Morning all and welcome to a gray and rainy Monday. Despite the clouds I am more than ready to face the week. I had a good rest and we got the new desktop in place. Thus far no luck in recovering lost data, but it does serve as a lesson. And I at least know that I can start rewrites instead of waiting and hoping that something can be saved. it at least lets me move forward, even if I am still kicking myself for the mistake. But today is a new day so let’s get started on the morning prompts. Then we can work on replacing lost files. So Timers at the ready and off we go.
I have no idea where this is going. I think it is going to be a scene in another story rather than something that stands alone. I do like his salad bit though. That was fun and I will probably use that elsewhere even if I don’t use anything else.
Monday, July 10th: He was interesting.
He was interesting. She would give Cindy that much. The blind dates Cindy set her up on were never dull. Samantha smiled at what she thought was some sort of joke. Hank frowned.
“I assure you it is no laughing matter,” he said earnestly.
“Of course not,” she said. “I just enjoy the way you tell it.”
“Oh,” he preened a little. “I see,” he smiled back and picked up his fork. He speared one of the tomatoes with the sharp tines. As he ate his salad, he continued to expound on his oh so serious story. Samantha tried not to be fascinated by the way he ate his salad. It came as a tossed salad, one of the few vegetarian options on the menu.
She hadn’t known he was a vegetarian. If she had known, then when he suggested this restaurant, she would have steered him elsewhere. It was not a place with many non-meat related options. Having never heard of the restaurant before he suggested it for their date, she went online to investigate. She wanted to be dressed appropriately for the venue as well as to look over the menu before arriving.
With menus she tended to like to study them longer than the others at the table and generally found that looking at them in advance not only let her know what to expect but gave her the leisure to study the options ahead of time and at great length. Then she could choose a couple of possible options ahead of time. She found it reduced her stress level immensely and made others she dined with happier.
Since he suggested it, she assumed that he knew what the menu options were or perhaps considered it a favored local. Ten minutes into their arrival she was certain he picked the restaurant at random without any prior investigation.
He gamely went with the dinner salad option, sans roast chicken, when he found it was his best option. Then he began his disassembly process. The tomatoes were sequestered in one section of the plate. All of the sunflower seeds meticulously separated from the rest of the salad and now formed their own pile as did the cranberries. There were three types of lettuce in the salad, and each had been moved to an individual location. As he ate he dipped his fork into the salad dressing, which he ordered on the side. Then he speared one item form a pile on his plate with the fork and ate it. He moved methodically around the plate in a circle shifting from pile to pile, each with its own dip into the salad dressing. With the Sunflower seeds the dressing acted as a magnet, so the seeds stuck to the tones without having to be speared.
It was quite a fascinating performance. It also tended to distract her from his conversation. He seemed quite fond of talking and conversation on her part required only a few nods, or non-committal noises as he spoke. He required very little input.
‘Although I did think the story was humorous so I should perhaps pay more attention.’ She tried to focus on his words rather than his dining.
The problem was the more she listed the more humorous she found his oh so serious story.
Ten til Midnight 