The Daily Life of a Foodie in the Office 44 CH44: Farewell party

And it would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly."

- Anna Thomas

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It was Deegan's last day of work today. It has been six months since he had been working in the company. And he had done both of his presentations to the top management of the company, as well as to his supervisors in his university.

Looking at the cubicle on her left, her face looked sad. Delilah missed Firah a lot. It has also been months since she had left the company. Matt decided not to rehire another employee to replace her because the employees from the Finance department had told him that they were losing money.

It baffled Delilah on how they could lose so much money. True that they were not making profits as they expected but they still survive. And despite not making profits, they were not actually on the borderline but rather, above the borderline. Hence why Howard had proposed to Aubree that they should hire a part-timer, instead of a full-time staff to replace Firah.

Again, it baffles Delilah on why he was making this kind of decision. She doubts that he had told Matt about this decision. But she decided to keep quiet because it was not something that she should be involved in.

Delilah sighed. Without Firah, it had been quiet. Although, Deegan was still here as he had spent his last month, working in the HR department, soon, he will be returning back to his university. It will be his final year once he returns back there. And she had wished him good luck.

At the moment, Delilah was slacking off, playing her mobile games, instead of working. She doesn't have the mood to work since she had done so much yesterday. She thought that perhaps she deserves an hour break or so. And of course, lunch time is another break so that doesn't count.

As she was playing some games, Deegan had knocked on her cubicle wall. She looked up and gave him a smile. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, D. I was wondering whether I could go out for a while?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, where are you headed off to?" Delilah asked, curious as she paused her game.

Deegan scratched the back of his head and said, "Uh, I'm going to pick up something and I needed to pick it up before lunch time."

"Oh, I see," she said, nodding. "Sure, go ahead."

He nodded with thanks and went off.

Delilah turned her gaze back to her mobile phone and continued her game.

Soon after, Delilah was in the pantry where many of the HR employees had brought some food. A week before, Delilah had sent a mass email to everyone in the HR department, excluding Deegan. She had proposed a party to celebrate Deegan's farewell party. She suggested potluck so everyone can bring their foods.

Delilah also invited other employees such as those who had worked with Deegan before; Fawkes, Sam, Sofia, Bella and even Travis. And of course, Howard and Matt. Stella could not join because she was still in Singapore. However, she did send her best wishes and hope everything runs smoothly.

It was quite cramped inside the pantry so they decided to move the party to the meeting room. At first, Delilah was worried that they would make a mess in the room but Bella had told her that it would be fine. She had already prepared a plastic table cover for the table.

Bella also joked about the people at the party should be old enough to not make a mess like little children. And that they should know to clean up after themselves.

Delilah prepared a huge plastic bag for the rubbish so that it will be easy for clean up. Bella and the other admin also helped out with the party where they rearranged the tables and chairs.

Deegan had not arrived yet but the other people were already in the room with their foods. Some had carried them over from the pantry, placing them on the table.

Aubree had brought pizza, whereas Delilah had brought fish curry with garlic naan [1]. There were other foods such as cheesecakes, bean soup, barbeque chicken wings, potato salads, pasta and more.

It was inDEEd quite a feast. And Delilah was pleased to see that everyone was joining in the fun. It was not like everyday that they get together as a whole to enjoy the food.

Once everyone had settled in, Delilah heard someone walking into the office. She peeked out of the meeting room and saw it was Howard, Matt and the others from the other branch. They, too, were bringing food. It looked like everyone in the office was in the party. Delilah, Bella and the other admins began to worry that some people might not have a seat. So they had to carry more chairs from the office.

After everything was done, just at that moment, Deegan walked in, carrying a huge aluminum food tray. He looked surprised at the sight of an empty office. It wasn't 12 o'clock yet but it was already empty. He doubts that they went for an early lunch.

Then he noticed Delilah waving him over. She was peeking out from the meeting room with a huge smile. He walked over and when he walked in, he was greeted with many people congratulating him. He felt touched at their sincere congratulatory messages.

He thanked them with a smile. He then turned to Delilah and gestured at her with the food tray. "I actually brought some food as well," he said sheepishly.

Delilah peered in at the food tray. "Is this the one that you wanted to pick up earlier?" she asked.

He nodded.

She laughed. "What a coincidence!" she exclaimed. She then nodded towards the tables which were filled with food. "Go ahead and put it there. We will start our thanksgiving prayers then we can eat."

He nodded again. "Alright."

Once he had placed the food tray, Matt and Howard beckoned him over to sit between them. It seems like he was the guest of honor for that day. He walked over and sat with them. Matt had said something to him, which he replied. Delilah could not hear what they were talking about because she was sitting on the other side of the meeting room, together with Bella and Aubree.

Once the prayers were read, Matt stood up to give his congratulatory message to Deegan, wishing him all the best and hope to see him in the near future.

Then finally, it was time to eat. Delilah immediately went over to where Deegan had placed his food tray. She peeled open the aluminium cover and saw beautiful yellow and red rice inside. It was Biryani rice [2]. Sniffing the air, Delilah could smell the strong spices of the rice and it smells really good. She took a paper plate and a serving spoon and scooped some rice onto her plate. It was then she noticed that there were also something added in the rice.

Deegan, who stood next to her, saw her confusion and said, "It's actually Biryani rice with lamb."

Her eyes widened. It was one of her favourites! Biryani rice with lamb!

She scooped more rice onto her plate and took some pieces of the lamb curry. Placing back the serving spoon, she turned to Deegan and gave him a thumbs-up. 'Good job, my friend,' she thought happily.

She grabbed a plastic fork and spoon before carrying her plate to her previous seat. Seated, she gingerly placed her plate on her lap. Luckily, her chair has that curved bar near the bottom so she was able to rest her feet on it. At least, she doesn't have to bend to eat her food. So, her back was safe.

Some of the other people teased her when they saw that she only eats Biryani rice. She joked back saying, "Relax! This is just an appetizer!" They laughed at her reply.

Scooping the rice up to her mouth, she could still smell the herbs and spices used to cook the rice. It has that mild fragrance, not too strong. As she ate, she could taste the tangy and hot taste of the rice, together with the taste of lamb curry mixed with it.

The intoxicating aroma, gorgeous colours, fluffy rice and the addictive curry flavours! What more do you need to describe the beautiful dish? She loved how flavoursome Biryani rice could be. And added with the savory and bountiful palate of the juicy lamb curry. It was simply DEE-licious.
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Delilah licked her lips happily, not wanting to waste a single drop of the curry sauce. InDEEd, one should not waste any opportunity to eat good food!

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[1] Naan - Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread found in the cuisines mainly of Iran, India, Western Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Myanmar and the Caribbean. (From Wikipedia)

[2] Biryani rice - Biryani, also known as biriyani, biriani, birani or briyani, is a mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It can be compared to mixing a curry, later combining it with semi-cooked rice separately. (From Wikipedia)

Chapter end