Sushi
It was close to 4:00 when I returned Pauli's place. Time flies when one has a head full of thoughts and emotions to work through. Pauli wasn't home from work yet, so I had some time to freshen up. I washed my face, brushed out my long, deep blue hair, and started trying to figure out what I was going to wear to dinner.
It was a little after 5:00 when I heard Pauli's car pull up into the driveway. He walked into the bedroom to find me surrounded by the contents of my "bags".
I looked at him and said "I don't have anything to wear to dinner."
I'd already worn the one dress I owned out to Lee's, and it seemed a little too formal for a sushi bar. Everything else in my bags was Leather Armor, cut-offs, jeans, tee-shirts, tank-tops, and one flannel that I'd worn on the flight.
"Dude" he said, "it's just sushi, no need to dress up."
"I kinda wanted to look...I dunno...Nice, I guess" I looked at him, "I suppose it doesn't really matter."
I started throwing my clothes back into the extra-dimensional space of my bags. "The Bartender has such a great aesthetic" I complained, "I guess I just wanted to quit looking like a beach bum, and more like I have my shit together."
"Okay" he said, cautiously, "how about this: tonight, just wear what you've been wearing, it'll be fine for where we're going. Tomorrow, after work, we can see about finding something...different that you can wear out, deal?"
As we talked, he changed out of his work clothes and into bermies and a Hawaiian print shirt. I finished stuffing my bag and just kept my shorts and tank-top on. Flip-flops and Wayfarers completed the outfit and I was ready to go.
We climbed into his old Toyota and headed into town for Dinner. Our destination was called simply "The Sushi Bar", and inside was a direct reflection of the name. There were no tables, only a long bar with several Itamae serving a crowd of patrons.
"We're not gonna get a seat" I said, looking at the crowd.
At that instant, one of the chefs looked up and hollered "Ringo-san!" Grinning, he gestured with his knife for us to come to his station at the long bar.
"Konnichiwa Itamae-san" Pauli replied when we were seated.
"Hello my friend" said the chef, in a thick Japanese accent, "who is this?" he asked gesturing toward me.
"An old friend from the Mainland" he said.
The chef turned to me and said "Any friend of Ringo-san is welcome at my board! Here."
He placed a neat plate of rolls up on the bar for us. I wasn't familiar with the look of these rolls, but I knew exactly what they were when I tasted them "Mmm...spider roll!"
The chef just smiled and continued working - we hadn't even ordered anything, and Pauli was just happily chatting away with the man in island pidjin.
A waitress brought us hot sake' and iced cucumber water, and asked if we needed anything else before moving quickly to the next customers.
The chef smiled and toasted with us "Kanpai!" as he lifted his own cup and drank deeply.
We drank the steaming rice-wine together. Pauli continued his conversation with the Itamae and I watched as the man created edible masterpieces with fish, rice, and seaweed. Everything that came off his board was as beautiful as it was delicious.
We ate until we were satisfied. Drank until the sake' was gone. Settled up our bill, tipped Itamae-san and our waitress, and then decided we should walk the meal off. As we were down-town, there was much to see, little local shops tucked away on side streets, a street performer or three, a couple of weird used book-stores (totally not what I was expecting on the island). I even saw a couple more changelings, they were human, but they stood out from the crowd because of their height and build.
Obviously a married couple that had gamed together. He nodded at me and I felt the buff hit me, she grinned and waved, her hands still glowing from the spell she'd cast. Felt like stamina, I was reasonably sure she was a priest and he was her warrior tank. Good couple to keep track of, I thought to myself.
"Hang on, Brother" I said, "I need to talk to that pair."
Before he could even ask why, I was across the street and introducing myself.
"Hi, I'm Eniari" I said brightly.
"Eniari, huh?" he said.
"Oh don't mind him" said the female, "he's just overprotective of me!"
"So he's a good tank then?" I said.
"He's the best!" she said and kissed him on the cheek.
He smiled down at her, and kissed her on the forehead.
"Do y'all mind if I add you to my friends list?" I said, "I am currently rolling solo, and local back-up would be good to have if anything bigger than a Lobstrock comes to shore."
He grunted "You've seen lobstrock here...I was worried about that." He gave her a serious look.
"Yeah, worst part is, it aggroed on some little local girl" I said.
"Oh no!" she cried, "were you able to save her?"
"In a manner of speaking" I said, "I ended up using CPR, a heal-pot, and a bandage."
"And that worked??" she asked, incredulously.
"Only reason I think it worked, is because she wasn't completely dead" I explained.
Pauli joined us, but remained quiet while we added each other to our friends lists, and exchanged Cell numbers.
"Friends of yours?" he asked when we parted.
"They are now" I said, "it's good to know a real healer, just in case."
"The guy was huge" said Pauli.
"Yeah, he's her warrior tank, and she's his priest" I explained, "that's generally how couples play in-game."
Pauli just nodded, and we continued the after dinner walk until our path finally brought us back to his car.
"Home?" he asked.
"Home!" I agreed.
Island Time
The drive back to Pauli's was uneventful. We jammed to whatever Sirius XM station he had playing, and even though the ride was a little cramped for me, I was dancing in my seat. When we got back to the house we opened a couple of beers and sat out at the picnic table in his front yard. The tropical night was upon us, and the stars began to twinkle in the gathering darkness. We sat talking about the news, politics, and the continuing improvement of living conditions for the general populace since the Shift had happened.
"...it's like before the 'magic' came back into the world, the monsters were there, but nobody could see them, and nobody knew how to fight them" I said, "now they have to show themselves, and they can be defeated."
"And the craziness in normal humans has tapered off" he agreed, "there hasn't been a mass shooting since the Shift, and even the foreign governments all seem to be getting along."
"Right?" I said, "It's weird, definitely nice, but weird!"
"So" I continued, "have you heard from the Bartender at all today?"
He chuckled, "Yeah, I got a text from her at work."
"And?" I pressed.
"And she was worried that you were gonna be...upset...about Sunday night" he replied, "Thought maybe we should cool it for a while."
His face betrayed his heart. I could tell that he really wanted to see her again, but he was concerned for my feelings. It took me less than a second to decide I was not having it!
"Okay, well I can't have y'all walking on egg-shells because of me" I said, and whistled loudly, summoning my Hippogrif. The flying beast seemed to appear from the heavens, and landed, with a flurry of feathers, on Pauli's lawn.