WHO: Oscar Ford and Beth Phillips WHEN: Evening of February 7 WHERE: Seafood restaurant SUMMARY: Oscar and Beth go on a date! WARNINGS: Talk of tiramisu and chocolate cake that might make you want dessert. Â
When Beth had moved back to Dunhaven, she hadn't really known what to expect. It had been overdue and she couldn't have been happier to be close to her family and friends again, but having had left under decidedly turbulent circumstances, she had found herself worrying. The worry had been largely unwarranted, especially as she tried to navigate something like a friendship with her ex-husband. She'd had a few comments and locals asking questions that were a bit too personal, but nothing that made her feel the way she had in the days and weeks following the end of her marriage.
What she especially hadn't expected was Oscar Ford. Beth had dipped her toes back into the dating scene in Baltimore, but had mostly avoided it in Dunhaven. But as she got settled and started spending time with new people, he had immediately caught her eye. It was still a bit mind-blowing to her that he was interested in her at all, but it was the best sort of surprise. He had been kind and patient while fishing. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what she was saying when she spoke. He was genuinely interesting.
And so, while she was still a bit pleasantly surprised that Date #2 (or #3 -- she wasn't sure if his coming with her to Kesi's dinner counted, but she liked to think it did) happened at all, though Beth wasn't surprised it seemed to be going as well as it was. A drive to his friend's restaurant and so much delicious seafood later, there was no doubt that she was having a very nice time.
"That was delicious," Beth declared as their waitress cleared the table of their plates. She leaned back in her chair, her hands resting on her abdomen. "My stomach has never been so happy."
"I'll pass your compliments to the chef," answered Oscar, smiling at how she used body language to accent the things she said. That was one of his favorite things about talking to Beth - she didn't just talk, she always used gestures to add to the things she said. He felt it added more weight (or more honesty?) to the things she said. If that was a side effect of teaching young children or something that just made her better at that, he wasn't sure. But he liked it.
That was how he'd first gotten to know her, too. When she'd been looking for people to come read to the kids (and his first session had gone well, the kids said they liked his 'Cowboy Accent'). Then her interest in joining his fishing trip, along with how quickly she adapted to using a rod and reel - probably another thing to tie to being in education, picking up new skills quickly.
Then the Salazar Ball when she'd looked like she could use someone to talk to, he'd made a beeline to fill that role and they hit it off better than he'd expected. The thing he'd learned there was that he really liked the way she smiled; how it looked both amused and bashful at the same time. It was incredibly endearing. And he knew he wasn't good at flirting, so having things progress this well without having to make poor attempts at that… well, that was pretty great.
"Dessert's already covered, unless you're done? Otherwise in about," paused Oscar, checking his watch," thirty minutes, there's gonna be a four-piece band playin' some zydeco down at the docks."
Beth sat up again at the mention of dessert, a slow and sly smile crossing her face. She leaned in across the table just a bit, as though she were telling Oscar a great secret. The effect might have been better were it not for that playful expression she was wearing -- or maybe that made it all for the better. She didn't know. "One thing you should know about me is that I will never turn down dessert."
She sat back again in her chair, still smiling. For someone that already smiled a lot, she had noticed that she smiled even more with him. "But I'm not going to pretend that I know what zydeco is. I'm sure I'll love it, but you might have to fill me in."
"You know, I about figured on both parts," he answered, grinning at how she'd reacted and shared her 'secret.' Again with the body language, it was like she was speaking two languages at once. He gestured a hand over at the waiter nearby to signal they were ready for dessert and got a thumbs up in response, at which point he realized it was his pal Jake, keeping an eye on them personally. The ass. Oscar chuckled and turned his attention back to Beth.
"Now, Zydeco. It's hard to explain, but easy to listen to. Kind of a Cajun festival music. You may've heard it without realizin' it, especially if you've ever been around a restaurant like Razoo's or similar. If they got those out here. But," he continued, tapping a finger on the table for emphasis. "You won't find much better to get your toes tappin'."
One of the things that Beth appreciated most about meeting and getting to know new people was learning about all of the previous experiences they'd had before she had stepped into their life. She often felt like she didn't have enough experience herself, something that she had been actively been trying to change in the past couple of years as she had tried to find out who she was without her ex-husband. Hearing about someone else's life and being taught different subjects or things that she didn't know anything about was not just fun and exciting, but it gave her a insight into who that other person was.
It was especially fun and exciting here, with Oscar. More and more, Beth found herself just wanting to know everything about him.
"Cajun festival music that makes my toes tap," Beth summed up, tipping her head to the side just a fraction in consideration. "Yep, I think I'm going to love it."
"I think you will, absolutely, but I am gonna ask that you tell me your favorite bits of music. And other favorites, too, I don't want you ever feelin' like I'm pushin' all my likes onto your plate and not sharin' some of yours, too." While he meant all of that sincerely, he tried to keep an easy smile on his face. And he hoped it sounded as good saying it as it did in his head.
Oscar was about to ask another question when Jake pulled up with a tray full of desserts, causing him to whistle and begin to protest at the indulgence before he was shooshed by his "ally."
Jake flamboyantly displayed all of the desserts on the rolling tray and looked over at Beth. "I hope he's treating you well, miss, but if you need a rescue you'll be happy to know we've got a code here. Any woman feeling in danger just needs to order an Angelic Daiquiri. Staff will take care of the rest and keep you safe."
Oscar started to protest, but was shooshed again. Rather, he just sat there slowly shaking his head with a smile on his face.
"Normally you'd see a sign in the lady's room, but I don't mind saying it in front of Oscar because it lets me tease him, which I think is a fair payment for the food. But also because I know he's a good guy and has helped out with a few Angelic Daiquiris in his time."
With a sweeping bow, he backed away and called over his shoulder. "Take whatever you like from the cart, but remember the show's in thirty!"
Beth watched and listened to Jake's presentation and teasing in Oscar's direction with an amused smile that also took on a bit of appreciation -- it was hard not to appreciate an establishment that gave an accessible out to its female patrons. Though fully aware she wouldn't need it in this case, she couldn't help but hope that more places would look out for one another like that. She especially liked knowing that Oscar had helped some of those women out in the past.
She continued to smile after Jake as he left, before she turned back to Oscar. "I like him," she decided, before leaning in once again to add with a wink, "I like you more, but he seems like quite the character."
That determination shared, she looked over to the vast array of desserts. "That's heaven on a tray, right there."
"He's all right," agreed Oscar with a soft laugh, following her gaze to the tray. It struck him immediately that he wasn't actually sure what to recommend - he'd never had the desserts here since it was more of a seafood with friends thing than taking a date.
"Now I hear the tiramisu's good, but I'd say whatever's callin' your name is probably gonna be just as good or better," he mused, eyeballing each of the desserts himself. His eyes kept going back to the large slice of chocolate cake, though, despite knowing that he might be jumping around on a pier to live music in half an hour.
"Tiramisu it is," Beth decided, taking that plate and not hesitating before finding her fork and taking a bite. It was, in fact, very good -- not that she'd had much tiramisu in the past to compare to, but she had to assume that this was good by the little standards she'd had. "Okay, now my stomach is going to be exceedingly happy. It's not going to know what to do with itself." That didn't stop her from taking another bite, though.
"If it's anything like mine," mused Oscar, reaching for the chocolate cake, dancing be damned. "It'll wait til tomorrow to gripe at you for eatin' too much." With an entirely too satisfied look on his face, he took a huge bite of the cake, even managing to get some on the side of his mouth before chewing on it with no small amount of delight.
"Oh man, this is great," he noted, suddenly wishing he had a glass of milk to go with it.
Beth smiled through a mouthful of tiramisu, enjoying her dessert just as much as Oscar seemed to be. It was hard not to just rush through eating it and she consciously had to make herself savor and enjoy the bites (though largely was failing), her eyes drifting out toward the water view they had been given with their table. Glancing in the general direction of the docks, her thoughts inadvertently went in the same direction as his.
"So," she said, looking down to her cake and forking off a large bite, "can I assume that there is going to be dancing involved with this music?"
Grinning as he finished chewing and swallowing, Oscar nodded before wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Oh yeah, there's even a zydeco dance. Nobody gets pressured to hop up, though, so if you ain't feelin' it, it's just as good to sit at a table and just soak in the music."
It was a quick dance for quick music and the more he thought about it, the more he was thinking they might've eaten too much to make a strong go at it, but he figured they could just play it by ear once the music got going.
"I am not going to pretend I'm the best dancer," Beth said with a bit of an indulgent smile at her self-deprecation, "but I still really love to do it. So even if I have no idea what I'm doing, I'll definitely give it my best shot."
She set her fork down on her plate that was little more than crumbs and stray smudges of mascarpone cheese. "I don't get out of my comfort zone very much, but you've sort of helped me do that recently, even if you didn't mean to. I've really liked it."
He'd been about to comment that they'd be a good pair, then, since he'd been compared to a fish on land when he tried to dance (though he made up for it with just pure energy), but she tripped him up with the following comment. Oscar sat his napkin off to the side and just offered a soft smile in response, because honestly that was a really touching statement and he wasn't immediately sure how to respond.
"I can't tell you how nice that is to hear, because I gotta tell you I really have no idea what I'm doin' half the time. Kinda just doin' my best and hopin' it works." His smile widened a bit and he added, "I mean I've liked it a lot, too."
Beth smiled a small smile in return, perhaps a bit bashfully, despite herself. It wasn't because she was actually embarrassed, but just because she was Beth. Even if he was just agreeing with what she'd already said about him and their dates, it felt good to know that her feelings weren't unwarranted. Though it wasn't as though she'd been in relationships in the past wherein those sorts of words weren't freely given, she'd gone through a long stretch after her divorce thinking she wasn't going to find anyone else that wanted to go on dates with her.
"I'd have had no clue that you didn't know what you were doing," Beth admitted, "but that could be because I definitely don't know what I'm doing and am just hoping for the best, too. It's been a while since I went on any dates, but all I want with you is to keep going on dates, so... I guess our hoping for the best is working out for us."
"What a pair we make," laughed Oscar, pushing his own plate off to the side. "That sounds real good. I'd be happy enough just sittin' near you, so goin' on more dates sounds about like I just won some kinda lottery." And you could tell that he was happy, because it seemed that he, too, tended to get more animated with his hands when the mood was there.
With an almost graceful move, he got to his feet and gently pushed the dessert cart off to the side before offering his hand to Beth. "So, how about we go find a good seat to hear the music?"
As Oscar got to his feet, Beth found her purse and shrugged it over one shoulder. That taken care of, she took his offered hand and let him help her to her feet. She didn't let go of his hand, though, even after she'd straightened and caught her footing. She smiled once more at that as she shifted her hand in his, letting their fingers lace together; she couldn't help herself.
With her free hand, she indicated the way forward. "Lead the way."