Gabriel Santorini (santorini_spell) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2021-02-08 07:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | cj johnson, gabe santorini |
Burgers, beers and lemonade
Who: CJ/Gabe
What: First meeting
When: Present
Where: Cafe bar, le Breeze
Ratings G
It had been a bit of a crazy week, and Gabe was looking forward to being just able to relax and enjoy a beer and a meal before heading to bed. Brianna had told him that Ro had been creating some new desserts and he was looking forward to trying those. He came downstairs and headed into the cafe bar, leaning against it and ordering one of the new release brews they had lined up in the fridge.
“It’s a bit sharper than the one you usually drink,” Brett told him, removing the top from the beer and placing it on a coaster in front of the sorcerer.
“Good, I need something to get rid of the dust of the road,” Gabe laughed, picking up the beer and running his eyes over the label before taking a mouthful. It was indeed sharper, but refreshing too, feedback he passed on to Brett. “And I’ll have a Works Burger,” he added before picking up his beer and taking another swig.
CJ had found his way back to le Breeze after the delicious meal there with Radek, although this time he was at the cafe and bar section and not the restaurant, he didn’t feel like a meal as large as the Beef Wellington but instead just a burger or something and some fries would be plenty for the night.
He was standing a metre or so down the bar with the menu still lying in front of him, having decided on what he was going to eat and wasn’t really paying attention to anyone else until the guy behind the bar came up to him asking “What’ll it be?”
“Southern Chicken Burger, fries and a lemonade please.” He replied.
Gabe looked to his left and saw the other man standing there, hearing him order the chicken burger. “Do you like guacamole? They have a killer one here, that goes really well with that,” he offered.
Brett looked at Gabe and grinned then looked back at CJ. “He should know, he’s had enough of them!”
CJ turned to the man asking him the question and smiled. “Love it, though nothing beats a nice ripe avocado on hot toast.” He used to love that in avocado season back in Queensland, especially since they’d buy theirs from a fruit store just out of town who grew their own and not from the supermarkets.
He then turned back to face the bartender. “Add that to the order.”
“Smart man,” Gabe replied, nodding. “Possibly a fresh tomato salsa, bruschetta is possibly in competition with it,” he continued, grinning. Brett left the two of them to go and put in their orders.
“Bruschetta on freshly toasted sourdough,” CJ mimicked the actions of a chef kissing his fingertips as he turned to fully face the man he had been talking to. “There’s nothing better on a hot July night.” And Vegas surely had those in abundance, he’d never complain about the heat back home ever again, although the much lower humidity made it more bearable.
Gabe’s eyebrows rose as he laughed in agreement. “Too true,” he replied, his ears detecting another foreigner from the man’s accent. “I’m Gabe, sort of a regular resident here, but originally from Santorini, Greece.” He held out his hand.
The gears were ticking over in CJ’s head for a moment hearing Santorini and the name Gabe before they clicked into place, this was the gentleman that Brianna and Radek had been talking about when CJ was last here. “Chris, originally from Australia. I believe we’ve got a mutual friend - Dr Jeppersen.”
“Radek?” Gabe said, wiping his mouth after taking a quick pull of his beer. His head angled slightly as he looked at Chris again. “How do you happen to know the good doctor?”
The bartender came back with his lemonade and CJ nodded a thanks. “Met him a number of years ago in some little clinic he was working at, helped me deal with some bad headaches I was getting and we stayed in touch.” He took a sip. “Met him here just this last week and he and Brianna mentioned you were back from…” He tried to think of what it was they had been talking about, “some blessing?”
Gabe angled his head toward one of the empty tables, “want to grab a seat?” he asked. As Chris followed and they sat down he quickly filled in the details about his family’s shipping company. “So it’s a long held tradition, on the 1st January the family gathers for the blessing of the fleet.” He leaned his elbows on the table as he finished. “Needless to say it’s not the whole fleet, just a few select vessels, particularly anything new to the company.”
It felt good to get off his feet and sit down at a table, at least it seemed like he wouldn’t be the strange one dining alone in a corner somewhere. Water he knew, boats and ships he didn’t, not to mention somewhere as exotic as the Greek Islands. “Stupid question, do they still break champagne bottles against them when they first sail, or was that only for the old ocean liners and Hollywood movies?” Might as well learn something new today.
Gabe laughed, nodding as he placed his beer on the table. “Yeah, it really is a tradition,” he confirmed. “There’s a lot of superstition about the sea, and that’s one of them. It’s supposed to be bad luck if the bottle doesn’t break, so they actually score the bottle to make sure it does break.” He grinned then added, “plus you can’t change a ship’s name once she’s been launched, the name is called out as the bottle is swung, so you can see how that ties in.”
He knew about the bad luck associated with changing the name of a vessel, his uncle had that fight with a friend about a runabout he had just purchased. He also knew how unforgiving the ocean was, or really how unforgiving water could really be. “Yeah, there’s two places you don’t want something going wrong, up in the air or on the water. Neither of them are very forgiving even for the smallest of mistakes.” Gravity got you either way. “I grew up by the sea, always stories about people underestimating the ocean, though running aground on sandbars seemed to be the biggest source of accidents.” While CJ loved water he wasn’t that sure about going out into the ocean, especially in a small tinnie!
It was a term Gabe had only heard once before, and he’d asked the deckhand who’d used it, also an Australian, what it meant, and he recalled the exuberant description, and some of the antics he’d used to describe it. Hearing Chris use it made him chuckle. “So you grew up by the sea - did you spend any time on it?” he asked.
CJ had gotten used to the strange looks he'd get when using Australian terms and often had to explain what he was talking about, and that was only in the first year or so. Although he had learnt a lot of American terms he still often found himself slipping in the terms he grew up with without realising it. "In it and on it, swimming and surfing mostly. That's one thing I do miss, getting out there when the swell is just right and there's no one else around." Of course he had tried making waves suitable for surfing but the structure of the dams weren't exactly suitable for wave formation, but he still visited southern California during the summer chasing some good surf.
Now Gabe did smile. “I know what you mean. I usually head across to California every few weeks. I also like to drive, so it covers two vices in one trip!” he laughed. While he’d made a few friends around town, he hadn’t found anyone who loved, and needed the ocean as much as he did, and had always made the trip on his own. Even Brianna hadn’t been, despite her often saying she would love to go sometime. She was still not comfortable leaving le Breeze for a full weekend, and was still looking for an assistant manager.
“Do you have any favourite beaches? I’ve mainly been going to the southern ones, have been wondering if any up north of LA are worth a trip?”
While CJ was quite comfortable with having Lake Mead just a short walk away from his home there was still something about the ocean that made his soul sing, like all of his worries were washed away as the waves retreated. “At least it’s only a few hours away, I don’t think I could handle living in the middle of Kansas or Nebraska, too far inland for me.” His nose screwed up a bit at the thought of having to drive for days just to get to the ocean.
“Can’t say I have one favourite though I do prefer to go down to San Diego if I’ve only got a few days, but Steamer Lane up near Santa Cruz can have some good waves, plus they’ve got a pier that fills in the boredom if there’s no waves.” He had yet to find a beach that was completely empty where he could try out his hydrokinesis to make waves if there were none, maybe one day in the future.
“See I haven’t been down to San Diego at all, so I might have to give it a go.” As he spoke he spied the burgers making their way across to the table. The waiter placed the correct burgers in front of each of the men, adding the bowl of guacamole to the table before checking if there was anything else they needed.
“I’m fine thanks, Brett,” Gabe told him as Brett turned to check with Chris.
“I’m fine too, thanks.” CJ added as Brett the waiter smiled and walked away.
“I’ve heard there’s some nice surfing beaches in Mexico too, but honestly I’ve never gone any further south than Tijuana.” He gave a small shrug, taking one of the fries and popping it in his mouth. “And then if you head north into Oregon the water gets too cold to be out for too long without a decent wetsuit.” Remembering the days of his youth where they’d surf in nothing more than a pair of boardshorts, unless it was blue bottle or jellyfish season.
Gabe nodded as he eyed his burger, listening to Chris but figuring out how he would best pick up what was in front of him. He could never understand people trying to eat a burger with cutlery.
“Luckily we didn’t need to worry too much about the cold,” Gabe replied, finally wrestling a half of the burger into his hands without losing the contents. A grin of victory crossed his face as he added, “it was more for sitting on the beach, sometimes the sands of Santorini get places they shouldn’t, and that never works well!” He gave Chris a knowing wink and took a large bite of the burger.
CJ was having a similar debate with his own burger, there was no elegant way to eat a burger and often would result in the middle falling out once that first bite was taken. He smiled a bit as Gabe was able to wrangle his burger without losing anything, well not yet at least. “And a week later you’re still finding sand in the strangest of places.” He smirked back before doing the same and taking a bite out of his burger, the contents managing to remain where they should except for a drip of sauce.
Although he hadn’t added the guacamole as yet it was a nice burger and he made a sound of appreciation as he chewed on that mouthful.
Again Gabe nodded, agreeing with Chris’s sound of appreciation, squeezing out, “good, isn’t it?” before selecting one of the fries and taking a bite of it. As they both tucked into their burgers they managed to get out a few stories of different waves, and other surfers and incidents. Once the bulk of their meal had been consumed, hunger somewhat sated, the conversation developed beyond nods and quick stories between mouthfuls.
“So how often do you get across to the Coast?” he asked, wiping at his chin with the back of his hand.
Some of the guacamole was added and again Gabe was right, it was delicious and just added another dimension to the burger. How had he not discovered this place before his dinner with Radek? It was also nice to talk to someone who shared his love for the ocean, although Gabe didn’t know the reasons behind CJ’s affinity towards all things aqua and he only guessed the reasons behind Gabe’s.
“I haven’t gone across since… it would’ve been Fall break. If I didn’t have all these other things going on I’d just head over for a weekend.” Between work, his budding relationship and now the band he was filling in with he didn’t get that much free time.
Gabe’s surprise was clear on his face as he finished the mouthful of fries he was consuming. Once swallowed he shook his head. “Man, that’s too long! My skin would dry and crack if I was out of the water for that long!” Gabe joked before taking another bite of what remained of his burger.
’This would be unpleasant.’
‘For me even more than you.’
‘I don’t agree!’
‘Remember when you picked up fleas? From the markets on Crete? That would be easy in comparison!’
‘... or so you think.‘
‘So I know.’
“That’s why I decided to live in Boulder City, it’s only a few miles from the Lake. I know it’s not the same as the ocean, but you take what you can get and much better than a swimming pool.” While CJ still did laps in the local pool during the middle of winter he much preferred to be out in the Lake. “Having to wash the chlorine off kind of ruins the fun.”
Gabe nodded his enthusiastic agreement. “I find the chlorine stings my eyes too much the few times I’ve been in it, much prefer the sea. If you’re interested I can let you know when I’m going if you want to come along,” he offered, popping the last piece of his burger in and leaning back in his chair.
’You are saving some of the fries for me, yes?’
‘You know they will do you your own.’
‘Always taste better when they’re yours.’
“It won’t be for a few weeks, I still have to catch up on some things for a friend so need to hang around town for the foreseeable future.” He had no idea how long this situation Cian told him about with the hunters might take, or what his friend would need, but he’d promised to be on hand for whatever might eventuate.
With his own burger finished CJ was eating the last few fries, dipping a few of them in the guacamole as not to waste it. The offer of sharing a 5 hour road trip to the coast was appreciated and other than the fact that Radek could vouch for Gab, CJ did feel somewhat comfortable around the other man’s presence, no weird feelings like that pyrokinetic.
“Yeah I know what you mean, I’m busy for at least the next two weekends, maybe three. Sometimes you’re popular and busy, while other times you’re sitting around reading a book or binge watching an entire series.” Or in his own case, just playing music because of some random desire to play. “Do you prefer email or text?”
Gabe shrugged, saying “text is probably easier, but email is fine too.” He pulled out his phone and placed it on the table, punched at the screen with his knuckle to eventually get to the Contacts page, displaying his number and email for Chris, and spun it around for the other man to see.
“What size is your board?” he asked, his own preference the shortboard, which fitted inside Amphitrite quite nicely.
Pulling his own phone out of the bag that hung over the arm of the chair he typed in Gabe’s number and email. “It’s just under 8 foot, so unless you drive something tiny it should fit.” Even though his own car was a Toyota Camry he was still able to fit the surfboard at an angle with the back seat down. “I don’t mind the longboards, though they definitely take some skill to get used to.”
As CJ spoke he typed out a quick text message and sent it off before doing the same with the email. “And… now you’ve got my contacts.”
“Good,” Gabe replied as the messages arrived on his phone. As they’d been exchanging details Brett arrived with the fresh round of drinks Gabe had nodded to a little earlier. He picked up his fresh beer and held it up to Chris, the other man’s new drink sitting on the table. “Here’s to a road trip soon, to get back to some of that salt air!”
Lifting up his new glass of lemonade CJ took a little sip out of it before he held it out to clink against Gabe’s beer. It would be good to get into the Pacific again. “To a coastal road trip!” A bit of a smirk on his face as he came up with a kind of blessing. “May the breeze be cool and salty and the waves plentiful.”
“Hear, hear!” Gabe replied, then took a long swig from the bottle before lowering it again. “Do you ever miss your home?” he asked, gently pushing his plate away a little, a signal he had finished for the waitstaff. “Do you go often? To visit family?”
“Sometimes. Though I think it’s my family that I miss more than the town that I grew up in, I knew that if I stayed it’d be a pretty boring life as there’s not a lot of career opportunities.” CJ knew that he would’ve had to have moved down to Brisbane to attend university and probably would’ve got a job there afterwards.
“I’ve been here almost twenty years now and I haven’t flown back to visit my family once.” He knew that it might seem weird to some people not to go back and visit his family even after such a long time. “I chat weekly to my parents and on social media with my brother and sister but they’ve all got their own lives. I’ve got a job I like, a nice little bungalow and a pet tortoise, what more could I ask for?”
Gabe nodded slowly, the sorcerer one of those whose bonds with his family were sometimes the source of puzzlement to people, but he knew also that not all families were like that. “It’s good you can talk with them regularly,” he agreed. “The family? They’ve been here to visit?”
He loved his family but he had made his new life here as Chris and his brother in particular refused to address him by his new name and kept calling him Jase on Facetime or in messages. “I took my sister around Disneyland and the other Hollywood sights for a week after she finished high school but she didn’t want to come over to Vegas.” A slight shrug. “Family doesn’t have to be blood, I think I’ve made my own here.”
Gabe nodded slowly. “I guess when people meet a stranger it could be the start of something that becomes a new family, and there is no blood there,” he said as he puzzled it out. He didn’t have a brother, but he regarded Cian as one, which made him family without the blood ties. “My best friend, he is to me as a brother, so yes, I agree this can happen.” It did still puzzle him however. “It is a long time, this 20 years,” he chuckled. “I think my grandmother? She would be unhappy with me if I left it for this long, and my stomach would regret it too, as I would miss her kitchen!”
“I think that we all miss our grandmother’s cooking, and they do love to feed you til you’re ready to burst.” He chuckled, although he had their recipes written down and often tried to cook them himself but it was never the same. CJ also had his best friend and ‘niece’ that had become the closest thing to family over the years they had known each other. “But what’s the saying? You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family? I like who I’ve chosen.”
“Then I’d say good for you!” Gabe offered, holding up his beer to Chris. “To choosing one’s family, and friends!” he toasted, taking a swig from the bottle before lowering it again.
“I have to say though, you are a braver man than me, for my Nonna? She would come after me with more than the wooden spoon if I tried it,” he grinned, imagining the powerful mage in a situation where her mood wasn’t good. “Let’s just say it would be more than just the sparks that would be flying!”
Another clink of his glass against the bottle and a smile, "And being able to have that freedom."
CJ shook his head at the image of an angry Nonna coming after a fully grown Gabe. "You never mess with the Nonnas! I swear an angry group of them would defeat an army in no time at all." Even though he didn't have any Mediterranean blood in him CJ had heard many tales from friends at school who would retell the stories of their own grandmothers and he got a good enough idea.
Gabe laughed, his head nodding as the image of his grandmother, five foot two, dressed in black and standing in front of an army which was cowering under her glare. It wasn’t that hard to imagine, especially in the last few years when she had taken on the mantle of her husband’s role in the family. Until the Mariner’s Ring was located she would remain as such. Once it was located it would pass to Gabe, and while he wasn’t in a rush to take on the role of Patriarch of the Santorini family he also wasn’t about to shirk his responsibilities either. His grandmother was still strong and fully cognisant, up to the task and happy to maintain the management of the family’s business, both financial and magical, until the Ring was found.
And as if his thinking of the Ring drew attention to the search for the lost talisman, his phone vibrated on the table, a notification indicating there was a new message from his cousin in Hong Kong with the symbol indicating it was important, and about the Ring. He picked up his phone and lowered it to his lap as he looked at Chris with a lop-sided grin and tilt of his head. “One of the joys of family business, it doesn’t have regular hours!” he joked. “I probably should take this,” he added, pushing his chair back. He slid the phone into his pocket and held out his hand to Chris.
“It’s been great meeting you, and I’ll give you a call when I am next heading for some waves.”
"Nice to meet you too." CJ said, shaking Gabe's hand. "Good luck with it." He nodded in the direction of the pocketed phone and family business, family never kept regular hours, especially from his own family. He was already looking forward to their road trip and a visit to the beach.