To Make a Special Evening

Posted on Wed 24th Jun, 2020 @ 4:38am by Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels
Edited on on Wed 24th Jun, 2020 @ 4:41am

1,117 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Orchids & Jazz
Timeline: MD-2, 1605 hours

Kellian Michaels walked to the main bar in Orchids & Jazz, where Jade Lantz often worked in the afternoons. He took a seat and ordered a lemon Coke.

"How are you, Miss Lantz?" he asked. "I haven't been here in a while."

"And don't think I haven't missed you, Lieutenant. I'm presuming things have been busy lately. It seems our population has shot way up in the last few months." Jade set the soda in front of him and waved away payment. "Your credits are no good today. Let me get you the Chocolate Raspberry dessert Marin experimented with making today. Tell me what you think."

She walked away, into the kitchen and was back in moments with a small dessert plate filled with a chocolate graham cracker butter crust with chocolate custard and black raspberries swirling around on top. She set a fork and napkin next to the plate and said, "There you go. Now, what's new in your life? That you can tell me about, anyway."

"Thank you for the dessert," Kellian said a bit startled. It was kind of like visiting his Aunt Grace when he was a kid, and she would put peach cobbler or cherry pie down in front of him, unasked. Kellian took a bite. His eyes widened. "Oh, wow ... Seriously, thank you! This is delicious." He moved the raspberries to one side and scooped up another bite of custard-laden crust.

He swallowed the little morsel of bliss and washed it down with a sip of Coke. "I've asked a friend of mine out to dinner here on the fifth, at 1800 hours. She's an Arachne, and I wanted to find out it you would have something she'd be able to sit on."

"Hang on a second, let me refresh my memory on inventory." While she looked at her available seating, Jade asked, "Something soft, an elongated bench with padding, perhaps? It's uncommon to see that species, and I don't think I have anything that would add back support. Do you think that would be alright?" Squinting at an unfocused spot in the air, visualizing the Arachne body type, she added, "I could put my team on designing something, though, since we have a few days."

"She doesn't usually use back support," Kellian said. He pulled a small PADD from a thigh pocket. "Here's what she sits on at work, so you'll have an idea of comfortable height and diameter." The image showed a round, black-upholstered cushion on four short legs, similar to an ottoman, but smaller.

Miss Lantz glanced at his mini-PADD and nodded, "Yes, I think we can get something similar in place. Do you know anything about her food requirements or is our regular menu going to suffice? I think I need to read about her species before the fifth!"

"From what I've seen, she prefers softer foods. I've seen her eating cottage cheese with raisins." Kellian gave Jade an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I haven't often seen her eating, so I'm almost as much in the dark as you. I know she was raised by a human family, so she's familiar with human foods. I told her to take a look at your menu first, so she could be sure there was something on it that she would like."

"I'm sure we'll have something, then. I'll alert Marin and she will come up with a dish to please all of our customers, who will never know it was made for one special one," Jade smiled. "She must be a very special co-worker, and I appreciate your making Orchids & Jazz part of your plan for the evening. Do you know if she likes jazz? Do you have a particular number you'd like performed that evening?"

"My favorite jazz piece is 'Take Five,'" Kellian said. "I asked Muffet if she likes jazz, so I could figure out if she'd enjoy coming here, but I don't think she's very familiar with jazz music."

Nodding her head, the club owner laughed, "Many people aren't, at least by name. When they come here, though, they figure it out pretty quickly. I wouldn't have guessed you for a Dave Brubeck fan." She eyed him for a moment, watching him finish his dessert.

"He's one of my favorites from the classic jazz era, though he came along later than most of what we play. I'll have the Dendrobians practice a few of Brubeck's band pieces, maybe even pick up the sax myself for a song. Shall I make sure there's a table near the dance floor, or would you prefer something a little more distant?"

Kellian thought a moment. "I really don't know how to answer you," he said at last. "So much of it depends on Muffet's feelings, and I don't control those." He sighed. "I don't want Muffet to feel like she's on show, that everyone's staring at her--or avoiding staring at her. Maybe it's inevitable that they will stare, and I should just accept that as she probably has. I also don't want us to be shut away, as if we were hiding. I suspect I'm overthinking this and not being terribly helpful to you." He paused. "Maybe near the dance floor, but not right next to it?"

Jade looked out toward the main dining room seating, nodding. "I think I have just the right spot. It faces the stage more than facing other tables, and of course, the tables are all well privatized by the orchid plants, but there will still be some on the dance floor who inevitably have bad manners." She glanced at the second floor. "Or a table along the balcony wall of the second floor is always an option. It makes it harder for you to get to the dance floor, of course."

She brought her gaze back to him, wondering how awkward that would be. "Or Jenna can just ask her for a preference when she comes in. I can reserve a spot in both places."

"I've never seen Muffet climb stairs; there aren't that many on this station," Kellian said. "I don't know how nimble she'd be, since she's much larger than the typical Earth spider. I'd be nervous about her trying to climb or descend stairs. But since I don't know, it would be best to ask her what she prefers."

Jade made a note on her mini-PADD, nodding. "Alright, we've covered music, table, food, seating ... anything else I can do to make this a great evening for you, Lieutenant?"

"If it's a great evening for Muffet, it will be a great evening for me," Kellian said. "What we've gone over is everything I can think of. Thank you for your help Miss Lantz."

 

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