Dinner & Banter

[Eva Jaz 0]

The Beta Shift personnel began to filter into Main Engineering. As always, Tang ran through the activities of the day and tasks to be completed over night. There was still much to do to bring the Manticore back to its original condition, however, with them now under tow back to Maturin Station, there was not much they could do.

 

Tang had skipped lunch today in order to get the work that he had to finish done. He had therefore worked up quite an appetite. However, the thought on replicated food, yet again, did not seem too appetizing. He recalled the offer from Eva, she had extended the invitation for a nice non-replicated meal at her quarters. ‘Now seems as good a time as any’ he thought to himself as he walked into the TL. He wasn’t sure how to handle asking though. He didn’t know whether or not to go directly into sickbay and set something up, or if a simple comm message would do.

 

It was a decision he agonized over all the way to the quarterdeck, before decided to just comm her. He didn’t want to come off as overly formal, and besides, the invitation had already been extended in person. He took a deep breath and tapped his comm badge. “Dalsazashvili to Dr. Jaz.” he said, immediately regretting the use of last names and titles. This was personal, not duty related, he could have come off a little more personal.

 

Hunched over a report, concentrated on the task at hand, Eva almost spilled her coffee when the comm badge chirped. Securing the cup with one hand, she tapped her badge. “Jaz here” she answered.

 

Vakhtang paused for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, he tapped the badge again. “I. . .umm. . .I was wondering if I could take you up on your dinner invitation this evening.” he said.

 

He remembered her invitation and was taking her up on it, Eva smiled to herself. “Of course! Any allergies? Special request?” she asked, already formulating a tasty menu in her head.

 

Tang blinked, actually taking a moment to recall whether or not he had any allergies. “Umm, no. . .no allergies.” He began. “And I’m sure whatever you cook will be fine.” waiting a few seconds, wondering if he should set the time or let her. It was her quarters and her cooking, it was probably best if she set the time. “Just tell me what time you want me over.”

 

Eva peeked at the wall chronometer, purposely ignoring the smiling nurses. “I finish my shift in 10 minutes” The doctor did a quick calculation in her head, adding “ So let’s say 90 minutes? How’s that for you?”

 

“Great!” he replied, maybe coming off a bit to enthusiastic. “I’ll see you then!”

 

“I’ll tell you all about it later” She told the nurses and doctors. She suspected Nurse Nancy to be purposely overly excited, using Jaz’s date with the engineer as a good way to deflect the attention off herself and Commander Precip.

 

Promising them details later was the only way she had found to dodge the gossip monster and head out of sickbay with enough time left to change into something nicer than her uniform and get started on what she hoped would be a memorable meal.

 

***************************************

 

After managing to break her all time record for taking a sonic shower, taming her wild curls and trying 4 different outfits before settling on a emerald sleeveless dress that managed to revealed the right amount of spotted skin without looking like an Orion girl on the prowl, Eva stood in her quarters glancing at the chronometer.

 

“Mmm let’s see .. Food... “ She said out loud before digging in her closet for her induction plate and a couple pots and pans. She hadn’t cooked in a while but having a Frenchwoman as a mother, she was taught from early childhood the secrets to tasty dishes.

 

Tying an apron over her dress, she headed to the replicator for ingredients. “Let’s see... Escargot, butter, garlic, salmon....” she went on for a while as the machine began replicating what she was asking for. “.. and finally, dark chocolate, strawberries and cream.”

 

Vakhtang hurried through a sonic shower before instinctively grabbing another uniform to throw on. ‘Waitasec’ he thought to himself as he started to put it on. ‘This is an off duty dinner date, not a staff meeting.’ Tossing the uniform back into the closet, he began to sift through his fairly limited stash of civilian clothing to find something to wear. He settled on a fairly casual outfit, something he thought was good for a casual, informal affair. He didn’t want to appear overdressed, nor did he want to appear under-dressed. What he had chosen seemed to be the happy medium.

 

Carrying all her ingredients towards her makeshift cooking station, she glanced once more at the chronometer which told her she had little time left before Vakhtang’s arrival. “Replicated dinner would have been good enough, but no you had to try to show off and now the entire place reeks of garlic” She thought while sauteing the escargots. “Computer, vent this place and play...” she threw her hands in the air “some kind of Earth 18th century classical music” Harvester talked in her medication induced sleep, well more complain than talked, about her colleague playing classical music all the time. “Should have paid attention to the composer” She thought while expertly twisting the end of the papillotes together, sealing the salmon and vegetable together.

 

The door chimed as she finished pouring the Mayan chocolate cake in its mold. She looked around trying to locate her shoes while trying to get rid of the apron. “Come in “ she said, quickly shoving the apron in the closet.

 

Vakhtang entered and spied Eva in the kitchen. “Ahh, Vivaldi.” he said, referencing the music. “Very nice.”

 

“Oh .. that’s what it is” She thought before smiling and nodding . “Just some ambiance music.” She said dismissively, trying to avoid a discussion that would definitely exposed her limited knowledge of Earth classical music history.

 

“Well, its a very nice ambiance.” he assured her, walking over to where he stood, giving her a slight kiss on the cheek, as was the customary greeting where he came from. “How are you this evening?”

 

Eva stood still for a second, taken by surprise by the greeting. Slightly tired, very hungry and definitely grateful for the company.” She said with a smile.”How about you? Not as busy in the ship’s bowels since the jump?”

 

Tang shrugged. “We’re still busy, but things have calmed down considerably. We’re no longer working double shifts, which is good.” he told her. “Those can take the energy right out of you.”

 

“Remember what I do for a living! I know all about double shifts” she replied.

 

He smiled in response. “Yes, yes I know. You up there in sickbay have your hands full with all the goings on here on this ship.” he paused for a moment. “But we can save the talk about work for another time, I think we both have had enough of that for the day.”

 

Eva nodded vigorously in agreement, before walking over to the oven to take a peek at the fish.

 

Vakhtang’s eyes followed Eva to the oven. “It smells nice in here, what have you prepared for us this evening?”

 

“Escargot Provençal, Wild Pacific salmon en papillote and a spicy chocolate cake for dessert Hope you don’t mind me serving you snails?” she said grinning. “I swear it’s nothing like Klingon food!”

 

Tang chuckled. “I don’t mind at all.” he reassured her. “Sea snails are quite a popular dish in Georgia. I’ve never had Escargot before, but I’ve heard it is not that much different.”

 

“I could have eaten them from breakfast growing up if my mother did not stop me.” She continued talking while taking the fish packets out of the oven and expertly putting in the chocolate dessert in, all in one swift move.

 

Tang walked over to the table, his eyes still on Eva. She looked stunning in her sleeveless dress. He suddenly felt underdressed for the occasion and silently cursed himself for not picking out more of a formal outfit. “I probably wouldn’t have gone so far as to eat them for breakfast,” he said, his eyes still fixed on her. ”But if I could have got away with eating them for every lunch and dinner, I wouldn’t have complained.”

 

“Then I guess my somewhat risqué menu was well chosen” Eva said, approaching the table carrying two little escargot plates, careful not to burn herself on the hot metal.

 

Tang stepped to the other side of the table to allow Eva room to set the two plates down. “Can I help you with anything?” he asked, feeling rather embarrassed that he was just standing there while she juggled 5 different tasks at once.

 

Eva shook her head. “Just sit back and enjoy your food. “ She replied, smiling before putting the steaming plate in front of him.

 

Tang looked down at the plate of escargot which now sat on the table. “I intend to.” he replied.

 

Eva made her way to her chair. “ I apologize in advance , but I’ve spent 12 hours running around and as nice as these look . “ removing her high heels. “ they will be the death of me.”

 

Tang chuckled. “No apologies necessary, my dear.” he told her. “We both work on our feet all day. As you can see, I decided to forgo heels for a more comfortable set of footwear.” he said, attempting a joke. ‘Nice one, Vakhtang’ he thought to himself. ‘A comedian you are not.’’

 

Eva giggled as she took a seat. “Smart choice!”

 

Tang chuckled, letting the silence provide a break from his joke, he looked down again at the spread before him on the table. “After you, doctor.” he said, motioning to the table.

 

“That’s Eva for you Lieutenant!” she corrected Tang, glancing at him for a second, before looking down at her plate. “Stop staring, he’ll think you’re strange or something!” she scolded herself before looking up back up with a little less intensity. “I hope you enjoy.” she told him, picking up her fork

 

Tang picked up his fork as well, taking a bite of the escargot. He looked up at her and smiled. “This is good.” he said, after swallowing. “I think you missed your calling as a chef, my dear.”

 

“Cooking is a hobby. Somehow not as fulfilling as saving lives.” he said lightly.

 

“Point taken.” he said, taking another bite. “Still, if you ever wanted to open a restaurant here on ship to work in after hours. I’m sure I could convince Commander Faldek to let me build it for you.” he said, smiling at her.

 

“I had a bar on Risa once, that was enough restaurateur experience for me Thank you!” she replied in between bites. “Bring up the fact that you’re technically almost 300 years old on a first date! That is a sure way to scare a man off!” she thought before quickly adding “ And I seriously doubt Faldek would let you do anything for me.”

 

Tang had to process her comment for remembering that she was, in fact, a Trill, and had had multiple lives, or at least, her symbiont had. “Well, the chief is a man who would take some convincing, but I’m sure if I worked hard enough, I probably could do so.” he said, talking the final bite of the escargot. The silence hung in the air for a few seconds. “So. . .” he began, before his mind froze. ‘Stop staring at her, idiot. She’ll probably think you’re strange or something.’ his mind raced to complete his thought, but unfortunately, nothing was coming to him.

 

Eva held up a finger before getting up . “Hold that thought..” she asked, reaching across the table to pick up the empty metal plate.

 

She made her way back into the little makeshift kitchen, removing the cake from the oven and placing it on a cooling rack. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying in vain to bring some order to her curls before picking up the plates containing the Salmon papillotes.

 

“Here we go.” she said, filling up the silence, as she placed the little paper packet in front of Tang. “ You can just rip it open and eat from the package. Like this.” she added gently tearing the top of her own.

 

Tang ripped the package open, allowing the aroma of the cooked fish to fill his nostrils. He let out a slight sigh of approval before taking his fork and cutting a piece of the fish. “My mother used to cook fish like this.” he told her, motioning to the package. “I believe we call it something else however, I’m not quite sure of the terminology.” he said was a shrug and a smile. “Cooking is not my strong point.”

 

“I do hope my cooking can hold its own next to Mama Dalsazashvili’‘s ” She smiled at him again. “So...” she started trying to avoid an awkward silence but coming up short . “ You were going to say something and I cut you off.” she remembered.

 

Vakhtang cut and took a larger piece of fish into his mouth, attempting to buy himself the time to think of something to say. He was horrible at small talk. He smiled lightly as he chewed his food. He took a few extra seconds to swallow before speaking again. “It was nothing really, I was just going to. . .umm. . .I was going to ask what else, aside from cooking, do you like to do in your spare time.”

 

Eva swallowed the piece of fish she was chewing before answering.”Spare time? Do we work on the same ship?” She put down her fork. “Nothing really..” She finally blurted pathetically. “ I work , work , work and try to sleep.”

 

She mentally strangled herself. “What about you?” she asked trying to keep the conversation going.

 

Tang blinked, wondering if he had touched a nerve there. “I umm. . .I enjoy playing the piano, and that’s about it really. I tried to pick up more hobbies, but I haven’t had too much success.” he said, taking another bite of his fish. “Maybe, umm. . .” he paused, silencing contemplating whether or not to complete his thought. “Maybe you and I could. . .uh. . .maybe we could try and find a hobby.” he said, offering up a smile. ‘I just came off like a flirt, excellent.’

 

Eva picked her fork back up . “ I would like that” she responded, cutting a piece off her salmon. “A musician then. Lucky you! I have no musical ear what so ever.. she said. “ I would like to hear you play sometimes.” she added. “ Impose yourself on him again .. Impressive Eva!!”

 

Tang’s face lit up. “I would indeed love to play for you. It’s rare that I ever have the chance to play for anyone anymore.” he told her, taking one of his last bites of fish. “I’m always afraid to ask people if they would care to listen. I’m afraid they’d be bored by it.” he told her.

 

“ Well I would be delighted to hear some of your music.” she reassured him . “You said “anymore”.. Did you use to play professionally?” She finished her plate, waiting for the answer.

 

Tang shook his head. “No, I have not, unfortunately.” he said, finishing his plate. “I’ve played for family and friends, and have done a few recitals in an around some of the smaller theatres in my hometown and the surrounding area. But other than that, no. I had the chance to enter into the Conservatory at St. Petersburg, but decided to enter the Academy instead.” he told her. He bit the inner part of his lip, as if to scold himself. ‘No need to blurt out your entire life story on the first date.’’ he reminded himself.

 

She had some clever comment about how beautiful St. Petersburg was but the lip biting made her forget all about it. “I was actually all set to be a professor of xeno-anthropology in Paris before the joining and decided to change career path as well. Proof that you can never fully anticipate too far ahead.“ She blurted.

 

Tang set his fork down on table. “Well,” he began “The choices we’ve made seemed to have worked out well, for the both of us, it appears.” he said, taking a sip of his water.

 

Eva nodded in agreement as she got up again to take plates off the table.

 

She stopped mid way between the kitchen and the table looking in Tang’s direction. “I apologize. I am just horrible at small talk. I really hope you don’t think I’m awkward. “ she said, her spots getting slightly darker as she blushed.

 

Tang let out a chuckle which betrayed his relief. “I’ve been sitting here hoping that you weren’t thinking the same of me.” he reassured her. “Small talk isn’t exactly my specialty either.”

 

The Trill laughed genuinely. “Let me get us some cake and coffee and we can start over.” she said relieved. She winked in his direction, turning around and heading in the kitchen.

 

Tang smiled. “That sounds like a good plan.” he felt his eyes follow her into the kitchen. You’re staring again, idiot.’ he scolded himself before looking away just in time before she turned to face him again.

 

Eva walked back in carrying a french press filled with a special blend coffee she normally didn’t share with anyone and a piece of cake for each of them. She stopped by the table. “Let’s have dessert in the sitting area. It will be less .. Formal.” she proposed before putting down the plates on a small coffee table.

 

“I wasn’t just being polite when I said I would like to hear you play by the way.” she said, taking a seat on the sofa, sitting with one leg folded under her casually.

 

Tang stood up and walked over to the sofa. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” taking a seat right next to her. “Nor was I when I said I’d enjoy to find a hobby the two of us could do.”

 

Eva handed him a piece of cake as he sat down. “I have no objection in spending more time getting to know you in the mean time either“ she said with a smile before bringing a small piece of cake to her lips

 

“Tell me about Georgia. I have been to Russia but never ventured into Georgia. How was life growing up there?” she asked, not over thinking her questions for the first time since he walked in.

 

He took a bite of his cake. “Georgia, at least Batumi, is very beautiful.” he started. “Its right on the Black Sea. It wasn’t too crowded, but big enough and and busy enough where there was always something to do while I was growing up, whether it was playing the piano or swimming in the ocean. I feel very fortunate to have grown up there.” he took another bite of his cake. “What about you?” he asked her. “I’m not too familiar with Trill, how was life growing up there?”

 

Holding her coffee she answered. “Wish I knew, I grew up on Earth actually. My Mother is human. I did not set foot on the Trill homeworld until I was almost in my twenties. Trill is a beautiful place though, and much warmer than Montreal was .”

 

Tang silently cursed himself for making the assumption. “I’ve never been to Montreal, either.” he said, trying to recover.

 

She grinned, think of the best way to describe the metropolis. ”It’s big, busy and beautiful. Except in the winter..” she paused to mark her profound dislike of the seaso. “then everything freezes over, well pretty much like Georgia I guess .”

 

“Actually, we were pretty lucky, it snowed very rarely in Batumi. In the eastern and more Northern parts of Georgia, it was more like Russia, though.” he told her. “I do enjoy the snow though, but I have to admit, it was nice to leave it in the mountains, so to speak.” he smiled. His mind raced on about home, he wondered if he’d ever see it again, if the power that be would allow him on Earth.

 

“I do have a holo program of the old Montreal, if you’d like me to show you around sometimes?” she ventured before burying her nose in her coffee cup.

 

Tang’s mind snapped back towards Eva, “I’d love that,” he told her, the smile returning to his face. “I wish I had a holo program of back home, but unfortunately I do not.” he said, pursing his lips. “However, I’m sure that a tour of your home would be wonderful.”

 

Eva smiled putting her coffee down. “Well, we do get shoreleave sometimes .. .“ she stopped mid sentence, shoving a big piece of cake in her mouth. “STOP TALKING .. Now!!” her brain yelled. She gladly obeyed it, smiling awkwardly with her mouth full.

 

Tang set his now finished plate of cake down on the coffee table. He returned the smile, it was a distant smile, though. His mind racing through what the next few days would bring for him. He wasn’t sure he really want to go through with it. ‘They’re probably going to lock me up in a cage somewhere.’ he thought to himself. “I wonder just how different this universe is from mine.” he blurted out.

 

Eva winced slightly.”I did not mean to make you uncomfortable... “ she started. “ No one can really know though. Hopefully it will be very similar.” trying to keep her tone light. She patted his hand slightly, trying to somehow comfort him.

 

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all.” he reassured her. “Its just something that I’ve been thinking about ever since the jump.” he took the final sip of coffee. “Its. . .just. . .” he looked at her, holding his thoughts back. “Look at me, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be unloading my issues on you.” he said, smiling warmly at her. “Especially not after you’ve treated me to such a wonderful evening,” he said, allowing his arm to slip around her shoulder.

 

Eva leaned slightly against him. “Vakhtang, It’ alright with me if you want to talk about it.” She looked up at him. “I’d like to know what you’re thinking.. plus I am trained to listen.” she said gently.

 

Tang took a deep breath. “I just am wondering if I’ll ever get to see my family again.” he said. “There’s two Vakhtang’s out there now, and the other one might just be waiting for us to show up at Maturin Station, which is another issue altogether.” he told her. “But either way, this is -his- universe, not mine. I’m. . .the outsider, for lack of a better term, I guess.”

 

Eva nodded before taking another sip of coffee, wishing there was something she could do or say to make it right. “Well... “ she started, trying to find the right words. “I guess that no matter what happens next, you’ll know soon enough.” she said, knowing full well her words could not change the fact that his assessment of the situation was spot on.

 

Tang nodded, “Indeed.” he said, he voice becoming a little more distant. He let out an audible sigh, instinctively pulling Eva a little closer to him. “I guess,” he paused for a second, trying to gather the words. “I guess whatever happens, I’m going to have to find a place for myself in this universe.” he looked down at her, his arm tracing gently up and down her shoulder.

 

Eva tilted her head back to look at Tang. “In the mean time, You will know where to find me if you need someone to talk to.” she said before letting her head rest on his shoulder.

 

He squeezed her shoulder gently, letting the silence hang in the air momentarily. There was something there, between the two of them, Tang could feel it. “Some how,” he began. “I don’t think I’m going feel alone here.” he ran arm back up her shoulder and through her hair once.

 

Tilting her head once more to face him, Eva smiled . “Not if I can help it.” she answered softly..

 

Tang gazed into her eyes for a moment, before leaning down and giving her a soft kiss on the lips. “Thank you for inviting me here tonight.” he whispered.