Wednesday, 6:45 PM Yutaro stood outside Lennocci’s Italian Restaurant wearing his
. He always made it a point to show up at least fifteen minutes early for a date, as he couldn’t stand the idea of keeping a lady waiting; he had arrived thirty minutes early for
this date because he especially couldn’t stand the idea of keeping Ryoki waiting.
The restaurant was one of the more upscale ones in Shine City, and required reservations well in advance. Yutaro had made theirs on Monday and had just managed to get them a table. The reviews for the place were mostly five-star, with just a few pedestrian restaurant-goers complaining about the dress code. Likewise, the prices were far too high to make Lennocci’s a regular spot for him, but when he really wanted to impress a girl he knew no better place.
Yutaro checked his watch regularly knowing full-well that doing so would somehow affect general relativity and literally make time move slower. He rocked back and forth on his heels with his hands in his pockets, eagerly anticipating his date and trying to imagine what Ryoki would decide to wear. Surely her dress attire wouldn’t be as provocative as that bunny suit, but somehow he didn’t expect her to show up dressed modestly either. He checked his watch again. The second hand had crawled halfway across the face of the watch since the last time he checked. Although it didn’t show on his cool exterior, his pulse began to quicken as he wound himself up.
Ryoki hadn’t arrived until the clock had wound three minutes past the allocated time, the ticking likely driving the young man mad with anticipation. Her arrival, abrupt and sudden, didn’t deter from her beauty, though.
“Ah! Sorry I’m late! It was a pain trying to get this thing on… and going down hills on Upscale Heights really is annoying with a dress like
this.The poor lady was panting for breath, apparently exhausted, having ran half the way in order to make good time. “I’ve watched enough Date Alive to know that most people try to arrive early to their dates, so I’m really sorry if I made you wait too long! And don’t say you just arrived, because I know that’s a lie!” Despite the tone of voice, Ryoki was smiling, and soon her expression softens as she looks over Yutaro’s attire. “Nice clothes. I guess we’re a matching pair then, huh?” She asks, looking over her own dress. “This is just something I had in case there was some sort of fancy thing I need to attend… Now was as good a time to wear it as ever. I’ll also be wearing it to the ball. Have you heard of that, by the way?”
Like Gandalf the White riding towards the armies of Helms Deep, Ryoki arrived just as Yutaro’s hope began to waver. He knew that three minutes wasn’t that long to wait, but it still felt like three long lifetimes to the eager bachelor. But it was worth the wait seeing that beautiful woman running down the street all for his sake. Even though she was late, her effort put a smile on his face. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s only bad if the lady has to wait. We guys just love the suspense. Besides, I can’t really complain if you’re taking the time to put on such a gorgeous dress for me. It looks great on you!”
It’d look even better off of you, he thought.
Then Ryoki brought up the subject of the ball. “Yea, the boss had a few invitations and he gave one to me. It sounded like fun so I want to go. I haven’t decided what I’ll wear to it though. Maybe just a tuxedo with a mask… or something. But anyway, let’s not miss our reservation. Shall we?” Yutaro offered Ryoki his arm before leading her into the restaurant. The decor inside featured landscape painting of the Italian countryside and candle-lit lamps offering just enough light to create a romantic atmosphere. Italian opera was playing in the background while many of the city’s wealthiest dined with their business partners, or celebrated their anniversaries.
Yutaro went up to the greeter. “Otamura, reservation for two.” They were promptly escorted by a gentleman wearing a suit even nicer than his own and white gloves to a table in the back of the restaurant. Above them was a picture of a quaint Italian house, and the music could be heard faintly on the other side of the restaurant. The waiter handed them the menus, which were completely in Italian of course, and asked if they would like to start with a drink. “Well,” Yutaro said, “If it’s alright with my date, I’d like to pick our meals first so I can choose the right wine to go with them.” The waiter nodded and listed the specials, then gave them a few minutes to decide.
Yutaro smiled at Ryoki. “So, do you need any help reading it? I studied a bit of Italian at the university so I know what most of it says.”
“Uhh… Yeah, I think I could use a bit of help.” Ryoki looked a little lost. The only italian meals she’d had were the simple stuff you could easily make at home and whatnot, though reading some of the dishes her made it clear they weren’t the same thing. “Damn, you really went all out on this, huh…? Well, if worst comes to worse, I can always just pick something at random and hope for the best! Oh, uh, but I’ll listen to your suggestions first, ehehe!”
The raven sets her purse by her chair as she sat, admiring the restaurant and it’s fanciness. Though she had been in many similar restaurants as a child, either of traditional or western style, she’d never been to an Italian place. Not to mention she hadn’t seen the likes of a restaurant in quite awhile, at least not an especially fancy one, unless you could call some of the places they had down near Shine Junction ‘fancy’.
’This must’ve been a fortune…’ She thought to herself.
’I think I found myself a sugar da- no! Don’t even go there! Not yet, at least… No, that’s still wrong! Ugh! Why are you so dirty…? I need to douse my brain in holy water…’Yutaro grinned as he leaned over the table with his menu to explain some of it to Ryoki, perhaps a bit too eager to show off. “So, you see here up top where it says ‘antipasti?’ Those are the appetizers. And ‘insalata,’ that’s salad. ‘Vitello’ is veal…” He went on to describe the major components of the menu so that Ryoki would at least be able to pick a meat she liked, and described to her a few of the different sauces they used. He tried to put an Italian spin on the foreign words, but he still pronounced them with a pretty heavy Japanese accent… although nobody but the waiter was likely to know. “If you still need help, just tell me what you like and I can make a recommendation. Your enjoyment is my number one concern tonight.” He gave a little laugh as he waited for her to pick. He wanted Ryoki to choose first so that he could order the same kind of meat and get a wine that complimented both of their dishes.
Ryoki mulled it over, nodding and mumbling to herself about what she wanted. She was a fan of meat, but didn’t
really want to make herself out to be some kind of carnivore on the first date. Salads and stuff were a reasonable choice, but alas she didn’t want to seem like a total bore, either. Well, it was unlikely she would be, given her rather distinct “personality” and “traits”, but it still bothered her. “I’m thinking either the special or what you recommend, because trying out new things is good and all… If you get what I mean, hehe!” She giggles a little and winks; once again she picked up on the fact that she thought choosing a salad was ‘boring’ and therefore ‘weird’, yet flirting with someone you barely know and making sexual advances towards them at work was perfectly fine.
’See? This is why you can’t talk to people.’ She humours herself, though gives her full attention to Yutaro as he spoke of what he recommended.
“Well, this certainly seems like a ‘special’ kind of night, so why don’t we go with that.” They would be getting a shrimp risotto for the appetizer, and the entree would be a specialty chicken dish served with a salad on the side. “So, that just leaves the wine. Since we’re getting white meat and seafood, a white wine would go best. Is
Pinot Griggio fine with you?” Yutaro takes a look at the wine list. “Ooo, I’ve had that vintage before, we should definitely go with that.”
The waiter came and took their orders, not by writing it on a pad, but by simply listening and memorizing them. Now, with the food decided, they could move on to more normal conversations… or as normal as a conversation with Ryoki could get. “So, have you spoken to the boss yet about getting a gig at the casino?”
Ryoki shook her head. “Nope. Haven’t had the chance to yet, but I should be able to on my next shift. He seems like a nice enough guy to work for, though, so I’m sure it could be arranged. And even if he doesn’t agree, I’m sure a little
persuasion could change his mind fairly quickly. I don’t plan on getting up there straight away, though. Maybe once I’ve gotten used to working here. You know, to help get some more future fans and all that?” Ryoki smirks, staring into Yutaro’s eyes with an almost natural softness that he may not have witnessed before. She was actually rather calm tonight, though of course that could change at any moment. “Speaking of music, I’ll be releasing my next song on the web tomorrow. I could send you a link with your number, if you so wish.”
“Hey, now, don’t ‘persuade’ him too much or I might get jealous,” Yutaro said, giving Ryoki a playful smirk. But then he noticed something different in her eyes. They weren’t sultry or seductive as they usually were. He didn’t feel like she was trying to pull him in with some well-laid trap. Her eyes were simply there, and they were beautiful. “Sure, send me the link. I’ll go ahead and check it out.” He found himself almost entranced by that calm, natural look she was giving him, and was only saved from being caught staring by the waiter arriving with their wine. He popped the cork and filled both of their glasses. “So, it’s our first toast. What should we drink to?”
“The moment?” She asks with a smile. “That’s a fallback plan, hehe!” Ryoki then gave a thoughtful look as she pondered what they could toast to. “The casino? Eh, sounds a little weird… Ooh, how about the new year? It doesn’t hurt to toast it a little early, right?” Ryoki nods to herself in a somewhat comical, self-entitled way, as though she’d just thought of the perfect idea. “Or perhaps… our little date with destiny?”
Yutaro chuckled at her indecisiveness. “That sounds like a lot of complicated ways of saying, ‘To us.’” He raised his glass and wore a warm smile. The date had only just begun and he was already enjoying these few personal moments with Ryoki, and he hoped that they could enjoy many more. “To us,” was certainly a fitting toast in his mind.
“Hmm… Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” She smiles and holds up her wine to clink. “To us,” she grins as she spoke those words, “and to whatever else we probably should be toasting to, but don’t remember.”
