Vignette: A Night At the Sandbar
Who: P'draig, Jekzith
When: Mid-Month 6, Turn 21 of the 10th Interval
Where: The Sandbar, Ista Weyr
What: Random peek into Paddy's head including thoughts on his family and a little about Hattie.
The steady movement of the knife through the squat bodies of tubers was soothing. How many turns since Paddy had learned to cut a tuber? Twenty-two now, with that recent birthday just past. He paused to wipe his forehead on his sleeve in the crook of his elbow and looked out through the kitchen entrance towards the bar. There was a good cluster of people sitting there and more coming in, waiting to be served. Briefly he checked on the fry basket, made sure of the fish in the pan, then resumed chopping. Tonight's orders were heavy on fried items so far, but the pretty brunette on the end of the bar had asked for 'something interesting with tubers and fruit' so he was exercising the creative part of his cooking brain to make something that was more savory than sweet but still held the tanginess of the beach berries he was using for the fruit part of the dish.
As he resumed fine-chopping the tubers, his thoughts drifted away from the here and now to things in the recent past. Paddy had tucked the kids in with Miara about an hour ago: Palia and visiting Jaivery in the same little cot, whispering under the covers and giggling, while Dylan listened to his father's story, then promptly conked out on the cot he shared with Tilara just a short distance away. Dharia was sleepy, having just nursed and when Paddy took her from Miara, he settled her on his shoulder and walked back and forth, humming softly and patting her back until she went limp with her hand still semi-curled in the collar of his shirt. She was getting so big, she was going to need a cot soon instead of the cradle.
He'd kissed Palia and Jaivery good-night, left them still cuddled up together, heading towards sleepy, but still awake, while Miara tidied up the room and shooed Tilara to bed. She smiled at him sweetly, bade him a good night. He'd given her hand a little squeeze, nodded, then left without saying anything further.
His family was as close to under one roof as they were ever going to get and it gave him a moment or two of simple happiness thinking about it. In the morning there'd be breakfast - he was planning to cook it for them, have Miara bring them down here while he made pancake after pancake and served them up with fruit sauces and plump sausages. He was looking forward to it.
T'mic had plans for the evening and Paddy had asked Jekzith to check in with Chadamalith about a possible visit northward to Igen. The demurral had come back promptly, with a counter-proposal for two days from now. As Paddy flipped the fish fillets and turned out the fries while his newly chopped tubers blanched in hot water, his thoughts drifted to Hattie and he looked up for a moment, spying movement at the bar. She'd said she might come by one of the nights he was cooking, but the person sitting down was definitely not her. Male. Brawny. More Mic's type than his. The thought amused P'draig and he finished putting together the fish fry plate, brought it out to the bar with two little containers of dipping sauces and spun the plate for the customers with a flourish. "There you are folks, enjoy," he said cheerily and they murmured thanks, fell to with appetite.
The brunette at bar's end looked his way hopefully and he lifted a hand to wave, then both to indicate a fifteen minute's wait. Back in the kitchen then to put more fries into the fryer and to check her tubers while the berries reduced a little and he worked his magic with various forms of alcohol and some wherry stock. He layered tubers and fruit, drizzled on sauce and topped it off with some crumbled goat's cheese and a lightly fried tuber 'waffle'. It was a pretty plate, colorful between the golden tones of the tubers, the deep burgundy of the berries and the balancing yellow of the mango sauce he'd incorporated to balance the flavors. Paddy was pretty happy with it as he carried it out to the young woman. Her face lit up at the sight and he grinned, pleased to get that reaction too. "Let me know if the flavors balance the way you wanted," he told her with a warm smile and gave her a little salute, went to rescue the contents of the fryer again as another flood of orders for cheese fries came in.
Seven more custom dishes and a lot of greasy food later, P'draig leaned against one of the bar's pillars just outside the back door into the kitchen, sipping slowly from a dark bottle of beer. The sweat was slowly drying along his brow under the assault of a cooling sea breeze and his shirt flapped to and fro, hanging open now that he wasn't on duty behind the fryer anymore. The din in the bar was starting to lessen and it was more about serious drinking at this hour than eating with food. Kip had plenty of snacks handy to pass out with the beers and stiffer drinks and Paddy was thinking about calling it a night.
He lifted his bottle of beer and swigged again, thoughts drifting here and there while the waves washed up on the beach and Jekzith shared visions of moonlit seas from a couple of miles out where he was chasing waves, then soaring up high to play at catching the stars.
Paddy found himself thinking about the contrast of lighter skin and darker, the way fingers laced together looked in the bright light of a tropical afternoon. He wondered if she was all right, if things were any better at Fort or if they'd gotten worse. If they had, would she tell him, or consider it part of her duty to mask her Weyr's troubles from someone on the outside? He could understand the reticence to talk about it, but it concerned him a little, how she'd shut down and evade every time he brought it up. He wondered if it weighed on her heavily and she preferred to just forget for a little while. P'draig assumed that if she did want to talk about it, she would. In the meantime, being a shoulder and an ear and a means to forget for a little while, suited him just fine. There were far worse ways in the world to be involved with someone than friends-with-benefits.
When: Mid-Month 6, Turn 21 of the 10th Interval
Where: The Sandbar, Ista Weyr
What: Random peek into Paddy's head including thoughts on his family and a little about Hattie.
The steady movement of the knife through the squat bodies of tubers was soothing. How many turns since Paddy had learned to cut a tuber? Twenty-two now, with that recent birthday just past. He paused to wipe his forehead on his sleeve in the crook of his elbow and looked out through the kitchen entrance towards the bar. There was a good cluster of people sitting there and more coming in, waiting to be served. Briefly he checked on the fry basket, made sure of the fish in the pan, then resumed chopping. Tonight's orders were heavy on fried items so far, but the pretty brunette on the end of the bar had asked for 'something interesting with tubers and fruit' so he was exercising the creative part of his cooking brain to make something that was more savory than sweet but still held the tanginess of the beach berries he was using for the fruit part of the dish.
As he resumed fine-chopping the tubers, his thoughts drifted away from the here and now to things in the recent past. Paddy had tucked the kids in with Miara about an hour ago: Palia and visiting Jaivery in the same little cot, whispering under the covers and giggling, while Dylan listened to his father's story, then promptly conked out on the cot he shared with Tilara just a short distance away. Dharia was sleepy, having just nursed and when Paddy took her from Miara, he settled her on his shoulder and walked back and forth, humming softly and patting her back until she went limp with her hand still semi-curled in the collar of his shirt. She was getting so big, she was going to need a cot soon instead of the cradle.
He'd kissed Palia and Jaivery good-night, left them still cuddled up together, heading towards sleepy, but still awake, while Miara tidied up the room and shooed Tilara to bed. She smiled at him sweetly, bade him a good night. He'd given her hand a little squeeze, nodded, then left without saying anything further.
His family was as close to under one roof as they were ever going to get and it gave him a moment or two of simple happiness thinking about it. In the morning there'd be breakfast - he was planning to cook it for them, have Miara bring them down here while he made pancake after pancake and served them up with fruit sauces and plump sausages. He was looking forward to it.
T'mic had plans for the evening and Paddy had asked Jekzith to check in with Chadamalith about a possible visit northward to Igen. The demurral had come back promptly, with a counter-proposal for two days from now. As Paddy flipped the fish fillets and turned out the fries while his newly chopped tubers blanched in hot water, his thoughts drifted to Hattie and he looked up for a moment, spying movement at the bar. She'd said she might come by one of the nights he was cooking, but the person sitting down was definitely not her. Male. Brawny. More Mic's type than his. The thought amused P'draig and he finished putting together the fish fry plate, brought it out to the bar with two little containers of dipping sauces and spun the plate for the customers with a flourish. "There you are folks, enjoy," he said cheerily and they murmured thanks, fell to with appetite.
The brunette at bar's end looked his way hopefully and he lifted a hand to wave, then both to indicate a fifteen minute's wait. Back in the kitchen then to put more fries into the fryer and to check her tubers while the berries reduced a little and he worked his magic with various forms of alcohol and some wherry stock. He layered tubers and fruit, drizzled on sauce and topped it off with some crumbled goat's cheese and a lightly fried tuber 'waffle'. It was a pretty plate, colorful between the golden tones of the tubers, the deep burgundy of the berries and the balancing yellow of the mango sauce he'd incorporated to balance the flavors. Paddy was pretty happy with it as he carried it out to the young woman. Her face lit up at the sight and he grinned, pleased to get that reaction too. "Let me know if the flavors balance the way you wanted," he told her with a warm smile and gave her a little salute, went to rescue the contents of the fryer again as another flood of orders for cheese fries came in.
Seven more custom dishes and a lot of greasy food later, P'draig leaned against one of the bar's pillars just outside the back door into the kitchen, sipping slowly from a dark bottle of beer. The sweat was slowly drying along his brow under the assault of a cooling sea breeze and his shirt flapped to and fro, hanging open now that he wasn't on duty behind the fryer anymore. The din in the bar was starting to lessen and it was more about serious drinking at this hour than eating with food. Kip had plenty of snacks handy to pass out with the beers and stiffer drinks and Paddy was thinking about calling it a night.
He lifted his bottle of beer and swigged again, thoughts drifting here and there while the waves washed up on the beach and Jekzith shared visions of moonlit seas from a couple of miles out where he was chasing waves, then soaring up high to play at catching the stars.
Paddy found himself thinking about the contrast of lighter skin and darker, the way fingers laced together looked in the bright light of a tropical afternoon. He wondered if she was all right, if things were any better at Fort or if they'd gotten worse. If they had, would she tell him, or consider it part of her duty to mask her Weyr's troubles from someone on the outside? He could understand the reticence to talk about it, but it concerned him a little, how she'd shut down and evade every time he brought it up. He wondered if it weighed on her heavily and she preferred to just forget for a little while. P'draig assumed that if she did want to talk about it, she would. In the meantime, being a shoulder and an ear and a means to forget for a little while, suited him just fine. There were far worse ways in the world to be involved with someone than friends-with-benefits.