Garbage Day

Jesse popped the back seat of his van open and began lowering the rear elevator as Charlotte wheeled her way down from Lynn's house.  

"I found this place I think you'll love.  I'll be honest, I pretty much just googled 'best healthy restaurants in Pittsburgh,' but this one looks real good.  I hope you'll like it."

Jesse pushed some of his hair out of his face and pulled his headphones off, holding them in one hand.  "And thanks again, Charlotte.  I know I don't need to make it up to you, but it feels right.  Not to mention I feel like we could use it after... everything."  

The elevator came to a halt.  He held on to the top of the door with one hand.  "And tonight's on me.  I've been makin' good money off of these construction jobs, so I got it.

"But yeah, it's called 'Honeygrow'.  Ever been there before?"

"Oh?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, casting a sideways glance toward Jesse, midway up the ramp, with a curious smile. As she finished wheeling herself up she stifled a laugh, covering her mouth as she finished rolling into the van bed.

"Impressive investigation skills." She finally gave in to the laughter, followed by a shake of her head. "No, actually. I've certainly heard about it, but, well, I really didn't get out too much. Lynn's a stay-at-home kind of eater."

"So, counterpoint? Well picked Jesse, well picked."

"Heh, thanks," he said as he closed the door and ran round to the front.  He hopped in the driver's seat and gently place his headphones on the seat nearby.  As he turned the car on, he made an effort to turn the radio off as he plugged in his GPS and began navigation.

"Thanks again for deciding to come with.  I... know we had a chat earlier, but I still felt kinda bad 'bout everything."  He pulled out of the driveway and hit the road.  "I ain't very good at handling my problems.  Never really have been," he said, glancing back quickly at a stop sign before turning back forward.  "Probably because I convinced myself I didn't need friends for so long.  Boy was I wrong, right?"

Locking her wheels into place, Charlotte settled between the backseats, just close enough to lean on the center console if she squeezed in the middle. Settled in right behind Jesse she peaked out the windshield and leaned slightly on the passenger's seat-- a feat that was only possible when the whole gang wasn't pressed into the rickety (yet actually super scarily fortified) thing.

A beat of silence fell between them, Charlotte obviously in thought due to the sharp exhale through her nose.

"Well." She began carefully, "Now you have us, and me-- and it takes some getting used to. Doesn't it?"

She shuffled a bit, falling back, trying to give Jesse ample room to drive safely. "I appreciate the thought and the time you put in. Even if it's google or whatever, it's... nice!. So, thanks, again, that is. I'm looking forward to moving ahead, sounds like you are too, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jesse agreed.  "You know, I asked Ryann her advice, before everyting happened.  She said I should get 'em to spell out 'Sorry' on the salad with dressing... but I figured that would be a step too far.  But I took the salad idea and ran with it," he said with a chuckle as they made their way to East Liberty.  After the ever-stressful process of finding parking, and after he helped Charlotte out of the back, they made their way to the streetside restaurant.



Jesse held the door open for Charlotte as he looked around.  It seemed like they had just hit the tail end of the dinner rush, so there wouldn't be any significant lines, helped moreso by the fact that less people had been out after the incident a week or so ago.  Things had still not returned to normal... and they might never, to be honest.  It was just as Devil Box had said; Things were changing.


"This place looks real nice.  Got any preference on where we sit?"

"A sorry salad?" She shared a laugh with her companion, feeling a sting of worry for their lost companion. Still, the day continued, and she had to hope that Ryann would hold her own in the Wilds until they could get to her.

Upon reaching the restaurant, Charlotte quietly thanked Jesse before rolling in and scanning the establishment, curious. The minimal, clean, interior made her smile approvingly as she admired the simple layout. Without overstaying her welcome in the doorway, Charlotte began wheeling her way towards a low table.

"It does. It'll be nice to patron a small business, too. Well done, Jesse." She complimented him with a smile again before humming over the tables, "Honestly, anywhere is fine. No high tables, obviously."

Her scan stopped at a window seat for two, tucked slightly out of the way but not set in aggressive sun. "This will do. Is the booth side okay with you?"

"Sure is," he said, sliding into the seat.

He smiled and looked down at the menu.  It looked simple, but it was pretty daunting in its simplicity and choices.  "Oh," he said.  "I'm... not really sure what most of this stuff is.  I guess I probably shoulda looked at the menu beforehand, huh?" He chuckled.

He ordered a water from the server; they'd be getting drinks at some local bars afterwards, so there was no sense in spending too much on drinks now.

He pushed up his glasses and glanced at Charlotte quickly before looking back down. "Stir fry sounds pretty good... though I think the closest I've ever had to that before is take-out Chinese food.  Anything catch your eye?"

Humming, considerate and intent, she poured over the menu. Flipping it back and forth a few times, Charlotte quickly pared down her options. Still she murmured, "This. This is hard."

Charlotte followed Jesse's lead, only ordering water for the time being.

"Stir fry is always a solid choice," she affirmed with a nod, "I think I'll also do that. The Red Coconut Curry sounds good? Since I've, uhm, worked... on my spice tolerance, it's been interesting to try new things here and there."

Placing her menu down, Charlotte settled in her chair and cocked her head to the side. "What about you?"

"Well," he thought, "Garlic's always a good pick, yeah?  Maybe I'll just go with this spicy garlic stir fry.  I feel like that's a safe first option."

He, of course, could hardly make an actual decision until the server returned.

He took a moment to sit in silence after they left.  "So," he said, breaking the quiet just barely, talking loud enough only for the two of them to hear.  "What do you think of... well... everything? Between the Circle... Ryann... and... and... and Jack? This ain't exactly what I expected to do with the end of my year, but things just keep gettin' weirder and wilder."

With a little smile, she watched Jesse waffle on his choices. While she agreed that many things sounded delicious, she let him meander through the minimal menu. She also made a quiet note to never take him to a place with a five or six page menu... provided she would ever do that, anyway.

Her lips pursed at his question and a huff substituted as a sigh, "That's a big one."

Leaning forward onto the table, Charlotte cradled her chin in her palm and turned her eyes to the window to watch people go by. "Besides saying that, oh, a lot has happened, I don't even think I know where to begin. This has a lot of moving pieces. It's hard to stomach it all at once. Now that I told my dad, though... things are feeling a little better."

Looking back to Jesse, she inclined her head. "You though, how about you?"