And I’m sure we’ll be able to have fun here.
As much as I try to get Ava to talk some as she drives, it’s hard for her to hear me. The engine isn’t loud, but she drives so fast that the wind generator makes it almost impossible for my words to be audible. That’s all right. By far, we’re laughing more than anything. She looks so carefree and happy for once, and that’s all I want.
It’s about a twenty-minute drive to the restaurant, but I think that Ava might’ve been driving around for the fun of it because I’m pretty sure that we drove this way already.
I don’t point that out because I don’t mind.
When we arrive and Ava parks, she glances over at me. “How did you like my driving?”
“A bit erratic,” I tease.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, I’m not complaining,” I assure her.
She winks and climbs out. I do the same, and we enter the place. The lighting is low, candles lit at every table. There aren’t a lot of people here, all couples, and a woman leads us to a table for two near the windows.
Before I can tell Ava I do have a tiny bit of Earthling money on me—I just hadn’t wanted to spend it earlier since I wasn’t sure how long I would be here for—a short man with black hair and eyes rushes over. He nods deeply to me.
“It is our honor to have a Novan dine with us. Or are you a Kurian?”
“A Kurian.” I glance at Ava, who is shaking her head.
“A Kurian, yes, of course! My apologies for not realizing. Of course you are. We are so pleased you are dining with us. Please, enjoy whatever you will like. All-you-can-eat sushi on the house!”
He nods again and rushes away before I can even thank him.
I stare down at the menu the woman gave us when we sat down and then look up at Ava. “It doesn’t say anything about all-you-can-eat sushi on here.”
“That’s because it’s not on the menu.”
I glance toward where the man disappeared in the back. “He wants to be known as the owner who had the Kurian here.”
“Yes. I guess you’re like a celebrity.”
“I doubt everyone would receive me so kindly.”
“Maybe in more rural districts, you’ll have more of an issue, but around the military, people here know what’s what.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s what exactly?” I ask.
She lifts her eyebrows but just shakes her head. From the corner of the table are paper menus for those ordering sushi, and Ava grabs two but only one mini pencil. Quickly, she marks down both papers and hands them to the waitress, who brings with her water and tiny little pitchers as well as a larger one.
“Sake,” Ava comments as she pours some from the larger pitcher into the smaller ones. “Cheers.”
She taps hers against mine and then drinks. I do the same, surprised by its warmth. It tingles in my belly.
“Do you like?” she asks.
“I do.”
She lifts her chin, notices that I drank all of mine, and then pours me some more. “I’ve never had it myself before.”
“Do you like it?”
Ava takes another sip. “I think I do.”
I laugh. “Good.”
When the waitress brings out the sushi, there’s so much more than I expected. The waitress has to tell us which pieces are which, and there are rolls too. The first time I try to use chopsticks, the fish part comes apart from the rice bundled beneath it. Then the rice comes all apart too. With the next one, I’m able to eat it much easier.
We polish off the food, talking a bit about nothing that important, but we enjoy ourselves. All in all, I think the date’s going fairly well so far.
Once we finish eating, too stuffed to eat the dessert the waitress brings us, we profusely thank the owner, who beams and asks if we’ll come back.
I glance at Ava. “I would like for us to.”
She rolls her eyes, her lips almost curling into a tiny smile as she shakes her head.
We leave the place, and she starts toward the centuricar, but I grab her hand.
“Let’s walk for a bit,” I suggest.
“Fine,” she says, but she pulls her hand free.
We walk a bit, and I look around. She seems to know the area well, and she points out a few other places. We don’t walk inside any of the stores we pass, and more than a few of the vehicles slow down, the drivers and passengers looking at us.
“Does it bother you?” she asks.
“Does what bother me?”
“The attention.”
“No.” I pause. “Should it?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. You like everyone wanting to talk to you?”
"I like to ask questions," I say. "When I came as a child, I used to ask my parents all the questions I could think of. I wanted to know why everything was the way it is down here, what was different, why didn't people do this or that. They thought it was amusing at first, but I think my questions started to wear on them, so I started to just talk to the Earthlings. A lot of them had no issue talking to me, but they treated me like a kid. They didn't want to give in-depth answers to my questions. It frustrated me."
“Ah,” is all she says.
Eventually, we head to a place where kids are playing, a bunch of swings and slides. We watch for a time, and the kids keep glancing over. Eventually, one comes over to talk to me, and then they all come over. I talk to them for a bit, and shortly after that, their parents collect them to go home. The place is ours, and I glance over at Ava to realize she’s not there.
A soft laugh has me realizing she’s on one of the swings.
I cross over to her and reach for the swing next to her.
“I, ah, think you might weight too much,” she says.
“Probably.” I
