With dusk long behind them Will and Sasha made their way in the Fairest's truck. A quick check of yelp found them a diner still open, and Will seemed a little excited as he gave directions.
What they arrived at was a throwback to the America Will's generation usually only read about. The bright neon sign of Mel's Drive In illuminated the whole street as they rounded a corner.
"Have you ever been to a diner like this?" The Enchanter looked over to Sasha as they parked. "I don't think I've seen that much neon outside a photograph in years."
Eyes scanned the building as he climbed out of the car. The anachronistic building was as new and intriguing to Will as the culinary possibilities.
The Fairest was thankful for cell phones. To bad those suckers didn’t work in the Hedge. Following Will’s instructions, she saw the place before they pulled up. The bright and eye catching neon was something she hadn’t really seen, or at least remembered seeing.
As she parked the car, her violets were wide with awe. “Um…” Shaking her head, but now blinking from the brightness. “No, uh, well not that I remember. It’s so… colorful and, just, wow.”
L’aire unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of the truck. She quickly walked near him and whispered. “Hey, do they have servers on skates? I’ve heard about it or I’ve seen them in old movies.” The Fairest really could hardly stop looking around. Completely tickled by the outer ambiance, she was excited to see what the inside looked like.
Will continued to smile as they talked, and a bit more as Sasha once again got close.
"Maybe?" He whispered back as he slowly made his way towards the door. He knew the fads from old stories, but seeing Yesterday brought into Today was part of why the Time Mage wanted to check this place out. That and it was the only twenty four hour place nearby with good reviews, but no one said practicality couldn't drive the Enchanter's curiosity!
As they entered the diner, it didn't disappoint. Neon and a dozen balloons brought color inside, while pictures along the wall in both color and black and white told the history of the building in dozens of captured memories. Memories Emrys didn't know, but intrigued him enough to glance around. The many and clear references to American Graffiti were apparently going over his head.
"So do you watch a lot of old movies?" Shhh, don't let the staff know your talking about them, or checking out their footwear. No skates as the woman approached to take them to their seats, but it looked like the place had plenty other stuff going on.
When the Fairest crept in behind Will, she beamed with delight. It was very retro and very eye catching. “Wow.” Softly murmuring, captivated by the nostalgia.
“This is pretty cool.” Trying to see if any staff were on skates. Maybe she’d work here part time if necessary, roller waitresses seemed to look like fun. “If they had skating servers, maybe I could do a part time thing.” She giggled with a quick wink to the shy guy.
L’aire easily picked out any Elvis pictures or memorabilia within her range of sight. “Oh, I would say I’ve watched plenty. Well, not excessive. But, I’m sort of um… picky about the ones I watch.”
“How about you?” Her eyes slightly saddened ever so slightly when the hostess arrived with no skates. Slowly, the Dancer shrugged to Will.
"Table for two please." He beamed at the waitress as she procured the menus and lead them to a table. His eyes followed the Dancer's as he glanced around, taking everything in. When Sasha mentions part time work the Enchanter perked up, returning his attention to her as he took a seat.
"That's right!" He said as he accepted his menu. "Didn't you say you work at a dance studio at the Halloween party?"
The waitress offers her introductions as Will skims the menu for a drink. "Iced Tea please."
Will couldn't help but chuckle softly at Sasha's interest in old movies. He wasn't bragging about living in a movie theater until he got his own theater room, but he had more then a few opportunities to catch a movie or ten.
"I like some the classics. I watched Jaws and Nightmare on Elm Street when I was a kid. Thanks to my sisters I've also seen some of the less horrific movies like the Sound of Music and Bringing Up Baby." He continued to smile, remembering seeing the last and asking his mom why they couldn't have a 'tame' leopard of their own.
Chuckling, L’aire put her head down and a finger slipped her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I did say that.” As she sat across from him looking up at the server she smiled. “Um, some sort of delicious sugary flavored coffee or cappuccino, please? If you don’t have that, just plain with cream and sugar, please.” Smiling appreciatively to the employee.
It didn’t go without notice that Will was courteous. Something many seemed to forget quickly.
“But, yeah I teach and perform.” Her menu opened and she carefully put it flat on the table in front of her. Her brow was curious, and L’aire leaned into the table. “Did you say you have or haven’t been here before?”
The Fairest felt a little disconnected from what Will called classic to what she was raised on. “Oh, Jaws and Nightmare on the street? I haven’t seen those. Sound of Music though, a favorite.”
L’aire chuckled and looked up at the pictures, spotting one of Elvis. “I thought you meant black and whites. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers sort of thing. Or Elvis with ‘Clam Bake’, ‘Live a Little, Love a Little’, or ‘Blue Hawaii’.”
"And perform?" Will perked up a little as a missed part of the Reverence conversation came up. "Sounds interesting."
"Have not." He confirmed as he returned his attention to the menu. "It looked cool and it was open twenty four hours so we can talk as long as we like."
He shrugged, continuing to smile and beam at the dancer. His eyebrows bounced up momentarily when she said she hadn't seen Jaws or a Freddie Krueger film, but it quickly dawned on him that suspenseful might not be everyone's favorite mood.
Will looked up to the Elvis picture when Sasha did, but quickly returned his attention to her. "I've seen a few Elvis films, but I don't remember them very well. I was pretty young at the time. I do remember Gilligan's Island and I Dream of Jeanie though. That was around the same time right?"
Talking herself up wasn’t exactly how the Fairest liked to present herself. “Uh, well.” She stammered a little. “Yes. A bit. I don’t like to do it often so as not to discourage students of any age.” She wondered if that sounded worse. “I mean, uh well.” Looking down at the glass of water in front of her. “I think you know what I mean.” L’aire could only hope.
Looking back up to Will, a far away memory surfaced to her violet eyes. “Hmm, I think so? I watched the movies with my mom. Danced in the living room with her to some of them.” The warm memory washed over her mother was near and giving her a side hug.
But L’aire was very curious of his interests. “So, why do you watch those movies? Or, um, what do you like about them? I don’t know if I could watch them alone.” Chuckling, she blushed slightly.
"I know what you mean." Will said as he looked back up from the menu. "You're there to teach not overshadow right?"
The Enchanter had actually thought about a career in academia before his Awakening. Shaping minds, empowering students, it was a great plan until he discovered the Narks and their influence. It was a soured dream, one that kept him out of his field since he became a mage, but it did give him some time to ponder the point of teaching professionally.
Mention of dancing in the living room banished the disappointment of his nonexistent teaching career, and as Sasha asked about his interest in horror movies he couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I guess I just like the abnormal. My sisters showed me those horror movies when I was a kid. They were terrifying, like horror movies should be, but they were also kind of cool when I got over the abject terror. It was different, and new, and something I otherwise never would have thought about. I like that. I think the strange and abnormal are way more interesting to talk about, and maybe help us define that overrated thing called normality."
Relieved she had no need to elaborate further, L’aire nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, that’s exactly it.” She wondered if Will had the same issues conveying himself. Now wasn’t the time to ask, and maybe it would eventually surface if that was the case.
As he spoke of abnormal and horror, the Fairest was curious if he’d actually experienced any of these things outside of a movie. Would he enjoy them as much? L’aire didn’t have her own horrifying experience in the Hedge, but she was witness to some of the cruelty others experienced.
“Defining normal with abnormality…” L’aire looked at the menu again for a moment. “I guess you can’t have one without the other, right?”
“So if you were to show someone a horror movie for the first time, what would you pick?” The Dancer looked to Will with sparkling curious violets.
Placing her order of a flavored coffee and a piece of French silk pie, L’aire gave the server back the menu.
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