Love, Lust 'n Geology (1ST DRAFT)

Chapter 15: Dinner in Dryden

I don't think pure readers - those who aren't posting stories (yet ;-) - realize the self-doubt that accompanies writing and the boost of confidence that a writer gets when a reader who's truly enjoying a story takes the time to let the writer know it :-). This chapter is dedicated to alexander_117 for always letting me know when she's enjoying mine & doing wonders for my morale ;-)! Thx!

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Chapter 15: Dinner in Dryden

Tom took her to a steak and seafood restaurant. While she had no objection to the fare, she did to the prices. Oh, my God! She would have much preferred that they'd gone to The Burger Place in Ignace, where Chris had likely headed. But then they might have run into him and who knows what would have happened. Perhaps it was worth it to pay through the nose to avoid getting bopped on the nose?

She scanned the menu looking for the cheapest item. Tom, meanwhile, commented that she couldn't go wrong with any of the dishes, that it was just a matter of what she felt like having. According to him, he'd tried just about everything on the menu - a result of there being so few restaurants in the area - and had never been disappointed. Oh yes, she could! Yes, she could! She could go very wrong with the lobster which came in at a whopping price!

While she was leaning towards the Fettuccine Alfredo, she decided to wait and see what Tom would order. She anticipated that it would be steak ... rare. Up to this point, he had defeated every stereotype she'd held of a northern man. Surely, he'd succumb to one now! She couldn't see Wolverine opting for fish over steak unless he'd caught it himself, (between his teeth), and neatly gutted it with a single swipe of his razor sharp adamantium claws. And lobster, yeah, he'd probably crunch it all up without even bothering to remove the shell. And shrimp? Why he'd have to decimate an entire local population consisting of parents, grandparents, children, siblings, first cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. to consume enough to fuel his powerful muscles. Tom closed the menu and meeting her gaze, said smilingly, "I think I'll have the salmon."

"Oh?" she mumbled, and then ducked her head down and continued to peruse the menu, stating, "I haven't decided yet."

As they dug into their meal - she settled for the Fettuccine Alfredo, after all - she asked him about life in Ignace. While their own days were devoted to geology, she'd often wondered what the locals did for entertainment. He confessed that if one wasn't turned on by the outdoors, then Ignace didn't have a whole lot to offer. He'd never had any issues with boredom, though. He liked to hike, canoe, fish. He had a snowmobile and also played hockey. Probably the fact that he liked to read helped. He played guitar too, or had when he was younger, though he wasn't very good at it, having picked it up on his own. But boredom was a definite problem amongst teenagers, with alcoholism and teen pregnancy being fairly common. She lowered her eyes at the mention of the latter, recalling his behaviour with her the first time they'd met, wondering if he'd been responsible for any!

She and Chris had had two funny moose encounters recently. Slipping into Grant mode, only temporarily, of course, she told Tom about them. In one, a single moose had been standing at water's edge, munching on plants. She and Chris had paddled up to it and come within fifteen feet of it before the moose noticed them and took off. She couldn't believe how unobservant the moose was! Tom smiled and explained that while moose had good hearing and an excellent sense of smell, their eyesight was known to be poor. In particular, they had trouble seeing objects close to them because of the position of their eyes, on the sides of their head. The moose would have had a better chance of spotting them when they were further away but had likely been enjoying his meal too much. And they must have paddled very, very quietly to get so close to him. She shrugged and admitted, yeah, they had been trying to sneak up on him.