Ecie & Esme II: Another Day Like This

Four

'Just wait here for a minute,' Ecie said to Ellis. 'I just need to finish with this one customer.'

'Sure,' Ellis replied. 'I'll be waiting over there.'

'Okay,' Ecie smiled. She ran back to her customer. 'So, where were we?'

'You were telling me the difference between the feel of a cotton shirt and that of a nylon one,' Langley laughed. 'You said I would be better with a cotton one.'

'Oh yeah,' Ecie laughed. 'A cotton one would keep you warm in the evenings and would keep you cool during the day. A nylon shirt would just look weird.'

'Right,' Langley nodded. 'Could you perhaps show me?'

Ecie rolled her eyes jokingly and pulled down a cotton shirt and a nylon jacket. Langley moved closer to her and kissed her inner arm.

'Who was that guy in the store?' Ellis asked as they walked to a place to have lunch.

'He was a customer Ellis,' Ecie replied. 'You know? It's kind of like my job to serve other people and have customers.'

'Yeah I know,' Ellis said. 'He seemed kind of weird. What were you guys laughing about for ages?'

'Nothing,' Ecie smiled. 'He wanted to buy a nylon shirt and I was trying to persuade him that a cotton one would be better. There's always got to be that one tricky customer.'

'I guess...'

'Oh my god,' Ecie said stopping and hiding behind Ellis.

'What?' Ellis asked startled. 'What is it?'

'It's Eric,' Ecie replied watching as Eric went past. 'Oh my god it's Eric. What is he doing here? He lives in Calabasas.'

'Who the hell is Eric?'

'That guy,' Ecie pointed.

'How do you know Eric?'

'I don't exactly,' Ecie said watching Eric. 'Come on, we have to follow him.'

'You're kidding, right?'

Ecie looked at Ellis.

'You're not kidding,' he muttered as she pulled him in the direction of Eric. 'This was not exactly how I wanted to spend my lunch.'

They stopped by a dry cleaners where Eric went in and stayed for a few minutes before emerging with two sets of clothing bags. They then followed him a few steps as he stepped into a store to buy some food. Eric left the store and headed over to his black Maserati and climbed in then drove off.

'He picks up his own dry cleaning,' Ecie smiled sighing. 'Who knew?'

'E?' Ellis said. 'Who was that guy? How do you know him?'

'He's dating my mom,' Ecie replied returning to reality. 'Esme and I have been staking him out for days.'

'Is that why we couldn't hang out last night? You were spying on your mom's boyfriend?'

'Forget it,' Ecie said. 'You don't get it. How about we go for lunch now?'

'I can't believe you saw him today and I wasn't there,' Esme said as she sat down in Curtain with Jonathon, Ecie and Ross, who had finally returned from Paris. 'I am so jealous.'

'I just can't get over that he picks up his own dry cleaning,' Ecie replied. 'And that he likes Doritos. I didn't expect that from him.'

'Well,' Jonathon said looking around the restaurant. 'This place looks expensive.'

'I heard that they import all the food from their original place of origin and that's what makes it so expensive,' Esme said. 'The food here is said to be one of the best places to eat in the world.'

'As long as the food is good,' Ross said rubbing his hands together. 'I have not eaten in hours.'

A waiter came by to their table with four menus and handed them out. 'My name is Oliver and I shall be your waiter this evening. If you need anything at all, I shall be on hand to get it for you.'

'Wow,' Esme mouthed to Ecie.

'I know,' Ecie replied.

'I shall be back in a few minutes whilst you decide what you would like to order.'

'This place is absurd,' Jonathon laughed looking over the menu when Oliver had left. 'Have you seen the price of the fish?'

'Look at the beef,' Ross said. 'I bet it's going to be this measly square thing that I can eat in one bit. What a rip-off.'

'Guys,' Ecie said. 'Let's be nice. This is only our first time being here, we should show some respect and order something.'

'I like the sea bass with black pepper,' Esme said looking at her menu. 'And the vegetables steamed from the waters of the Black Sea. It sounds interesting.'

'Never say anything about Egypt,' Ross said. 'That was the worst summer of my life.'

'I wouldn't say so,' Ecie replied looking over her menu. 'You got rid of Chelsea and got a new girlfriend. I would say you had a great summer.'

Oliver returned to take their orders. 'How about any sides?'

'Could we have the Italian soft bread and cheese balls,' Jonathon replied. 'A bottle of your finest and your elderflower.'

'And some garlic bread and a basket with loads of rolls in it,' Esme added. 'And some sauce like oil or something.'

Oliver nodded. 'I shall be right back.' A few moments later, Oliver led some waiters to their table with their appetizers and set them down on the table. 'Your meal will be with you shortly. Is there anything else I can do for you?'

'So how did you girls find that place?' Jonathon asked as they drove home.

'Oh you know,' Ecie replied. 'These kinds of places are popping up all over the place.'

'So did you like it?' Esme asked looking into the mirror and back at her dad. 'What did you think?'

'Considering that I had to drop about two thousand dollars on dinner, I would say it was okay,' Jonathon replied. 'The service was actually excellent and so was the food. I'm just not sure it's a place I would regularly eat at.'

'But it's in a nice area,' Ross said. 'You need to take all that stuff into consideration when you're looking at the price.'

'All I'm saying is that if I ever meet the guy who owns the place, I'll tell him that it's a tad overpriced,' Jonathon said. 'Anyway, where will we be eating tomorrow night?'

'Somewhere near home,' Esme replied. 'I don't like driving home for almost an hour after dinner.'