An Equal Trade Who: Zania and Ben Where: Eatzy's When: Evening
Ben needed to get something from this diner that he couldn’t make himself. Yeah, he could make some dried pasta with the best of them, but could he bake? Hell no. And he wanted to continually impress Eily so maybe even if he couldn’t bake, he could bring her something delicious enough to take her mind off of that small tidbit.
Heading right to the counter in the diner, Ben peered behind it to see if there even was an assortment of pies or cakes or any sort of desserts. He just needed to pick something up for them, even if he had to order it off of the menu. Something to end the dinner on a sweet note.
“Can I help you?” Zania asked as Ben appeared to be looking for something on the other side of the counter. The evening had been busy so far, which was nice as it made it go faster, but she’d finally hit a bit of a lull. It had given her time to go back in the kitchen and start a cherry pie, though it still needed to cook.
“Looking for some pie. Preferably. Or some cake if there is no pie, but I don’t know if I wanna live in a world without pie again.” Ben grinned at Zania as he came up to the counter. “Do you guys even sell whole pies?”
“Pie is what I specialize in,” Zania grinned. “Cake, not so much, but you can have your pick of pies. I have a lemon meringue in the fridge and a cherry about to go into the oven, if you want to wait on it. And I can make you an apple, but that might take a bit longer.” Peeling apples always took the longest, but it was worth it in her opinion.
"Well then I'm in luck, because I am in the market for a pie. I think…the cherry one sounds delicious. How long does it take?" He asked, looking back at Zania with a smile. "However long, I think it'll be worth it." He moved and settled down on the barstool nearest him before holding out a hand to her. "I'm Ben."
“It has to bake at least twenty more minutes before I can take it out of the oven,” she said, pleased that she had a customer lined up to buy the entire pie. That didn’t happen all that often, but it was a good sale. “I’m Zania,” she smiled, leaning across the counter to shake his hand. “What do you do when you’re not buying pies, Ben?”
"Zania. Nice name," He said with another nod. "Oh, you know, this and that. I'm a trader and I got stuck here, but I'm thinking it wasn't so bad." He had a date with Eily lined up and this cherry pie was going to make the night, he could feel it, so in his mind it wasn't bad at all to be stuck here. "And you? When you're not making pies?"
“Oh, a trader,” she grinned. “You aren’t hauling around a drum set by any chance, are you?” She’d gotten in the habit of asking every trader she came across, even after the doors shut. It seemed silly, but she wouldn’t know if she didn’t ask. “When I’m not making pies, I’m working to set up my club. We’re painting tomorrow tonight, and hopefully will have it opened by the end of the week, if things go according to plan.”
"….You know what? Weirdly enough, I have the makings of a drum set. It's busted and a lot of it will need repairing, but I have a couple snare drums…very well worn, mind you. A kickdrum with a busted pedal and a cymbal. I think we could work something out." There was a reason he hoarded things, he collected them for moments like this. He'd be getting this pie for free, that was for sure, and maybe some other things as well.
“Oh my gosh!” she grinned, excitement flaring to life. “Could we? I’d give you, like, pie for free for the next few months. Or I could pay you in cash, of course. A broken drum set is better than no drum set.” She was confident that she could fix it herself, or find someone else in the dome that could help her. Even just having the frame was a good start.
Ben grinned. "You have a deal. I'm sure we can figure out something, but let's start with free pie and see where we go from there." He couldn't think of anything he might need right now other than pie and while money was always good, this girl might be just as good to have in his back pocket. Never underestimate someone, especially not if they could bake. He could get all sorts of delicious baked goods for Eily from her. "Yeah, I'll bring the set over to your place tomorrow? Does that work?"
“That is awesome,” Zania smiled, grabbing a paper napkin and writing her address and phone number on it. “Perfect. If for some reason I don’t answer the door, just give me a call. I work nights so I sleep during the day and don’t always hear the door.” Since becoming a vampire, she’d learned to sleep through just about anything, especially since Clementine kept opposite hours from her. A bell rang in the back and Zania held up a finger, jetting back to the kitchen to take the pie out of the oven. Apparently it didn’t need near as long as she thought. “You’ll want to wait till it cools a bit,” she said, setting it on the counter with her oven mitts on. Right now it was too hot for him to carry off.
The pie smelled phenomenal and whatever thought he had before it was lost to the incredible heaven that was just placed in front of him. "Ok," He said, staring at it for too long. How long since he'd had pie? How long had it been since he'd had a cherry pie. Looking back at the paper, he forced himself to focus. "Tomorrow, knock or call. Gotcha. Or I could just play the broken drum set."
“Yes, you could do that,” she laughed, looking for something to put the pie in for him. “But then I might have to kill you. I love the drums, but not being woken up by them. So who’re you sharing the pie with?” she asked, just being nosey. She assumed he wasn’t going to eat the whole pie himself, though supposed that was always an option. Even then, most people wouldn’t admit to it.
“I guess you’re gonna need the drums for your club, right?” Ben asked, looking back at the pie after a moment. “Who am I sharing this pie with? A very beautiful woman. I’m making her dinner, but damn if I don’t know how to bake anything. So here I am, lucking out by finding a magical pie maker right here in the diner.”
“If we play live music, yes,” she smiled. “I’d like to try and put a band together, but one step at a time, right? I don’t really have time to do everything I want to, so I go with the one that’ll make money first.” And she was positive the club would do that. It didn’t have to be huge, since Delphi wasn’t all that big, but she knew it’d be a hit. “I like that. Magical Pie Maker,” Zania laughed as she finished wrapping the pie up. “You can probably take it now, but keep in mind that it’s hot. I hope you two enjoy it.”
Smiling, he stood up and took the pie, carefully as per her instructions. “Well then, Magican Pie Maker Zania, I appreciate your kindness and I look forward to delivering your very own drum set...sort of...soon.” Nodding slightly to her, he smiled again. “Have a nice night, all right?”
“You too, Ben,” Zania smiled. “Thank you and see you soon!” It might have been a little thing, but she was glad to not only have made a sale, but found a drum set! It put a bit of a bounce in her step, something that had been missing for quite some time. Maybe things were beginning to look up again.