Arrow (arrowroro) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-09-23 18:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | penny norton, ronnie milam, ~ro clark |
Who: Ro, Penny, and Ronnie
What: An etheric and siren walk into a diner...and a challenge is issued
When: Sunday September 20
Where: Terrible's
Ratings: Low!
“Okay, this isn’t the furthest I’ve driven just for food,” Ro said to Penny as she pulled into the parking lot outside a place called Terrible’s. The name alone made the drive worth it. Any eatery with balls enough to call itself terrible was immediately a place where Ro wanted to eat. “I still feel a little bit like somebody is smashing their Barbies together.” She raised her eyebrows significantly and glanced over at Penny in the passenger seat beside her.
They’d driven out to this small town outside Vegas to meet with Penny’s friend, the one Penny wanted Ro to meet. Ro was happy to meet almost anyone, though she wasn’t entirely sure of Penny’s motivations, whether that was to help her find a meal in whatever context that entailed or if Penny really thought they would get along.
The siren only smiled as they pulled into the parking lot of the casino diner. A scatter of cars littered both sides of the paved car waiting area, she didn’t recognize any of them though that was because she barely came to this place. She didn’t care much about casinos. The purpose of the visit wasn’t for her, though.
“Trust me, the food is worth the trouble.” At least that was what Yelp said.
She hadn’t told Ronnie they were coming. It would be a pleasant surprise and the place didn’t seem overwhelmingly packed which meant they all could chat comfortably.
“Come on, let’s get a booth.” When the car parked she climbed out, sneakers padding along the pristine pavement. She grabbed the door for Ro and was instantly overwhelmed by the aroma of bacon, coffee, and cooking meat. Penny inhaled slowly, releasing a breath of satisfaction.
The hostess greeted them. “Pick anywhere you’d like.”
A nod and Penny nudged her friend, careful to keep skin away from skin, “Booth or do you want to sit at the counter?”
Ro perked up at the scent of the place. Terrible it was not. It smelled like the kind of diner that made her mouth water. “Let’s get a booth.” Counters were fun but booths were better for conversation. Menus were deposited in front of them and Ro took it eagerly. “Thanks.” She smiled widely at the server.
Together they moved toward a booth. The leather seat crinkled beneath her as it accepted the weight of her frame. Her fingers plucked up the menu and though she was hungry, her eyes lifted toward the kitchen. Penny studied the little window. “Is Ronnie in the kitchen tonight?”
The server nodded, grinning. “He is! Y’all friends?” Penny smiled and nodded, “Yes. Would you tell him Penny and Ro are here, if you get a chance?”
“Sure thing, hon,” the waitress replied. Penny ordered only water to start with.
Ro order a cherry Coke. She was in a diner and she was going to have a good time. She tapped her fingers on the menu. “Is it weird if I get pancakes with a side of fries? And pie. I have to pie or I might actually die.”
Penny giggled. The end of her nose crinkled up and she offered her friend a smile. “Why not indulge a little? The pie here is supposed to be fantastic, and the burgers are to die for.”
The waitress nodded. “Truck stop put in a bowling alley to try to compete with the cook here.”
A quirk of Penny’s eyebrow at Ro to compliment her smirk. “I’ll have the burger of the day, but I want it hand delivered by Ronnie. Her pie, too, please.”
“Coming right up, ladies,” the waitress smiled. Menus would be picked up and carried off.
“Not a bad little place. Could use a bit of a face lift with the decor but overall not bad.” Penny glanced around studying everything.
“I wouldn’t change anything,” Ro disagreed. “It’s called Terrible’s. This is perfect.” Some places were better lived in. Of course when she wasn’t indulging in something closer to fine dining, Ro routinely ate whatever she could buy off the back of a food truck. There was a chip in the linoleum on the table in front of Ro and she prodded it with a fingertip.
A shoulder would be shrugged. Maybe the place had a bit of charm - Derek would’ve called this a gimmick place - but she opted for the more modern types of places. Rustic and old-school appeal never really made much sense. Then again, decor was not her strongest trait.
It only took a bit - perhaps ten minutes or so - before a man came back to their table toting a tray full of good stuff. This was after Ro had gotten her cherry Coke, and Penny the glass of Searchlight’s best tap water.
“The Milam special for Penny, the loveliest lady in Vegas,” Ronnie said, setting the burger of the day - if looks could kale - down in front of her. The cherry pie and ice cream would be given to the other woman, along with a stack of fluffy and warm pancakes. The pie was plated as if they were in a fine restaurant, and not a simple roadside diner.
“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything you’ve made, Ronnie,” Penny mused, looking up at her friend with a smile. Ronnie only laughed. “Well, I promise it’s not Terrible.”
Penny motioned for her friend, “This is my good friend, Ro. Ro, this is Ronnie.”
“Hiya.” Ro gave a cheerful salute for a greeting. The food looked amazing and the pie was not slowly leaking red cherry juice all over the plate the way a more poorly made one would. She looked back up from her food at the man who delivered it. He looked… “Do I know you from somewhere?” He was clearly handsome with a mess of curls and dark eyes. Ro was pretty sure she’d have remembered him if he was some unknown past fling but she couldn’t shake the feeling she had seen him somewhere before.
Ronnie offered the new friend a smile, a shrug. “Maybe! I’ve worked a few places. But it’s been a few years.” He didn’t recognize her at all which he didn’t find surprising.
Penny just watched the two of them, tucking into the burger. It was warm, cooked perfectly, and dripped a bit of juice down her chin. She liked the meat tender and a bit bloody. When her mouth was empty and wiped, she motioned to Ronnie. “He’s friends with my husband. They’ve known each other a long time.”
Finding his manners, Ronnie looked at Ro. “Nice to meet you! Penny is amazing, but you already knew that. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine.”
“I don’t think that was it, maybe you have one of those faces or something.” Ro shrugged and cut into her pancakes, which were perfectly light and fluffy. “But hey, nice to meet you. Penny and I go way back. She’s helping me settle into Vegas.” That seemed like a reasonable explanation in mixed company for a guy who may or not be human. Could be a vampire like Derek, of course, if they were friends that way.
Ronnie nodded. “Maybe.” He only offered Ro a grin. “I hope everything is good. Can I get you ladies anything else?” Penny shook her head but she slid over in the booth and patted the seat next to her. “Only a chance to chat. Come on, sit.”
He blinked but nodded and sat down. “You’re in Vegas?” Ronnie said, looking at Ro. “Vegas is good. It’s got it’s problems like any other place but I liked it when I was there. I’m thinking of maybe moving back.” Hand went to the back of his neck and he brushed the skin there. “I haven’t decided yet.”
Penny looked at Ronnie. “Have you talked to Derek about this yet? There’s an apartment next door to ours that’s suddenly available.”
Shaking his head, Ronnie sighed. “No. I want to be sure first before I start looking around. You know?”
“I’m new but it’s good so far. Still trying to find the right place for myself though. Moving sucks. And don’t ask me about the place next to yours,” Ro told Penny. “A girl needs to be at least a little mysterious.” Ro drizzled syrup onto her pancakes and took a bite. “Shit, these are really good.”
Ronnie smiled at Ro. “That’s what takes so long, finding the right place. I mean, you’re going to stay there for a while, you may as well like it. Or love it. Who knows!” He wasn’t actively looking but he’d talked about it and Mikey had suggested Vegas.
Penny only shrugged. “It’s a nice apartment.”
His cheeks reddened a bit as Ro complimented the pancakes. “Thanks. They’re actually my Mama’s recipe, she taught me to make them so I’d never go hungry when I was by myself.”
“Good recipe,” Ro said. Then, because it seemed nice, “good mom.” She didn’t know the difference; Ro’s impression of good parenting was entirely created from what she saw on television. Her kind weren’t great at loving relationships.
“Yeah, she was,” Ronnie replied with a grin. He missed her every single day. That was why he hadn’t done much to the house, it rarely got an update and it was overdue for a paint job and updating.
He claimed no part of the ingredients, keeping it simple and pure. It was the taste that mattered, the blend of texture and umami - that balance.
Penny nodded. She finished the last bite of the burger and wiped her mouth. “I could eat this all the time, it’s perfect.”
After a few bites of pancake, Ro switched to her cherry pie. “This is good too,” she said impressed. “It’s not leaking out all over everywhere, I hate that.”
“Who wants to be eating and ruining their clothes at the same time? I mean, unless you’re in a pie eating contest or at a crawfish broil,” Ronnie shrugged. “Pie shouldn’t be messy. It’s a delicate dish, and when it goes flat because the fruit leaks out it doesn’t look like it should taste good.”
Penny turned to look over at her friends. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that delicately.”
“He’s right though,” Ro said, pausing a second to sip from her Coke. “In terms of technical skill, pie is one of the most delicate things you can do. Just getting the crust right is super hard. Not everybody can do a flaky crust correctly. That’s before you get into making sure you have the consistency of the filling down so it holds its shape when you slice. Lots of people make pies that are kind of average. Not too many can make a good one.”
Penny tilted her head and looked from Ro, to Ronnie, and back again.
Ronnie grinned. “You get me!” He laughed and then grinned. “Let me ask you something, do you make food?” His finger twisted around the pie plate. “Because what you just said was spot on and nobody really knows pie like a pastry chef.”
Ro threw her head back and laughed. “Guilty as charged. And my pie is amazing by the way.”
“Is it?” Ronnie laughed, “Now I’m curious to see if yours is better than mine.” It wasn’t exactly a challenge, but a bake off could be fun. And a good way to learn a lot about someone, the way they moved in the kitchen.
“Oh you wanna go there?” Ro was grinning widely, eyes light. “You want to throw down, we can throw down. Ask Penny, she’s had my food. You get this pie from a vendor or is it in house?”
“Let’s do this!” He laughed, smacking the table lightly. The plates may have jumped a bit with enthusiasm. Or maybe just from the shock from the force. Either way, he felt zeal and life.
Penny smiled, shrugging a shoulder. She stayed out of this, knowing her work here was done.
Ronnie smirked, “From scratch, the way any pie should be. Never from a vendor or store bought.”
“Name the time and the place and I’ll be there, curly.” This would be fun. No matter what happened it sounded like a unique and interesting use of her of her time. “Wait, you don’t make the pie here, do you? Short orders and desserts? Really? Do they make you scrub down the bathrooms and maintain the poker machines too?”
He gasped. And then he laughed. “Challenge accepted!” Then he shrugged humbly, “I prefer to prep for myself - the other person who takes over isn’t so thoughtful. I find that making things from scratch takes more work but the value is there…” his hand waved. He couldn’t explain it but he knew Ro would understand.
She did understand though Ro’s feelings about food were a little different. For her it was all about the feeling, the satisfaction of taking ingredients and using her hands to make them something amazing. She nodded at Ronnie and then, “Oh my god, you’re scrunchie guy! That’s where I know you from.”
Ronnie blinked. “Wait, what?” He took a second to backtrack a bit - was she talking about Master Chef?! - and he realized that she was. His cheeks went scarlet and he nodded, sheepish, “Yeah, that’s me. That feels like a long time ago.” His Master Chef days brought him a world of experience and a lot of good friends.
“I thought you should have won. That petticoat girl was too much like a cartoon character to be real. I knew I knew you. It’s the hair.” Satisfied at finding the right answer, Ro took a few bites of food. “Penny, you could have said.” Ro kicked her under the table.
He smiled at Ro. “Thanks, but she was so good and I think she needed the money more than I did. I’m glad she won. She taught me a lot.”
Penny blinked. “I didn’t know that.” Honestly. Derek may have mentioned it to her but she’d forgotten it.
“Aww and he’s humble too. You’ll need that when you lose to my pie.” Ro’s pie plate was cleaned now and she leaned forward, elbows on the table, tattoos clearly visible from under the sleeves of her T-shirt.
“Are you under-estimating me, too?” Ronnie grinned. “Cause I make one hell of a pie. Game on.” He didn’t look at her tattoos right off. Most people might find them as an awkward point of conversation, he felt as if she might get that a lot considering how lovely she was.
“I don’t know,” Ro said, smiling a little more wickedly. “You did come in second.”
“Hey, she needed the prize money more than I did,” he laughed. But he would admit that he’d lost amicably. “Alright. So, we need to set the details of this challenge so I can be prepared to beat you.”
“Hmm.”Ro pursed her lips, considering. “Let’s do two,” she suggested. “One fruit with a top crust, one baker’s choice.”
“Deal. May the best baker win.” Ronnie was already speculating on what might be good to make and compete against. “Where are we hosting this little challenge?”
“Er.” That one was harder. “Are we baking at the same time? I’m still working on finding a good place of my own so I don’t have an option. Any suggestions?”
Penny shrugged. “If you’re doing it on the same day, you could use our place.”
Ronnie smiled, “Thanks Penny, but I don’t want to interrupt you guys. Maybe we can think about an alternative place or just bake at separate times and get someone to judge for us.”
"I can bake and bring pies to you," Ro offered. "They won't be warm so I don't want to have that count against me."
“That can work,” Ronnie nodded. Penny smiled. “So who is going to be eating these pies?” She didn’t care much for pie or sweet things like that. But maybe Derek would be interested.
"I don't know how easy we can find a neutral party," Ro shrugged. "Maybe we just have to promise to be big boys and girls and play nicely and judge each other fair."
Penny nodded. “I think we can all be fair.” Ronnie echoed that idea. “I’m pretty trustworthy. And even if mine isn’t that good, I’m always happy to have pointers and critique. That’s how you grow, after all.”
Ro nodded her own agreement. "It's a deal, curly."