Cafe Society

[Maxpphire]

He walked up with her and let her order first. He smiled as he listened to her go over her options with the person working at the counter, and the worker giving her some of their opinions on what they felt tasted good, when Ash apologized to them both the counter person said there was nothing to apologize for and they were happy to help, He then himself ordered and paid for it all, he looked toward Ash.

"You know they are there for more than just taking orders and money, making the food, and handing us the food right?" He said with a smile, "I'm sure helping out customers figure out something good to eat falls as part of their job. So no worries there." He said, as their food came out, he grabbed the tray and began to head back to their table, once there he sat down, grabbed his bagel and took a bite. It was good, like usual when he grabbed food from here. He waited for her to also take a bite of her food and a sip of her drink both before continuing.

"How are you enjoying the food and drink?" He asked hoping that she liked it. If not it was no bid deal, he was the one who paid anyway so it isn't like she would lose out on anything if she didn't like it, but he'd feel bad as he was the one who choose the place after all.

[pentagrandma]

“Oh,” began Ash around a little spout of laughter. “Yeah, I know. I was a server, back home. I think that’s why I’m extra conscious of the type of customer I’m being. I don’t want to be too needy.”

When they’d made it back to the table, Ash spent a moment in blissful silence; exhaling cooling breaths across the surface of her lavender latte, and taking dainty sips thereafter. So good. It was exactly what she’d needed. Something to simultaneously calm and energize. She could live on this.

Eventually, and with some measure of reluctance, she returned the cup to its saucer - claiming, instead, the sandwich. Her first bite was met with a sound of mingled surprise and delight. How could a simple sandwich be this appetizing? When his query came, she gushed out a fervent, “It’s really good! The rosemary was a great recommendation.”

[Maxpphire]

"Good I'm really glad you like it! It's my favorite type of bread here so I always go for it when I get food here" he said with a smile super happy that she was enjoying the food. He enjoyed his meal and when finished he'd wait for her to be done before trying the desert. He didn't feel it right to start on it without her, wondering how good it was. He never really explored the desert menu here.

"Let me know when you're ready to try the desert." He spoke with a smile. He could already feel his stomach not be happy at having ate something, but he didn't mind so much. He was just enjoying her company and focused more on that than his own health issue.

[pentagrandma]

Aislin took the time to really savor each bite of her sandwich, pausing to offer up the occasional mundane query in an attempt to maintain some semblance of a conversation. Likewise, she would respond in kind were he to echo back any of her questions, or give voice to some of his own. When she had finally finished, she stacked her plate atop his and slid them toward one edge of the table, out of the way; old habits and all.

“You take the first bite,” she said, centering the dessert plate between them. She’d chosen the lemon blueberry cake, per the cashier’s recommendation. They’d described it as light and airy in the melt-in-your-mouth sort of way, not too sweet - and Ash had always had trouble saying no to French buttercream.

... “How is it?” Came her eager query, following that initial taste. She watched his expression for any tells, hoping to find some measure of satisfaction.

[Maxpphire]

He nodded and picked up his fork, and pushed it in one of the corners of the cake grabbing a small piece. It was delightfully moist cake, with strong flavors of lemon and blueberry. It was easily one of the best cakes Dreki ever had in his life, which wasn't many of them, mostly box bought for birthdays and of the like.

"It's really good!" He exclaimed, not expecting it to be as amazing as it was, "It feels like I've never had an actual cake before this moment but I have during birthdays and holidays before. This blows all of that out of the water." He explained a bit, never really having had a from scratch cake before he was kind of amazed. Although Lemon and Blueberry was an odd flavor of cake but it was easily the best cake he's ever had.

"Try it." He encouraged pushing it a little towards her, out if fear he might eat it all before she can, and figured it would be better if they do eat it together.

[pentagrandma]

“Really?!” Ash brightly enthused, taking up her own fork to portion off a bite. It had dissolved almost the moment it had touched her tongue; like cotton candy, if it had substance, and far more flavor. She was swift to dive in for seconds, pushing the plate back toward the center of the table for optimal sharing. Dreki had been right - it was really good - and she voiced as much by way of a wordless murmur of satisfaction. She loved the blueberries; the way they popped in her mouth in little sugary bursts. What was it about baking blueberries that made them so much better than leaving them raw?

“So good,” she gushed. In a way, this was a first-time experience for her, too. There weren’t any bakeries in her hometown; unless you counted the one in the local grocery, which she didn’t. She’d had plenty of quality baked goods per her mother’s keen efforts, but this had easily surpassed those - not that she’d ever say as much. Besides, home-baked goods had their own appeal.

... “When is your birthday?” She asked as she went in for a third helping. Each bite she took was a little smaller than the last; to draw it out, and to ensure Dreki could have his fill.

[Maxpphire]

"I know right?" He lightly chuckled at her reaction, mainly because he could relate to it in the same way. He also kind of mirrored her in taking smaller and smaller bites, making sure she had a chance to enjoy it herself, and so he didn't overdo it on his stomach. He did look up from the cake when she asked for his birthday.

"Oh, it's October 15th," he said, "how about yours?" figuring that it was a harmless enough of a question to respond back with. He paused and had stopped eating, waiting for her to respond.

[pentagrandma]

Likewise, Aislin took a break from her own nibbling to respond, smiling as she said, “February 29th. It’s a leap day, so I only get a real birthday every four years. I’ll have one coming up soon! ... Yours is even closer - are you thinking of doing anything fun? How old will you be turning?”

[Maxpphire]

"I don't usually do much for my birthday, sometimes if able, I like to see my sister. I'm not so sure that will be possible this year, but it wouldn't be the first year I wasn't able to visit her. Beyond that, I don't really do anything special." He explained as he didn't like the idea of celebrating alone, so a lot of years he didn't really celebrate it.

"What do you do to celebrate yours?" He asked, taking one small bite of cake right after he asked, waiting for her to respond.

[pentagrandma]

“Oh, you have a sister?” Ash queried, cutting away another small portion of cake with her fork; she lifted it to her mouth and left it hovering there as she continued speaking. “Is she older, or younger?” She couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t responded to her question about his age, but didn’t think it polite to ask again. Maybe he was self-conscious about it? It didn’t matter all that much, anyway.

“Back home, whenever I had a real birthday, we’d throw a big party. Small-town big,” she clarified around a soft laugh. “I’d still celebrate for all of the other years, but I generally like to keep it mellow. It makes the real birthdays feel all the more special, you know? I don’t know what I’ll do now that I’m here, though.” With a shrug, she finally took that hovering bite, and set her fork down upon the table.

[Maxpphire]

"She technically my adoptive sister. Both her and I met through the foster care system and ended up getting adopted together," he explained, "she's younger than me, she is 19 and I'm 28 so there is a bit of an age gap." He said finally mentioning that he does look younger than he is. "She has her own handicap though and is more like a 6 or 7 year old mentally, which is honestly better than when I first met her. She was in foster care because her parents neglected her to the point where they didn't even speak in front of her. I can't really imagine all that she has gone through as the reason I ended up in foster care was because my parents died. Either way I'm proud of how far she has come along, and helping her is how I discovered that I enjoy teaching." He said with a smile explaining a bit more of his background. This was something he didn't really mind talking about because they were past that, now only if they can get over the hurdle that is The Facility that did adopt them.

"If you want I can help you celebrate your birthdays, no matter in what way you wish to enjoy them. I bet it's fun to say that you're a younger age from time to time?" He asked mostly mentioning her being able to say she is 1/4th the age she actually is just based on her real birthday. "I know I would if I had your birthday. A fun way to joke with others." He took another bite of the cake. "Although I'm not very good at event planning, I can try to come up with an idea for the leap year ones, but I can't promise a big party." He thought about it a bit, and he did want to help her feel at home in the city. Honestly, he missed the way he'd celebrate his birthday with his parents, so he could only imagine she would feel similar being far enough away from home.

[pentagrandma]

Twenty-eight? Gosh! Dreki wasn’t old, but Ash had placed him much younger than that. She’d just assumed he was her age; but then, that wouldn’t have made complete sense, given his many occupations. How many degrees did a person need to teach all of those classes? How many years of schooling?

“Wow,” she softly marveled. “I would have guessed you were, like… five years younger.” Her lips pursed into a thoughtful little moue as she processed the rest of his explanation. “I can’t even imagine,” she echoed back. “I’m glad that you two found one another. I’m sure you’re a really good brother.”

In spite of the gravity of his previous words, Aislin found herself smiling anew with his offer to celebrate with her. “I don’t need anything big. I’d love to have your company, though - and if you end up unable to see your sister for your birthday this year, then we can do something else special together. If you want.”

With a laugh, she added, “No one would believe me if I told them I was turning six.”

[Maxpphire]

He chucked at her response to his age, a lot of people had the same response. He didn't really grow too much facial hair so he kept himself clean shaven, which didn't help any at all. Both of his parents had aged pretty normally according to Hofflan digging through old family photos Dreki still owned, stored away.

"No one ever gets my age right, it can be fun sometimes to subvert expectations like that, because the surprise is always fun." He smiled, it suddenly making sense that he would indeed enjoy telling people he was super young if born on leap year, he did the same with his age and looks as it was, just on the opposite end.

"I'm sure I could be a better brother, but I love her and I'm trying and I think that's worth something." He mentioned thinking about it. He does currently feel like he has failed her in some way, given the current situation at the facility, but he knows if he can get her out sooner rather than later then he can help fix that. He had been thinking on it a lot lately, but knew he still had a while to go.

"I'd be happy to celebrate with you even if I can see my sister. It might be on a different day than I see her, but honestly, it sounds like fun. Much like I'd be happy to celebrate your birthday with you. If you end up making more friends you want to celebrate with, then I'd be happy to meet them too." He smiled, giving her the option of how she'd want to celebrate things, much like he'd still enjoy seeing her for his birthday, even if it didn't happen directly on his birthday.

[pentagrandma]

“I look younger than I am, too,” Ash replied around another laugh. “I get double-carded at bars, all the time. I try not to be bothered by it, though, because I know it means I’ll probably always look younger than my age - and when I’m fifty, I’ll probably be grateful for that. Buuut,” she continued, “It’s hard not to get annoyed when people assume that I’m fresh out of high school.”

“I’m sure you’re doing your best,” she offered up in encouragement. “That’s what counts, and it’s definitely worth something.”

With a firm dip of her chin, she decided aloud, “We’ll celebrate our birthdays together, then - even late, and with all of our friends. Assuming I have any others by then,” she added, growing momentarily quiet thereafter.

... “Do you touch peoples’ faces to ‘look’ at them? Like in the movies?” The question was blurted out the moment it came to her, and she belatedly realized he might take it as a form of invitation. Would that be weird?

[Maxpphire]

"Thank you, for both the brother comment and birthday celebration. Even if friends are hard to come by, you still have me to cerebrate as well." He said with a smile, one that felt somehow more genuine than his warm smile, which he did use the warm smile more as him showing he appreciated the situation more than anything. Those comments both meant a lot to him, he had always liked to think he was a good brother but did someone's worry about it. He also generally had been feeling more lonely as the years gone by. Having a friend should be better than nothing, which is what usually happened on his birthday.

"I do sometimes do that. The way I see now mostly gives a face outline and since details here and there, it doesn't already give me enough to recognize someone unless I've been up close to their face several times in addition to feeling it." He explained clearly not taking it as an invitation to touch hers. "Everyone does look a little bit different but the further away the more they just kind of blend in with how everyone else looks. It's really hard for me to see a face without having touched it first so mostly I go based off of voices because those are all unique too."