“Good!” From a pocket inside her suit, Summer pulled a rather bent card, holding it out to Steve. “Here’s my number. Don’t wait too long, okay? I’ve got to head off now, normal life to get back to. You know how it goes.”
“Mhmm. I know. When do you expect to be home? I don’t like intruding in on busy times, and voice mail makes me feel weird. I never know what to say.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“It’s really hard to say,” Summer sighed. “My schedule is /so/ irregular. I guess the best time to catch me would be late evening.”
“I know the feeling…” Steve gave a sad smile and nodded. “I can do that. So I’ll talk to you then, yeah?”
“Of course!” Summer gave Steve a big smile, hoping to coax him back into feeling good before she took off. “Come on, don’t make me leave with that kind of look on your face.”
“Good!” From a pocket inside her suit, Summer pulled a rather bent card, holding it out to Steve. “Here’s my number. Don’t wait too long, okay? I’ve got to head off now, normal life to get back to. You know how it goes.”
“Mhmm. I know. When do you expect to be home? I don’t like intruding in on busy times, and voice mail makes me feel weird. I never know what to say.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“It’s really hard to say,” Summer sighed. “My schedule is /so/ irregular. I guess the best time to catch me would be late evening.”
“Hummm.” Summer drummed the fingers of her empty hand on the table. “I could do some research and try to find out what’s been built since, err,” she searched for a polite phrase, “the end of the war. That would be all new. I’m sure everything’s changed, so it might be worth it just to wander around and look at whatever catches our fancy.” She twisted her face up into a couple of weird thinking poses before she went on, “Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Rockefeller Centre, the Metro Art Museum … any of those sound good?”
“Hmm… They all sound absolutely lovely. We could start with the zoo, I guess. I haven’t been to one in so long. And face it, there’s something for everyone there,” he commented. It was true. Zoos were great for anyone; whether you wanted to see shows, just watch the animals be lazy, visit reptile houses and/or aquariums, or just eat the food, zoos were good.
“Then that’s settled!” She beamed at him. “Shall I just wait for you to call? Phones do still work pretty much the same way,” Summer teased, before deliberately stuffing the last of her danish in her mouth and making a chipmunk face. “Fair warning, though, my sanity is questionable at the best of times.”
“I know how phones work… Well, most of them.” Steve rolled his eyes, and smiled at how cute she looked when her cheeks were puffed like that. “Sounds like a plan, Alvin,” he teased. “It’s fine. I’m not picky about the sanity of my friends.”
“Good!” From a pocket inside her suit, Summer pulled a rather bent card, holding it out to Steve. “Here’s my number. Don’t wait too long, okay? I’ve got to head off now, normal life to get back to. You know how it goes.”
“Hummm.” Summer drummed the fingers of her empty hand on the table. “I could do some research and try to find out what’s been built since, err,” she searched for a polite phrase, “the end of the war. That would be all new. I’m sure everything’s changed, so it might be worth it just to wander around and look at whatever catches our fancy.” She twisted her face up into a couple of weird thinking poses before she went on, “Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Rockefeller Centre, the Metro Art Museum … any of those sound good?”
“Hmm… They all sound absolutely lovely. We could start with the zoo, I guess. I haven’t been to one in so long. And face it, there’s something for everyone there,” he commented. It was true. Zoos were great for anyone; whether you wanted to see shows, just watch the animals be lazy, visit reptile houses and/or aquariums, or just eat the food, zoos were good.
“Then that’s settled!” She beamed at him. “Shall I just wait for you to call? Phones do still work pretty much the same way,” Summer teased, before deliberately stuffing the last of her danish in her mouth and making a chipmunk face. “Fair warning, though, my sanity is questionable at the best of times.”
“Has anybody offered to, I don’t know, show you around? Or did they just sort of leave you to your own devices?” Sticking her finger into the cream cheese, she swirled it around and licked it off like a little child. “I’d really like to be able to spend some time with you.”
“Pretty much the latter, yeah. I guess no one likes hanging out with an ‘old man’.” he chuckled, amused by his little joke, and further amused by Summer’s actions. “I’d like that.”
Popping straight up in her chair, she exclaimed, “You are not an old man!” Her eyes flared green with indignation. “It’s not your fault you happen to be a tourist in your own city right now. This is going to change. What do you want to see first?” Summer bit off a piece of cheese danish as if it was one of the people who were neglecting Steve and chewed vengefully.
“Well, I don’t know where to start…” he rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think of something… unsuccessfully. “What would you recommend?” Steve asked, glad to have a friend he could do stuff, proper non-saving-the-world stuff.
“Hummm.” Summer drummed the fingers of her empty hand on the table. “I could do some research and try to find out what’s been built since, err,” she searched for a polite phrase, “the end of the war. That would be all new. I’m sure everything’s changed, so it might be worth it just to wander around and look at whatever catches our fancy.” She twisted her face up into a couple of weird thinking poses before she went on, “Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Rockefeller Centre, the Metro Art Museum … any of those sound good?”
“Has anybody offered to, I don’t know, show you around? Or did they just sort of leave you to your own devices?” Sticking her finger into the cream cheese, she swirled it around and licked it off like a little child. “I’d really like to be able to spend some time with you.”
“Pretty much the latter, yeah. I guess no one likes hanging out with an ‘old man’.” he chuckled, amused by his little joke, and further amused by Summer’s actions. “I’d like that.”
Popping straight up in her chair, she exclaimed, “You are not an old man!” Her eyes flared green with indignation. “It’s not your fault you happen to be a tourist in your own city right now. This is going to change. What do you want to see first?” Summer bit off a piece of cheese danish as if it was one of the people who were neglecting Steve and chewed vengefully.
“Key word there is ‘let’, hon. You can take me out to dinner one day if it makes you feel better.” Summer dropped into the empty chair with boneless ease, peeling the cap off the apple juice. “Is it okay to ask how you’re adjusting to our time? I think you’re the closest thing to a real time traveller I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe I will.” Steve smiled and took a small bite out of his muffin, taking his time so as to enjoy it longer. “It’s totally fine.” he added after swallowing, “I get asked that a lot, and I can understand why. Well, it sure is different, but overall I’m slowly settling in. Don’t tell anyone though, but I had to read an instruction manual on how to use the Internet…”
She threw her head back and laughed. “My mother still calls me up to tell her how to use her computer. You are definitely not alone in that. There’s folks physically younger than you that have trouble with it.” Reaching out, Summer patted Steve’s hand. “You don’t have to let me ask all the questions, either.”
“The questions, I don’t mind at all. Really,” he returned the smile, and grinned at the sudden hand-patting which amused him for some reason.
“Has anybody offered to, I don’t know, show you around? Or did they just sort of leave you to your own devices?” Sticking her finger into the cream cheese, she swirled it around and licked it off like a little child. “I’d really like to be able to spend some time with you.”
“Key word there is ‘let’, hon. You can take me out to dinner one day if it makes you feel better.” Summer dropped into the empty chair with boneless ease, peeling the cap off the apple juice. “Is it okay to ask how you’re adjusting to our time? I think you’re the closest thing to a real time traveller I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe I will.” Steve smiled and took a small bite out of his muffin, taking his time so as to enjoy it longer. “It’s totally fine.” he added after swallowing, “I get asked that a lot, and I can understand why. Well, it sure is different, but overall I’m slowly settling in. Don’t tell anyone though, but I had to read an instruction manual on how to use the Internet…”
She threw her head back and laughed. “My mother still calls me up to tell her how to use her computer. You are definitely not alone in that. There’s folks physically younger than you that have trouble with it.” Reaching out, Summer patted Steve’s hand. “You don’t have to let me ask all the questions, either.”
“I need sugar. Be right back.” She shot off, ducking around a couple other people and pressing up against the counter. “Coffee, banana nut muffin, apple juice, and … ummm … cream cheese danish.” A minute or so later, she trotted back to the table, hands full of goodies.
“You could have let me pay, you know.” He smiled as he took his muffin and beverage, a grateful look on his face, but slightly guilty as well.
“Key word there is ‘let’, hon. You can take me out to dinner one day if it makes you feel better.” Summer dropped into the empty chair with boneless ease, peeling the cap off the apple juice. “Is it okay to ask how you’re adjusting to our time? I think you’re the closest thing to a real time traveller I’ve ever seen.”
“You draw? But that’s awesome! You should definitely do that, then. Even if you aren’t good at it yet, the more you work on it, you’ll get better. Maybe I could see some of your work sometime?” Summer knew she was babbling, just a bit, but Steve was … well, he was basically everything she’d heard of him. Open-hearted, kind, interesting and interested.
“Lead on to that coffee shop, sir! Maybe I’ll show you how to flirt with the waitresses.” She tacked on a wink to the end of that, but truth to tell, she was starting to be more interested in flirting with Steve. How would he react?
“I think that would be absolutely lovely.” Steve replied. He was a bit shy about his work normally, but he just might be willing to make an exception for his energetic new companion.
He began the gradual walk in the direction of the coffee shop. It was a relatively short walk. Soon enough the scent of ground coffee beans and baked goods filled the air. “Well, here we are. The beautiful thing is that it’s seldom crowded.”
“That is always nice,” Summer agreed. She breathed in deep. “God, coffee smells so /good/. I wish it tasted like it smelled.” Glancing around, she spotted a table half in sun, half in shadow and steered Steve over to it. “What do you want to drink?”
“I quite like the taste, actually… But yeah, the smell is like everything good in life.” He followed her lead to the table and had a seat, thinking about what to get. “I’m in a coffee and muffin mood. You?”
“I need sugar. Be right back.” She shot off, ducking around a couple other people and pressing up against the counter. “Coffee, banana nut muffin, apple juice, and … ummm … cream cheese danish.” A minute or so later, she trotted back to the table, hands full of goodies.