Reciprocally delighted.
Zacky reaches for a dried red pepper on the corner of my plate, but Duder warns him off. Those are very hot, he explains. Zacky drops the pepper right away.
The restaurant is populated only by us and a lesbian couple chatting cozily in a booth across the room. Zacky is enchanted by them. He nibbles cautiously at his Pu Pu platter (I'm introducing him to Chinese food a bit at a time) and pronounces the couple adorable. They're so in love, he says dreamily. The waiter flirts outrageously but Zacky has eyes only for Duder. He has adopted Duder as his straight male role model and listens to him attentively; Duder is reciprocally delighted to have a protege.
Dinner continues smoothly for a while, as Duder expounds on topics from automobiles to politics; Zacky nods and interjects "Oh, for real?" at appropriate intervals. Absently, he picks up a pepper and, before Duder or I can react, takes a bite of it. Within seconds he is gasping, his face red and sweat streaming down his forehead, as he urgently gulps his diet soda. Duder cannot help laughing, nor can I, but. Zacky takes it in stride.
Ohmygod, he says at last, those things are dangerous!
I told you not to eat them, Duder observes judiciously.
I know! I just forgot, Zacky explains, eyeing the remaining peppers on my plate distrustfully. Those things are like a soft form of fire. I've never felt anything like that before.
As we finish up and prepare to leave, Zacky declares that he is taking one of the peppers, the better to play tricks on his coworkers. I advise against it, but the clincher is that he has no way to transport them, and is unwilling to put them in his pocket. It would be a great joke, he tells us. Maybe next time, Duder says.
The restaurant is populated only by us and a lesbian couple chatting cozily in a booth across the room. Zacky is enchanted by them. He nibbles cautiously at his Pu Pu platter (I'm introducing him to Chinese food a bit at a time) and pronounces the couple adorable. They're so in love, he says dreamily. The waiter flirts outrageously but Zacky has eyes only for Duder. He has adopted Duder as his straight male role model and listens to him attentively; Duder is reciprocally delighted to have a protege.
Dinner continues smoothly for a while, as Duder expounds on topics from automobiles to politics; Zacky nods and interjects "Oh, for real?" at appropriate intervals. Absently, he picks up a pepper and, before Duder or I can react, takes a bite of it. Within seconds he is gasping, his face red and sweat streaming down his forehead, as he urgently gulps his diet soda. Duder cannot help laughing, nor can I, but. Zacky takes it in stride.
Ohmygod, he says at last, those things are dangerous!
I told you not to eat them, Duder observes judiciously.
I know! I just forgot, Zacky explains, eyeing the remaining peppers on my plate distrustfully. Those things are like a soft form of fire. I've never felt anything like that before.
As we finish up and prepare to leave, Zacky declares that he is taking one of the peppers, the better to play tricks on his coworkers. I advise against it, but the clincher is that he has no way to transport them, and is unwilling to put them in his pocket. It would be a great joke, he tells us. Maybe next time, Duder says.