Bad Luck: NOT a date!

[Cecil Wathen]

Because it wasn't; Cecil had made sure of that. It wasn't a date at all, no. It was two friends checking out a new restaurant in a town about an hour away from Pilot Ridge. Both had an avid interest in new cuisine and neither had anyone else to go with, and so it had made sense. Cecil had of course offered to drive since it had been his idea, and he had left his second in command in charge of manning the bar and taking the dog out for a walk. Cecil felt oddly uncomfortable leaving both the bar and Mephit in someone else's charge, even for only a few hours, but it had been a little over a year since he had opened up the bar. It had been almost two years since he had left New York... In all that time, he couldn't recall ever actually having a night off.

Sure there were some days when he wasn't directly behind the bar or playing host, but those were the days he was doing the paperwork, meeting with the accountant or arranging for deliveries. Before the Churchkey he had been working every hour available to save up for his own place. Today had been his first proper day off since... well... Probably since before he'd moved to America. And he had made the most of it. A sleep in had been followed by a long walk with the dog, followed by a kick-boxing session with Josef before relaxing in front of the fire and painting his new dracolich miniature. It had then been time to shower, get dressed, have a smoke and then go to pick up Ferris.

The traffic had been light and the conversation amiable on the ride over, and Cecil was in an upbeat and quietly excited mood as he pulled up into the car park of The Hungry Duck restaurant. “Thanks again for this, I really do appreciate it. It's been a long while since I got the chance to try out somewhere new, and it's not quite the same atmosphere when you're on your own, is it?”

[Ferris Macklin]

As someone who'd never been on a date, by even the greatest stretch of his rather considerable imagination, Ferris did not see this as one. It was just food-obsessed friends exploring a cool new restaurant. If women went out in non-romantic pairs, why couldn't dudes? Ferris was excited. He hadn't gone out to a new place since he moved (okay, a new place outside Pilot Ridge), and hadn't had good Asian in awhile.

Ferris was almost equally uncomfortable with time off, which was why he had the job he did. Two days a week were just enough to take care of chores and shopping and not go nuts (though... during the long summer days it still hadn't been enough to keep him from filling his townhouse with jars of preserves). Now that he had friends like Devon and Roman ("friends", sometimes) more time off wouldn't be a bad thing, though he thought it was a matter of time before the police became involved.

Unlike his neighbor, Ferris didn't really dress up to go out, mostly because he had nothing to dress up with. But he did try to look nice, so after he'd showered, he put on a pair of clean jeans and a v-neck sweater with his boots. In the car, he'd asked after Mephit and the bar, brought Cecil a jar of raspberry jam as thanks for the invite and offered gas money.

"You don't have to thank me," he chuckled as they walked in. "I haven't gone out much either, so this is awesome."

Inside, they were shown to a table and Ferris picked up the menu. "Oooo. New food sense is tingling. I feel like noodles, I think. You?"

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil had of course politely turned down the offer of fuel money; if Ferris had said no he'd have been going anyway, so it didn't really make much difference. The jam had however been gratefully accepted, and Cecil was already making a mental list of the things he could do with it. Cecil had always had a burning fascination with cuisine and it was why he took such great pride in the menu at the Churchkey. Sure it was rather basic, but it was all home-made and done to a high standard, and Cecil liked to think that his love for the food shone through despite the fact it was being served in a pub and not in a fully-fledged restaurant.

Asian food had always held a special appeal for Cecil, and the Hungry Duck's menu had been tempting to say the least. As the two men were shown to a table the smells were truly mouth-watering and Cecil looked over the menu with all the enthusiasm of a child looking over the options in a sweet store.

“I agree, it'd be a shame to come all this way out and not make the most of it.” Dark eyes scanned over the menu, and he smiled as he spotted his dish of choice. “The cuttlefish for me, I think. It's one of those things that I've always wanted to try and never gotten around to.” One of his resolutions for the new year ahead was to experiment more with foods he'd never experienced before, but it never hurt to start early, right? “What are you drinking?”

[Ferris Macklin]

At this point, Ferris's jars were on their way to becoming rather notorious, both for their variety and of course the sheer number of them. It was more than ridiculous, and it was even more ridiculous that now that he'd seen the sort of produce Pilot Ridge had available he was already planning for next year. Yeah. There was probably a problem forming in there somewhere, though it's not like any of the jar recipients were going to curb him. Devon might, but only if it cut into his pastry production.

Though he hadn't been there often (Ferris still rarely ate out, though this was more due to his hours than any inclination not to), he enjoyed the Churchkey. He never drank, but having UK food in Vermont was novel and a nice change of pace.

"Cuttlefish? Interesting. I ran into that in Greece and Spain a little, but sometimes they used that as an umbrella term for anything dried with tentacles." Scanning the menu, Ferris was in a noodle-y mood, but he couldn't very well go to a place called the Hungry Duck and not try, well, the duck. He thought he'd try their half Peking and their Szechuan noodles with vegetables, and maybe get an appetizer of wontons for something crunchy and bland to balance them out.

"Normally I'd go with soda, but I want to really taste the flavors. I think water. You?" Devon had that thing where he didn't drink if Ferris didn't, but he didn't know if Cecil was the same way. He honestly didn't care, but whatever the guy felt he needed to do was fine. "You just getting the cuttlefish? I thought I'd get a couple things. I can always take it home, right? Be a shame not to try more than one thing."

A grin spread over his face as he put down his menu. "Had any laverbread lately?"

[Cecil Wathen]

As Ferris spoke about visiting Greece and Spain Cecil's attention perked, eyebrows raising in curiosity. “Ahh, so you've travelled around a bit? Lucky. I'm always envious of people that have had the chance to see more of the world. Venice has always been on my wishlist but...” He gave a vague shrug of his shoulders. “I guess you know how it goes, sometimes. Best laid plans, and all that.”

Cecil hated the fact that he had seen so very little of the planet he lived on, but between studying and working and time and money and a husband, life had never really presented him with the chance. The only parts of the world he had ever really seen were Wales, Switzerland, London, New York and now Vermont. A long weekend in France with his family as a kid didn't count. He was truthfully jealous of those who had been exploring around the global map, but his jealousy always manifested as a burning curiosity rather than as any kind of bitterness.

It did feel a little strange to be out and choosing a drink rather than asking someone else what they wanted, but it would make a rather nice change. It was a shame he couldn't really be adventurous. “I'm driving, so I'll be having the same.” He knew that in the states they tended to be a touch more lenient on such things than they were back home, but old habits died hard and it was never worth the risk. That didn't stop him browsing over the alcoholic drinks list though, making mental notes of the names he didn't recognise for experimentation at a later date.

At Ferris' suggestion about ordering multiple things Cecil nodded, a soft smile curling the corner of his lips. “Very wise. It would be a shame to come all this way and not get a proper sampling of the menu. In which caaaaase” Dark eyes flicked over the menu again. “I think I might add the shredded pork with ginger.” He was going to have to work doubly hard on his jog in the morning to burn some of this off, but hopefully it would be worth it.

A bright laugh left Cecil's lips and his tongue was in his cheek as he shook his head and placed down his own menu. “Not as recently as I would like. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to get hold of Laver over here. How are your experiments with Branston progressing?”

[Ferris Macklin]

"A bit," he agreed. Somehow, telling him that he'd biked around Europe seemed like bragging. He'd been to Venice. Thought it was nice, but sort of tourist-trappy. Like... the whole city. "You're still young," he said encouragingly. "Maybe later."

Ferris knew he was very lucky to have traveled. In the wider world view of things, very few people got the opportunity to do so. Though if Cecil had told him where he'd been, Ferris would've been impressed. That was certainly more of the world than most saw.

He smiled when the other man said he'd be going dry too. Ferris knew one glass of wine or one beer wouldn't impair him (unless the Welshman was a lightweight), but it was still sort of nice.

"That's one combo I've never had," he said thoughtfully. Pork and ginger. He guessed it would be a bit sweet. Tangy. Potentially tongue-burning.

He grinned when Cecil laughed, guessing what it was about. He was right. "Tried the Asian market? There's one in Burlington. I haven't been there. Yet."

About to go on, the waitress showed up for drink orders. Waters all around. They were also ready to order, so they did that too. Menus whisked away, he sat back. "The Branston and I are probably going to come to an agreement," Ferris said. "I don't not like it. It's the texture, I guess. It's so sticky. But the flavor's good, and I like the variety of vegetables. Might try making my own."

Their waters showed up about then, and Ferris thanked the waitress. "So what's new at the pub?"

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil gave a soft laugh at being called young and his shoulder shrugged again. Although he knew that thirty-nine was technically still reasonably young, he also knew that it wouldn't be easy for him any more. Running the bar took up most of his time and it wasn't established enough yet that he could jet off on holiday and trust it to still be functioning when he returned. Also having a dog always made travel more difficult, and it just wasn't the same exploring somewhere new alone. That was the main reason he had asked Ferris along on this little expedition. For now, this was the closest to adventure he could get. “Hopefully, one day. I am determined to see New Zealand before I get too old to handle the flight over there.”

In truth that was what his savings account had been opened up for when he had first moved to New York. Just a bit of money tucked away whenever he could afford to put some in, saving up for that trip that would have been legendary. Since the divorce, however, it had become his emergency fund in case he ever bottled it completely and had to move back home.

“Nor me, but it sounds potentially exciting.” Pork had long been one of Cecil's favourite meats, and the addition of ginger was an intriguing concept. He was almost as excited about that as the cuttlefish. Almost. “You'd be welcome to try a bit when it comes, if you want.”

Scouting the Asian market for laver hadn't occurred to Cecil, even though he was aware that it was a fairly common ingredient in certain Asian cuisines. “I haven't, no. I'll have to look up where it is when I get back. Thanks for that pointer.”

Cecil nodded as Ferris spoke about his continued inability to form a friendship with Branston and chuckled softly. “I see your point; I think it takes everyone a while to come to terms with it. Like piccalilli, which my brother eats with everything. Personally I try to avoid any food that is neon yellow.”

Sipping at his freshly delivered water, Cecil pondered for a moment before answering. “Well it's a bit chaotic right now with all the Christmas build-up. Lots of work night outs and parties and such, you know? I have a few ideas for things I'd like to get rolling in the new year, so keeping busy, which is good. How's life at the school treating you?”

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris had no idea how old Cecil was, but he looked only a little older than he was and was obviously in good shape. And a lot of people traveled after they retired. Ferris didn't know if he had any more wandering in him; he'd spent so long roaming around it was just nice to finally put down some roots. Have a house instead of a crappy apartment with rented furniture, be part of a community. Kocher had been one of the longest jobs he'd ever kept, but it had felt as temporary as the others. At Hammel he felt like he'd found his groove, his place. Of course, shorter hours would be great eventually, but right now they fit just fine.

"New Zealand? What's there?" Ferris both did not know deep the Churchkey owner's geek went or that one of the largest franchises in current history had filmed on the tiny island. "If I were going to travel... Japan."

And speaking of Japan, "The Japanese have a pork and ginger dish called shoga yaki, but I've never had it. I wonder if this is anything like it."

"You can try mine too! That's why I got more. It's fun to try everything."

His time in England meant that Ferris knew what piccalilli was. "It's not horrible. I liked it with fried sausages."

Ferris hadn't gotten to go out as much as he'd wanted to of late. Work had been knocking him out, and he wasn't used to it being so cold. He was also watching Devon's two cats, and he couldn't just do the box and fill the food dishes without giving them a little company and make sure they hadn't wrecked the place. He didn't know what Dev was talking about; Uno was so cuddly!

"Long hours, but I knew that signing on. It's what I wanted. I'm glad Hanukkah didn't come so close to Christmas, but it still came at Thanksgiving, so I had extra work there to prep stuff for those kids. Kwanzaa comes on the 26th, and the feelers I put out have a couple kids who'll eat some Southern stuff if I do that, which I will." Ferris smiled a little ruefully. "Since I'm not doing anything, I'm working Christmas Eve and Day and scheduling everyone for short shifts so the minions who have family stuff can do it." Sipping his water, he looked at Cecil curiously. "Will the Churchkey be open on Christmas?"

[Cecil Wathen]

New Zealand had always been near the top of Cecil's to-visit pile, and not only for the obvious reason. When he was a kid it had always been described as 'kind of like Wales but more so', and to a young Welshie who deeply loved his home country, that was an almost irresistible pull. He had been a strongly outdoorsy kid and the thought of climbing up taller mountains and looking out over even more impressive views... even to this day the thought made him slightly giddy.

“There's amazing scenery there, and such a unique culture and way of life. It has some of the most spectacular hiking trails in the world... It's somewhere I've always wanted to visit.” He gave a quiet breath of a laugh, shrugging with a smile. “I wont lie; Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit being filmed there have helped fuel that, but I've wanted to go since I was a kid.” He was certain that his mum still had the scrapbook he'd made as a teenager by cutting up lots of travel brochures and sticking the pictures and maps into a notebook. “Japan seems fascinating, and climbing Mount Fuji would be one hell of a bucket list item, but I have to admit, I've always been a bit intimated by the... intensity of the place.”

Cecil had done his time in London and New York; he vastly preferred the much more laid back and sedate nature of Aberystwyth and Pilot Ridge. He found it difficult to imagine himself being in a place like Tokyo for more than two or three days without wanting to run for the hills. Quite possibly literally. His expression did, however, turn curious as Ferris spoke about shoga yaki. “I'll admit, I've never tried much in the way of Japanese cuisine; beyond the sushi you can get anywhere, I mean.”

The Welshman smiled warmly as Ferris said he'd be willing to swap-and-share too, and gave a small nod of his head. “Great! Looking forward to this even more now.”

Cecil listened respectfully as Ferris outlined the seemingly mountainous schedule he had coming up over the next few weeks and he gave a sympathetic smile of understanding. “Wow, sounds like one heck of a rota. But it's great of you to arrange for your minions to get more time off; not everyone would be quite so willing to take on the brunt of the work like that.” To the question about the Churchkey, Cecil gave another small nod. “Yeah. Only with a skeleton staff of me and whoever wants to work it, but it'll be open. I can't spend the holiday with my family, obviously, so...” He gave a small shrug. “How about you, Ferris? No plans to visit your folks?”

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris's eyebrows went up on hearing the LotR movies had been filmed in New Zealand. Yes, he was out of the loop, but hey, ten years of sixty-plus hours a week jobs. "It's cool that you still want to do something you wanted to do as a kid."

Japan was on Ferris's list for many of the same reasons NZ was on Cecil's. The scenery, the culture that was so different from his own. Hiking not so much, but if there was some he wouldn't be averse to it. Especially up near some of those mountain onsens. "The intensity... I love that sort of thing," he admitted. "It's the result of a population half the size of the United States inside an area smaller than Montana. All the things that had to happen to make that work, all the things that came of it..." Ferris smiled ruefully. "I studied Japan a little in college."

And that was as close as he'd ever gotten to mentioning his doctorate. An understatement, he'd researched deeply enough that he'd learned to read Japanese so he could study texts in their original language. Ferris laughed a little. "You mean you've never had ramen?"

Nodding, he sipped his water. "That's the point of getting a lot," he said. "Sharing it out to maximize experiences."

It was unusual for a business to be open on Christmas in a small town, but Ferris figured Cecil had his reasons. The holidays made the discussion turn to a subject Ferris had never had a good answer for. His family was a bit of a touchy subject, but one that always came up eventually between friends. Shrugging with a smile, he just said, "Nah. We're not close."

After a bit more conversation, their food came. The plates were thick but had a lovely pattern of geometric designs around the edges, and everything steamed so wildly that Ferris had to lean back in his chair. "Wow. Thank you. Wow."

Not one to photograph his food, Ferris still had to take a moment to admire it. He could see without tapping with his spoon back that the duck had perfectly shiny, crispy skin and would sound like an eggshell if knocked. The noodles glistened, the vegetables generous and cut large, and the wontons were golden and bubbled. The Hammel chef sighed in contentment. "I don't even know where to start and I love that."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil smiled warmly at Ferris' comment, giving a small nod of his head. “There are many things I wanted as a child that I still wish I could have now.” Amongst those were such things as a trip in a spaceship, to hug a dragon and to swim with a great white shark. There were of course some slightly more realistic ones, but the fact remained that he was still young in his imagination, despite how old he felt in his heart and bones. “How about you? Any dreams from your youth that you wish you could make come true?”

It was good to see Ferris so animated and passionate about a subject, and Cecil listened in polite silence as the younger man spoke about his love of Japan and the mechanics of the country. “I'm not doubting that it's fascinating, and I do have a great appreciation for the heritage and history. I just... Crowded cities aren't really my thing.” Which was saying a lot for someone who had spent a large chunk of his life living in London and then New York city. “Oh? What else were you studying, if you don't mind me asking, of course?”

Cecil snorted a laugh at the ramen comment, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Not proper ramen no, only the packet stuff, and that doesn't count. That's like having a cheap petrol station taco and saying you've had Mexican cuisine.”

Not wanting to pry into his friends business, Cecil simply nodded and offered a sympathetic smile as Ferris said he wasn't close to his family. Despite the great distance between himself and his own family Cecil still managed to keep in touch with them often, but he understood that it wasn't always that way between people. He had no idea how he would have managed those months in the lead up to his divorce without the almost daily phone calls with the people back home, and it did sadden him slightly that some people were so removed from the people that they should hold most dear. Then again, he wasn't naïve enough to be unaware of the very real reasons why some people chose to torch those particular bridges.

The conversation flowed freely after that and Cecil smiled when the plates were brought, thanking the waiter profusely. Cecil's own plate looked equally as amazing as Ferris', and the Welshman spent a long moment just taking in the beautiful presentation and mouth-watering aroma. “If this tastes as good as it looks, I am going to be a very, very happy man.”

Picking up the chopsticks, it was clear that Cecil was slightly rusty with their use but he had enough ability to be able to manipulate them enough to get the job done. The cuttlefish looked and smelled divine; beautifully golden with a dark, rich sauce, and the taste as Cecil bit into it was every bit as heavenly. He chewed slowly, savouring the flavour, and swallowed before speaking again. “Wow... Just... Wow...”

[Ferris Macklin]

Most of Ferris's childhood desires had at least a hint of realism in them, though he'd certainly had an imagination. He'd wanted to meet identical twins or triplets, read every book in the children's section of the local library, go fishing, ride every ride at a Six Flags park, try on a suit of armor, have a pet duck, own over a thousand books. Taking a sip of his water, he thought. "I think it's mostly having the really cool toys from when I was a kid. I mostly just rode bikes and played outside, did some video games. School was a big deal, there wasn't much time for the things that took a long time to learn, like Pokemon or Magic cards, or took up a lot of space, like these really oversized blocks you could get, or trendy stuff, like Micro Machines." He sighed, smiling, feeling nostalgic. "They had this thing called Littlest Pet Shop. The first wave of those were really cute, but later on they got all big-eyed and precious, marketed to girls."

He grinned across the table. "You more of a nature boy?" The bar owner seemed like the type. Ferris could easily see him out climbing mountains or jumping out of planes. He wasn't against a good nature walk or some camping, but he'd spent too many years behind the scenes to not want to taste a little of the excitement of the cities he'd lived in.

"General history," he said. "Not much use to a cook, but... I did the time. You?"

Just because he owned a bar didn't mean he hadn't gone to college. Ferris more than proved that a college major did not indicate the future job.

He laughed. "True, but most packaged ramen is made in Japan. It is still authentic. It' s just not fresh."

The Hammel chef wasn't on bad terms with his family, he'd just never felt particularly close with them. His mother had never been overly interested in his life, and while he was good enough with his grandmother that they emailed and sometimes called, his grandparents hadn't wanted to intrude on his education and had felt they'd failed as parents with their daughter and thus had no reason to try a second time on her son. It was something his grandmother regretted, not that she'd ever told him. Both of her lost chances.

Ferris didn't know what it was about Asian cuisine, but even piles of noodles and vegetables were pretty. Of course, as a chef, Ferris thought almost all food was attractive, but Asian food, he felt, was the most consistently gorgeous across the board. The French would likely contest that, but sometimes it felt over-staged. The dishes weren't just let be, but primped and garnished till it was more of a small art installation than something he'd want to eat.

Starting with the noodles, he took a delicate bite. A little sweet, a lot savory, with the crunch of flash-fried vegetables and sesame seeds. Ah, so lovely. And his first bite of duck was pure heaven.

"How's yours?"

[Cecil Wathen]

As far as he was aware, Cecil had always preferred to spend time in the vast wilds of his imagination. He knew that many people saw distant lands and epic adventures as some form of escapism from the monotony or pain of their real lives, and he could understand that to a degree. That had certainly become the case for him more so in recent years. It was far easier to write a D&D campaign or watch a fantasy movie or paint a miniature of some kind of hellish beastie than it was to handle divorce papers and angry phonecalls and juggling tax forms at the same time. It had not always been that way though. Before all the chaos, Cecil had spent so much time wrapped up in fantasy worlds with unrealistic goals and dreams purely because it was exciting. “I remember the Littlest Pet Shop. Carys, my sister, used to collect them. I think I've still got the dog one she sent to me when I said we-” Cecil cut off momentarily, fidgeting ever so slightly before he settled down again. “-we were getting a dog. She said I should practice with a less easily broken one first.”

The new topic broke off that moment of quiet awkwardness, and Cecil smiled and nodded at Ferris' question. “Yeah. I grew up with the mountains and valleys on one side, and the ocean on the other. I wasn't inside all that much when I was a kid.” He chuckled softly to himself. “I sucked at video games; I got teased for that so much. Stick us in the middle of the woods though, and I'd outlive every single one of them.” Cecil looked back fondly on his time in the Scouts, and he still bore a massive grudge towards Kocher for taking him away from his troop.

Ferris' admission of the subject of his studies caused another quiet chuckle to leave the Welshman. “Highfive for useless degrees. Mine's in sport tourism management. That was six years of studying well and truly wasted.” As much as Cecil loved his business now, it had never been his ambition to end up owning a bar. He had worked tirelessly all his young adult life to get a PhD to go and do the career he wanted... yet fate seemed to always find him back behind a bar. At least now he was signing his own pay-cheques.

The food both looked and smelled divine, and as Cecil swallowed his first ever bite of cuttlefish he internally kicked himself for leaving it this long before trying it. “It's amazing. So tender and rich; the sauce really sets it off.” The hand that was not currently holding the chopsticks lightly scratched the back of his neck, the skin there feeling slightly warm and gooseprickled. “How about yours? Glad we came out?” It felt like an uncomfortable little knot was starting to form in his stomach, but Cecil mentally shrugged it off as just him being a bit warm and having not eaten much before this today. He'd be fine in a few minutes, once he had some more food inside him.