ArchivedLogs:Mystery Noodles

Mystery Noodles
Dramatis Personae Micah, Melinda	1 June 2013 Humanfriends catch up!
Location <NYC> Chinese Grocery - Lower East Side
Just outside of Chinatown, there is a Chinese grocery where one can get all of their Chinese cooking needs. The stuff here is cheap, yes, but it is all well known labels with translations provided, as opposed to the really authentic shops where those who cannot read Chinese characters would likely fail to understand what they are buying. The linoleum is white and gray, but has taken on a yellowish tinge, despite the scent of chlorine and frozen fish hanging around in some of the refrigerated food aisle. All manner of brightly colored packages of pre-made noodles draw the largest crowds, as well as the bulk prices on tofu and squid. It has been hot and sunny today! Micah made it first (although he has only just seated himself) to the designated little corner of the shop where there are a handful of tables against a wall, where patrons can sit and enjoy food from a limited menu of items that are prepared on premises. He is wearing a pair of rainbow-patched, faded jeans and his olive green shirt depicting a Darwin-inspired sketch of finches, but with fanciful technological upgrades featured instead of different types of beaks. A green-brown newsboy cap that was necessary to keep the brilliant sun of the day out of his eyes is now in his hand, having just been doffed upon sitting down. Melinda enters wearing a yellow spaghetti strap tank top and a blue cotton skirt with flip flops on her feet. She breathes an air of relief when she steps inside the moderately air conditioned building, her damp hair absorbing all the coolness the old technology in this building has to offer. She seems a little wilted, but she's slowly coming back to life. She moves toward the seating area and gives a little wave to Micah when she spots him. Soon, she's pulling her small purse strap off her shoulder and settling it on the back of her chair as she settles down in the plastic embrace. "Micah, Dear. It feels like it's been forever. How are you?" Micah beams a welcoming smile as Mel enters his field of vision, an enthusiastic wave adding to the greeting. “Hey, Mel! I know... Everythin' just kept /happenin'/, and then when I got back I had two weeks worth of workin' boiled down into one an' yeesh. Sorry I missed you for that drink.” His smile wilts slightly, into a more sheepish grin. “I feel like no matter what I do I'm neglectin' /somethin'/ lately.” He plops the hat down on the table. “I peeked over at the food on the way in. They have a chicken thing, a seafood thing, a veggie thing, and mystery noodles. I'm thinkin' mystery noodles.” Yep, he's an adventurous one. “How've you been?” "I had the mystery noodles once. I still can't tell you what they had in them, but they were tasty. I end up leaning more vegetarian in the summer - and we seem to have found some summer suddenly." Melinda grins as she leans against the table and studies the other man's face. "Oh, don't worry about the drinking thing. You can still take me out. My dance card tends to be free, except for when I spend time at the shelter." Her fingers dig through the hair at the base of her skull where her pony tail is tied together. "I can tell you that I did find someone else to drink with and ... wow. That was interesting. Oh! And I found a bakery you have to try. It's delicious. Good coffee too." Coming from Melinda, that's a compliment. "I'll take weird-but-tasty. There's something appealing about not knowin' exactly all the ingredients in a thing. That's part of the appeal of baked goods, since I know nothin' about baking. It is mysterious food chemistry... Yeah, sudden summer for /sure/. S'like somebody woke the sun up after it overslept all spring." He grins at the offered dance card slots. "Absolutely, then, I still owe you a drink or three. Mmm...I love bakeries! Just hangin' around in 'em is glorious. An', well, eatin', of course. Whereabouts?" Micah is popping back up on his feet, even as he asks questions. "You look like y'been runnin' ragged. I can grab bowls for both of us pretty easy. You want the veggies an' rice one?" "Yes, please, veggies and rice." Melinda smiles up at him gratefully and shrugs a little. "Oh, and a large water. I think I'm just run down by the heat. I don't do too wonderfully with it. It just makes me sleepy as hell and lethargic and kills my appetite. You'll find me a boring person on summer days, but once I cool down, the nights are when I'm awake again." She reaches up and actually removes her hair tie, letting the long lengths of hair spread out on her shoulders to dry, waiting for Micah to get back before chatting more. Mel's order is answered with a playful sort of half-bow before Micah is running off to fetch things. It takes only one quick trip each for the pair of waters and utensils, and then the pair of bowls. “I assumed chopsticks, but they got some plastic forks if y'need those, too,” he reports as he plunks back into his chair. “Sorry I interrupted. You were talkin' about a new bakery?” "Oh, Micah. You didn't interrupt anything. The pursuit of food is a noble cause and should be pursued." Melinda takes the cheap wooden chopsticks and removes the paper sleeve before breaking them in two. She pulls the bowl of veggies and rice closer and inhales deeply. "MMmm. Yes. The bakery is in TriBeCa. Happy Cakes Bakery. The owner is a nice woman from Hawaii named Hanna looking to cheer the incredible gray monster of New York City with colorful cakes. I think you'd like it. Tasty cakes, good prices, excellent coffee, and well, your /boyfriend/ might like a break from the oven every once in a while." Ha! She said the 'B' word. She waits on Micah's reaction. “Yes, food was /callin'/. I forgot about lunch again.” Micah has his chopsticks out, separated, and shoved into his noodles in record speed. Nomnomnom mystery foods! “Oh, hey, yeah! I dragged Jax up there 'cause one of my physios had been /ravin'/ about the vegan brownies she had gotten up there. They had three different vegan things and this blueberry coffee, oh/gosh/, it was the /best/ thing. Hard to tell how much Jax liked anything.” Apparently the boyfriend thing isn't going to make him miss a beat in his chattering. “I was tryin' to cheer him up, but that was while the twins were still missin' an'... Also, Murphy showed up an' he'll rain on just about any parade. Hanna is a sweetheart, though! I ran into her in the park one time, too.” Melinda makes a small noise of mild upset and agreement with Micah when Murphy is brought up. She doesn't say much on the topic though. "Speaking of the twins, how did your trip go? I didn't get to ask Shane much about it, on account of needing him to actually work at work and... well, all other free time was taken up with hugging him." She starts poking her chopsticks into her bowl and stirring, trying to get an even mix of all of the tasty ingredients. "You met the parents." She grins. “They seem to be gettin' back into the swing of what qualifies as normal for 'em,” Micah says of the twins. “The kids mostly kept off to themselves, seemed like, 'ceptin' for meals an' a few group get-togethers. I think it was helpful for 'em to have some of their friends along. That was a good plan on Jax's part. Country's good for bein' able to hole up an' pretend the rest of the world don't exist for a minute.” He pauses to shovel noodles into his face, fortunately taking time out for chewing and swallowing before he continues. “Oh, yeah, that happened.” A faint pink blush seeps onto his cheeks. “They...really ain't over the whole gay thing yet. I think his momma liked me well enough otherwise. His pops is...I don't even know. Reminds me of mine. I think there's a stern Southern man factory somewhere they just /assemble/ 'em out of.” "I can't imagine. Then again, they probably pull young men aside in school and tell them how to be Southern Men. Perhaps you were sick that day. Jax too." Melinda starts chomping on a broccoli and needs a minute to finish, then, "But it's good that it went well and they like you as a person. I mean, they weren't openly hostile, right? That's got to count for something." She then reaches for her water, gulping down a lot. Micah snorts in amusement, almost choking himself on a gulp of water he happened to be in the process of swallowing. He counts it as a success that it doesn't come out of his nose. “Oh, there's no pullin' aside. An' it ain't just a /day/, either. There's a careful series of huntin' trips an' fishin' trips an' football games an' weird indoctrinate-y things that just seem like normal unless you sit'n think about it for a second.” Another mouthful of mystery noodles disappears. “No, weren't nothin' like that. His pops just didn't spend much time in the same room with the two of us, an' his momma seemed exceedingly reassured that we hadn't been together that long, so how serious could it be? Just...denial, y'know? They're nice enough folks, sure. Definitely have had worse experiences by /far/.” "Well, I guess that works, I suppose. It's not like you two live near by where they have to face reality and get over their issues, so blissful ignorance for a few more years to come." Melinda is making decent progress on her bowl, but is less interested in it after the first half. She sits back in her chair and sips water quietly for a while. "How are you doing? Still playing catch up, or are you able to settle down at all?" “Hm...yeah. It prob'ly don't help the denial any that Jax went to high school up here an' then /stayed/ after. Puts the blinders on a little bit easier.” Micah smiles a half smile at this. “I'm alright. Been crazy, but I think I got about caught up by workin' late hours all week an' workin' today, too. Went with Jax to chaperone a dance at the twins' school yesterday. /That/ was interestin'.” No further elaboration comes for the time being, because there are still noodles to be had. "I've been out that way once or twice, but never inside. Knowing some of the students, it seems like it'd be a pretty intense experience. I hope it was enjoyable." Mel chuckles and tucks back into her food. She pulls out a baby carrot and spends some time munching on it. "Well, I'm glad you're caught up." She frowns at the table. "The cafe got along without me the same amount of time, though the paperwork stacked up. Payroll was my chief priority, so I don't think there will be any employee revolts in the future." “Yeah, I been up that way a handful of times for a patient from the...the last rescue, y'know? This was the first time I did more'n just go in an' out of the medical facility.” Micah's chopsticks are chasing down a few stray bits of vegetable clinging to the bottom of the bowl. “Danced with Shane. He really is the sweetest kid. He had about a dozen dates goin' /in/ to the dance, an' I think more by the time he left.” He chuckles, his mouth settling into a fond smile now that he is no longer stuffing it full of food. "Yes, he's a sweetheart and a troublemaker. Don't let him sweet talk you too much." Melinda's smile has nothing but appreciation for the young man in question, despite the warning she doles out. She pushes her bowl aside and works on her water some more. "But from the look on your face, you're probably a lost cause, another casualty to the suaveness of Shane. All, well, there are worse ways to go." She teases and then pulls out her phone. "What do you say we go see a movie? It'd be nice to just sort of relax in a dark room somewhere, right?" “Oh, yeah, I knew he was trouble before I knew he was a sweetie. Since that's what he puts out there... I know, I know, I'm a sucker for just about every rough case out there. Pretty much professionally.” Micah giggles, this time prudently /before/ sipping from his water. “Oh, movie sounds like an excellent plan! We can just wander someplace an' pick from whatever's playin' soon when we get there.” "Sounds great." Melinda gets to her feet and grabs both their bowls, turning toward the trash. It is only a few steps and when she returns, she snags her bag. "Let's get out of here then."