Vices and Maces

Chapter 56: The Hunt Family is a Whole Fruit Basket

Opening the door, Remus offered Janus his hand. "Let's see how good this restaurant is," he said as the shifter climbed out of the car, taking the crutches from Remus.

"If you chose it then, from what I can tell, it'll be mediocre," Janus told him. "Maybe as good as Daisy's bakery, but I can't be sure."

"Aw come on, I was looking for a restaurant that might be your style! It's not super fancy but I'm sure it'll be good!" Remus locked the car and led Janus towards a restaurant. It wasn't a chain restaurant at least, but it looked plain from the outside anyway.

Inside there was a bar, tables at booths or in the middle of the room. There were fake plants and small chandeliers. Candles were lit, but were high enough to keep out of reach of children. The smell of fresh food wafted over them as they walked in.

"Okay, better on the inside than outside," Janus commented.

"Well they just finished renovating the inside, I'm sure they'll put something up on the outside soon enough," Remus defended as he walked to the host station.

"Hello, do you have a reservation?" the hostess asked.

"Yup, table for two, Hunt," Remus told her.

"Alright, just follow me." She picked up two menus and started walking towards the tables. She took them to a small table on the side of the restaurant with only two chairs. There was a small bouquet of flowers on the side closest to the wall. She set the two menus down and said, "A waiter will be with you shortly."

Remus and Janus both said their thanks as they opened their menu.

"So have you been to a restaurant similar to this before?" Janus asked, trying to make conversation.

"I mean, I've been to fancy restaurants, but not this one. I just like trying new things, though most of the time I find myself at Daisy's," Remus answered. "I suppose I will be driving home so I shouldn't get anything alcoholic."

"I've been meaning to ask, how did Daisy come under your protection?" The shifter set their menu down as they finished looking through it.

"I used to go there a few times before we ever got into our current business. Not often, you know how expensive her sandwiches can be and we found it hard to find any food back then. Then when we came into a lot of money to pay off debts and become financially stable, I started going there more and more, bringing my brother with me. Then I noticed one day that she was getting low on food, and there were moving boxes folded up in the back. She explained that she was shutting down, and I didn't want that, her bakery was part of my old life! So my brother and I agreed to help her pay off bills to stay afloat. Her bakery became more successful and soon she didn't need our help anymore, but we still check in every now and then."

"You are a big softy, that's adorable!" Janus rested their head on their hands.

Remus set his menu down with a shrug, a small blush on his face. "What can I say, I take food seriously. Well, no I don't, I just like Daisy. What about you?"

"Oh, I guess I just became a regular in recent years. I've always been a smooth talker, so I guess I ended up befriending her. We would talk while she got my order, so it wasn't hard."

A waiter came by and asked, "Can I get you guys a drink and appetizer?"

"A coke for me, and breadsticks," Remus ordered.

"I'll try the lemon drop martini," Janus said.

"Alright, I'll have that out shortly," the waiter said as she finished writing the order down.

"I didn't take you for a martini guy," Remus commented, moving his menu aside.

"I'm more of a wine person, but occasionally I'll try some fruity drinks."