S'il Vous Plait Rappelez Moi ( Please, Remember Me )

II. Old and New

The french restaurant Kuchel was talking about looked pretty nice, after all. No, that's an understatement. It was actually a very fine place where only rich people dined. It was the kind of place which required someone's each and every knowledge of proper etiquette. The restaurant gave off a very soothing ambiance with it's amber colored lights and the fine music being performed on the piano by a professional. The aura of the place was mild, accompanied with very light talk and the soft sound of the goblets and the silverware being used by the patrons.

A man in maroon uniform greeted them in french and inquired where they should be seated. Kuchel requested for a table for four people.

Four? Is mother carrying someone in her handbag?

The man led them to the table that was near the window. It had the magnificent sight of the bay nearby with people parading about, admiring the beautiful show of lights this city provided during nighttime. The men seated themselves and the uniformed person helped the woman sit. He offered each of them the restaurant's menu, showing tonight's special - seafood. And, of course, the menu had to be in french. After a while, a waiter in the starchiest of all uniforms Levi had ever seen brought them white wine, and after Kuchel's permission, poured half a glass for each of them. Kenny smiled in satisfaction as he unhesitatingly doused the contents of his goblet into his dry and almost parched mouth. Kuchel raised an eyebrow. The waiter pretended he didn't see what had just occurred and inquired what else they need before bringing the appetizer. Kuchel spoke, in flawless french ( of course, being Kuchel's son, Levi perfectly understood each and every word that was being exchanged, whereas Kenny just pretended he understood everything ), that they were still expecting a woman with long hair. Should she arrive, they must immediately lead her right here. The waiter bowed and paraded away like someone's butler. Levi took the chance to ask his mother about the woman.

"You didn't say anything about inviting another person with us tonight." he said, not masking his confusion from his mother.

"Oh, do you have short - term memory loss now, Levi?" Kuchel primly took a sip of her white wine, which was almost taken away by Kenny. "I remember I said that I invited my former student to dine with us tonight."

"Was she that violinist?" Kenny asked.

"Not just a violinist. She's the Rose Stationnares Orchestra's Concertmaster." Oh, now I remember about that Concertmaster thing. Was that really a big deal? "And I'm telling you, that child's the most talented student I ever had. She mastered both the violin and the piano, although she now only focused on the violin. She's very endearing and sweet, too. I called her my pet."

"Your pet?" said Kenny in disgust. "Was she some kind of a teacup chihuahua you pestered our parents to get when you're still a stupid, drooling brat?"

"I didn't mean that kind of pet! I mean, my Pet!" Kuchel argued.

"Whatever! They sound the same." Kenny fired back.

Levi sighed at the scene and just focused his sight on the view outside. There's no stopping the two of them when they started arguing and exchanging insults.

He finally took his glass of wine and noticed that the door opened, probably to let another patron in, but he didn't look. He heard the same uniformed man speaking to the customer in french, and the customer, the female customer, answered in absolutely perfect french that she's being expected by a woman and two men. The man agreed, answering in what seemed to be an overly animated tone, and accompanied her to their table.

Oh, great. The Master is here,...

Suddenly, the two stopped arguing. The familiar scent of tea rose perfume assaulted Levi's nostrils once again. His hand bearing the goblet stopped in midair when he was about to take a sip of his wine, and he turned to see their invited guest.