Taste of Thai, Wednesday evening

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Mary got to the restaurant a little early and picked out a nice, quiet table in the corner. While she waited for Rusty to join her, she mentally rehearsed "safe" conversation topics. It was anyone's guess how long she could last on a date without mentioning family, legal problems or any ex-boyfriends.

[[Mary's expecting someone, but Taste of Thai is open for all your food needs.]]

Comments

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

Rusty arrived and joined Mary, handing her a single white rose. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't waiting that long," said Mary, smiling as she took the rose. "Thank you for the flower. It's so pretty."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"Not as pretty as you," Rusty said. "I'm glad you were free tonight."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Mary blushed. "Oh, I tend to be free lots of nights. I mean, with the holiday and everything, business has been kind of slow. So has my social life, too."

She managed to shut her mouth before saying anything else that could be mis-interpreted.

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

Rusty smiled, "Well, I think we need to do something about that. My social life has been non-existent since I moved here."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's a good thing we're doing something about that now," said Mary, opening her menu. "Have you had Thai food before?"

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"Yes, it's one of my favorites," Rusty said. That wasn't quite true; everything was his favorite. "Do you need some recommendations?"

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"All I know are mini spring rolls, pad thai and satay," said Mary. "It would be nice to try something different."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

Rusty sipped his water as he studied the menu. "Drunken noodle is good if you like spicy food. Sizzling ginger beef is a good milder choice."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Okay, with a name like drunken noodle, how can I pass it up?" said Mary, raising an eyebrow.

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

The waitress came over to take their drink and appetizer orders.

Once she left, Rusty smiled, "Curry is also good if you're a fan of spicy food."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"I don't eat a lot of spicy food, but once in a while it's nice to have something with a little kick," said Mary. "I miss eating at some of the Bobby Flay restaurants in Vegas. Those places were fun."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"Vegas has the best restaurants," Rusty agreed.

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Vegas had the best of everything. It was like culture shock when I moved to Fandom," said Mary. "And yet after a year in Fandom, I became one of those people who stays home every night."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"So what brought you to Fandom?" Rusty asked.

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Ah, here was Difficult Subject #1.

"There was a big change in ownership of the casino I worked at, and it all got complicated," explained Mary. "The owner died in a freak accident and his ex-wife inherited everything. Then she couldn't pay the back taxes on the property and lost it in a tax auction to some billionaire cattle rancher. That's when I decided to move on."

It wasn't the complete story, but it was true.

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Rusty didn't recall hearing a story like that. "What was the owner's name?"

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Well, Casey Manning was the owner who died in an accident," said Mary. He was also an ex-boyfriend, but she wasn't going to mention that part.

"So when he died, he left everything to his ex-wife, Sam Marquez, who was also our top casino host. And when she couldn't come up with enough money to pay the back taxes on the Montecito, this cattle rancher named AJ Cooper swept in and bought the place at auction. He was a nice guy, actually, when I did meet him. Even offered me a new position last February but... the timing was just really bad."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

Rusty nodded. "I've spent some time in Vegas and don't think I've heard of any of those folks."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Maybe you were in an alternate version of Las Vegas than the version I'm from?" suggested Mary. "I mean, Las Vegas is always there, but I periodically lose touch with the one from my dimension."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this place," Rusty said with a chuckle.

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"It's really not so bad, except when you're really counting on hearing from people," said Mary. "As long as my step-mother, my sisters, and my best friend keep in touch occasionally, I'm happy."

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"My best friend showed up to visit last month," Rusty said. "It was nice to see him."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's good," said Mary. "What does your friend do?"

[nugents-shirt.livejournal.com]

"He's between jobs right now," Rusty said. "He's been busy re-connecting with his ex and soon to be again wife."

Any thoughts Rusty had on this subject were best left unspoken.