she looked up to Harold. “My classmates said the ice cream in this restaurant is super delicious. Father, can I have one ice cream please?”

“If that’s what Kathy wants, of course you can,” Harold said smilingly. Although he didn’t like to line up early in the morning, if Kathy liked it, he would feel much better. After all, he planned to spend the whole day with them.

Harold and his family took their place in the line. They listened to the customers in the two different lines arguing about the savory and sweet tofu puddings. What took most of their attention was the new item released on that day.

This is an interesting restaurant. Harold’s acute business sense made him realize this restaurant wasn’t ordinary. However, he still didn’t feel like eating any breakfast. A glass of water would be better than anything.

The restaurant started its operation, and the customers filed in orderly. Harold was rather surprised that this restaurant which suddenly appeared at the corner of the square had such an elegant and intricate interior decor. After taking his seat, he didn’t bother to read the menu as he simply said to the server taking his orders, “I would like to have a helping of your new item, the breakfast set meal.”