“Shut up. When you taste these, you’ll understand.” Then he let his head fall back and he sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t actually mean to tell you to shut up.”

I laughed, making him look at me. “It’s fine, Jordan. I like seeing this side of you. Everyone knows you by name, and it’s pretty evident you have a lot of friends here.”

“I’m considering changing my name and joining the bird watching fraternity where I can get a grant and permit to go live in the wilderness and pretend to look for some kind of bird that I totally made up, but really it’s just so I can’t die of embarrassment in front of every single person I meet. And you might call them my friends, but I’m sure they’ve just been planted to make me look like an idiot. Like The Truman Show. Is that what you’re doing? How much are they paying you? I hope it’s a lot.”

“No payment,” I said with a laugh. “If they asked, I’d totally do it for free. And about the breed of bird you made up, do they look like puffins? Because they’re the cutest bird I’ve ever seen. You know, if one was curious.”

“If one was curious, they’d be pleased to know the Australian Pygmy Puffin is far cuter than the Atlantic Puffin. Like all Australian animals, they look adorable but are either venomous, poisonous, or just total jerks.”

“The Pygmy Puffin?” I asked, smiling.

“Yes. Small fluff balls, incredibly rare. There are three rules when handling them: One, no bright light. Two, don’t get them wet. And three, never feed them after midnight, no matter how much they beg.”

I laughed. “Must be related to the Gremlin.”

He nodded and tried not to smile. “The genus name is the Mogwai.”

“You’re an expert on birds and eighties movies. I’m impressed.”

“You got the reference. I am also impressed.”

“I’m impressed that this is a serious conversation,” Sunan said from behind the counter. He was holding two white takeout bags. “You lost me at small fluffy puffin balls.”

Jordan turned to Sunan and sighed, then spoke in a voice that sounded a lot like Deadpool’s. “Thank you, Sunan. Thank you for your valued input. Please know your hard work and dedication to the team hasn’t gone unnoticed, and accept this expression of my gratitude.” He slid a tenner across the counter and Sunan laughed and handed him the bags.

“Always a pleasure, Jordan.” Then Sunan looked at me and winked. “And Jordan’s special friend.”

Jordan groaned comically and walked out without another word. We crossed the street back to the park, which was now, thankfully, a lot less busy. I laughed when I said, “I think that might have been the weirdest experience ordering food in a Thai restaurant I’ve ever had. Actually, in any restaurant.”