For his part, Adrián was not exactly dressed down but he wasn't what he would consider dressed either. Black slacks, a dark button down shirt that being silk and a bit billowy could almost be called a blouse and on his feet were a pair of black boots that laced up. Ones specifically meant for dancing Flamenco though he had taken the taps off the heels. His hair was slicked back, pulled into a low ponytail and for once he was without his myriad pieces of jewelry. And while she told him to only bring himself, he couldn't resist the polite gesture of bringing the hostess a small gift. In this case, a bottle of vino to go with their meal.
Exiting the cab and then buzzing her apartment, he waited to be permitted entrance. He wasn't smiling however, he was giving a rather pointed look to a person quite dead that kept trying to ask him a question. Not tonight, amigo.
She heard the buzz and nearly fluttered to the PA system. She pressed a button to unlock the door, the door clicking open on his end. "It's open. Third floor, second door." She spoke into the device.
Addy headed back into the kitchen and finalized everything before starting to bring over the dishes. She was still waiting on the potatoes, but they only needed a few more minutes.
He did finally smile at her greeting, such as it was, and the instructions. He didn't require those, not that he'd ever explain to her how he seemed to simply know such things. He would have found her apartment on the first try without any prompting. He often brushed it off as being good at guessing and having strong intuition when a layperson asked him about such things. Thus far, Addie hadn't really been exposed to too many situations where Adrián displayed some of his more unique traits.
Still, he knocked lightly before letting himself into her flat. "Mi princesa roja, donde...?" He trailed off and no sixth sense needed as he simply followed his nose and the scents coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Hola, you." He said it softly as he came up behind her, bestowed those customary kisses to her cheeks and held the bottle of wine out while more or less catching her in a one-armed hug for a moment. "You have been very busy."
She heard him enter and peered around the corner. It was a very small apartment so it wasn't like he had far to go. She darted back and forth a few times. Addy was a perfectionist, and in this way she was going over everything in her head ten times over.
Butt then he had an arms around her and gave the customary European greeting which in turn made her smile. The gesture reminded her of her mother. "Well I hope you like it." It was then she saw the wine and took it from him, making for the glasses. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."
Grabbing the two wine glasses she had out, she brought them over to the table. "Potatoes are almost done. I did some recipe searching online and there's some pork with vegetables, rice, and tortillas, a light salad, linguini with a cream sauce, and seasoned potatoes. Oh, and some Spanish rice pudding for dessert." Addy told him a little pleased with herself.
He laughed a bit at not only the spread but at the way she darted about the small space. She was a thing distracted--albeit by her own thoughts and actions. Mariposa, he thought. Butterfly. Flitting here and there but never settling for very long. "You are feeding a small army with this?" Teasing aside, he was impressed and flattered that she'd go to the effort. He wasn't even going to tell her that the tortilla he had mentioned in his text was a different dish altogether and not at all a flat bread. It did cross his mind to introduce her to the concept of tapas at some point however. Just as much variety in food but much smaller portions. "De nada, you are welcome. Wine is better shared with friends."
He didn't take a seat but he did pass by the table and quick fingers swiped a raw vegetable out of the salad bowl, popping it into his mouth. The look he gave her could almost be a dare to scold him for the action but then he looked something like a mischievous chipmunk as he tucked the tomato into his cheek and smiled at her. "Bueno."
He really did like comparing her to animals. Still with one last flip of the potatoes in the pan, she put them in a bowl and brought it out to the table just as he stole a tomato. She gave him a stern look at that, but it soon broken into a grin. She was glad he seemed pleased with it. Though she would gladly admit that she needed her horizons broadened when it came to anything Spanish.
"I guess we could dig in then." She gave him the wine to open. It wasn't that she couldn't but it might have taken them a minute or so longer to get at the meal then.
It was a bottle sealed with foil, wax and then corked so he needed a corkscrew from her but it only took him a moment with practiced movements to peel away the foil and have the cork popped free of the glass neck. The cork, he untwisted from the screw and handed to her for safe-keeping.
He also took the time to pull a chair out for her, letting her sit before he did, remaining on his feet to pour the wine. "Dig in? Is this how you say it's time to eat?" He spoke English very well, nearly fluent but he wasn't a native speaker and there would always be turns of phrase he didn't quite understand or would trip over.
Addy took the cork and put it next to the sink, returning to have her seat pulled out for her. She smiled politely and nodded her thanks before taking a seat. She could get used to his manners. Adrián always had a way of making her feel special.
"It's slang, yes. So we can eat whenever you're ready." Addy waited for him and the wine before dishing out any of the food.
He sat, but only after moving his chair closer to hers. He didn't feel the need to talk across the distance of a whole table when they were the only two people present.He also waited, wrists resting against the edge of the table, as she served him. Salad pilfering aside, he did have manners that were ingrained in him--manners he paid more attention to now that he had a child he was trying to coax into obeying them as well. Sometimes, the task of rearing a little girl all alone seemed more demanding than anything else he did with his life.
"I know how your evening has been, but what of your day?" He was always interested in how she filled her time. It seemed so very mundane and ordinary compared to the way he was spending most of his time in New York. That made it refreshing, the normalcy of it.
She dished out each serving and then took to her own plate. Addy angled her chair towards him, seeking out the same closeness he had also wanted. After a bite, she paused, swallowed and then nodded. "It was good. I was down at the school. My classes ended last week, but I'm teaching my first class this summer. So I had to do a bit of paperwork. Then I stopped and had lunch with some of the researchers, and came home early. I decided I wanted to do something fun tonight, so I texted you." She told him.
Addy also waited to see how he liked the food. She wasn't a bad cook by any means, but she was the type of person who needed validation in her work. It was the scientist in her. Also a need of approval that had been ingrained in her at a young age.
"What are you teaching?" He knew it would be in her field but that didn't tell him much, it was such an expansive thing and he knew so little about it, understood even less. Adrián still wanted to hear about it, however. Science was her passion as his music was his. "When do the classes start again
( ... )
She ate completely the opposite of him. Picking one thing, finishing it, and moving on. The girl was also Irish and lives off of carbs. However she was active and was lucky to have an active metabolism. It also probably helped that her portions were smaller than most, but then so was she.
"Just an introductory class to freshman. And the first week of June. Monday to Thursday." Addy answered his question and then beamed when he told her what he thought of the food. "Oh, good. I wasn't sure what to do with the tortillas. I thought they were Hispanic, truth be told."
Her mix up with the word will probably leave her a bit embarrassed if he tells her. She was trying to be cultured here. Well she was, technically. An Irish-French American living in New York was pretty cultured. Plus she had a natural curiosity. She just knew what he had told her about Spain. Sure she could probably rattle facts and dates about the country, but this was different.
After finishing the pasta, Addy looked back at him. "How was your day?"
He tried to not laugh at her remark, taking the time to chew, swallow and then sip his wine before trying to clarify for her. He was used to explaining things, though usually in painful detail and to someone much younger. He didn't want to sound at all patronizing while speaking to Addy. "They are Hispanic. Hispanic is a very broad term. This," he held up the tortilla on his plate. "Is a Mexican tortilla. Still Hispanic because Hispania is another way to call the Iberian peninsula and Spain once ruled that and conquered Mexico, parts of South America...much of the world was Hispanic at a time." That said, he ate the tortilla, chewing thoughtfully as he tried to remember the Italian version of the Spanish tortilla. "I think you maybe call tortillas frittata
( ... )
"Oooh." She turned a bit pink when he told her that. "Oh. Don't I feel silly. I knew about the whole Spain taking over the world thing. Though I'll point out, you nor the Romans ever got the Irish. We're too crazy. However the British did, and that's a completely different subject."
Addy sipped at her wine and started picking at the vegetables. She was starting to get full and so leisurely ate the rest. "There's a saying in English that I think aptly fits. Hurt people hurt people. Not that I am making excuses. We're a flawed group. But it doesn't mean everything is bad. It can be grim and it can hurt, but there's always more out there. And this is coming from a so called cynic." She grinned. Truth was Addy was a hidden optimist. She just hid it really well. The world could be beautiful if one saw it that way. Sure, she kept herself guarded, but that didn't mean she was jaded or didn't live.
He shrugged a bit at her misunderstanding. It wasn't unusual for people to think the umbrella term of 'Hispanic' referred to a singular cultural experience when it was, in fact, made up of many different cultures. "It is the weather." He joked about the reason for not wanting the Emerald Isle.
And while he agreed with her assessment that misery loved company, so to speak, he also knew of things that simply were evil. The seemingly soulless. Those that hurt because they could and for no other reason. There were always exceptions, the true monsters that walked amongst the innocent. He wasn't willing to enlighten her to that however, not only because they were having a pleasant dinner but because he felt a need to protect her from specific truths. If she was already a cynic and someone who didn't believe in romance and love, he didn't want to be responsible for giving her more reasons to harden her heart. "You are right, of course, nena."
"I've actually never been to Ireland. France, several times, but my mother didn't have a reason and while I'm curious, I've always followed her lead. It's not like it isn't blatantly obvious which ethnic group I belong in." She grinned and picked up some of her hair to exaggerate the point.
Addy only knew about the physical world around her. She was a good Catholic, and tried to keep an open outlook, but there was a lot she was guarded from. He was just like a typical man, telling her she was right. Which made her smirk a bit.
"Particularly troubling day?" She asked returning to the conversation at hand with a bit of a leveled attitude.
Exiting the cab and then buzzing her apartment, he waited to be permitted entrance. He wasn't smiling however, he was giving a rather pointed look to a person quite dead that kept trying to ask him a question. Not tonight, amigo.
Reply
Addy headed back into the kitchen and finalized everything before starting to bring over the dishes. She was still waiting on the potatoes, but they only needed a few more minutes.
Reply
Still, he knocked lightly before letting himself into her flat. "Mi princesa roja, donde...?" He trailed off and no sixth sense needed as he simply followed his nose and the scents coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Hola, you." He said it softly as he came up behind her, bestowed those customary kisses to her cheeks and held the bottle of wine out while more or less catching her in a one-armed hug for a moment. "You have been very busy."
Reply
Butt then he had an arms around her and gave the customary European greeting which in turn made her smile. The gesture reminded her of her mother. "Well I hope you like it." It was then she saw the wine and took it from him, making for the glasses. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."
Grabbing the two wine glasses she had out, she brought them over to the table. "Potatoes are almost done. I did some recipe searching online and there's some pork with vegetables, rice, and tortillas, a light salad, linguini with a cream sauce, and seasoned potatoes. Oh, and some Spanish rice pudding for dessert." Addy told him a little pleased with herself.
Reply
He didn't take a seat but he did pass by the table and quick fingers swiped a raw vegetable out of the salad bowl, popping it into his mouth. The look he gave her could almost be a dare to scold him for the action but then he looked something like a mischievous chipmunk as he tucked the tomato into his cheek and smiled at her. "Bueno."
Reply
"I guess we could dig in then." She gave him the wine to open. It wasn't that she couldn't but it might have taken them a minute or so longer to get at the meal then.
Reply
He also took the time to pull a chair out for her, letting her sit before he did, remaining on his feet to pour the wine. "Dig in? Is this how you say it's time to eat?" He spoke English very well, nearly fluent but he wasn't a native speaker and there would always be turns of phrase he didn't quite understand or would trip over.
Reply
"It's slang, yes. So we can eat whenever you're ready." Addy waited for him and the wine before dishing out any of the food.
Reply
"I know how your evening has been, but what of your day?" He was always interested in how she filled her time. It seemed so very mundane and ordinary compared to the way he was spending most of his time in New York. That made it refreshing, the normalcy of it.
Reply
Addy also waited to see how he liked the food. She wasn't a bad cook by any means, but she was the type of person who needed validation in her work. It was the scientist in her. Also a need of approval that had been ingrained in her at a young age.
Reply
Reply
"Just an introductory class to freshman. And the first week of June. Monday to Thursday." Addy answered his question and then beamed when he told her what he thought of the food. "Oh, good. I wasn't sure what to do with the tortillas. I thought they were Hispanic, truth be told."
Her mix up with the word will probably leave her a bit embarrassed if he tells her. She was trying to be cultured here. Well she was, technically. An Irish-French American living in New York was pretty cultured. Plus she had a natural curiosity. She just knew what he had told her about Spain. Sure she could probably rattle facts and dates about the country, but this was different.
After finishing the pasta, Addy looked back at him. "How was your day?"
Reply
Reply
Addy sipped at her wine and started picking at the vegetables. She was starting to get full and so leisurely ate the rest. "There's a saying in English that I think aptly fits. Hurt people hurt people. Not that I am making excuses. We're a flawed group. But it doesn't mean everything is bad. It can be grim and it can hurt, but there's always more out there. And this is coming from a so called cynic." She grinned. Truth was Addy was a hidden optimist. She just hid it really well. The world could be beautiful if one saw it that way. Sure, she kept herself guarded, but that didn't mean she was jaded or didn't live.
Reply
And while he agreed with her assessment that misery loved company, so to speak, he also knew of things that simply were evil. The seemingly soulless. Those that hurt because they could and for no other reason. There were always exceptions, the true monsters that walked amongst the innocent. He wasn't willing to enlighten her to that however, not only because they were having a pleasant dinner but because he felt a need to protect her from specific truths. If she was already a cynic and someone who didn't believe in romance and love, he didn't want to be responsible for giving her more reasons to harden her heart. "You are right, of course, nena."
Reply
Addy only knew about the physical world around her. She was a good Catholic, and tried to keep an open outlook, but there was a lot she was guarded from. He was just like a typical man, telling her she was right. Which made her smirk a bit.
"Particularly troubling day?" She asked returning to the conversation at hand with a bit of a leveled attitude.
Reply
Leave a comment