Luke's Diner, Saturday

[what_the_shock]

Miguel was on his phone as he came in. "No, Gabe, do not give Ma my phone number. Look, if she wants to call on Thanksgiving, just call me from your place. A family thing, she'll like that. Because if she has my number, she might call me on her own. Well, wouldn't you? Yeah, I get it. Yeah, I'm sorry I can't make it for the day, but if there's any time you'll be watched...yeah. Yeah. Okay. Talk to you later. Bye."

He needed coffee.

He scowled at the curious busboy and went to make a pot. "Shut up."

Luke's was open!

Today's Specials:
Coffee-rubbed steak
Coffee-glazed vegetables with mascarpone polenta
Coffee flan

Comments

[died8yearsago]

"I'm noticing a theme," said Rosa, coming into the diner and leaning against the counter as she regarded the specials board.

Just an observation, not a complaint, especially since she was also very much in the mindset of thinking coffee added to everything was just about perfect right now.

Well. Or whiskey.

Maybe both.

[what_the_shock]

Both was good!

"It's the time of year," Miguel said sourly. "What sort of coffee can I get you?"

[died8yearsago]

Rosa's expression was mildly sympathetic if you knew how to look for it; there were definitely reasons why Santiago's terrible cooking was a highlight for Thanksgiving in recent years.

"Two ways," she said. "In a mug and," quirking a chin at the board, "covering a medium rare hunk of meat."

What more could a person possibly want in life than that, anyway?

[what_the_shock]

"Got it." Miguel put in her steak order and poured her a full mug. "So how's the week treating you?"

[died8yearsago]

"Well," said Rosa, wasted no time in reaching for that mug as soon as she could, "it started fine. It started out great, actually, I might even be able to spare everyone's shoes from my tupaya sobaka, and I kind of know Russian now. But then guess whose boss decided to finally use up some vacation day and get to be in charge of a bunch of stupid clones in plastic armor for an undisclosed amount of time."

[what_the_shock]

"I'm going to take a wild stab it's not Amaya. At least you're in charge instead of one of them?" Miguel pointed out.

[died8yearsago]

"Silver lining, right?" Rosa murmured. "But it is kind of nice getting to yell at them and have it mean something. And I think we're far enough into Saturday by now that I can stop holding my breath that something weird is going to happen. We actually had someone brought in the other day, just as Kincaid was about to take off, and if that doesn't just make you think something obnoxious is about to happen, then you haven't been here long enough..."

But so far, so good. Random lady with super strength and an ability to practically swallow food whole seemed to only be a harbinger for the island being exceptionally quiet.

Which still made her nervous about tomorrow or Monday, some quiet before the storm crap, but...

[what_the_shock]

"Brought in for what?" Miguel asked. "There's actually crime here?"

[died8yearsago]

"I mean, I think this makes three actual people brought in for actual crimes in my whole time here?" Rosa ventured. She obviously didn't count raccoons or vampired besties. And she felt weird discussion too much of the details, especially since she missed the whole thing except the aftermath, but it wasn't like it wasn't blabbed all over radio, or anything. "Breaking and entering and attempted theft...and nacho eating."

The report had definitely been...interesting.

"Anyway, I guess she came over from the mainland, we sent her back to Baltimore yesterday, so that'll probably be the end of it. At least I hope. Those vampires came over from Baltimore, too, but this whole thing seems...innocuous enough."

She didn't sound terribly convinced, but she was mostly trying not to think about how off she'd been about stuff like that over the summer.

[what_the_shock]

"Nacho eating is a crime?" Miguel asked. "I mean, I've seen what some people put on them, and yeah, but I've never seen anyone prosecuted for it."

[died8yearsago]

"That wasn't one of the official charges, no," said Rosa, with maybe the faint beginnings of a smirk in there. "I think they just added that as flavor text, since a regular old B&E was just a bit too boring for this place.

"Either that," she added a moment later, "or the trooper who wrote it was just hungry at the time."

[what_the_shock]

"Wouldn't they have to take off their helmets to eat?" Miguel asked. "I just assumed they used IVs of nutrients instead."

[died8yearsago]

"I'm not even sure they do eat," Rosa admitted, even after having scoured the fridge of their leftovers the other day. "Not after realizing that they don't even drink coffee. They make it. They pour it. They carry it around. But I've never seen them actually drink it."

It was weird as hell. And morbidly fascinating.

[what_the_shock]

"That's a shocking waste," Miguel said. "They might as well just not make it at all."

[died8yearsago]

"I guess they just like to keep up appearances, or something," said Rosa, shaking her head. "I don't think anyone should drink the tar that they make, anyway, but I guess it makes sense they don't know how to make it if they don't even drink it. There's a reason I always appreciate the hell out of it when you bring some in."

Well, that, and, you know, seeing him, but...gross.

[what_the_shock]

Ew, sentiment.

"Knew you only loved me for my coffee. Well, and food."

On queue, the cook set Rosa's steak on the pass-through, and Miguel picked it up to hand to her. "Here's both."

[died8yearsago]

Blech. It was almost enough to put her off her appetite, really.

Almost.

...okay, not even close.

"Your food is pretty amazing," Rosa allowed, "I will give you that."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel topped off her coffee. "Thanks. I do my best. So what brings you here today?"

[died8yearsago]

"My stomach?" Rosa shrugged a little, then started digging into the steak. "Plus, I needed a break. And I know at least the service doesn't suck here on Saturdays."

That's the answer she was going for, anyway.

[what_the_shock]

"Depends what kind of mood I'm in," Miguel quipped.