Dec 20 05:23:08 106 PA - A date with the Director
From Chronicles
As you enter the Silver Fork you notice that it is a 'fine' eating establishment with a 'family' atmosphere (*NO WEAPONS ALLOWED*). There are tables for two, larger tables for larger parties, and booths for families. The menu has a variety to items on it, ranging from burgers to filet migion, and ice cream to baked alaska. It all depends on the depth of your pocket. Against one wall is a wet bar, though it has no seats at it, encouraging such patrons to head next door to the Nightingale. The bartender here seems only interested in mixing drinks for the restaurant patrons, and not talking with them. Several waitresses weave through the restaurant taking and delivering orders. Bus boys clean up the vacant tables for new customers coming in (You will need to @emit your own waitress).
The restaurant is going about its normal business tonight, with the dinner rush only just beginning to show signs of slowing. As the two enter, Joachim's eyes drift around the room, unsure of whether or not this was a good choice. "Sorry again for takin' so long in actually gettin' down to it," he's in the process of saying, sheepishly. "The Hospital's been... Well, it's been fine, I've just been getting' a bit occupied with it." After briefly giving the hostess the reservation, a waiter pops up to show the two a table toward the back.
Maya is all smiles, her cheeks flushed as the hostess takes her coat, revealing a corset and a flared skirt, flamboyantly dressed. "I thought you were just busy at work..." She follows the waiter, giving him a look over her shoulder, "Missing me then?" The question is almost shyly asked, uncertain as it to the appropriateness of it. "I mean, the work I did, not me personally, although it would be nice if you did ..." She sighs and shakes her head.
"It's certainly a different place without you takin' care of the lab," Joachim says, all earnestness. "Though there's been a noticeable drop in complaint's about music bein' too loud." Moving rather awkwardly to pull out her chair before taking his own seat, he continues, "But whether or not that's a good thing, I've not decided it yet." A brief clearing of his throat later and he mumbles, "An' I'm sorry about not dressin' up any more. I don't have too many Goin' Out clothes that'd fit th'bill."
Maya's cheeks flush as he complements her, and she settles into the chair he offers, fumbling with a napkin. "I don't mind you not dressing up..." She replies softly, glancing down at her own outfit, "I hope I'm not overdressed. I mean, I thought about not dressing up but I wanted to show you that I don't just wear work clothes and..." She pulls the reins on her runaway tongue, giving him a smile, her gaze dropping down to the napkin. "The police don't seem to mind the music."
Joachim nods, the uncertainty becoming rather palpable as the conversation moves along its course. "I'm afraid it's just about all I wear," his nervous grin saying it all. "But that's all right, I don't think I'm too much've a night person in any case. At least, what I've seen of it." His eyes drop slowly to the menu appraisingly, "They probably don't ha-" he begins before shaking his head. "See anythin' good?"
Maya closes her eyes briefly, before she puts her menu down, folding her hands on it as she finally opens them, giving him a serious look. "We're acting like a pair of kids, tiptoeing around each other." She comments softly, her mouth curving into a wry smile. "If this is too awkward for you..." The offer hangs in the air between them as she gives him a thoughtful look, her gaze steady, despite the rising blush.
"Oh," Joachim begins, flushing slightly at the statement, "It's not that - well, it is that, but that's not nec'sarrily a bad thing. It's just been a while since I've done anythin' like this," he pauses for a moment, the slightest pang of grief echoing back, "an' when I did, well... You ever been West?"
Maya's face relaxes, her smile widening a little as relief shows in her eyes. "Oh good." The relief is obvious as the adult sensible attitude drops, and she shifts position, resting her chin in her hands, listening to him. "No... well, I wandered there a little but I didn't stay long." She cuts her babble short, her gaze resting questioningly on his face. "Was there ... I mean, were you with..?"
The pang returns briefly as Joachim's head dips slightly, a soft smile coming to him. Just as he opens his mouth to respond, however, the waiter comes bearing false sincerity and an inquiry as to what'll be ordered. His attention suddenly split, h falls briefly into silence before meekly saying, "I'll take th' uhh... Club... Well, no. I'll take th'… j-knocky?" he asks, mispronouncing it horribly. "And water."
Maya gives the waiter a look of pure irritation at the interruption, "I'll have one too." She declares, before turning back to Joachim. She hesitates for a moment before she puts out a hand to touch his, giving him a questioning look. "You were going to say something?" She asks, unusually short of words, her smile gone but her face is soft, almost sympathetic.
Joachim's face brightens somewhat, and though the uncertainty's gone, a stunned haze has settled in in its place. "I've no clue what I just ordered," he says with a chuckle, his eyes dropping again. "Sorry if it turns out t'be ... less than good. But, yes. There was a woman I was courtin' quite seriously for a little while. And it was "courtin'" - the rules are different for it than... this," he says with a slight wave at the room.
Maya giggles at the admission, her hazel eyes warming. "I'm not certain either." She comments quietly. She pulls her hand back, resting them in front of her, her gaze resting on his face. "What is the difference? I mean, ..." She hesitates, biting her lower lip, uncertainty in her face. "Sebastien said you might..." Another hesitation, "Have different expectations of this." She ends, somewhat lamely.
Joachim shrugs with a, "Probably. But I'm not 'ntirely sure what they might be - or even if I've got any. At least not yet." The water arrives, and he immediately pounces on it, "But things're a lot more structured in how things're done. We were pretty young at th'time, so there's a lot of posturin', a lot of sittin' around bein' proper... An' every now and then a bit of swimmin' in a creek, or ridin'..." His eyes glaze over as he begins reminiscing. "There was a lot less t'do."
Maya listens in silence, her gaze resting on his face, her own softening. "Swimming in a creek sounds lovely... and riding..." She offers a contribution to the conversation, a thoughtful expression settling into her eyes. "Did you two go dancing?" Her fingers twist the napkin, fiddling with it, as she listens, her gaze considering the expression on his face.
"There were a few dances, but they were pretty horrid affairs," Joachim says, shaking his head with a chuckle. "The whole town, there's always talk, an' short of maybe the most basic steps, I can't dance. But that's all right, I always had a bit more sway'n I probably should've, so..."
Maya listens, her mouth curving into a soft smile, watching the man through her lashes. The napkin is fiddled with, her fingers restless. "I can't dance. I just jump around." She confesses, offering him a smile, her hazel eyes warm. "What was she like?" The question is soft, hesitant.
As Maya asks her question, the waiter returns, swooping in two large plates of gnocchi, peeking up at the two from a warm béchamel bath. Additional water is poured, and a small salad, and cup of minestrone are placed to flank the entrée. Joachim thanks the waiter with a warm smile before turning back to Maya, eyebrows raised, "Looks... good?" he questions, prodding one of the lumps with a spoon before giving another chuckle. "I'm... not sure it's nec'ssarily the time t'be talkin' about her. Not that I've got too much of an issue with it, really, jus'... Well, I can't just be sittin' here runnin' my mouth. What about you, hmm? Surely you've got somethin' locked away." With his piece said, he pops one of the dumplings into his mouth, eyebrows going up with a slight nod.
Maya gives it a glance, almost questioning. "It looks interesting..." She agrees, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. The hint is taken and she doesn't probe, moving from the topic. "Not so much. I never really got attached to anyone..." She pokes the gnocchi with her fork, risking a bite cautiously. "It isn't bad at all." She returns his nod, giving him a smile. "My parents are scientists, and I just...the world makes more sense when you are looking through a microscope."
"Now, see, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that," Joachim says with a slight grin as he begins properly - if halfheartedly - on the salad. "Now, don't get me wrong, It's def'nitely interestin'. You've got all the interactions an' all the little critters runnin' around in their own little world, makin' it a bit easier t'break down just exactly what's goin' on, but... There's somethin' to be said about people. May not be quite so easy t'confine an' understand, but th'payoff's all the more worthwhile for it, when y'do. What'd your parents study? Where'd y'pass through, out West?"
Maya gives the salad a doubtful look, skipping it entirely. Joachim's grin brings a small blush to her cheeks. "People make things more complicated, more messy..." She comments quietly, her face thoughtful, a response more analytical than emotional. "With science, you can look at it, and fit it neatly into categories. You can't take an emotion and state even clearly what it is..." She trails off, flushing as she focuses on the next question, skipping over that slip. "I'm not sure we knew the names of the towns. We travelled a lot... My mother was a doctor, and my father did physics..."
Joachim nods, sticking doggedly to finishing the salad. "Sounds like quite a few stories I've heard, with a few diff'rent details here'n there," he states flatly. "Though it's nice t'hear that there was some good comin' from it - you'd be surprised how often th'opposite's the case." His eyes settle on Maya for a while, watching her face, "An' I'd not say that people make things messy, per se. Maybe not quite so quantifiable, with fuzzy lines here an' there, but we're all pretty discrete bein's." A large smile crosses his face as his gaze falls, his head shaking, "Or so I like t'think."
Maya eats the gnocchi slowly, listening to the man opposite her thoughtfully. "My parents enjoyed the different places, and it was interesting... not boring." She pushes the empty dish aside, glancing up as he watches her face, the blush rising as she dips her eyes, reaching for the glass of water. "We are, but then people have feelings, and you can't do a litmus test and go, ah yes, that is love, that is hate, that is lust..." She glances up, blushing deeply as she realises how rambling her words are.
Joachim nods, moving on to the soup with somewhat more gusto. If he notices or minds the rambling, he doesn't seem to show it. "Why not? Well, certainly you run into issues when it comes t'other people, because your... shall we say, instrumentation can misread somethin', but when it comes t'yourself, it's just a matter of tryin' t'figure it out. Analyze an' figure out what all those feelings mean." The air is stabbed with a spoon to punctuate the end remark, though he backs off quite suddenly from the statement, "Of course, it's not quite so easy as all of that, but one can get pretty good at knowin' what they want an' why they want it."
Maya sticks with her water, fiddling with the glass thoughtfully. "Because people can't analyse their own emotions always." She comments thoughtfully, her forehead wrinkling, as the blush deepens. "I mean, what is the definitive difference between love and lust? What test can you apply...?" She looks up, studying his face thoughtfully for a moment, hazel eyes narrowing. "I mean, how do you know when a feeling is real and not..." She trails off, dropping her gaze to the water.
Joachim chuckles, apparently enjoying either the conversation, or the soup. "Well, if you feel it, it's real," he says, jovially. "That's one of th'things people don't really seem t'understand. If you see two chairs in front of you - one a polished throne, an' th'other a simple wooden stool, well, they're both real, they're just not th'same. If you feel somethin', sense it - whatever - then to you, no matter what else is goin' on, it's a real thing."
Maya props an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand. "Both real but one is a throne and the other is a chair, which means that one is not the same as the other. And if you mix up having a stool and a throne, then people could get hurt." She hesitates, frowning. "Well, that analogue doesn't stand up that far but do you see what I mean?"
"It's all a matter of discernment," Joachim says, evenly. "You're right in sayin' that they're not entirely th'same, but th'differences are there t'be spotted if you've got a sensitive enough instrument t'tell. An' I'm not sayin' that it's a perfect system, but if you think about it, analyze it, an' take notes over a period of time tryin' to figure it out... Well, one might be able t'calibrate themselves. Mistakes are made through the course, but that's true in everythin', an' everythin' has its consequences." And on to the gnocchi!
Maya listens, her mind working overtime to analyse the comments, leaving her heart out of it, letting the blush fade a little. "Everything does have a consequence." She agrees slowly, thoughtfully. "But the initial mistakes cost more than those in science, at a personal level. If I mess up a slide, there is very little cost." She doesn't notice the switch to the personal as she leans forward, resting her arms on the table. "But if I mistake an emotion, then it hurts people."
"Well, everythin's got varyin' degrees of importance - of consequence. That's th'nature of things," Joachim manages, between bites. "What if y'mess up a slide in just such a way as t'not notice? What if a false result winds somebody up in prison who doesn't deserve it? What if you misdiagnose a disease, an' somebody dies? What if you cross the wrong wires an' the generator for the entire town blows up? Some things're just inherently more..." a hand waves as he tries to find the appropriate word, "important. But th'thing about feelin's, an' all sorts'a relationships, is that it's harder than people think t'get t'the point of no return. You just have t'be willin' to put in th'time an' effort t'get back to that point."
Maya considers him, giving him a steady look as she listens. "You have a valid point." She concedes, the words spoken softly. She sips the water, frowning slightly as she does so, thinking hard about the topic of conversation. "The thing is..." Her cheeks are flushing, her gaze dropping down to the glass as she rushes the words. "You don't run just one test at a time, and stop running the others, unless the test is really important. I mean, ..." For once, Maya runs out of words, and she looks up, giving him a questioning look to see if he gets the meaning.
The gnocchi becomes the center of Joachim's focus for a few moments, as he chews. "Maybe," he opens, eyes settling once more on Maya. "But I can't help y'decide what's important and what's not. Which is, of course, th'whole issue you've been wrestlin' with, I'm sure. That said, I don't know - I can't promise you anythin'. It's been a nice night, but these things take a fair amount of time t'get goin'. At least, such's been my experience."
The blush rises almost immediately and Maya's focus becomes her glass and her hands curling around it. "I wasn't... I mean, I wasn't asking for a definite answer or anything, more information on expectations and boundaries and ..." The blush deepens, as she adds. "Protocols, I guess. I mean, your dating experience is different to mine and I don't want to have either of us hurt, so I thought ..." She sips the water, the movement nervously. "Protocols."
"Things'll be slow goin'," Joachim says, watching Maya with soft, neutral eyes. "I can't say that I've got any expectations of anythin', at this point. Just lookin' t'see where it's all headed, an' tryin' to take care of everythin' that needs takin' care of. Suffice it t'say, outside of work an' a few hobbies, I'm not exactly th'most interestin' of people, an' don't really have too much goin' on, otherwise. So, you're goin' t'have t'figure it out, at least somewhat, hmm?"
The neutrality of the response doesn't help the blushing at all and Maya takes a swig of the water before she can speak. "It isn't...I mean... I'm explaining myself poorly." She leans back in the chair, frowning as she tries to choose her words more carefully. "Slow is fine. Slow is good." She rubs her temples as she speaks, trying to be precise with her wording. "Are you expecting it to be exclusive while we go slow? Because if you are, and I don't know, you see, that could..." She makes a hand wave movement, giving him a direct look, despite the burning cheeks.
"I shall be, though I'm afraid there's not too much choice in that matter," Joachim says with a self-deprecating smile, "And as for you, well... I'm sure there'll be an event horizon t'be crossed at some point. For now, let's say we're just friends, hmm? If anythin' comes of it, somethin' comes of it." The last of the gnocchi is popped into his mouth as he smiles serenely.
Maya gives him a smile that holds enough relief to show and leans forward again to rest her chin in her hands. "I just wanted to clarify." She comments softly. "Friends, and you tell me when ... if you want to change that." Maya's gaze drops to the glass before she smiles, rueful. "And now I've made us awkward and uncomfortable again..."
"Hardly uncomfortable," Joachim says, the smile lingering, "As for me tellin' you when, well... We'll see, hmm? I understand your bein' hesitant about things an' wantin' clarification - it's a good instinct, that. You've got time t'work out anythin' you need t'work out, an' an ear to listen throughout. Not a bad thing."
Maya's gaze lifts to his face and she smiles. Not the broad grin, but a softer smile. "We'll see." She repeats, the blush lightening until it just runs along her cheekbones. "How is the salad?" She gives it a glance, the abrupt conversation change obvious but perhaps necessary. "The gnocchi wasn't bad..." There is mischief in her eyes as a loud beeping can be heard and her smile fades. "Pager."
Joachim sighs, nodding. "It's all right, go, go. I'll take care of everything here," he says, understanding. "It's been a nice night."
Maya rises, rummaging in her pocket to leave her share of the credits, an act done without thinking. She switches the beeping off as she stands and then she hesitates, uncertainly. "I had a lovely evening." She comments softly.
"I'm glad. Now shoo, there'll be time to talk later. Can't keep your fans waitin'," Joachim says, with a final grin before turning to call the waiter.
Maya shoos then, turning and almost fleeing towards the door. Behind her, almost precisely the cost of gnocchi and water is left on the table.
