puckandpie | lunch with lee [dated to 12/15]

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lunch with lee [dated to 12/15]

Though I haven't seen Lee since his first day, we've been exchanging text messages here and there fairly regularly for awhile. It started out at first just with questions, but it quickly turned into friendly, easy conversation. I still don't know him very well, but I know he's nice and he seems to be adjusting pretty well.

When he asks to meet up for lunch, I don't even have to think about it. I give him the address of the little sandwich shop that lies halfway between my apartment and adjust my morning schedule so I can make it to the rink and back with plenty of time to shower and change first.

Or it would've been had I not gotten a little carried away in trying to dream up a new routine that I'll absolutely never perform for anyone.

"Goodness, I'm so sorry I'm late," I tell him, half running the last half block when I spot him waiting just outside the door. It's not too cold out today, at least. "You haven't been waiting too long, have you? Did you get my text?"

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Lee nods at what Eric is saying, in complete agreement. It seems a little warm in this city, despite the ocean on its border. Even where Lee lives, nearly the beach, the breeze isn't very cold today.

He walks through the door Eric holds open for him, then waits for him to join him inside, smiling as Eric does, the expression more than contagious on Eric's face. "It's good to see you too," he replies brightly.

"By the way, this lunch is on me," he adds, giving Eric a bit of a playfully stern look that tells him not to argue. "After all the help you've given me, I wanted to give you something in return."

"Oh, goodness, you don't have to do that!" I insist, sheer surprise making me completely ignore sweetly stern look he's giving me, that one that says I've lost this argument before it's even begun. "Offering help and answering questions is the very least I could for anyone new here. I know firsthand how overwhelming it can and the natives here are usually completely unhelpful. I'm just so glad I ran into that day."

My lips twitch into a slight smile then too and I shrug as he head closer to the register. "I do wish I'd had an extra coat on me that day, though. But you've gotten yourself some clothes by now, haven't you? Have you met anyone interesting?"

By 'interesting' I mean magical, beautiful, and/or fictional, but I keep that much to myself.

"I have, yes," Lee assures Eric, tugging the lapels of his brand new jacket as punctuation. "I went shopping the next day and got some clothes, some food, and lots of wine," he tells Eric with a laugh.

Looking up, he peruses the menu board, looking at his options. Truthfully Lee hasn't met too many people here yet, though a couple of them are interesting. The most fascinating person is a woman named Susan who is, as far as he understands it, essentially Death. He's not sure how to explain her to Eric, and he doesn't really want to tell Eric why Death was chatting with him in a bar. Eric will probably have to find out about Lee's cancer eventually, but right now he doesn't want to bring the mood down.

There's also Connor, who seems like a regular guy for the most part, but Lee doesn't know very much about him. They hadn't really talked very much when they'd been together.

"I've been to all the bars in town," he tells Eric. "I own a bar in New Orleans," he adds when Eric's eyes go a little wide. "I swear, I'm not an alcoholic. I just like talking to bar owners. I'm actually reworking the wine lists at most of the places here now, helping them choose selections that fit their clientele better."

"Oh! Goodness, well, isn't that fancy?" I say with a laugh, then inwardly cringe when I realize how much I sound like my mama. That can't be normal.

I quickly rush ahead before he can make a comment, ignoring the flush of heat I can feel across my cheeks. "Honestly, that sounds amazing! Oh, one second."

At the register, I quickly give my order of a potato sandwich and vegetable soup and then step aside for Lee to order his own, though my mouth keeps right on talking before he can even get a word in. "I don't know the first thing about wine. I mean, I've only recently started drinking anything alcoholic much at all. I only did a few times back home, but I work in a bar now so sometimes I make myself a drink. Wine, though. Wow. Someday I may have to bribe you into giving me a proper lesson. Isn't there a whole way to go about smelling and tasting?"

Lee's actually laughing by the time Eric stops speaking, mostly because it's so adorable the way he barrels through conversations like an excited puppy. It's so refreshing to see a kid his age that's so excited about things and seemingly just happy to be alive. Most teenagers are brooding assholes until they learn to get over themselves. Lee knows he definitely was.

"First of all, yes, there's a whole way about it," he tells Eric, still grinning. "And secondly I would love to teach you about it. It's actually one of my Things," he says, giving Eric a look to show he's serious about it, though he's still smiling around his eyes.

"I learned all about wine from my uncle, my mother's brother," he explains as they walk to a table and put their plastic order number down as they sit. "My grandfather was born in France, and he was very interested in wine. So it's a bit of a family tradition."

I follow Lee to a nearby table, tugging off my coat and hanging it over the back of the chair before I sit across from him, scooting forward so I can give him my full attention, hands folded neatly on top of the table.

"Oh wow, so you really were raised in it. No wonder you have a bar back home! Goodness, you must miss it."

I wince a little once the words are out; most people don't really want to think about the life they're missing back home while they're stuck here. I know I don't. It's a topic I generally try to avoid, especially lately. "You know, a lot of people here think a version of us stays back home when we show up here. So, uh. I bet your bar is still in good hands, at least. Have you thought about opening one here maybe? I should introduce you to Derek, actually! He's my boss and the owner of Semele's. He could probably give you tips or insight into business here in Darrow if you think you might need it. He's really nice."

Lee smiles, knowing that Eric means well, but also that it doesn't really matter if he's here and back in Minnesota at the same time. His bar is well taken care of, true, but that's because he's had a plan in place for it for the last couple of years, just in case. If he isn't actually back there, the legal portions of his will that leave the bar to the general manager are probably already in the process of being executed.

"Well, this town could use a good wine bar," Lee replies, and it would be a great idea if Lee didn't know he won't be around long enough to see something like that through.

"I don't think I've talked to Derek, now that you mention it," he goes on, changing the subject minutely. "Maybe you can introduce me to him," he suggests. "If nothing else I can talk to him about his wine list," he adds with a grin.

"I can definitely introduce you to him," I say with a quick nod. "Or you can stop by Semele's any time and if I'm not there just let him know I sent you." Something about that statement makes me sound a little more important than I actually am, but I don't correct myself. "I'm honestly not even sure what his wine list there even entails. I usually just grab a beer from the tap or make myself a rum and coke. But Derek's always looking for ways to improve the bar and branch out. It wasn't his to begin with, just landed in his lap and he's really kept it thriving."

I sit up a little when a girl swings by then with our food, placing a plate in front of each of us as well as my bowl of soup. "Oh goodness, would you like me to get you something to drink?" I ask, picking up my empty glass as well as his as I stand up. "It looks like they have water, tea, and coke here."

"Everyone should have a wine list," Lee tells Eric with a smile. "If you're there when I come by, I'll teach you some things about wine," he says. "Good wine doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to have the right character."

He stops then as the girl comes and brings their food, smiling and thanking her. "Oh, thank you," he says to Eric. "I'll just have water."

With a quick nod, I hop away to get our drinks, a water for Lee and a tea for myself. It's no sweet tea, but it's not bad, and when I drop down into the chair across from Lee, I'm still smiling. My soup smells amazing and I'm delighted to find that it tastes just as good even if the first sip nearly burns my tongue off.

"The only thing I know about wine is that some get better with age and makes a great sauce if done correctly. Would you say that's your great passion? Wine?"

Lee thanks Eric when he brings his water, then takes a bite of his veggie wrap, happy to find that the lettuce is crisp and the sauce is flavorful. He takes a sip of his water.

"Wine is definitely my passion," Lee replies with a smile. "And you're right about both of those things. Though not all wine tastes better when it's aged, and it has to be stored in the right conditions. But there's also no reason to spend hundreds of dollars to get good wine," he adds, taking another bite of his wrap.

"If you're looking for good cooking wines, I could give you a couple of ideas," he says, loving when he gets the opportunity to share his vast wine knowledge with others. "What kinds of things do you like to use it in, typically?"

Lee starts digging into his lunch and I grin as he speaks, nodding along.

"Oh, I've only ever made a couple cream sauces before. And once I tried to make a blueberry cherry pie with red wine and it turned out terribly. I'm really not as good with cooking as I am with baking. Derek is a great cook, though! Actually," I pause for a second, a smile breaking across my face as I get a sudden idea and lean in closer, "I'm still trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas. Do you think you could help me pick out some good cooking wines I could get him? I mean, I'm sure he could afford to buy some himself, but I'm not sure if he's ever taken the time. And I have a feeling he doesn't have your expertise."

Lee feels a smile widening on his face as Eric asks him for his help. For one, he loves being able to give advice on wine, because it's something he really knows about and it makes him feel useful. Secondly, though, he's starting to be able to see that there's at least a crush going on here, between Eric and Derek. Lee's never had a crush on the boss (mostly because his boss for a long time was his uncle), but he can certainly understand the draw.

"I would be honored to help," he replies. He won't tease Eric about his crush. Crushes are good and fun and generally harmless, there's no reason to give someone a hard time for having one.

"Is there a reasonable liquor store in town?" Lee asks. "Or would we need to order online? I'm sure we can come up with something either way, I'm just curious how big a selection I have to work with."

"Oh, goodness, you know, I'm not really sure!" I tell him, feeling a little bit embarrassed, but not terribly so. Working at a bar, it's not like I really ever need to go looking for alcohol so I haven't really gone searching. I can just picture Neil rolling his eyes at me right now, but Lee's still smiling kindly.

Not for the first time, I'm reminded how incredibly good-looking everyone seems to be in this city.

"Derek stocks the bar, obviously, so I could ask him. Or Neil. At least to get a start. Or I could poke around online and see what I can find. There isn't much in this place I haven't been able to find, I've noticed so I bet there's something. Do you really know the best ones just off the top of your head?"

Lee smiles, completely unable to get over how adorable this kid is, excited for everything. He takes a bite of his veggie wrap as he listens to Eric talk, nodding at the list of people he knows that he can ask about getting ahold of the wine he'll need. He swallows and takes a sip of his water when Eric finishes speaking.

"I know a few off the top of my head, yeah," Lee replies, smiling at Eric again. "I can give you a good red and good white that are really versatile, if you want, just to start. If he likes those, we can expand from there. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect!" I reply, completely incapable of keeping back my smile now. "Can we make it like a real wine-tasting trip, though? I want to learn all the tricks, all the swishing and sniffing and spitting. Or is the spitting thing a myth? I've always heard people do it so they can drink more without getting drunk which, honestly, sounds very indulgent and Roman to me and that's oddly appealing."

I finally stop talking long enough to take a bite of my potato salad sandwich and remember my manners long enough to not speak while I chew.

Lee laughs, loving Eric's enthusiasm. "Spitting is definitely a real thing," he tells Eric, still grinning. "And it's exactly for that reason. Usually at a wine tasting there are dozens of wines represented. If you drank them all, even just a swallow, it would probably end very badly. Especially since you're mixing all sorts of chemical compositions and alcohol contents."

Lee takes a sip of his water, mulling an idea over before he speaks again. "What if I buy a few wines I think might be good for Derek, and you come to my place and taste them. I can show you the whole routine, how to smell it and taste it and, yes, spit it out," he says with a wide smile. "Then we can get new bottles of the ones you life to give as gifts. What do you think?"

"Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing."

I only realize how loud I've gotten when a woman at the next table over glances in my direction and I immediately hunker forward, throwing Lee a sheepish smile before continuing. "I can bring over a cheese platter too, maybe. Or would that mess everything up as far as the tasting? We could eat the cheese afterward! Or not at all. Do you like cheese?"

Lee grins, and while Eric drops his eyes in embarrassment, Lee sees the smile on the woman's face as well. Eric might be excitable and a little vociferous about it, everyone can see how adorable it is.

"Eating cheese with it won't cause any problems at all," Lee assures him. "In fact, I think you should bring an apple tart too, if you're up to making one. Cheese, wine, and apples are really good together," he suggests, hoping giving Eric some baking to do will make him feel like he can contribute, as he seems very interested in doing so.

"Oh my goodness, am I up to making an apple tart?" I say, laughing and shaking my head. "I will absolutely make a tart and bring cheese! Just text me what you want before I come over."

It's taking all my willpower not to bounce right out of my seat in excitement. I force myself to take a breath and calm down though and take anther taste of my soup. "Gosh. Anyway. Wine dates aside, is everything going well for you here? Forgive me for saying so, but you seem like you've adjusted pretty well so far."

"Well, if you're not, that's just fine," Lee replies. He's not trying to stress his friend out, only trying to give him an opportunity to contribute. "You can bring whatever you want. Or nothing at all. Either way, I'll have your wine on hand and ready for tasting."

He smiles at Eric across the table from him, how kind and considerate he is, and lit up with excitement, as always. "I'm doing okay," he replies. "I'm good at moving around, so this doesn't bother me too much." It doesn't hurt that he's met some good people here, Eric definitely included. "This isn't a bad city, really. There are bars and I can run, a lot of nice people. I could do much worse."

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lunch with lee [dated to 12/15]

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