ArchivedLogs:Tell Me What You See

Tell Me What You See
Dramatis Personae Alice, Eve
In Absentia	2017-04-24 "What are we remembering?"
Location <NYC> El Sabor de Cuba - East Harlem
It's a pretty nice little place. The shelves are all neatly arranged, stocking all sorts of Spanish goods and groceries and snacks. A decent selection of liquors in the back. A small selection of cigarettes and cigars behind the counter, and an island in the back containing hot-made dishes where an eighty year old woman boxes up food with welcome and a cup of coffee for the regulars. Eve herself is both minding the counter when needed, and stocking shelves with an apron bearing the bodega's name around her neck. It's never particularly busy except at lunch, but there's usually two or three customers poking around or sipping coffee, complete with a pair of old men playing chess, or cards, or any number of other easy games. The decorations are bright, and colorful, and merry music is usually playing overhead, trying to set the atmosphere as a more 'family-oriented' place. Alice wanders in out of the rain, depositing her glistening umbrella (black on the outside and gold on the inside in a bucket by the door. Her long, curly hair falls in glorious waves over her shoulders, the pale iridescent discs of her rainbow moonstone earrings peeking out like full moons from black clouds. She wears a red canvas jacket with more buckles and zippers than probably strictly necessary, open over a black t-shirt with the word 'REMEMBER' spelled out in glittering rhinestones, and painted-on-tight bluejeans that disappear into slouchy black ankle boots. She grabs a Jarritos from one of the refrigerator cases and starts to head for the counter, but veers aside for some chips before actually making it there. The girl looks up from where she's shoving junk food onto the shelves as Alice makes her way through the store. When she reaches the chip aisle, she comments in a friendly sort of tone: "I like the campesinas, personally. Let me know if you're looking for something particular, I can usually point it out." Her nametag has whiteout applied to it, and Eve written in permanent marker over the top. The shirt gets a second glance, as do the jeans. Envy, maybe? "What are we remembering?" "I'm usually a salt and vinegar girl, but sure, I'm feeling suggestible." Alice scans the shelves and grabs the recommended chips. "Gracias." She blinks at Eve a few times. "Remembering...?" She follows the other girl's eyes down at her shirt. "Oh! My name. It's a reference to the number 'Fame'. From the musical 'Fame.'" Then, smiling brightly. "Alice. Is my name." "De nada. We have salt and vinegar, too. If you want both, I'm totally not gonna tell." She winks at the girl and calls out,"Abuela! Necessita cafe. The good stuff!" The older woman at the hot bar looks up from her work and waves, then bustles about filling a cup of coffee. "Alice. Love it. I'd introduce myself, but I'm wearing a nametag." A pause. "Not familiar with musicals. I'll have to give it a lookup. Haven't seen you in before. Unless you're usually here during the day. Welcome." "Tempting, but I'm gonna stick to /one/ bag of chips tonight." Alice considers this for a moment. "/Before/ dinner, anyway. And no, I'm just passing through and got the munchies." She brings her snacks and soda to the counter. "There's a movie. It's pretty great, if you like watching cute boys and girls singing and dancing." The older woman, presumably her grandmother, hustles over to offer a small cup of coffee to her granddaughter (with a sort of sideways look). She takes the coffee and offers it to Alice. "Gratis. We just throw it out around midnight anyway. It's not great, this late, but free is free." Right. As for the question of cute boys and girls. "I do enjoy an athletic guy, I'll admit. Girls is... My parents are dealing with enough right now." She looks over her shoulder at the retreating abuelita. "Is it on Netflix?" "Oh!" Alice's smile grows even brighter as she accepts the coffee. "Gracias, I really appreciate it, especially on a chilly, rainy night." She pulls a black vinyl wallet with gold contrast stitching and pays for her 'food' and drink. "Way I see it, parents signed up to deal with a whole lot when they decided to raise us, you know? I know, it isn't always that simple, but my parents, at least, would rather know what's up in my world, even if it's not super comfortable for them, than be left out of it." She shrugs. "The 2009 remake is on Netflix, but I dunno about the original one from the 1980s." She takes a careful sip of the coffee. "Ah, that's nice. {Thank you again, and have a good night!}" Her Spanish is not fluent, but has definite Cuban influences. "See you around, Eve!" She pauses as she turns to leave, plucking her umbrella from the bucket. "Remember my name."