Chapter 2: Fisherman, Ahoy!
“Morning, Lara. Had fun?”
“Oh. You’re Johnny’s roommate.” She gives me a long up and down. I give her a grin; it’s never too early to start making friends, right? Sure, keeping them up is a bit of work, and you’re playing risky business, but you need to chase your opportunities. Opportunity only knocks once unless you grab its hand and make it. And when you do that, they become more opportunities. And at the end of the day, everyone (well, everyone you gotta watch out for) wins. She does not catch my thoughts. “Is this going to be a problem?”
Oh, my sides.
“No, no, of course not. I’m not that kind of roommate. You do what you like about Zest. I’d offer coffee, but we’re on the cheap. Come back in...Oh, I dunno, maybe two days.” Today’s my day off, and I’m not at a level of my aspirations where I need a dinner party. So as much as I’d like to say I’m going to get one tonight, it’s time to be realistic. Actually, I’d like to see whether or not there’ll be a kid, so two days is about perfect.
Once she leaves, though, it’s time for me to people-hunt, because I’m going to need more than Zest for this -- he can run around and get me plants because I made puppydog eyes at him all day, but there’s bound to be some things I can make easier.
And that’s when I spot him. An old man. In overalls.
Fisherman, ahoy! Not as good as a gardener, but I flag him down and dash towards him, because any free fish I can get are good fish. I practically shove the welcome wagon aside as I dash out --
“I’ll take care of these guys!” Zest cries after me. They’re a full day late, anyway.
“Hey! Can we talk? I’m Kestral.”
“Oh, sure! it’s not every day someone your age wants to talk to an old man like me. Gino’s the name. Gino Levin.”
“Cool, cool. Hey, listen, Gino -- can I call you Gino?” I have already ditched his last name entirely. “Are you happy? You look like an out-of-towner; you commute to fish?”
“I don’t mind the commute,” He says with a laugh. For an old guy, he talks pretty quickly, with “It’s a bit of a challenge, gives me something to do!”
And boom goes the dynamite. A door opens a little before me. I can get him, and then I’m home free on fishing for -- I dunno, a week, maybe? How old is he?
“A challenge, huh? You can do better than a commute, though!” I start, luring him in. “You need a real purpose, before it’s too late!”
“Yeah! You’re right!” He got fired up pretty easily. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I am right! You can --”
“Actually, I’ve got to go. Thanks for talking with me!”
Oh, come on! That’s not even fair!I head back to the house, where I’ll call up that fisherman, because your girl is going to reel in this catch so she doesn’t have to worry about reeling in a catch! Meanwhile, true to his promise, Zest has been taking care of the welcome wagon.
really taking care of one of them, anyway.
“Hey! You’re a pretty girl -- you shouldn’t doubt yourself!” He’s explaining as I try and sort out the mob around me.
“Johnny, you flatter me,” Maaike says, in the tone that suggests that flattery, while somewhat misplaced, is not going to be disregarded. If you like having your ego boosted, just say so -- it’s what I do. To myself.
“Yeah, but I’m being serious! I know you can’t tell, but really!” He really does sound earnest, taking her hand and energetically sweeping her up to her feet. “Now, this is where, if I had a prop comedy thing, I’d tell you beauty is in the eye of the b-holder, but I’d have a B tucked away somewhere and give it to you. It’d be great.“
“But you don’t,” she says.
“But I don’t. It B-left me, so you’ll just have to B-lieve me.” When he says that, she gives one of those bursts of laughter that comes after a long pause, in which a rational person’s brain adjusts to the ridiculousness of things Zest is willing to say with nothing but a bright and earnest smile. “You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re awesome!”
“I think,” says Maaike, “That I’m smart enough to think you’re just trying to get with me.”
“Nah! Well. Ok. Could you blame me?” He tried to find a way to buoy her up, and snaps his fingers. “I know! I’ll prove it; be my girlfriend!”
“...Well. Very well, then. We are to date!”
It’s a very short walk to his bedroom from there. I asked him later if that was going to be a real thing -- by which I meant, a lasting thing.
“Well, everything’s lasting, right -- it lasts as long as it lasts, but it probably won’t be the last.” He shrugged, in the future. “But I do like her, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for something super exclusive.”
he’s probably just caught in the moment. Like I hoped he would be.
Not that I am not considering Ulrike, myself. An artsy type isn’t bad.
“So, naturally, I’m expecting to knock out a couple of levels of kitchen work in my first week or so here, become a master chef and mixologist by the time I’m an adult, and just knock it all right out of the park, you know? But it’s not exactly a solo job.”
“Suuuurre.”
Pah. Whatever her skepticisms, there’s nothing a good cloudgazing can’t fix.
Nothing charms and relaxes like lying on the ground with someone! For some reason. But at least Ulrike enjoys describing shapes for a while.
Once the Welcome Wagon goes home, I am left with Gino, who’s looking a little down.
“Heeey, Gino. What’s up, old man?”
“...What if it is too late? I’m not spring chicken. All you young people, having love lives; having goals. The water never changes… I’m running out of time to be like that.” His shoulders sag and he smiles, full of regret.
Look, I intend a lot of things that happen. But this isn’t one of them. And I can’t abide giving up like that; I won’t accept it!
“It’s not too late; it’s never too late!”
“But didn’t you say --”
“OK, there is a too late, but you’re alive right here, right now; you have an all.” I lean in and grab his arm just a little gently. “Look. If you’re lonely, come move in with us! It won’t be a grand life or anything (sorry about that, I’ll work on it), but every fish you can catch goes into building a big house for forever! And every angelfish you catch can
really count! Come on; whaddya say?”
“You got yourself a fisherman!”
And so is added to the house Gino Levin (Oh, hey, I remembered after all), a Jealous, Active Bro. Odd for a fisherman, but what do I know? Like Zest, I’m not going to force him to change all his clothes. Maybe just a dapper suit. For when I have an occasion. Later, I’ll probably get… More proactive, as it were. Because I know that by second generation, everyone will have been absolutely smashed by the dumb outfit stick.
But while he has not been catching me an angelfish,
I was going forth and conquering. Winning the day. Getting my first promotion, as you do.
I can spend most of my next morning skilling. What? This is skilling. I have to make drinks, and then the drinks are just sitting around, waiting to be drunk! That said, I’ll be glad when my aspiration lets me step back and practice bartending for a bit; easier to do for a long while. But while I need to, I can knock them out!
Not that I don’t, when Zest gets invited out by Maaike, mind going out and spending a while in a nice pub.
“You know, people say chickens are dinosaurs -- but aren’t you supposed to call things chicken, not the other way around?” What. Dude.
“Hm; you raise a point… Would the logical counter-chicken then be a dinosaur, or do we suppose dinosaurs cowards?”
He’s… kind of got a situation going. Of which he and his talk of dinosaurs remains completely and blissfully unaware.
But that’s his business; my business… Is with a familiar face.
“Sweet, what a coinkidink!” She waves me down when I come in, and I take a seat across the table from her.
“Aren’t you supposed to live in San Myshuno? I know they have bars there.”
“OK, while I love, love, loooove a good karaoke machine, you have to go out, experience new things, visit new places! That’s sort of my thought about all sorts of things -- about life, and about love, too!”
Oh.
“So, you’re kind of a free spirit, huh?” That’s what she wants… Do I take a different tack, then? Well, it’s not like me to worry about that; if that’s what I want to do, it’d be better to sweep her off her feet so hard she can’t think.
“Yup! I wouldn’t say I’d want to be a two-timer… But I wouldn’t want to get bored, either!” She smiles blithely… But after a moment, she gives me a glance. “Out to meet more people for your quest?”
“Kinda; I’d see what happens, anyway. Wish that lady would let me behind the bar…” I mean, wouldn’t that be fun? It’d be a step up from the porch.
“That’s lame! I’d like to try your drinks sometime.” She looks at my face for a second and stands up. “Hey, wanna see if I can’t kick your butt in foosball for a while?”
“I mean, I already know the answer; but it’ll be fun to prove it to you,” I answer graciously.
“You’re so mean!” She laughs regardless. “I’ll make you eat those words!”
We just goofed around anyway; it was a fun match.
“Shame it doesn’t help much!” She commented as she spun a little guy around.
“Socializing helps, socializing helps. It’s all got to happen sometime.” I shrug.
“That, and it helps ms. go-getter not blow a gasket. You know what they say about all work and no play!” Her eyes lit up when she thought about that.
“You’ve got to hustle to make a dollar! Besides… You’re just trying to distract me so I won’t cream you.”
As for what Zest was up to… Mostly just chatting, I think? He might have played some Don’t Wake the Llama. Any hope of flirting with his girl was hard-stopped…
By his other girl, who sulked -- he didn’t even give her a kiss hello! Because of his girlfriend, who he’s sensible enough to at least not flirt with in front of his side squeeze. Ah, Zest.
“Booyah! Victory is mine! I warned you! Your girl does not lose!”
It was a good trip.
