Jan 27 21:00:44 108 PA - Volunteering for a Good Cause
From Chronicles
Jan 27 21:00:44 108 PA.
YAKOV'S DELI
Having come to check on Rasputin's progress with leatherworking, Sage has decided to have a meal while she's here to save time for when she gets back home to simply relax. It's a little later than some people's evening meal time, but Sage is more adaptive than some in this regard. She takes up her ordered meal from the counter before she looks around to pick out a table.
The little door opens with a rush a winter air, but thankfully it's a relatively mellow evening, and only a few flakes of snow are blown in behind Gabriel. As soon as the door is closed, the older man is already gently removing his woolen cap and gloves, unlatching the front of his overcoat, leaving it open to breath more comfortably. He continues to just walk toward the counter, but can't miss his friend pulling away before him. "Good evening, Miss Sage. Russian cuisine hankering, too?" Before following her, he steps up to the cash register and asks, "I'll have some pashka, please... and... give me something with coffee in it to drink. Thanks. Da, da. Spasibo. Blagodaryu vas za pitanie." It's not perfect Russian, but pretty damn good.. and Kentucky accented, of course.
Once she's settled her items on the table, Sage glances over to notice Gabriel around the time that he greets her. A small smile comes to her lips, "Hey Gabriel... and, this is just a fringe benefit. I really came to check on a little Russian handiwork. I've helped him learn leatherworking so I figured I'd check back in to see if he had anything new he wanted to show me." She comments, before waiting for the man to order. Faint surprise coming to the man's use of words that sound similar to what Rasputin has spoken in the past. She settles at the table, "I didn't realize you were such a linguist." She comments once the man is done.
After waiting politely for his food to be delivered - pashka, a pudding/custard like dish - he shuffles the appropriate credits and a decent tip over the counter. Not a big tip, just big enough to be polite. Not exactly that tips are necessarily meaningful, when you're paying someone extra money to do what you just payed them to do. Ah, well. At any rate, he takes his dish in a tray over and sits down, uninvited across from Sage. "Hope you don't mind my intrusion, Miss Sage. Leatherworking? How interesting. What do you make with it?" He sniffs at his pashka and his coffee-like drink, nodding happily before responding, "Well, in my line of work, I had to pick up many languages. German, French, Japanese, just about everything but those of the African plains, Australian outback, and Amazon Jungle." He smiles and winks. "Besides, Natasha was Russian. Thirteen years of marriage, if I hadn't learned to speak her language very well...? I think I'd have been in trouble." He gives long, hard wink.
An amused look comes to the man's comment, "I was going to wave you towards a chair anyway." Sage notes before shrugging faintly. "Oh, I could make a number of things. Made a really fine shirt for Daeni, like she did her other clothing." She comments, "Shoes, boots, jackets, purses, wallets... you probably get the idea." She adds before taking a sip from her drink. She nods to the man's comment, before smiling faintly. "Well, I'm sure you could have muddled along without understanding a word she was speaking..." She teases the man lightly, "But, probably better to know what she's yelling at you for, yes." She chuckles softly.
"Makes it easier to know what to beg forgiveness for forgetting to do, doesn't it?" Gabriel confirms with a wink. "Not that we fought much. But there were times that she would go off like a Roman candle. Didn't want to be in the same state when that was happening." He picks up a spoon, then immediately sets it down again, using that hand to tap his head gently. "Can you, y'know... brain people's thoughts in any language?"
Sage chuckles softly to the man's comment about how his relationship with his wife could be like, "Well, as long as you know how to handle it, that's the important thing." She comments before she pauses in her own motion to begin eating when the other man asks the question. "Being able to sense them and understanding them are two different things." She comments, "Regardless of whether the source is human or.. not." She adds before she shrugs faintly and taking up her venison sandwich to take a bite out of it. If she's going to have a sandwich named after her, she might as well enjoy it.
"Hmm," is all that Gabriel says in response to that. For now. "Rasputin, he has a good place here. Good food. Good atmosphere. Good company." The older man smiles with a fork in his mouth. "So I understand that you're auctioning people off, huh? Will this be a, ah... gender-neutral auction? Money goes to good charity? Or perhaps just a good thing to do to drum up knowledge of a new massage parlor?" The older man offers up a silent chuckle, knowing that he's only making fun. Mostly.
Sage nods faintly to the man as he comments about Rasputin, while she works on finishing swallowing her mouthful. She washes down the mouthful while she pays attention to what the man says. "You mean the silent date auction?" She comments before offering a brief frown to the man's poking fun before letting the expression disappear into a faint smile, "The Alibi held a similar event close to two years ago now that I figured might be fun to bring back. The money went to the hospital in the Dregs then. But, I'll be giving the money to the soup kitchens and aid stations for the Refugees. Figure that's the place that needs the most help." She pauses, "As for the auction, anyone can enter... with the understanding that the people being auctioned off gets to call the shots for the date."
The Kentuckian nods very seriously at Sage's words. "Yes, Natasha and I were constantly donating to the shelters and schools for young women here in the United States." Perhaps he has momentarily forgotten where he is. "There was one, one in Richmond that we were fortunate enough to be able to turn into a genuine school for girls; orphans who wouldn't have otherwise had much of a life at all. We were blessed, I suppose, by arrogant people with more money than sense, and both of us having some certain skills with cards." He smiles tightly, obviously proud of the facts that have just been said, but not wanting to appear as a braggart, either. "I've never been through a silent auction of people, though. Is it just like a normal silent auction, just in the end, someone gets tapped on the shoulder and told, 'Show this lady a nice evening.'?" He starts to raise his fork again, but quickly adds, "I understand that it's the auctionee's control, I was just making a joke."
"It's nice to know that where you came from that you were a giving sort." Sage replies with a small smile, "And, I'm glad to hear there were success stories." She adds before listening to the other comments. She isn't as able to relate to the man's situation given her upbringing. "Well, depending on whether I get a suitable place, people might get a chance to talk about themselves first... but, it is more or less as you are saying. I'm not sure whether to announce the 'winners' out loud for everyone to hear or just tell the auctionee." Before giving the man a mildly amused look. "Sure..." She teases the man back a little before flashing a quick grin before going back to her sandwich.
Gabriel smiles and says, "Yes, I tried to do what I could for peace. Even my occupation, I did it to help people. But the girls? I was married to one woman for thirteen years, we had twenty-four daughters, and four of them were over twenty when I... arrived here. I won't detail the circumstances, but we completely legally adopted them. They took on my name, and we loved them as our own. Those were happy times." He sighs and is then quite for a few moments while he eats. Then, he offers a suggestion. "I've been to silent auctions. They often have an auctioneer who gives some details of the item in question, rather than people just wandering around making guesses. Perhaps the men and women -" the last word is somewhat of a question, not a statement "- being auctioned might give a few sentences about themselves, what they do, what their interests are. Otherwise, you'll be randomly picking a friend for the evening that you might not want to spend any time with. Not that I want to tell you how to run your charity event. Just something to think about, perhaps. I'll be quiet now." The older man winks and falls silent, as promised. Just enjoying food and drink.
"I recall you mentioning the number of daughters. Must have made for quite the mad house at times." Sage chuckles softly, before nodding faintly. "Well, the Alibi had people go up on stage and talk about themselves or show off if they want. Might try talking to Aimee about using the club since it has space to take advantage. My place isn't exactly designed for a potentially high crowd event." She offers a shrug.
The older man quirks his head slightly. "Aimee? New name to me, but I assume she owns the place. Get enough people, and you could hold this thin in the Park!" Gabriel wiggles his entire set of eyebrows at the idea. "It's probably a good idea for the men... and women -" again, it's a bit of a question "- to talk about themselves. Probably good for people to see the ones who try to show off, so they instantly know who *not* to try to have a nice evening with!" Gabriel sparks his own chuckle at the thought of someone flexing or doing back-flips to attract the attention of a mate. Note that mating will be going on. Or maybe it will. Hmm. Various thoughts rummage through his head.
Sage nods faintly to the man when he comes to the right conclusion about Aimee, before she raises a brow. "I suppose holding it in the park would avoid decisions being made by one's body type." She comments with faint amusement, "Might make certain things harder depending on how the weather goes, though." She points out, "Not everyone takes weather in good stride." She shrugs faintly, "One guy danced on the stage but he wasn't like Sebastien." She adds before she turns her attention back to the sandwich.
"Hmm, it's getting on to almost ten." Gabriel begins to push himself up from his bench seat, most of his food now gone. After all, it was only pashka. "I'm back on a construction site tomorrow morning at daybreak. Means I have to be up even earlier to get in my exercising and calisthenics. Which means... I'm going to have to be very rude, Miss Sage, and leave you to your meal." After looking out the window, he comments, "Looks like the weather's turning again," then begins to pull on his gloves again, re-seating his woolen cap and latching back his overcoat. "You know how to get me, and count me in. I do what I can to help the downtrodden." With that, he'll be off.
