[Gift] Quite The Spread

Antonio took a deep breath as he started packing the various foods into his array of perfectly crafted, hand-woven picnic baskets. He’d wanted this picnic to be the real deal. Like the ones you see in movies. Where friends gather, chat, and eat great food! 

So yes. He’d spent time locating the right baskets. Picturesque they were. Complete with red and white checkered tablecloths. 

There were several baskets. All full of fresh foods made by Antonio himself. He’d baked pies, buttered sandwiches, dressed salads, and stuffed a variety of sweet treats into the baskets. 

It would be the perfect picnic. 

He’d invited a lot of people after all and needed to bring as much food as possible, considering quite a few of his friends had…large appetites. 

Antonio loaded the baskets into a small trailer, hitched on the back of his bicycle. He didn’t own a car - never learned to drive, so he stuck to the traditional way of moving around and enjoyed it. It was good exercise and it didn’t cost anything to run a bicycle! 

As Antonio cycled toward the park he passed by Lydia, who was walking to the park for said picnic. 

“Lydia!” Antonio shouted and waved at her. She smiled brightly and waved back, running up to meet him. 

“Hey Toni, mmmm smells good,” she said, going to pick up the tablecloth on one of the baskets only to get whipped by Antonio’s tail. 

“Ah ah, not until we get to the park, come on, hop on,” he said to her, and she grinned before climbing onto the back of the bike. She wrapped her hands around his waist and the pair set off toward the park. The food secure in the back. 

They bounded down the hill, cobblestones jittering the bike. Bouncing the pair on the bike until they came to a stop near one of the park entrances. 

“Lets go!” Lydia said. She helped Antonio carry the baskets into the park, two each. 

“Oh dear demons, Antonio what do you have in these bricks?!” Lydia complained. 

“Huh, no no, it’s all good stuff trust me,” he argued back and she simply rolled her eyes but continued carrying the heavy baskets.

“Oh oh, hi Antonio,” came a sleepy voice and Belle as she sleepily walked over to the pair. She yawned at them before laughing at Lydia struggling to carry the heavy baskets of food. 

“Let me help Lydia,” Belle said softly and took one of the baskets. Lydia sighed with relief. 

“That’s much better,” she said and thanked Belle for her help. 

“Smells so good, Antonio,” Belle told him, and Antonio grinned. 

“Thanks, Belle, I made your favourite, cinnamon buns,” he added and the other sloth bun grinned sleepily.

“Mmmmm, can’t wait to try some,” she replied. 

The now party of three made their way over to the green, where Antonio could see a large picnic blanket had been spread out for them to set up on. A crowd of friends had already gathered.

“Wow, quite a show of buns. Looks like your little picnic is going to be quite popular,” Lydia said with a grin and helped Antonio, with Belle, bring the baskets over. Once they were laid out on the red and white checkered blankets, they began to unpack everything. The wicker baskets were lying in the center, with the food surrounding them filling the area with a delicious smell. 

“Wow, I’m impressed, Antonio, this looks delicious,” another voice said, and Antonio looked over at Lumen, who was already reaching for a slice of peach pie. They were smiling at Antonio, their spirits whisping around their head as they took a bite of the pie.

“Mmmm, tastes good too, thank you for the invite, I’m excited to talk about my latest discovery into the occult, did you know…” Lumen started his mouth moving quickly as he info dumped about the occult with Antonio until the little baker finally managed to slip away from the other and make his way back to Lydia, who was sitting watching Muffin consume a whole spread of food!

“Hi, Muffin, are you enjoying it,” Antonio asked her as she stuffed her mouth happily with delicious treats. 

Antonio loved to cook, but it was clear that Muffin loved to eat! She wasn’t picky, Antonio knew that. He’d cooked for her in the past, and every time she’d said the same thing, it was delicious! 

“Oh, Antonio!” Muffin exclaimed through a mouthful of cake. “I’m so happy you brought so much, I was just telling Lydia about this recipe I created yesterday for a devil’s food cake.”

Muffin grinned as she talked to Antonio about food for a while. She talked and ate until everything she had on her plate for the third time was gone. After that, Muffin simply fell asleep, her bun form lying on the picnic blanket, belly full of tasty food! 

Antonio went to mingle with the rest of his guests. He walked around the small crowd who were all busy enjoying his baked goods. He’d brought quite a spread. Pies, cakes, breads as well as sandwiches, salads, fruit salad and a selection of drinks.

“Antonio, oh Antonio, this is simply marvelous,” came a voice and the green lime bun looked to see Payton as he hopped over toward him. 

“Payton, so nice of you to come,” Antonio told him and the pair hugged.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world my boy, and look at all this food, you really have become quite the baker,” the chocolatier exclaimed and handed him a small bag.

“Here, as a thank you for the invite, some of my new chocolates, only made yesterday, I hope you enjoy them,” Payton said and Antonio didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t expected a gift. 

“Well, thank you so much, and enjoy the food Payton,” he told him and the plump pink bun nodded. He was certainly going to enjoy the food and without hesitation, he went to stack himself a plate full of scrumptious cakes and freshly prepped sandwiches. 

Antonio moved on to talk to some of his other friends. Those from work, people he’d met at the bar, and others he’d known for years. All had been invited to enjoy his picnic party. He wanted everybody to be able to relax and have a bit of fun. 

He walked to where he’d left the drinks and poured a glass of wine. He sipped it casually and took up a slice of his apple pie. He should eat too after all. He looked around and spotted Lydia. She was sat watching too so he went over to her. 

“Enjoying the party?” Antonio asked her as he sat down and bumped her shoulder with his. 

Lydia laughed and reached over to pick up a sweet bun, watching the crowd of people eat and drink the snacks that Antonio had brought. 

“Of course, how could I not, quite the party you’ve put together, who knew you could do something so nice,” she commented and stuck out her tongue in a teasing manner. She knew Antonio was nice, deep down, but this was a whole other level of considerate. 

“Why did you organize this ant?” she asked Antonio who moved over to sit next to her, sipping on a glass of white wine.

“Hmm, I guess I wanted to do something, you know, something to bring people together, not sure why, maybe I just wanted to show off my cooking,” Antonio said sipping the glass and Lydia laughed a little.

“You’re so strange Ant,” she commented.

“I know, but hey, I do bake some good treats, don’t you think?” he said with a smirk and she laughed softly. 

“Yea alright, I’ll give you that, these are pretty good,” she complimented and Antonio grinned. That was all the compliment he needed from his best friend. He looked back over at the crowd of people who were gathered around the picnic blanket. All laughing, talking, enjoying his food. 

Food really did bring people together. 

Antonio watched his friends eat together and chat until all the food began to disappear. By the evening, there was nothing left. 

Some of his friends had departed, saying their goodbyes and thanking Antonio for the wonderful feast. Only Payton, Lydia, Belle, Muffin, and Lumen remained. All of them lying down on the picnic blanket, their eyes closed and their minds resting as they napped in the evening sun. 

“Well, must have been a great feed,” Antonio said with a smile and began to clean up the plates, cutlery, and rubbish that had been scattered around the ground. He put everything back into a picnic basket, only leaving the checkered blanket out so his friends could stay comfortable on the ground. 

“Mmmm, damn fell asleep,” Lydia said as she yawned and woke up. She looked around and then to Antonio. 

“Did you have fun?” she asked him and he nodded.

“Yea, I had lots of fun,” he replied and the pair just laughed, content with the day and the fun they’d had.