Grilling at Renato's, Part 3

Posted on Sun 9th Aug, 2020 @ 5:29am by Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Yuliette Marayan Dr. & Renato Solis & Lieutenant Commander Lanis Dhuro MD & Purulence Addams & Ignatius Collins

1,142 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Brown Sector Deck 2245 Renato's
Timeline: MD 14, 1500

Previously, at the afternoon barbecue ...

Lanis listened carefully. "I've been told that efforts to have Starfleet doctors come down here have been rebuffed. I've also been told that wasn't without good reason, that the most recent Starfleet doctor to come down here was, shall we say, not a shining example of helpfulness. Starfleet abandoned this station for twenty years, and when we came back a few years ago, feelings had soured. They weren't helped by that fool. Are you a doctor?"

"I, uh..." Yuliette realized she'd said too much and looked around, spying the elderly couple who looked like they were afraid they were intruding.

And now, continuing the story ....

---

A solicitous male voice reached the ears of those listening to more than the children at play. "Be careful here, my dear. This cobbling is a little uneven. I'm not quite sure we should be going back here at all. The crowds ..." Hieronymus looked back over his shoulder.

"I know, hon, but there was just too much going on. I couldn't hear myself think. We'll be fine," a sweet voice answered, only slightly wavery.

The two came around the corner and stopped. "Oh," the woman said. "I guess you're right, dear. It seems we're interrupting some children at play, and perhaps a family celebration." she waved her hand and called out, "Peldor joi." Holding tightly to the man's arm, she started to turn away.

"Peldor Joi!" Yuliette waved back, but with an inviting motion. "Come! Sit with us, let me get you a plate!"

"Or two!" Lanis added as he picked up a plate and rolled some silverware into a napkin for the fellow who looked even older than Lanis himself was.

The couple hesitated a moment, and then Hieronymus looked at his wife. Gisele was tired, still recuperating from a nasty cold, and she could probably use the rest. "Alright, thank you. We didn't mean to crash your party, but if there's room and plenty, I believe we will join you and sit a spell."

He guided his wife over to the young woman and the man holding a plate. "Thank you so much," he said, taking the plate and silverware.

Looking around, he spied two seats at a round table where two others sat. The woman had the darkest complexion Hieronymous had ever seen and wore a burgundy dress; the man with her wore ordinary work clothes. The two of them nodded and smiled at the Blocks. "Come sit with us. We'd love the company," the man said.

"Come, my dear. Let me get you situated, and then I'll pick the finest morsels for your plate."

Smiling, Gisele said, "Alright. I'd love to see all the food for myself, but I am feeling a bit weary."

To the older gentleman, Yuliette started pointing out some of the things she had tried, but was a little frustrated as she didn't have names for many of the dishes. "That is pretty good. I think, something like a pulled pork. This was a little salty, if that matters." Sometimes the elderly were supposed to be watching their sodium, and other times she'd noted that some of her patients seemed to prefer it, in amounts almost like a preservative for themselves, since their taste buds could no longer register it just sprinkled so much as poured.

"This over here, I think it's all different jams on some sort of puffed pastry. There's a fruit salad on the other end of the table." Yuliette noticed the wearied way Mrs. Block was melting into the seating. "Do you think your wife would like a drink? Water or juice or tea? I can get her something."

"Oh, some nice herbal tea, spearmint maybe? Or anything, really. That would perk her right up," the older gentleman said. "Thank you for explaining what some of this is. It helps, because we are rather stuck in our ways." He smiled, but most people would know that it wasn't a common expression on his face, from the stiffness.

"I'm afraid we don't really socialize all that much. I have my gardens, and ... well, you don't want to hear about gardening upstairs, I'm sure," the man who controlled all the plantings on SB109 waved away whatever else he might have said. "You're very kind to listen to an old man meandering through conversation." He began to place delicacies he thought his wife might enjoy onto the plate in his hand.

"What kind of gardening?" Yuliette asked as she found the big dispenser of tea.

"Oh, mostly vegetables and fruits," Block played down his position as he chose several interesting looking things. "I do have some prize roses, if you're ever interested in coming up to see them. You'd be welcome. Can you advise me on whether I've picked anything really spicy? Gisele really doesn't like the hot stuff."

Yuliette pointed to the miniature meatballs. "Those were a little spicy." She didn't say anything aboutcoming to see the roses. She knew she couldn't risk going one deck higher than this, for fear of being found out. Carefully she folded a napkin around the cup of tea and set it out for the gardener's wife.

Mrs. Block sighed with pleasure as her weight sank completely into the chair. She turned to the young people next to her. "Thank you for not objecting to company. What is that you're eating? These foods look delicious, but I don't know many of them."

"It's wonderful to have the company," Purulence told the elderly lady. "I'm Purulence Addams, and this is Ignatius Collins. Thank you for joining us! I think a lot of this food is Bajoran," she said. She pointed to samples of food on her plate "This is hasperat, which is quite spicy. This over here tastes like Worcestershire sauce mixed with ground meat and cheese, and wrapped in some soft pastry. This is candied ginger, which tastes wonderful! And this last thing is oskoid salad."

"This is a praline bar, which is way too sweet for my taste," Ignatius said. "I've also got a slice of Tarodian pudding, which is savory, by the way, and tastes like pate would if pate were made with lamb paste. And these are purple peas."

"Purple peas?" Gisele said. "I never heard of such a thing! Are they really peas, or just something Bajoran that is pea-like?" She thought this would interest Hieronymus, if it were at all related to the Terran variety of garden peas. She did hope they had something that would be tasty and not spicy.

"They may just be the Bajoran version of peas," Ignatius said. "Whatever they are, they taste pretty good. I could imagine putting them into some shepherd's pie."

"Is there anything that you could not imagine putting into shepherd's pie?" Purulence asked him.

"Chocolate," Ignatius said.

 

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