T42 - Friday

[hernando_fuentes]

I totally know what day of the week it is, hush

The shop today was decorated with pictures and posters from the heyday of women's liberation. Suffragettes stood proudly in their sashes, women in trousers lounged on the steps of universities. The first female medical doctor and surgeon had a portrait front and center. A Rosie the Riveter poster hung on one side of the wall. Harriet Tubman's portrait bookended the doctor's. A print of Michelle Obama's official White House portrait was near the counter.

The color theme for the day seemed to be green, white and purple. Hernando smiled a little and patted the counter. "Happy Women's Day to you, too."

The pastries today ranged from delicate little sweets to Rosalie's giant decadent cupcakes. Savories in the form of hearty sandwiches and dainty little puff pastry cups filled with all manner of delights were in a cooled case.

He fed the quokka and took up station behind the counter.

[T42 is Open!]

Comments

[always_someone]

Norman had intended to go to J,GoB for a pastry and a coffee this afternoon, but there had been a...

... Well, he was going to call it a 'ghost incident.' He didn't want to talk about what he'd spotted on his way in, but it had him turning right around on his heel and heading back the other direction just as fast as he'd arrived. Which didn't do anything for his current sad, pastry-free state of affairs, and so he'd gone for a wander. There was a tea shop somewhere in town, right?

When he finally found it, he noted with a faintly bemused look on his face that it was a bit more fancy than the J,GoB was, but heck, overall it still seemed pretty inviting. And so he smiled and made his way in, looking around as he headed toward the counter.

... And pausing halfway and blinking at a quokka.

"Wha...?"

[hernando_fuentes]

The quokka were hopping around and playing some sort of adorable marsupial tag. Dave was plonked on a cushy pet bed by the fireplace as was now his habit.

Hernando smiled at the new customer. "Hello, welcome to T42. Please do not mind the quokka, they are friendly and will not bite. What may I get for you?"

[always_someone]

Norman watched the little guys hop about for a few more moments, and then looked up at the guy who had greeted him and smiled too.

"Uh, hi. I was, um. Was looking for some pastries." A pause, as he looked at the menu board. "And tea? I might need a minute to browse, though, I've never been in here before."

[hernando_fuentes]

"This is no trouble," Hernando assured him, "Take as much time as you need. We have a fine selection of pastries to choose from. Is there a particular type of tea you enjoy?"

Norman would possibly notice that Dave was not alone on his cushion. There were faint outlines of other quokka around him. Not ghosts so much, no; more like the memory of ghosts that had passed on but were not forgotten by the very old quokka resting his spoiled butt by the fire.

Near a humidifier.

Don't ask.

[always_someone]

"A... A type?" Norman's faceted gaze settled on that pillow, faintly distracted by the ghosts of ghosts, but only for a moment. He drew his gaze back toward the counter. "Uh... have you got something strong? For people who usually like chocolate?"

[hernando_fuentes]

"Strongly caffeinated, strongly flavored or both?" Hernando prompted, "I meant a type of tea. Black tea, green tea, herbal? We have several that involve cacao nibs and have some chocolate flavor. Unless you perhaps meant a less sweet tea to compliment the flavor of the chocolate?"

There was.. there was a lot of tea on that wall, Norman.

Hernando offered an easy smile. "I am sorry if the questions seem a little overwhelming. I only wish to help ensure your beverage is to your taste."

[always_someone]

Yeah, Norman was already looking faintly dazed, and he replied with a rather succinct, if unhelpful, "Um."

There was another few seconds before he ventured, "A tea for someone who likes hot chocolate," he ventured. "Kind of sweet? I was thinking maybe a fruit pastry of some sort."

[hernando_fuentes]

Hernando nodded. "We shall try you with the S'mores tea. If you don't like it, I will replace it for you at no charge."

He reached for the canister and shook it to evenly distribute the tiny mini marshmallows. This tea was not placed into a bag but rather into a ceramic strainer set atop the mug while hot water was poured over. The marshmallows melted almost immediately, carrying their flavor down into the beverage.

Hernando set it aside to steep and returned to the question at hand, "Apple turnover? Cherry-cream cheese danish? Strawberry kiwi pavlova?"

[always_someone]

"Pavlova is the meringue cake, right? My grandma sometimes talks about how much she misses it," Norman used. "She used to make it for family picnics and things. Maybe I'll have that. And the s'mores tea sounds great, thank you."

He paused for a few moments, glancing back toward the quokka on the cushion.

"That one there," he ventured. "He's been here a while, hasn't he?"

[hernando_fuentes]

"Pavlova is the meringue cake with fruit and a lemon curd on top," Hernando agreed. He plated a piece of it. The tea was shortly done steeping and it as well as the pavlova were pushed across the counter for Norman.

Hernando smiled fondly at Dave. "That is Dave. He is very old, yes. The most quarrelsome of the quokka. He is sort of the pack leader."

[always_someone]

Norman nodded his thanks, accepting both the tea and the pavlova, paying for both, and then looking back toward the quokka thoughtfully.

And then he turned a little smile toward Hernando.

"Thanks for helping me pick," he replied. "I'll let you know what I think of the tea."

There was a pause, and then he added, "How is he around people?"

Yes, Dave.

[hernando_fuentes]

"Dave?" Hernando asked with mild surprise, "He mostly ignores people though he has been known to mug people for scritches and pets. He does not bite, if this is what you are asking. He is also a very opinionated little man and will let you know if you are doing something he does not like."

[always_someone]

Norman glanced again at the haze of memory where ghosts used to be.

He smiled, just slightly.

"I won't be too much bother, I know how to take a hint," he promised. And then with a little smile and another nod of his head in thanks, he made his way over to set his things down on a nearby table before crouching down near - but not too near - Dave. Quietly, too quietly to be heard by basically anybody but the quokka in front of him, he murmured, "You did good by them. Even their shades are content to stay with you."

He never felt silly saying these things to animals, no. The spirits always understood him, no matter what they had been in life. And the living... even if they didn't understand him, they generally didn't judge, so long as he respected them and their space.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal stepped in, looked around, and noted the decor, but he wasn't here for that. His attention was on Hernando as he made his way to the counter, assessing his health and state of mind.

[hernando_fuentes]

Tomorrow would be the one month anniversary of the terrible day. The bruises had healed and the contusions mostly so. The stitches were still in but almost impossible to see through the thickness of his hair. He was relaxed and smiling.

He was, after all, at work.

"Dr. Lecter!" he said, pleased, "It is so nice to see you again. What may I get for you?"

[sharp_man]

"It's good to see you as well. Perhaps something in a floral today?" Hannibal said. "With black or green."

[hernando_fuentes]

"I am well enough," Hernando agreed. It was more or less true at any point in time but for this one, he was indeed well enough. Perhaps a tiny bit anxious about Sparkle; he worried when Sparkle was out of his sight, that his boyfriend would be curled up and staring at a wall. They had both spent some time doing that in the previous weeks. Less so when they were together.

He looked at the wall of tea for a moment and reached for a canister. It was a very nice young white tea that had been steamed with elderflowers. The taste was subtle and not overpowering. Hernando placed it in a ceramic strainer and poured hot but not boiling water slowly over the leaves. This tea required slightly more finicky handling, the tea requiring gentle jostling to unfold so it would steep properly and only for a very short period of time. When it became fragrant, he removed the strainer and set it on a plate next to the mug.

The whole was passed across to Dr. Lecter when it was ready. "I would appreciate hearing your opinion of this. I find it quite enjoyable. It is a younger tea that has been steamed with fresh elderflowers which were then allowed to dry with the leaves."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal lifted it to his nose for a smell, then sipped it. "Very delicate," he noted approvingly. "It demands close attention. Easy to bruise, I imagine."

[hernando_fuentes]

"It is a young leaf," Hernando agreed, "but I believe they pick out any bruised leaves before packaging. For the aesthetics if for no other purpose."

[sharp_man]

"Bruises aren't pretty," Hannibal said, though it was less agreement and more restatement. "They don't have to be insurmountable, though."

[hernando_fuentes]

Hernando tilted his head a little, "No, of course not. With tea, they are picked out so as not to affect the presentation or the flavor."

That wasn't even subtle, Hannibal.

So Hernando calmly confronted it, "If you are speaking of what happened in New York, nothing that happened there is insurmountable. Bruises, wounds, concussions - all will heal with time."

[sharp_man]

It hadn't particularly been meant to be subtle; merely ignorable if Hernando felt like it.

"I'm pleased to hear that." He nodded to him. "And the rest of it?"

[hernando_fuentes]

"The rest of it?" Hernando inquired politely.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal gave him a rueful smile. "Perhaps I'm overstepping, but I care very much for Sparkle, and he cares very much for you. How are you doing?"

[hernando_fuentes]

"It is hard to judge for oneself but on the whole I think I am doing as well as can be expected. It will take some time for things to fade but it is already at a remove that feels less immediate," Hernando answered quietly. "There is less anxiety here on the island than when I make trips to the mainland though even there it is not much. I have not tried going at night yet. I am giving myself time."