fandomtownies | Café Fina, Monday

In this thread, mod your servers. They are eager to please.

She's here. And would like to hear your stories.

Mary was eager to eat anything other than another GuntherBurger after her shift at the hotel. Besides, you didn't get anywhere as a casino hostess without being able to keep a promise to a whale (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomtownies/1718514.html?thread=79243506#t79243506).

"Once, I planned a wedding for a really neurotic bride who insisted that Wayne Newton had to sing at her wedding," said Mary. "It took a lot of pleading and a public apology from my boss, but I managed to convince Wayne to make a special performance."

"That's wonderful," Naminé said, her eyes lighting up as she escorted Mary to a table. "Do come in, won't you? They let me choose the specials on Monday and I felt as though I could use a few stories. We're full of eccentricities here."

"So is most of this town," said Mary with a smile. "I hate to admit, though, that I'm the competition. My name's Mary and I run the Arms Hotel. We're trying to re-open the restaurant there. But I promise," she added with a wink, "that we'll try to offer something completely different from what you have here."

[OOC: And I had the link (http://tinyurl.com/3xh4ku) to the recap of the Wayne Newton episode and I left it out by mistake. D'oh!]

Naminé laughed. "I shall tell Lumiere, the café owner, but I doubt he views anyone as competition. So long as people are fed and happy, he is, as well. It makes him a very agreeable sort to work for."

She looked at Mary curiously. "Have you been here to Café Fina before? If not, I should warn you in advance that our servers are a touch unusual." With a nod, she indicated the plates, who were lining up for a Rockette-style kick.

"Someone invited me to lunch here last Friday," said Mary. "Still, I don't think I could get tired of watching this type of dinner show," she added, looking at the plates.

"It's delightful, isn't it?" Naminé laughed, handing Mary a menu. "Do let me know if you have any requests. They love to entertain, and seem to have quite the varied catalogue in their repertoire."

"I'm a fan of anything that Frank Sinatra recorded," suggested Mary.

She looked over the menu for salads. After all the burgers Gunther had been cooking this weekend, the last thing she wanted to see was red meat.

There were, in fact, a number of salads at Fina, from Caesar to Waldorf to a number of the more fancy varieties, and what wasn't on the menu, the chefs were always glad to improvise.

"Mais oui," said one plate enthusiastically. "We also 'ave great affection for ze chairman, no?"

The pepper shaker lead them in a moving rendition of "Strangers in the Night."

Delighted, Mary watched the performance. When the number was finished, she requested "That's Life" and a Cobb salad.

Naminé curtsied. "Right away! I'll go put the order in."

The plates were only too happy to sing "That's Life," and the cheese-grater was pantomiming rather dramatically throughout. When it finished, they segued nicely into "My Way."

Mary was enjoying herself. Listening to some of her favorite Sinatra tunes, she was able to forget for a moment all the headaches she'd left behind at the hotel and the heartache she left behind in Las Vegas.

After a few minutes, Naminé returned with the salad. "Here you are! And do you know, I don't believe I caught your name? Nor did I offer mine, I'm afraid. I'm Naminé, I maitre-d' on Mondays, and I'm very new, thus you shall have to be patient with me."

"Pleased to meet you, Naminé. I'm Mary Connell and I'm new to Fandom, so it's no problem," said Mary. "This salad looks fantastic. My compliments to the chef," she added with a smile.

"It's very nice to meet you as well, and I will tell the chef that you said so. I've only been here since the beginning of summer term myself." She laughed. "I will say, if no one's warned you yet, that I was told that most of the weirdnesses and abnormalities are thankfully temporary. So if a friend should decide suddenly that he is a German magician, there is nothing to be done but wait. And possibly videotape it for blackmail purposes."

"All the more reason to install security cameras in the hotel as soon as possible," joked Mary. "Everyone has been trying to warn me about the weirdness. So far nothing odd has happened to me, except some problems with the phones."

"The phones?" Naminé considered. "That's ... I suppose that would explain rather a lot. I got two telephone calls that were confusing, and I made one or two that received no answer."

"I had some very strange phone calls, but before I even realized there was a problem, I'm afraid I made a few personal calls and left some messages that I'd rather take back," said Mary.

Naminé thought for a moment, and then laughed. "Oh, my. I hadn't even thought of the ones I'd returned. I hope everyone agrees to ignore what happened on Friday, as some of those were rather embarassing."

Mary nodded silently, thinking about the whole miscommunication mess earlier with Stan (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomtownies/1791810.html?thread=82306370#t82306370).

"The salad was delicious," said Mary, putting her fork down on a now-empty plate. "And I wouldn't mind hearing 'My Way' again," she said to the other plates.

"Don't forget, you've a free dessert coming," said Naminé lightly.

"Of course, mademoiselle," bowed one of the plates. "Eet es a favorite of ours as well."

This time, the cheese-grater sang lead.

"Oh, I can't forget my sweet tooth. What do you recommend?" asked Mary.

"I must admit, I have a fondness for the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake," Naminé smiled. "I asked them to make it for me during my first shift, and it's become a favorite. They sneak me slices when it's slow."

"Oh, that sounds way to good to pass up. I'll definitely have the cheesecake," said Mary.

"Hi, Naminé!" Charlie waved as she came in, then looked thoughtful when she saw the board. "Ohhh. Wow. Good one. What's the dessert tonight?"

"Hello, Charlie." Naminé bobbed lightly. "It's the usual, tortes and cheesecakes, although if you have something special in mind I'm sure the chef wouldn't mind whipping it up."

"I was thinking of getting one for my roomie, too," Charlie explained, then bounced on her toes. "Mmmm. Maybe a chocolate torte with whipped cream? I'll pay for one, and earn one with a story?"

"You have a story, then?" Naminé smiled wistfully. "I wanted to hear of promises today. Do come in and have a seat."

"I do," Charlie said, following Naminé into the Cafe. "Are you okay?"

Naminé considered for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know. I won't know for a few days yet, I believe. I'm worrying, that's all. You can see how productive that is."

She nodded to Charlie. "What was your story? About a promise?"

Charlie sat down, trying to think of where to start it, then slowly said, "It was a promise I kept to my dad, that I made after he was gone, trying to keep one to me." She looked down at her hands, then up, and carefully, very slowly, let one of the glasses rise, hover over the table, then set back down. "I can do little things like that. Move things with my mind. So could my mom. My dad had another psychic ability. They weren't born with them; they were side-effects from an experiment they were in."

Naminé wasn't sure she was following the promise bit, but she nodded. "Is that magic, or something you were taught?"

"Neither. I guess you'd call it a mutation-- it's something I was born with, that's just... inside me." Charlie bit her lip. "The people who gave these abilities to my parents weren't what you'd call good people. My dad promised to keep me safe from them." She looked away, then softly said, "He died before I was really safe. But he asked me to do something, that guaranteed I would stay safe after that."

Burn it all down, Charlie. Let them know they were in a war.

"I see," Naminé said in a low tone. "And you did."

Charlie nodded again, tracing the pattern on the tablecloth in front of her. "Yes." She cleared her throat. "And now they're either in jail, or hiding. There was an investigation, and articles, and the public found out about all of it." She looked up, and forced a small but real smile. "Because I did what he asked. Then told the truth. And people actually believed me." That was still a wonder, sometimes. "So that's my story of my promise."

Naminé stood for a moment, and then nodded. "I suppose it is at that. I'm glad that things ... worked out, as much as they seemed to, although the entire situation sounds unfortunate. Dessert, then. But first, dinner?"

"Why not?" Charlie smiled slightly. "Something with chicken? And maybe soup? Comfort food." For thinking about that after so long.

"Chicken soup we do very well here," she said with a light bow. "And as always, the plates are open for your requests. We live to serve."

Charlie giggled. "And don't forget the second dessert, for Carmela! Thank you, Naminé." She waved to the servers. "Always fun."

It was the cheese-grater, in the conservatory, with the lead pipe.

Café Fina, Monday

Be Our Guest!

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OOC