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 Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 5:55 am
“ I have no desire to get glasses, especially because I don’t need them.” He grumbled slightly but carefully inspected Priam’s and arched his eyebrows at the way the lenses warped and blurred the world to look through. Clearly he didn’t need anything like this. “I’m glad you can see through these. You and Sterling can be distinguished. I’ve got everything I never wanted on my face already.” He quipped and tapped at the scar on the bridge if his nose with a teasing grin. “Besides, I’d probably loose them in the kitchen or something, or the new dish dude with swing a pan at the wrong time and I’d be out a pair of glasses.” “I mean, Sterling lost a pair the other day, that had to suck.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:18 am
Priam laughed and returned his glasses his face, blinking only once to refocus his eyes. "Sterling is horrible with his glasses, I feel like he's losing or breaking them all the time. At this rate, I'll have to buy him glasses for Christmas."
He spoke with nothing but fondness and seemed to settle in a little more, glad to see that Yu seemed a bit more relaxed than when he'd first arrived.
"I almost lost my glasses down the garbage disposal last week though, so. In a kitchen, not the best accessory. And they steam up so easily." He wanted to ask about the scar, but it didn't seem fair to throw that on him now, especially given what else he'd learned today.
"And you know how the dogs get, when they want to give you kisses, all over. The glasses are lucky if they stay on my face when they're both excited to see me. I'm glad I got them. I wouldn't have been there to get them if Sterling hadn't insisted on it. I lost my pup not so vey long ago, and was pining, quite a bit. He was a giant, Yu, I wouldn't have been able to get him in the car over here. I'd have had to ride him. I miss him," he said, but even when sad at the thought, there was a fond smile on his face. "...I just also feel very fortunate that I'm not alone anymore. So thank you for that. And for your cooking. It tastes like home."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 9:27 am
He looked thoughtful about the glasses falling off. “Don’t they make like….chains?” He mused. “… would that be a bad gift? Little like, chains?” He made a little motion between where glasses might lie and his ears in a small loop. “Maybe then they wouldn’t go down the disposal? I’m glad you didn’t turn it on? I’m also glad it didn’t eat your hand?” He grimaced at the thought. He rubbed absently across the scar and back to the one on his cheek almost as though he could feel thoughts directed at them, but said nothing because it was his own fault for drawing further attention to it. The idea that his cooking tasted like… home, though. The blush was deep and fast, a brilliant crimson that spread ears and cheeks. “Thanks…” He mumbled, glancing away. “That’s…that means a lot, that’s really cool.” He rubbed at the back of his neck and let out a breath. “What uh… what ARE your favorite dinners? For…no, reason… at all.” He cleared his throat. "And...do you think dog cookies would count as a dessert? I ... found a recipe. I just...do really badly with desserts."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 10:33 am
Priam couldn't help but laugh. "They do make chains, but I'm always so afraid I'll look, you know." He was only a little self conscious about it. "Old. Though, I suppose they must make fashionable ones? I've never looked."
And, right now, he was too distracted looking at Yu, if he was going to be perfectly honest, if only because it was nice to see such a raw response. Such a good response. It was sweet, and Priam found that whatever worries he'd had waking in the morning seemed to have melted away since stopping by.
"I think , most dog cookies are more like dense biscuits--hardtack? But you know, they'd probably love anything you gave them. Of course, I think I'm of the same mind. Although, I don't know if I would enjoy dog treats, myself. My favorite food," he seemed to genuinely think of this and then said, "I don't even know! I'm not very good with spicy things, or things that are too bitter. But."
He considered this again and then just said, "I think I'm open to suggestions. Maybe chicken marsala? Really, I don't know at all. What's your favorite meal?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 11:22 am
“Oh, I uh...” he looked flustered. “I’m not... sure?” He admitted after a long pause. “I’ll eat almost anything if it doesn’t taste like it’s gonna make me sick. Except lobster... that just tastes like sea water and dirt that you’re trying to hide in sauce.” He made a face like he could taste it even now. “I like sweet more than bitter, but desert isn’t a meal.” He flashed a quick smile, pointed but disarmed as well. “Uhh... I got this, bun once, we were in like, I mean different city but we were in China town, I... “ a pause and a flicker of something across his face. “Got separated...” he finished. “One of the vendors gave me a bun, all... white and sticky and I thought it was bread, except I bit it and it was like, pork inside and it was amazing. But ... I’ve had some really nice chicken Marsala too...” “I promise I wasn’t asking about the dog cookies as snacks either.” He added. “Though I’ll admit I’ve eaten a milk bone before.” He grinned. “I think I told someone that’s why I had pointy teeth too.” He looked amused.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 12:20 pm
Priam looked at Yu for a few seconds and looked torn between laughing or scolding, but then said, "Well. I've eaten a milk bone before, too, so that logic won't work on me," he said, flashing his teeth which were not at all sharp.
"I'll eat anything you make, though. And I'll never ask you for lobster, I know how you feel about 'sea cockroaches'," he assured, clearly remembering a previous conversation where Yu expressed his disdain. "I don't mind their flavor, but I embarrassed myself at a very fancy restaurant once and now I just can't go back. Or order lobster." He bit his lip and then confessed, "I don't even know what I did wrong. One minute I was just scooping out the meat, and the next, I'd accidentally flung the lobster off my plate and onto the wall. I was so embarrassed, I had to leave, I couldn't even finish the meal. I thought everyone was staring at me. But you know how it is--when you get stood up, you already feel like everyone can see it on you? And then, suddenly, I was throwing food, too. Oh, I was a mess. No, actually, I think I'll be fine if I never eat another lobster again." He laughed, and maybe a few months ago he might have been sad about the memory, but now, he just smiled, like it was comfortably in his past.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 1:07 pm
“Damn, It was such a good way to throw people off from the fact I am secretly a trash goblin, and we naturally have pointy teeth.” He smirked and then laughed. “How about as compromise I’ll make you surf and turf with crab?” Yu offered. “Then at least people expect bits of crustaceans to go flying AND Oreo will be delighted if you do fling some. In fact, you’d probably be her new favorite kidney stomp spot; we’d all win.” He tapped his chin and then added. “I’ll even look up how to make those puffy buns. “If… it makes you feel any better, we had a time at a place I picked up work, and someone ordered Escargot, but I guess they didn’t realize it was a snail.” He grimaced. “They brought the plate back to the kitchen cause the dude threw up on it as soon as he realized what he was looking at. I’m pretty sure he made more of an impression than flying lobster ever has.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 1:48 pm
Priam laughed again, perhaps a bit reassured that there was someone with worse luck than he had. "I shouldn't laugh," he said, but it didn't stop him, and he clearly did feel bad about it--and then laughed so much he had to lean back and cover his face.
"No, that's horrible," he said, as if chastising himself, but then he reasoned, "That's so much worse than what I did. It kept me up for days! I wore my hair differently for a month. In hindsight--it probably wasn't even a big deal, not to anyone, but. Oh. I carried it like it was this great shame, like everyone would look at me and think, 'I don't want that guy for my doctor, he can't even keep his food on his plate'. It was completely unreasonable. Completely."
His laughter died away and he had to shake his head, still smiling. "Yu, you can make anything you like, I'm sure it will be wonderful. I bet you can make those puffy buns better than you remember them being. You are creative and resourceful, and Sterling talks about every dish you make like it's the best thing he's had. Do you know how many pictures he's sent me? Like he's so proud of you, he just can't contain it and has to share. Are you aspiring for a restaurant of your own one day?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 2:27 pm
“Uh…” He blinked and settled back a little in his chair as someone had just smacked him on the head with something heavy. “I… hadn’t? I’m just a line cook. I’m mostly copying what I’ve picked up different places.” He admitted. “And I’m s**t at deserts; if I didn’t have someone else doing deserts and stuff, we’d be wrecked.” He worried at his lower lip, thinking. COULD he do something like that? Maybe if he wasn’t the face of the place, maybe if he just cooked and no one ever asked to speak to the… chef. Did you have to go to a proper school for that? Didn’t you have to do something like go to France or something? His cheeks felt a renewed heat at the compliments, and hearing that Sterling gushed so much. “M… maybe we could do something, like a food truck. Or… two since I don’t know that we could do desert and dinner in one very well.” He sounded dazed.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 3:07 pm
"You should think about it," Priam said, finding that he rather enjoyed catching Yu embarrassed with compliments. Where he was now was miles away from the pale face he'd been wearing when Priam first arrived, and all worry had passed from Priam about all of it.
"A food truck," he nodded. "You could decide your own hours, and change up the scenery often enough that it could be exciting. And it must be liberating, being able to be your own boss. And if there are angry customers, you can just drive away. In Destiny City, there's almost always something on."
He brushed his hands off on the knees of his pants, as if he'd even had any chocolate left on them. "It's food for thought, at least. And Destiny City is always pushing for event based selling points, I'm absolutely certain there are grants or other opportunities. You don't need a degree, but if you have free time, you could always sit in during some of the business classes at DCU? I sit in all the time. They have big lecture halls, no one notices you. I mean, there are plenty of resources online, but. DCU has a good program, and you can find all of the information about what they want you to learn online and work from there. They have digital copies of the textbook at the school library, if you ever wanted to check that out. No pressure!" he said, suddenly. "I'm sorry, I ramble. I do guest lectures there sometimes, and I know you mentioned taking a class here and there. Follow your heart, that's the important thing."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 5:22 pm
Dazed would be an excellent way to describe Yu’s current expression. Like the idea that he could ever achieve anything of the sort had seemed so far out of reach that he’d never even let himself start to think about it. “I… yeah.” He murmured. “Yeah… that would be…” He started and stopped, still looking almost lost. “…D… I know I’d be my own boss but, you don’t think it wouldn’t keep me from cooking for you and Sterling, right? I mean…” He flustered. “It’s… scarier than I thought to think about that kind of thing.” He admitted a moment later. It was scary to …hope. It was such a fleeting thing, so easily hurt.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:24 pm
Priam's expression softened once again as he watched the emotions roll over Yu's face. "You're worried about not being able to cook for us? Well--you'll be able to pack up whenever you like and come home to cook in your own kitchen. And if there was a really busy night where you were getting great business and didn't want to pack up, Sterling and I could always just drive over and meet you for dinner, wherever you've got shop set up."
He wanted reach out and give him a shoulder pat, or a reassuring tap on the back of his hand, but he managed just a smile instead, not wanting to crowd him.
"I think you could do it, though. I think you could handle it. And there are a lot of resources out there. I'll help you look if it's something you want to try. And I very much doubt Sterling and I would have any complaints about being your taste testers while you figure out your menu."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:46 pm
“I… I’ll think about it.” He promised Still nervous, to be sure, but something there, a spark of hope and want. “Yeah… “ He said and nodded slowly. “That wouldn’t be bad… I’d… I’d have the whole kitchen.” He marveled. “I’d be in a truck but, I mean, I might need someone to help, but… yeah.” He sighed, sounding breathless. He’d have a good name for it too if sterling wouldn’t be offended. But that was thinking so far ahead it seemed like it would at least be years away. “I mean, whatever I do, clearly I’ll have to…cater to dogs too.” He said after a moment and gave a small laugh. "Or, you know, small carnivorous horses."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:56 pm
Priam laughed again and nodded. "Penny won't be so bad, I promise. Odie's already five pounds more than I expected at his age, and I don't think that's just from all the treats he's been sneaking. I don't think either of them will be big enough to ride, but we'll see. Your food is delicious enough that I'm certain you'd make the profits to hire someone to take the orders up front. You wouldn't even have to interact with the customers if you didn't want to. You could just be in the kitchen, making magic."
He considered something, only briefly, and then mentioned, "Maybe you could even hire someone who really needs a chance. Maybe someone getting out of foster care, themselves. You could be a role model."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:05 pm
He flinched at that. “I… shouldn’t… do that. I’m not… I mean giving a chance yeah, but… no…nono.” He shook his head, vigorously. “Trust me… trust me, no one wants that.” He said firmly, gripping the table. Just a hint of that pale back in his face, glancing away again. “I could hire someone, but they… no.” He shook his head.
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