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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 6:14 pm
Even with her plans for the evening, the girl was going to need sustenance. Considering her canine companion, it meant that she would not be welcome at any old food establishment in the city. Typically it meant fast food drive-thrus (as a pedestrian, which tended to annoy vehicles behind her), or sit down places with a patio area.
The establishment she had located this evening was called Maize Maizier. She was not certain what to make of the place, but they had an outdoor seating area. Protocol was different from place to place. Some places would check on a customer if they sat down at the table outside. Other places would simply ignore them until they drew attention to themselves.
Since her dog was not on a leash, she simply told him "Matte" once he was standing near a chair set up outside. The red husky sat his haunches down obediently.
With that, the girl walked in and informed the staff inside of her presence and desire to dine. Once they had acknowledged her presence, she went back outside and sat herself in the chair next to her dog.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 6:52 pm
One of the many, many things that Lydia loved about Maize Maizier was the sidewalk cafe. Before she started working there, she had often brought Mariposa along with her while grabbing a bite. Now, she looked forward to when patrons with dogs came, and was the first one outside to meet a gorgeous husky. And his person, of course.
"добро пожаловать! Welcome to Maize Maizier! My name is Lydia, and I will be your server today." She handed over a menu, which featured a number of Russian dishes that day, in addition to the restaurant's usual offerings. "Please let me know if you would like some assistance with interpreting the menu. Can I get you and your companion anything to drink?"
It was so hard for her to resist bending down and talking to the handsome pup, but that was not part of her job. Still, her eyes kept flicking down to him, and it would be hard to miss her grin, even though she tried to play it off as polite interest.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 7:13 pm
Many dogs tended to pull on leash or immediately rush a new person to get their attentions. This dog did no such thing. In fact, all he did was snort out loudly in an indignant manner.
The Japanese girl glanced to her dog sharply, already taking note of the sound. With her hand furthest from the server, she started to rub her fingers together to get the husky's attention.
Ari's ears perked up before he immediately rounded to the opposite side of the table to the fingers, sitting himself down once in his new spot.
Since the server had been nothing but polite, it was only polite for the girl to return such manners.
"I apologize, but my dog is not actually very friendly. Obedient, yes, but obedience only gets so much done." With the back of her hand she stroked the animal's fur.
"My name is Sadoko, but many people call me Sadie. My friend is named Ari."
She uttered in another tongue "Say hello" to the dog, who let out a very quiet wuff to the waitress.
Sadoko narrowed her eyes slightly as she took in the server's appearance a bit more carefully. Clicking her tongue at the back of her mouth, she then asked "Lydia, do you take evening classes at Destiny City University?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 7:34 pm
"Ah, I see." With one last longing look, Lydia took a measured step away from the dog. As the owner said, obedience didn't ensure perfect behavior, and the last thing she wanted was to accidentally cause a scene.
The names of her customers caught her interest, but it wasn't until the girl issued a command to her dog that Lydia was moved to blurt out her questions. "Nihon de sundeimashita ka? Umaremashita ka?"
Then she realized how inappropriate it was for a server to ask such personal questions of a guest, and blushed. "I'm sorry. Let me know when you're ready to order." And that would have been it, if the guest hadn't asked a question of her own. Blinking in surprise, Lydia was silent for a moment before answering. "Yes, I've started to take one for the summer session. Why?"
That was kind of personal, and kind of surprising. Maybe her own queries weren't so out of line, then.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:12 pm
There was no hesitation in Sadoko's response as she stated "Nihon de umareta, nanasai made sundeimashita." It wasn't unusual for non-asian people to speak Japanese these days, though it wasn't for a reason that Sadoko was particularly happy about. Otaku had popularized the language. However, her server may have had a different reason for speaking, considering the place she was working and the greeting she had received for the evening.
Still casually stroking her dog, the girl mentioned "I think I may be in the same class as you. I think I may have seen you across the lecture hall." With her opposite hand, she ran her fingers through the longer section of hair by her eyes, pushing it back and out of the way.
"I believe to start, I will get water for Ari, and an iced tea for myself, please."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:24 pm
Wow, she really was! Lydia sighed, trying to imagine growing up in a foreign country. Or even just visiting one. "Urayamashii desu. I'd love to visit Japan someday. But then, there are very few countries I wouldn't say that about." It was only fair to be honest about the fact that her passion wasn't for Japan specifically, but for world travel and culture as a whole.
The fact that they might be classmates was a bit startling, but entirely possible. There had only been a couple of sessions so far, and Lydia was distracted with work and her nighttime extracurriculars, so she hadn't memorized all the faces in her large class yet. "Chemistry, with Professor Cohen?" A required course, and one that Lydia was taking in the summer to get it over with in as short a time as possible. The only chemistry she was interested in was that used in cooking.
The order reminded her of her job, and she fished a pad out of her apron pocket, scribbling on it quickly. "One water and one iced tea, coming up!"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:49 pm
The waitress was a culture enthusiast. That was definitely a lot more respectable than the run-of-the-mill Otaku. There wasn't much to be said at that moment, causing the girl's lips to tighten up from the lack of words. All Lydia would receive was a nod acknowledging that yes, the class with Cohen was the one they shared, and another nod to acknowledge that the repeated order was what she desired.
Once Lydia had left, the girl took to looking over the menu. Russian was not her native tongue, and not one she was familiar with when it came to cuisine. However, Sadoko was able to struggle through the options and pick out something that sounded edible.
As long as it isn't made of fake food, I think I should be fine she mused before signaling to her dog to lay down.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:54 pm
A few moments passed before Lydia returned with a glass of iced tea and a soup bowl full of water with a few ice cubes in it, both of which she set on the table. Though it went against the grain to ask a paying customer to do any portion of the work, it would be far worse if her setting the bowl down in front of the dog angered it in any way.
"Would you like to hear about our specials?" she asked, taking her pad out of her pocket again. "Or perhaps, are you ready to order?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:57 pm
The dog on the other side of the table sat itself upright the moment the server returned, seemingly curious about the visitor yet again. His nose twitched, catching the scent once more.
Rather than set the water down to the ground immediately, the girl nodded her head once more, but this time spoke up as well to clarify her decision.
"I would like to hear the specials, if you do not mind, Lydia."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:34 pm
Though she always introduced herself- it was part of the script at Maize Maizier- Lydia seldom had customers who referred to her by name. The fact that this one did, on top of their academic connection, made her smile just a bit wider as she began to recite the specials list.
"Our soup of the day is okróshka, a cold soup of raw vegetables and kvass, which is made from fermented bread. It is served with rye bread and smetana, or sour cream. It's a refreshing and healthy choice for a summer day. For main dishes, we have pelmeni, fried dumplings stuffed with minced pork and mushrooms, topped with butter and smetana. We also have shashlyk, which consists of skewers of marinated lamb, similar to a shish kebab. Our special dessert today is syrniki, which are fried pancakes made with soft white cheese, served with strawberry varenye, or preserves. All of these dishes are native to Russian cuisine, following today's theme."
Weekends at Maize Maizier often had themes, costumes, special food, and entertainment. Lydia considered mentioning that last one, but decided against it; since her dog was with her, the customer couldn't come inside to watch, even if she was still there when the performers arrived. "Would you like a few minutes," she asked instead, "or are you ready to order?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:57 pm
The girl closed the menu and shook her head. "No, I think I am ready."
Sliding it up to the waitress, she stated "I will take the shashlyk, along with the syrniki for dessert."
Now that the order had been tended to, Sadoko finally tended to the water bowl, setting it down before the dog.
Ari, knowing the drill, didn't lean down to drink immediately. It was only when his master said "Hai" that he dipped his head down and began to lap up the water.
With subtle acknowledgment to her server, Sadoko stated plainly "Thank you, Lydia."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:09 pm
"An excellent choice." Lydia wrote on her pad again, not the full names of the dishes, which would take too long, but a sort of shorthand. Once she was sure there would be nothing else, she nodded and took her leave.
This was one of the hard parts of the job. If Lydia had been a customer at a nearby table, she would have gladly struck up a conversation with this lovely girl who spoke Japanese, especially once a common link was established between them. She might have asked permission to sit closer, and asked any number of questions about Japan, or the dog, or the college they attended.
Instead, when she brought the food, all she could say was "Приятного аппетита! Please enjoy your meal!" Then she was off again, leaving the guest to do just that.
On the bright side, she was kept busy by other customers, many of whom were starting to arrive in advance of the night's scheduled entertainment. As such, it took her a little while to get back to the classmate and the dog who had captured her interest earlier.
"Was everything to your liking? Is there anything else I can get for you this evening?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:35 pm
Sadoko was not necessarily a chatty girl. Nor was she that sort of girl that pulled out a cell phone to keep herself occupied when there was nobody to talk to. Instead, she simply thought over her plans for the evening, going over the exact route she was going to use many times in her mind.
The arrival of the food received a subtle "Thank you." It was only once the server was gone that Sadoko sorted out the food. The dessert was in fact the girl's main dish, since this was her breakfast for the day. It was the meat that was meant for the dog.
Human food was not a typical treat for her dog, and though the dog was keenly aware that begging for food was not allowed, it didn't stop him from perking up and inspecting the meaty treat. His owner, despite ordering the food for him, was quite particular. She used a fork and knife to cut up the pieces, removing the fattiest pieces and leaving only the lean portions for the dog. If any section was overly seasoned, they were omitted. Only once the girl's syrniki was eaten up and she was able to clear the lesser healthy portions of meat to that plate, she finally lowered the plate with Ari's food to the ground.
"Itadakimasu," was the command. The dog lowered his head and let out another small wuff as his tail swayed against the ground.
"Hai!" With that signal, the dog began to devour his neatly cut pieces of meat down with the grace of an undomesticated wolf.
The left over pieces of meat were not bad. Sadoko ate the remaining pieces, not wanting to waste the food that she'd be spending money on. It was insulting to the cooks, saying that their food was only good enough to be dog food.
It was as she was finishing up the last of the shashlyk that Lydia came back to check on her. In a subdued tone, she answered "Yes, everything was good." There was no hesitation as she simply asked "May I get the check please, Lydia?"
Sadoko had something important to do tonight, if she lagged, then she wouldn't be able to cover enough ground.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:54 pm
Busy though she'd been, it was impossible to miss the fact that the dog had enjoyed as much of the meal as his human. Something else that made Lydia smile when she went to check on them, though she was careful not to comment to that effect. She'd already stepped beyond the boundary of her position once with this particular guest.
"Certainly," she replied, flipping to the right page in her pad and tearing out the check. After placing it on the table, she added a pair of wrapped chocolates, more Russian treats. "I'm so glad you enjoyed everything. Please take your time, and... I'll see you in class, Miss Sadoko!"
No, this wasn't likely to make them suddenly friends. But it was still nice to make new connections, and Lydia went inside feeling enthused, ready to tackle the tough evening shift that awaited her.
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