– 9:18 am

Saturday was Rozalia’s birthday. You know her right? You’ve met several times – at the hospital and the house. She was the brain behind the baby shower. We met for lunch at Chiltern Firehouse, a stone’s throw from Chotto Matte.

We got there first despite being a few minutes late. Rozalia and her fiancé Oliver weren’t long after. The original booking was for breakfast but I had to take your grandmother to the airport that morning. (That’s right, all help is now gone.) So it was logistically impossible to drive into central London in time for croissants.

The food was fantastic, probably the best we’ve had in England. Not as good as Wisteria, and definitely not as good as the places we ate at in Croatia, but imaginative and fanciful nonetheless. The quality of the ingredients shone through. Side note, if you ever want to put a smile on your mother’s face, ask her how good the food at Meneghetti was. If you can do one better with a booking, then wow, she’d be thrilled, and then some.

Chiltern’s menu was simple but creative. In hindsight, I’m pretty sure the pizza there is pretty good but we pretended that section didn’t exist. The others didn’t want to so your mother and I shared some fresh Irish oysters. For the table, we had some truffle pasta which was perfectly al dente, the grilled mackerel had a beetroot layer over it, and I didn’t know how good Pata Negra ham was paired with figs. I love figs. I had the greatest steak tartare in a hole-in-the-wall type joint in Paris which has since closed (probably due to the pandemic). So every time I see a tartare on the menu, I have to try it, mostly just to compare. This one was different, just different. The forty-eight-hour chicken was mmkay, alright. It would be for most people with an ethnic palette. This one’s for “white people”. Get me?

You were charismatic as always, adult-like and pleasantly invisible at times. Occasionally, you would scan the room, reading faces and zooming in on shiny objects. You spent a memorable amount of time looking into Oli’s soul during the early encounter.

You even took moments out of your jam-packed sleep schedule to charm the neighbouring all-female table who blushed all the way. We fed you at the start and at the end. Rozalia and Oli took turns carrying you. Their joy was expressive and exothermic.

Somewhere in the middle, Rozalia got to open the gifts your mother curated. I had no part in the shortlist, just the credit. Gifts can be tricky but she seemed tearily pleased and full of hugs.

Rather fittingly, she also took the first posey family picture, another one for the fridge. Your mother and I left you behind (with Rozalia) to wander the halls when we got up. They had a larger parlour with a bar in the middle. The mood was a vibe and the design lustrous eye candy. It was all magazine-like and deservingly uppity. It’s a place to return to.

We walked back to our favourite car park. I think we’ve met the entire staff there by now, twice over. The gentleman this time reminded me how much he liked my style. I thanked him humbly and gracefully. And we left.