2023-10-20: Reservations

• Cutscene: Reservations
• Cast: Shari Loom, Gerardo Aritza (NPC)
• Where: Barcelona, Spain, AEU
• Date: October 20, 0097
• Summary: Shari Loom has made it to Barcelona as she planned, but an unexpected meeting with Teletha Testarossa has her thinking about more than just her upcoming date. Takes place after 2023-10-20: Separate Worlds, Similar Heads

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Shari Loom–pink of hair, dark of makeup–walks down a narrow road, underneath a beautiful bridge with ancient arches connecting two upper stories. The brown and tan stones of the walls seem to her to echo every step she takes. This one is too shaded for much greenery, but there are still windows, and there are lanterns that aren't yet lit.

Shari walks it slowly, though. She's still early for the meeting she has planned. So indeed, after a few more steps, she stops, leans against one of those brick walls, and pulls her phone. She taps it unlocked, then taps away at some of her contacts. This one, to Leina.

'so i made it to'

She backspaces, and erases that one, replacing it:

'did u know she was a colonel'

She erases that one too.

'not kidnapped!'

That one Shari stares at a few moments /before/ erasing. Then she stares at her phone a little longer, finally glancing up and around and deciding to get out of the road. The phone goes in her purse; she already memorized the map. So she walks along, until she reaches a place full of palm trees in addition to all the lovely bricks and arches and architecture, and there she looks around to spot--

There, the name of the restaurant she was looking for. Shari walks across the plaza to step inside, glancing around to see if–well, she's not entirely sure what she's looking for. A boy looking around for her? What she finds is someone moving to help her.

That someone is a pleasant woman in black, and she asks Shari a question in Spanish. Shari opens her mouth and closes it, and then apologetically, "I um… I don't speak…"

"That's fine," the woman says, accented but clear. "Would you like a table?"

"Oh, good." Pause. "I mean, thank you." Pause. Shari's pretty sure the second pause is awkward. "I mean…" She quickly follows up, "I had a reservation? Under 'Aritza'. I'm supposed to be meeting him here in about twenty minutes…"

"Ahh," the server answers. "Very good. Better not to dine alone! Here, we have space now. I'll set you up with something to drink while you wait."

"...thanks," Shari says again, in lieu of anything better, and her shoulders sag in relief. She's usually better with people than this, she thinks, but it's hard to be alone and not know the language. Not that she will be much longer, right? She hopes right.

Either way, Shari follows along to a small, two-person table, taking a seat on the far side of it. The server smiles at her. "Don't worry," she says reassuringly, and sets down two sets of utensils. "Just relax and wait. He'll be along."

She really seems to know what Shari is worrying about… Shari wonders for a moment if it's obvious, or if she's some kind of Newtype, or if it's just /really/ obvious, or…

By the time Shari finishes wondering, the server asks, "What to drink?"

"Oh, um…"

"How about some wine?" she suggests. "That'll settle you."

"...Sure. Thanks."

"I'll bring the house red."

Shari nods, and the server walks off, leaving her alone with her phone again, which she pulls out and sets on the table, poking at it with a finger. "...Hm.." She thinks about Yuliana Kafim who just a week ago–and for a long time now–seemed so very /protective/, despite how they first met. She thinks about Teletha Testarossa, who wished her well for this very date, even though they're sure they'll have to fight. …And she thinks about Leina, who set this up in the first place.

Her fingers tap away at the phone; she opens up VERTEX and sends a message to her date:

<darkbackhand> im here, no rush

Shortly thereafter she gets a reply:

<grana_miedo> i'm nearly there as well! but i hate to keep a lady waiting. let me make it up to you.

<darkbackhand> hehe. ok.

Shari smiles down at her phone, and at this point the server returns with her wine. "That's better," the older woman says to Shari, "You're already looking more relaxed." She sets it down in front of the pink-haired Shari, who accepts gratefully.

"Just confirmed he's almost here," she explains.

"First date?" the server guesses.

"How'd you know?" Shari reaches out to pick up the glass, inhaling the scent first.

"Intuition! And you look the right kind of nervous. It'll be fine. The boy will be lucky to see you. You'll see."

"...Thanks," Shari says again, and relaxes a little more after she takes a sip.

"I'll be back," the server answers before she steps off to address a couple of new arrivals. It leaves Shari with a few more minutes to herself. She takes it to look down at her phone again, and think for a few moments, before:

<darkbackhand> im in barcelona. meeting him soon
<darkbackhand> things are nice
<darkbackhand> hope things are ok with u
<darkbackhand> i wanna talk soon.

Sending the messages off to Leina, Shari sits with her wine, taking another sip and sighing as she looks up at the admittedly beautiful ceiling. The restaurant is pretty, in sumptuous colors with fancy tables and chairs. It's filling up quickly, at this time. She was lucky to have a reservation, or to have arrived when she did.

Her finger hovers, then, over her contact list, over the burner account she's using to talk to Yuliana this week. She thinks about it… and then scrolls away. It'd be weird to bother her with personal stuff, and she doesn't want her finding out about this date anyway. So why does it feel disappointing not to share it?

It was still nice to talk to someone like her, like almost a friend today.

Shari looks up from her phone–and there, a boy steps inside, dark-haired and tall. He looks around–and he has on the pink tie he said he'd wear. "...?"

Gerardo Aritza steps from the station, led by the server to the table, and he stops, not to take a seat, but to stand before Shari. "At last," he says, "Shari. You're even more beautiful than in your pictures!"

Flushing a little, Shari smiles, and he reaches for her hand, bringing it up to his lips. "I am Gerardo, as you have likely guessed. I promise you that this will be an evening to remember."

Shari takes her hand back almost reluctantly, and gestures to the chair. "...That's my line too," she answers him, with a bigger smile. "I got started on drinks a little while I was waiting…"

She doesn't plan to think much more about her responsibilities tonight, if she can help it.