Rudeness was relative the individual, was the way Julius saw it. Yes, some people would have thought it rude for someone to ask if he’d had friends growing up, but that wasn’t the way that Julius saw it. It was inquisitive. Generally, Julius didn’t like inquisitions, but he saw a lot of himself in this young man, so in this case he wouldn’t have minded. This was yet another instance where Julius’ people-reading skills came in handy. He turned his head and looked at the young man. “Is there a question you wanted to ask? You were appraising me quite ponderously,” he pointed out.
“Sure,” he smiled softly. “A man of my own heart,” he added when Dietre mentioned that he liked a lot of sugar in his coffee. He placed the order, two medium coffees with cream and triple the sugar, then pulling forward to pay and collect their drinks. Once the woman handed it through, he handed one to Dietre and smiled. “There you go.”
The question took Julius by surprise. Not a question one generally asked a virtual stranger, but he supposed that he had been right in thinking that the young man was like him. “That you’re a very calm young man, and that perhaps you’re misjudged a lot of the time?” It was Julius’ perception of himself, and if he was right in assuming that he and Dietre were alike, now he’d know.