Gary & Sundae at Orchids & Jazz, part 1

Posted on Sat 3rd Dec, 2022 @ 10:05am by Criswell Sandbags & Gary Thirteen & Lieutenant Damion Ildaran

1,556 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Fresh Perspective
Location: Orchids & Jazz
Timeline: MD-2, 1100

It was 1100 when Gary Thirteen stepped into Orchids & Jazz with his calico cat Sundae wrapped around his shoulder. The previous evening had turned into potential disaster with him spilling more beans to Detective Solis than Gary would have preferred. Most of the ops he had run through the temporal years involved getting help from people native to the time period. Gary was normally great at achieving his objectives giving little knowledge of him, his cat, and what they were doing.

Renato Solis was an exception. Gary had underestimated him. Had even been hesitant to tell him much of anything. What gave way to his trust was Sundae's behavior around Solis. She rarely displayed such affection for someone she didn't know. Gary found this intriguing. He'd learned to trust Sundae's instincts. It seemed he had no choice this time.

Desperately in need of coffee and something to eat, Gary sat down at the bar and moved Sundae to his lap, hoping this place allowed pets inside.

'Use them or lose them' hours were a wonderful Federation invention, as far as Damion Ildaran was concerned. He had a sizable amount of annual leave accumulated, some of which he would lose if he didn't use it this week--16 hours, in fact. What kind of trouble could a man get into in 16 lovely hours off? Damion didn't know, but he intended to spend a couple of them eating a delicious, very leisurely lunch and reading a book. He chose a seat at the bar, near a well-dressed businessman from Earth who had brought a cat with him, Damion was interested to see. He mulled over the menu and decided what to eat for brunch.

"Nice cat," he said to the businessman.

As if responding to the compliment, Sundae mewed. Gary smiled. "This is Sundae," he said. "She is nice indeed."

Daneel Olivaw was tending bar during the noon rush. He really preferred the characters who came in the later evening hours, but he was available whenever and wherever Jade needed him. A humaniform needed no sleep. The man with the cat piqued his interest, and he finished clearing the area where a customer departed, then came over to take orders from the two new ones. He nodded at the familiar lieutenant, who was out of uniform today, and spoke to the man with the cat first, since he'd sat down first.

"Earth cat?" he asked. "Jade is very lenient about cats in here. They're usually quite well behaved."

Gary gently petted his feline associate. "Sundae can be an exception to that," he said. "But for the most part, she acts like a lady." At the mention of her name, Sundae's head shot up and she glanced around the bar. Seeing the bartender, she gave a loud "meow!" Gary gently laid his hand on Sundae's head. "Do you have an Earth cream or milk? Sundae is a little hungry."

"I can get it from Chef Holmes. She uses both in some of her desserts." Daneel signaled Jenna down to the end of the bar and told her what he wanted, then came back to the two men, stopping on the way to clear another finished lunch away and get the customer's thumb print on the bill.

Gary looked a little at the menu and couldn't decide what to get. He turned back to the Starfleet officer next to him. "What's good here?" he asked. "I'm not a picky eater, so everything looks good to me."

"We're an hour early for the usual lunch fare that's on the menu," Damion said. "When I come here for lunch, I like the ham and cheese sandwich or the chicken loaf. Sometimes I'll just have the avocado and tomato appetizer or the Welsh rarebit. There's a bacon and tomato sandwich I like, too." He smiled. "Their best dish is the Death by Chocolate." He turned off his menu. "I'm Damion Ildaran, by the way." Damion glanced at the cat. "Hello, Sundae. You look like the smart sort."

The bartender came back to the two men with a saucer he set on the bar for the cat. "If you like fish, we have salmon on rye, a delectable Earth fish that's very popular, and it's served with potato salad, French fried potatoes, cole slaw or hearts of lettuce. As are all the lunch menu meals. I checked with Chef Holmes, and we can serve any lunch meal you like, even though it's an hour early," inserted Olivaw. "Oh, and today's Blue Plate Special is meatloaf and mashed potatoes, both with gravy, buttered carrots and a dinner roll, with a slice of apple pie for dessert."

He glanced at the Starfleet officer while the businessman mulled over his choices. "How about you, Lieutenant?"

"Since you mentioned it, the Blue Plate Special sounds good--but could I get it with raw carrots, please?" Damion said. "I'll have water to drink."

Sundae hopped onto the bar and began dousing her paw into the cream and then licking it off. Gary turned to the bartender and said, "Can you make a ham and cheese sandwich toasted, with French fries on the side? Hard cheddar if you please, on wheat... and I think I'll drink coffee." Gary looked around to see if Solis had arrived yet.

Damion was looking curiously at Sundae. He had never seen a cat who drank by dipping a paw into the liquid. It was almost like a person scooping milk out with a hand--which was ridiculous, of course, but he couldn't shake the thought. "I was thinking about the ham and cheese until Daneel mentioned meatloaf and apple pie. Ms. Holmes, the chef here, makes wonderful pies."

"Raw carrots straight from Jade's garden in Mr. Block's hydroponics lab," Olivaw assured the officer. "And if you want to change your mind, we can add the apple pie to the sandwiches. I'll bet she'll even give you the carrots instead of French fries," he smiled, knowing Lt. Ildaran was a favorite of several at Orchids & Jazz. He didn't know the story behind it, but maybe it was as simple as he was always polite and friendly. As he spoke, he placed a glass of water, lime on the side, in front of the lieutenant, and then turned to the coffee pot and poured a lunch mug for the man with the cat.

"Cream? Sugar? Anything else?" he asked.

"Thank you, no," Gary said, taking the mug.

Damion shook his head. "I'll stick with my decision, but thanks for the offer--and the water."

"I think I'll have a piece of the apple pie after all. It feels like it's been centuries since I've had a piece." He thought for a moment and realized he was correct. It was 1972, Texas, at a diner in the middle of the desert, over three hundred years for everyone at the bar, about fourteen for Gary. "I don't believe I gave you my name, Mr. Ildaran," he said, extending a hand. "I'm Gary."

Damion shook Gary's hand. "Glad to meet you--and Sundae," he said. "Here on business?"

Sundae meowed, then went back to her cream. Gary smiled. "You could say that. I'm not sure for how long, but I'm hoping to finish whatever needs to be done and move on."

"Gary?" said someone at a table from behind. It was Criswell Sandbags, visiting Orchids and Jazz for the first time. "I thought I wouldn't see you again." Criswell approached the bar.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Gary asked.

"Well, I think so," Criswell responded, his eyes now looking away but darting back and forth like someone who feels he's being followed. "You actually look younger than I remember."

Gary was startled when Sundae hopped straight of the counter into a shocked Criswell's arms. It wasn't the movement that startled him. It was Sundae's response. Once again she was friendly with someone she'd never met.

"Hello Sundae!" Criswell said.

"It's..." Gary stammered, "...so great to see you... again?" Gary eyed the strange man.

"Well I... we..." Criswell now stammered again, realizing this might be a different, younger Gary than who he'd met just a few weeks ago. That Gary had said they'd known each other for years, and while Sundae's response was rather social, Gary did not seem to remember him. "We met some time ago," Criswell said. "I'm not sure if you remember me."

Gary gave Criswell a cautious nod. "Well I'm very sorry about that," he said a little slowly. "It's good that Sundae remembers you at least."

Sundae jumped back into Gary's lap and from there hopped on the bar and went back to the cream.

"Well it's very nice to see you again," Criswell said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

"Sure," Gary said. "Take care."

Criswell departed and Gary turned back around. He gave a smile. "I meet a lot of people in my work," he said.

Damion nodded. "I've seen him around," he said, "mainly at Qaraq's casino, though I don't think he's a customer. Or maybe I should say I don't see him. You think he's there, and then he's gone. He's very unobtrusive at whatever he does. I could take stealth lessons from him."

"Yeah..." Gary said, looking back, though Criswell was already gone. "...me too."

Sundae purred.

To be continued...

 

RSS Feed