FIONA

Chapter Twenty-One: Reflecting On The First Date (Part Two) The Vegan Restaurant

Upon their arrival to the vegan restaurant, Fiona took in the scenery of the interior. What a quaint, but a cute little place. I love the nostalgic décor of the nineteen-twenties. All the old movie stars of the era pictured on the walls. Antique lamps on the tables make for a lovely touch and a romantic feel.

"How do you like the place so far, Fiona? It's one of my favorite spots. I'm also a history buff, amongst my many interests," Blaine smiled, glancing over at the table on the far end of the room near the theater entrance, "How about we take a seat over there, it's further away from the rest of the crowd, more private and remote. And we can also be the first in line for the theatrical production tonight," he suggested while gently touching Fiona's shoulder.

"Sounds good to me," she replied, walking with him arm and arm to a table.

The waiter approached their table. "Good evening. I'm Les. I'll be your server for tonight. Here are your menus. Can I start you folks off with some drinks?"

"In a moment. We'd like to look over the menu first, and order everything together, please," Blaine replied, accepting the menus from him and handed one to Fiona, "This place has some great lemon-limeade made with only the natural flavors of the fruits. There's also a flavor twist of apple juice added to it made with fresh apples."

"I'll try it. It sounds delicious," Fiona said, skimming through the menu, trying to decide what she'd like to eat, "I'd also like to try this vegan chicken with gravy over green beans, carrots, and potatoes. It looks good in the picture."

"It tastes good too," Blaine replied, motioning for the waiter to come back to their table, "The young lady and I will have the lemon-limeade to drink. And for our meals, we'd like the vegan chicken with vegetables."

"Very good, sir. I take your menus, and, put your order in for you, immediately. In the meantime, can I get you some appetizers while you wait?"

"How about some glazed mushrooms," Blaine replied, handing the waiter the menus, and, turning to Fiona, "They're great. One of my favorite food items here."

While waiting for their meals, Fiona bit her lip and drank some of her lemon-limeade. She puckered her mouth, because of the tart taste the beverage had, but then tasted the tangy sweetness of the apple.

Blaine smiled when he saw her expression after she took a sip of the Lemon-Limeade. "It may take some getting used to. It came to grow on me, after a while. But I like it especially because of the many health benefits."

"Oh, I like it. It's just different than what I'm used to drinking. I actually love the combination of savory and sweet. Well, tangy and sweet. Uh, tart and sweet."

"The vegan chicken is definitely a combination of savory and sweet. Have you ever had tofu before, Fiona?"

"I did once when I was in high school. The home economics teacher made some for the rest of the class to try. From what I understand, it can be made many different ways. She fried it in olive oil, and seasoned it with oregano, garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning, but also added a tiny pinch of salt. It was delicious," Fiona said in a high pitched voice because she became impassioned about reminiscing about her high school days.

The waiter returned with their meals, set them down on the table, and asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you folks at the moment?"

"Not right now, but thank you," Blaine replied, picking up his fork and digging into the tofu chicken, while using his spoon to scoop up the sauce, and put it on top of the bite.

Fiona indulged in her vegan chicken and vegetables. Some of the sauce dribbled on her chin.

Blaine got up from the table, approached Fiona, leaned in, and kissed the sauce away from her chin.

Fiona giggled, "I guess I need to be more careful when eating."

"No problem. It was all my pleasure," he responded while walking back to his seat.

Taking a sip of his lemon-limeade, Blaine savored the taste.

"So what do you do when you're not working construction, Blaine?" Fiona inquired, sorting through her vegetables with her fork.

"I like to go bowling from time to time. I also workout at the gym. In addition to that, I like to read a good book from time to time. In particular, I favor the classics," he smiled a crooked smile while glancing up at her from his meal.

"I like to do those things too. I go to Westside Gym, myself, for the yoga classes," Fiona giggled, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"That's the one I go to. The one on the East side of town," he said, tapping his fork subconsciously against his plate.

"I go to the one the East side of town. But we most likely ended up missing each other. I only go there on Monday and Wednesday evenings," she replied, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.

"I'm usually in the workout room using the equipment. That would explain why we'd miss seeing each other at the gym. I go every evening after work. But now I know you'd be there on Monday's and Wednesday's, I'll be sure to look for you there in the near future.