"Business dinner

Posted on Sun Sep 2nd, 2018 @ 6:09pm by Maria Garabaldi

1,502 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 96 - A Visitor From the Past
Location: SB 400 Curious Goods
Timeline: MD1

While Jaca took Roberto to school, Maria cleaned up their small apartment.

Part of her morning ritual was to get the dishes washed, then clean up from the impromptu ice cream feast.

While she appreciated the help in some ways Jaca was a horrible influence on Roberto, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for her son to learn to enjoy life, to ‘live deliciously’ however she did want to actually parent her son, which she would talk to Jaca about that later, but right now the store had to be opened.

So she headed downstairs flipped on the lights and opened the door. She began to set out some of the more unique items, older books she had found and were now up for sale.

Now it was just a wait for a customer. Hopefully curiosity would win out.

The first pass of trader ships had docked, coming to deliver wares or establish new business. The Rashtath under Romulan registry had been cleared for docking about midway in the rush. It’s captain, Kylor had been looking forward to swing by Starbase 400 again. It had been a year since he’d been last here so he was very interested to see what new businesses were on the Promenade.

After passing through customs, he headed straight to the Promenade. The mercenary trader smiled inwardly at seeing several new shops and kiosks. Each was a new opportunity. After pausing at a kiosk for a freshly made osul twist, he ambled along, casually looking over the stores and taking mental notes on each.

There were possibilities with each, though the curiosities store caught his attention with the credentials strip hanging in the front. Djabuul weren’t particularly known outside those who were heavily travelling the galaxy so this had an avenue he could work for a bit. Finishing off his twist, Kylor walked in to meet the shopkeepers.

The bell by the door tinkled as the tall well built Romulan man walked in confidently and looking around.

Maria came in from the rear of the store when the bell rang and she saw the stranger, Either Vulcan or Romulan, they looked alike enough she could get them confused, Dr Sovak had told her that it was something with their ears, but she still got confused. Except, as the joke went, never trust a smiling Vulcan. So she headed over and put on her best friendly smile and walked over to him.

“Looking for something in particular?”

“This shop is new since I was last here.”, Kylor said with just a hint of a Romulan accent as he looked Maria over appreciatively. From his observation, her ancestry was from Terra’s Mediterranean region. Gave her a healthy complexion compared to some of the corpse pale tone of many humans.

“We’re new here, just opened yesterday to be exact.” She had to get used to this, being married had really caused her ‘check out’ radar to be out of alignment, came with the husband she had been nuts about. “Collection of antiques, oddities and other curiosities.” She then smiled again, “Curious goods, we also buy items, on consignment if you want.”

“I would love to know how you came to an arrangement with one of...them.”, Kylor practically purred, “I met one once when I was on an ore run. Had to be near eight feet tall, head like a spiny beast’s skull with a body of black smoke and eyes of flame. Would lick the ore to taste if it was replicated for the Ore Broker. Never could get it out of him how he came to his arrangement. Looked fit to jump out of his skin when I asked.”

She paused, “We just hit it off.” There was more to it but was she really going to dump, ‘yeah my husband died because some captain had to flex his dick at the Gorn, so I was a bitter bitch till I met Jaca who managed to keep me from going on a murder spree.’ “We met after I left Starfleet and she agreed to partner up to open a business, the artifacts were her idea. THey’re pretty popular right now.”

“They’re exceptionally hard to find, particularly in Federation space.”, Kylor said. The truth being the puzzleboxes the Djabuul crafted could easily be designed to open an unpleasant and often lethal surprise to those they weren’t meant for, so they were highly prized in certain areas of Romulan society. “I do sometimes come across interesting things when I’m on my trade runs. I think we might be able to come into an arrangement.”, he said, continuing on with a hint of smile, “Perhaps we could discuss this over..dinner later?”

THere was a brief what in the wide wide world of sports is going on, in Maria’s head. Dinner? Ok, was this professional or what, the red alert light was going off, is this a DATE, she hadn’t done that since she was 15, at least not with different people, oh god, oh sweet baby Jesus, Jaboo what the hell do I do now?

“Ok…” She paused, “We can discuss this over dinner.” Food was food, and business would get discussed. “We close around 6,”

“Sounds good.”, Kylor said with a twinkle in his eye, gaze still on Maria..

As the two were more intent on talking, neither noticed Jaca coming in. Despite her usual clomping around in her smithboots, she could be quiet when she wanted to, and in this case she wanted to be so silent she’d be unheard in a library full of Vulcans. Her eyes darted between her friend and the customer, practically seeing the dotted lines of eye gaze and body language positioning. Still keeping silent, she pulled up her shirt to show her belly as with a focus of will shifted her pigment to change to show a message of ‘Delicious Friend 4 U??’ for Maria to see only.

‘If I look at the crazy it will drive me insane’ Maria thought ‘don’t look at the crazy, treat it like a Medusan stripper, no looking.’ She nodded, “Ok then I will see you then.”

Jaca had her shirt down and one of those uncomfortably wide needly toothed grins as Kylor turned around, nodded politely at her as passed by. Once he was out the door, Jaca did the glide across the floor thing like a spectral nun over to Maria’s side. She was all bouncy and wide eyed as she asked, “Sooooooo?”

“So what?” Maria paused, “He wants to discuss business.”

Jaca literally grinned to her pointed ears, “Yeeeeessssss…..business….”

Maria just looked at her friend flatly, “yes…business. Not THAT way.” She shook her head, at least she didn’t think it was. Was it?

Jaca scooped up Maria and happily spun her around, “Finally you are living Deliciously!”, she said, “You must wear the outfit my aunt gifted you for this!”

“Nooo….” Maria looked a little confused, “It’s a business meeting, I wear that outfit he gets to see more of me then anyone but my husband and doctor have seen, I am not even sure this isn’t anything more then a business meeting, I mean what if he has a wife and kids, I go there looking like some puttana he’s going to think I’m nuts.”

“Unless he has a bonding tattwa on his kuushu, I didn’t see anything saying he’s taken.”, Jaca said seriously, “No rings, earrings, nose rings, or tanlines where they’d be.” She shifted back to happy bouncy, “I’ll take care of Roberto until you come home in the morning. I promise to make the oatmeals and pamcakes all healthy for him.”

Maria paused, “I appreciate that but…. One step at a time” Her mind is still whirling with all this, “Why don’t we see when I get home, but I am holding you to the healthy food.”

“I will draw up a contract for signing, I promise that much.”, Jaca said, eyes now sending off little happy sparkles, “We have to pick what you’ll wear, do your face paints, you can even wear my skin jewelry!”

“Breathe.” Maria began, “One step at a time, Right now you’re freaking me out. I haven’t dated anyone new since I was 15. “

Jaca let out a sound that sounded like an inhaled squeak crossed with a hiccup, “I’m just so happy for you.”

“And I appreciate that, but right now, let’s run the store we’ll talk about it on lunch break. Ok?”

Jaca giggled and practically skipped over to her forge. For the rest of the morning she could be seen singing happily, the only time the ‘lalalalalalalalaaaa’ parts could be heard when she stepped out of the forge room to hang a windchime she completed.

Maria just sighed...it would be a long day

Maria Garabaldi

And


Jacaranda

Proprietors:
Curious Goods.

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