Chapter 7

• I scrambled out of the taxi after tossing the driver a twenty. I was about to rush off, to hurry towards The Simple Path and apologize profusely to Asher for being late, but some part of me held off. I only owed the driver eight dollars, and a twelve dollar tip seemed excessive. His wide smile turned into a miserly scowl as he doled out my change. To be fair, I handed him a few bills back, but he still looked annoyed at being shortchanged from his previous generous tip.
• Oh well, I thought, can’t please everyone, right? I was on a roll with that today and it seemed like I wasn’t going to please anyone, though. I reached into my purse and checked my cell phone for the time. Nine minutes late for my noontime lunch date with Asher.
• I hurried into The Simple Path. A man greeted me at the door, stopping me with a friendly smile and a hasty shuffle to block my way inside. I reminded myself this wasn’t a typical restaurant. I couldn’t just look through the tables and head over to my friends, moving past the front door man with hardly a word.
• He kept up that friendly smile while talking to me. “May I help you, miss? Do you have reservations?”
• I nodded fast. “I’m here for Asher?” I wasn’t sure how this was supposed to go, but that seemed like enough information.
• “Asher?” he asked. Turning to a ledger on his podium, he gave it a cursory glance. “Can you be more specific?”
• Really now? Asher wasn’t the most common of names. If he had more than one on his list, I’d be surprised. “Asher Landseer?” I offered.
• The man nodded and looked up from his listings. “Alright. Will you wait here a moment?”
• I nodded. Yes, of course, where else would I go? He called someone else over and whispered into the other man’s ear. They both gave me a strange look. Why? I didn’t know. Maybe this was what they did in fancy restaurants? Part of the appeal? It really didn’t strike me as all that appealing, but who was I to judge against tradition.
• When the other man walked off, leaving me alone with the man at the front desk, it suddenly dawned on me. Yes, Asher was here, and I knew this, but they didn’t know he’d invited me. For all they knew, I was some deranged stalker, or a seductive assassin, or who knew what else. Paparazzi? I had no camera, except… no, I had my cell phone, so I technically did have something I could take discrete pictures with.
• The idea amused me. I was Jessika Fevrier, essentially no one of particular importance. I mean, I thought I was important, but compared to someone like Asher, to these people I was nothing. But they didn’t know that, and so I had my current status upgraded to a suspect for possible trouble. I amused myself with those thoughts while I waited for the other man to return.
• I expected this all to be taken care of in short order, and it was, except…
• Along with the other man who’d ostensibly gone to question after my authenticity, Asher returned, too. He gave me a bright, brilliant smile, then patted the man behind the ledger desk on the shoulder.
• “This is my guest for the afternoon,” he told the man. “The lady, Jessika Fevrier. Sorry for the confusion. I should have waited for her before seating myself, but it must have skipped my mind.”
• “Oh, Mr. Landseer,” the man said. “No, no. My apologies. I didn’t recognize your…?” He stumbled, clearly thinking I must be someone of importance that he’d failed to notice.
• “Acquaintance,” Asher said, rather more firmly than I thought necessary. “Ms. Fevrier? Shall we?”
• He held out his arm. I was too dumbstruck and confused to realize I should take it. Not to mention disappointed. I knew I shouldn’t expect anything, but being relegated to acquaintance? That was barely better than “a random woman I met off the street.” In fact, I might’ve liked that one more, since at least it had an air of mystery about it.
• At a smile and a coaxing from Asher, I put my hand around his arm and let him take the lead. We walked through The Simple Path, past elegant dining tables with rustic, wooden chairs, towards the back of the restaurant. I didn’t know what to expect upon first stepping foot into the place, but I definitely didn’t expect the string quartet playing music off to the side. There was a small, squared off area for dancing, too, except it looked like dancing was currently not in fashion because everyone steered as far away from the dance floor as possible. The tables farthest away from the musicians were filled to capacity, but the ones closest looked empty and abandoned. Odd, since I would have figured those would be the best seats.
• Asher brought me to a section in the rear with private rooms. Not even really a room, but a little alcove big enough to seat a handful of people, with a cushion directly on the floor and a table so low that to sit at it we’d need to cross our legs or sit with our feet straight out. I wondered which was the more proper way and waited for Asher to sit so I could watch and learn.
• Except, lady’s first. Dammit! The one time I didn’t want a gentleman, and here I was, with someone who would never act unchivalrous. I stepped towards the cushion, unsure and slow, staring at the floor.
• “You take your shoes off first,” Asher offered with a grin. “Shall I?” He mimicked kneeling to help me remove them.
• “N-no!” My God, this was embarrassing. I stepped out of my high heels and…
• “Right here,” Asher said, tapping a mat off to the side. I put my heels there. “The proper way to sit is called seiza, but most women can’t do it for…”
• I interrupted him before he could finish. “I can do it. What’s seiza?”