Some Light Dinner Conversation

Suddenly this felt like a situation to be much more concerned about. It was bad enough that I felt like I was walking into the lions' den again but I had expected the lions to have more choices in prey than just myself and my lady fair.

While I had that in mind, Sarah Jean had other thoughts to discuss as we walked arm in arm. “I totally believed you were over-rating her but she is just so beautiful, like storybook pretty. She was chasing after you and you turned her down?”

“Yup.”

“Really?”

“Honestly.”

She gave my arm a squeeze. “That's impressive. Or insane.”

“Thank you.” I could really think of no better response at the time.

It was unsurprising to me that the dining room was of a chic style similar to the other rooms I'd seen. The table was long and shiny, made of glass and metal. The color scheme was simple, mostly shades of white and black. Decorations were minimal.

Sarah Jean and I were seated opposite another on the 'long' sides of the rectangle of the table, while Dr. Castillo and Ms. Romero sat on the 'short' ends. While separated, Sarah Jean and I were not so far away from each other. We could have played footsie if so inclined. The visibility provided by the glass tabletop pretty much stopped that possibility from becoming a reality.

I don't often dine while dressed up. Most of the time I've done so, its been in a relatively relaxed setting, like a wedding reception where I'm surrounded by friends that don't know which fork to use either. Despite the friendly nature of my hosts, I didn't want to offend due to my ignorance. I'd brushed up on my manners via the interwebs but those points were already fading. Just what I needed at this juncture, more stress.

Servants bustled around us, filling glasses, helping us adjust chairs and napkins, putting bowls of soup before us. In a snap, they were gone, with only the butler standing in the corner of the room, waiting. I started eating when everyone else did. I've no clue what it was but it was good. Sort of a sharp tangy flavor to it. A familiar flavor but I couldn't place it.

Ms. Romero continued to smile at Sarah Jean. Clearly directing her questions to Sarah Jean, she asked “How long have you two known each other?”

Sarah Jean considered this for a moment as she dealt with the soup in her mouth. “Its been a year and half, almost two years now.”

“Where did you first met?” was the follow-up question.

I answered this question. “In my dreams.” This earned me an “awww” from Ms. Romero as well as a “Good answer my friend” from Dr. Castillo. I love telling the truth, especially because people tend not to believe it. For the 'real' answer we mentioned the mall, and considering we went to the mall not long after physically meeting, that's close enough to count, right? Saying that she appeared on my doorstep one day would just generate more questions for which we had no good answers.

“And how long have you been dating?” Ms. Romero was keen to know.

I mentally reminded my friend of my earlier... exaggeration of our relationship when speaking with Ms. Romero. At the time I would have said it was a lie but was it really? I mean, afterwards I went right to Sarah Jean to tell her about it and she got all upset. At the time we weren't officially anything but we were certainly in a relationship of sorts. Wrapped up in these thoughts, I missed most of Sarah Jean's response but I caught “off and on” as well as mentioning travel as the primary reason reason for this intermittent state.

There was a brief moment of quiet, just long enough for me to wonder if it was our turn to ask for stories from them, but Ms. Romero was still curious. “How is the intercourse?”

I choked on my soup. Once the panic faded and I knew that this mis-swallowed soup would not kill me, I reflected that it could have been worse. I might have spat all over Sarah Jean. That would have been worse.

Sarah Jean stammered and stuttered. “Do you mean conversation?” she finally asked.

“Of course not my dear, I mean sex,” Ms. Romero clarified. “I imagine that Patrick would be a very generous lover.”

I managed to stop coughing enough to exchange a glance with Sarah Jean. She looked a bit lost. That's new, not sure I've seen her lost before. My mind lit up with communication from Sarah Jean, mostly confusion.

Dr. Castillo chuckled in a friendly manner. “Ah my dear, while I understand your thoughts on this matter, I fear it may be too early in the evening for such conversation. Let us save that for dessert.” Smoothly, calm as ever, he shifted gears. “My new friend, what occupation is it that takes you away from Patrick so frequently?”

Great. I had been looking forward to dessert.