Setting Up Shopping (tag Vincent)

[Ari Jasinski]

Ari fished out Vincent's business card-- he'd known the other guy longer than anyone else, so it was definitely worth a shot at seeing if the teacher could give him a hand.

Even if he didn't buy anything right away-- and he wouldn't!-- he could at least start looking at actual grown-up furniture, he thought as he dialed Vincent's number.

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent had been chopping vegetables for dinner when the phone suddenly started to ring on the kitchen wall. Confused for a moment, he finished with the knife, dried his hands, and picked up the phone. He almost answered in Japanese, but remembered that the caller would likely be someone speaking English.

"Meian household," he answered, placing the phone in the cradle of his shoulder as he went back to preparing dinner.

[Ari Jasinski]

"Vincent, hey!" he said. "It's Ari Jasinski. Sorry to interrupt you at home, but I wanted to see if you might be free sometime this weekend for a shopping expedition. My house is pretty much bare, so I need to be looking at some stuff, you know? And since I hate shopping by myself, I thought I'd see if I could drag you along with me."

[Vincent Meian]

"Ah, hello Ari! I was only preparing something for dinner." Shifting the vegetables into a bowl off to the side of his cutting board, he listened for a moment as his friend chattered away.

"Of course," he answered, walking over to the refrigerator and picking out the steak he'd bought from the store earlier in the week. "Is Saturday a good day? We can meet at the cafe after closing hours."

[Ari Jasinski]

"That'd be great! I figured we'd hit the mall. I don't know if I'm going to find anything there, but it's not a bad start, and if nothing else, I'll get an idea of general prices, maybe get some inspiration, that kind of thing," Ari said, leaning against the living room wall. "I have stuff for the bedroom, but not a single thing else. It's kind of pathetic. I didn't expect to be so busy when I first got here, though."

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent nodded slightly, opening the package in his hand carefully as he placed in on a different cutting board. "Yes, events seem to be more hectic immediately after moving somewhere new," he agreed. "Will you need help moving this furniture in later as well? I am available any weekend that you will need assistance."

Taking a clean and very sharp knife from the counter, he began slicing the meat into fine strips, multi-tasking rather effectively.

[Ari Jasinski]

"Depends on delivery fees, probably," Ari admitted, poking through his toolbox for a measuring tape, "but probably not. I appreciate the offer, though, and it works both ways, right? If you guys need a hand with that stuff, let me know."

He measured the width of his front door, then the height. No use buying something he couldn't get in the apartment, after all. "I really didn't think it was going to take so long to get settled in, but at least it's mostly finished. Oh, hey, and I'd appreciate any input on colors and stuff like that, too. I have a good idea of what I want, but outside opinions? Always useful."

[Vincent Meian]

"I thank you for the offer," he replied, "however we have already moved in everything we need. If something does require a second pair of hands, I will certainly call you."

Finishing with the steak strips, Vincent bumped the lever on the faucet and washed his hands clear of the blood and nodded again, mostly to himself. "Of course. Tell me what you are looking for in terms of color, and I will help to the best of my ability. Does your apartment have much sunlight during the day?"

[Ari Jasinski]

"Warm colors," he said instantly, "not real yellows or stop-sign reds or dull browns, but nothing too bright either-- just warm. And I'm pretty sure it gets a decent amount of daylight-- the living room, I mean-- but I'm not usually here to see it, I'm just guessing from where the windows face."

He grinned as he put away the measuring tape. "I guess I'll know what I want when I see it, basically."

[Vincent Meian]

"All right," Vincent answered, pondering over that for a moment. Warm colors were red through yellow, if he remembered correctly; the colors of fire. He pondered this for a moment, then mentally shrugged. He could offer suggestions on colors when they shopped for them.

"That sounds reasonable. All right - I will be there Saturday by five o'clock, then," he confirmed, turning off the water and drying his hands. "Is the mall far from your cafe, or will we walk there?"

[Ari Jasinski]

"It's about a half-mile, so well within walking distance," he said after a pause to consider. "We can be out there, back, and get you back home by eight or so at the latest, if that sounds like a plan? But you're about to do dinner, right, so don't let me keep you from it. I know some recipes don't like having to wait."

[Vincent Meian]

"That sounds feasible." Walking back to the cutting board, the Japanese man transferred the meat into another bowl and placed the dirty board in the sink. He would wash it in a moment.

"All right, then I will see you then," he replied, moving back to the phone's cradle on the wall. "Enjoy your evening."

[Ari Jasinski]

"You, too-- and Vincent? Thanks. I really do appreciate this!" Ari said, smiling. He hung up the phone, and scooped up the tape measure again. Might as well get an idea of the overall space he had to work with, how much paint it would to take to re-do the living room, floor space....

(And ready for archive!)