Thursday, October 20th, 9:07 P.M.
I've noted before about how Rinoa seems to know a
lot about Trebyer. She seemed to know a
lot about what routes to take, how to avoid traffic, and generally how to get
to places quickly. I didn't know why
Rinoa possessed this knowledge about Trebyer untill today. Today, Gin sent us to Conte. When we got to Conte, we received this
greeting from the hostess, "Miss Ann!
How have you been?"
My first thought was that the hostess was either
talking to someone else in the restaurant, was on the phone with someone, or
was high on mushrooms. That thought was
dismissed when Rinoa said, "Chelsea!
I'm good, you?" It was
bewildered by this, so I choose not to get involved in this conversation. I don't think any men out there would blame
me.
The hostess, a middle aged opfer apparently named
Chelsea, replied to Rinoa, "Oh you know, working away."
"So, how are things going with you and Darryl?"
Chelsea showed her hand to Rinoa, which resulted in
one of those squeals that only girls can produce. "When's the date?"
"We don't have a date yet, but Darryl keeps on
talking about popping down to Vierdestad and pulling up to one of those drive
up chapels."
"I bet your Mom would love that." The two ladies shared a laugh as I continued
to study the pattern the sound dampening material made on Conte's ceiling.
"Speaking of romantic bliss, who's this
specimen you brought here?" Chelsea
was referring to me, though why she referred to me as a specimen I don't know.
"Oh, that's some guy I'm working
with." Ouch.
"Work?
What do you mean work?"
Chelsea's tone had turned from happy to inquisitive.
"That's actually why I'm here. Is Jim here?"
"Jim retired a couple of months back, but if
you're looking for the manager, I'm sure Jamie could help you. Hang on."
Chelsea left her station and went into the back area
of Conte. I guess I must have had this
puzzled look on my face, because Rinoa said to me, "You have no idea what
just happened, do you?"
I answered honestly.
"No, no I don't. Not that
that's a bad thing, but-"
"Chelsea's an old friend of mine. I interned at an art gallery she worked
at. We stayed in touch untill I got
accepted at The High School For Modern Arts in Dha Chathair."
"Oh. Is
that how you know Jim?"
"No.
Jim's an old friend of my Dad's.
They used to play softball, then come back here for drinks. Sometimes I'd tag along and cause general
mischief."
"What, like pulling on tablecloths and sticking
straws up your nose?"
"No, like sneaking into the large refrigerator
in the back, stealing a lime, cutting it up, then sneaking into coat check and
filling the pockets of their jackets with them." I found the complexity of Rinoa's prank to be
a turn on. Weird.
After a short wait, Chelsea came back with a man in
tow. Have you ever been in a situation
where everybody knows everybody except for you?
I have. Upon seeing the man
Chelsea was bringing over, Rinoa yelled, "Jamie!" Rinoa then jumped on Jamie in that way that
is awesome if you're the one being jumped on but is bizarre if you are watching
it. After breaking her embrace, Rinoa
said, "God, it's been so long. How
have you been?"
Jamie replied, "Great, you?"
"Oh, up and down." What an understatement. "So, you're running this place
now?"
"Naw, I'm just filling in for the real manager
untill he wanders in here."
"What do they have you doing?"
"Balancing the books and making sure the money
flows right."
"Perfect, that's why Hato and I came here
today."
Jamie looked me up and down and said,
"Hato. What a fine piece of man
that is." I think I preferred
Jamie's comment to Chelsea calling me a specimen.
Rinoa grabbed Jamie's attention and got down to
business. "Jamie, Gin Ayah sent us
here."
“Gin Ayah from Ayah Brewing?"
"Yeah."
Rinoa pulled the invoice from her pocket, have it to Jamie and said,
"He sent us to collect on this."
Jamie took the invoice from Rinoa, looked it over,
and said, "Okay, I'll cut you a check."
As Jamie went to leave, Rinoa said, "Actually,
Gin specified that he wanted to be paid in cash."
Jamie did not take this well. "Cash!
Are you serious?"
Rinoa calmly replied, "That's what he
said."
Turning to me, Jamie said, "Is she for
real?"
As calmly as Rinoa did, I replied, "Yeah. Gin specifically told us to tell you that he
wanted the invoices to be paid in cash."
My response did not make Jamie any happier. "I don't even know if we keep that much
money here."
Jamie walked to the back in a huff, with Rinoa
trailing after him. As I watched Rinoa
walk away, trying not to be obvious as I studied every move she made, Chelsea
came up beside me and said, "Your name's Hato, right?"
I replied, "Yep, Hato Shurtleff."
"Have you know Rinoa for long?"
"Not really, just a couple of weeks now."
"Oh."
There was a short pause before Chelsea asked, "Are you and Rinoa
like boyfriend girlfriend."
I thought about it for a moment, then answered,
"I don't think so. We haven't known
each other for that long, and we haven't gone out on a formal date, but we have
had some pretty deep discussions. I
don't know."
Chelsea took this all in and replied, "Well, if
you and Rinoa don't end up an item, come back here and see me." After saying that, Chelsea gave me a playful
swat on the butt before heading back to her station. We kept on exchanging glanced before Rinoa
came back with the money. Just before
Rinoa and I left Conte, I glanced back at Chelsea. Chelsea responded to my glance with a wink.
I have no idea what just happened. I’ve never been in the situation where a
woman was kind of pursuing me. It’s
weird but good. Rinoa is still first in
my mind, and I will try to develop a deep connection with her, but it's nice to
know I have another option out there. It
swells my ego, as well as other things, to know that people finally find me
attractive.
Later.
Hato Shurtleff
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