Just walk right in, it's around the back...

[ooeeooahah]

[ Downtown, Midday, open to anyone in town ]

[ One of the buildings has been getting a good bit of attention. The week has seen many things attached to the roof, or added to the alley behind the building that might have been the diner. While the exterior has not been that polished, it has been cleaned and made weather-tight. ]

[ Today, there are three additions to the windows in the front of the building. ]

[ First, the largest addition has been a chalkboard sign in the window, declaring Today's Special to be Pancakes with Fruit. ]

[ Second, there is a cardboard sign requesting volunteers for additional cooks and servers, shifts negotiable. ]

[ Third, a small, neatly hand-lettered sign notes that Dr. Ilsa Higa is available for counseling. ]

[ Inside, there are only two tables for four, but plenty of space for more. However, there are ten stools at the counter. Ilsa is behind the counter, putting away clean dishes in the shelves above the grill, generally straightening up. ]

Comments

[beetlemania]

Yeah, it would make things easier in the long run, even if it's being kind of a pain to set up now.

Really? I might have to hang around for a bit, then.

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa smiles, then flips the pancakes onto a plate, and puts them in front of him, with a small dish of butter on the side. ]

Sure, we've got plenty of coffee.

[ Topping off his mug as she says it. ]

[beetlemania]

Oh, hey, these look great.

[Ted throws himself at the plate of pancakes with great gusto.]

Yeah, they're pretty great.

[ooeeooahah]

Daddy was great at pastry, but pancakes were a quick treat for weekday breakfasts.

[beetlemania]

Hey, I'm pretty sure these would be good anytime.

[ooeeooahah]

Thanks, I'll see how well everything goes over, and see what get repeated. Hrm, now that I think of it... [ Ilsa pulls a box out of the recycling, turning it inside out, writing a note on the inside surface. ] ...need to remember the dry erase paint in the next batch of building supplies.

[beetlemania]

[Ted rubs his chin thoughtfully.]

Yeah, supplies are just going to be one of those things we've got to plan out for a while...

[ooeeooahah]

[ She points with her pen to the space where the cashier's station was in the other diner. ]

I seriously doubt we're ever going to have a currency other than barter, really. So that's going to be given over to a message center until the interior of City Hall is finished.

[beetlemania]

Yeah, I can't see money doing much good out here when you could just will a wad of bills into existence.

A message center's a good idea--I'm sure there are people who still haven't been able to find their friends yet.

[ooeeooahah]

And there are a few coming in that have been gone for a while. [ She smiles, looking out the window. ] They missed the mad dash, and in some cases, had been gone for months, years.

[ Her smile fades a little. ] Now that I know we aren't stealing them from home, and there's no random craziness, I kinda hope to see some of them soon.

[beetlemania]

Yeah, I know what you mean. There have been a lot of good people who left...

[ooeeooahah]

Some more abruptly than others.

[ She begins to tidy up the already neat kitchen. ]

[beetlemania]

Yeah...never was easy to find someone you cared about suddenly just not themselves.

[He shudders a bit and goes on eating.]

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa is quiet as she lets him finish his pancakes in peace. She tops off his coffee at intervals. ]

[velesdonnersen]

[Tarvek looks down the counter and sees a former Mayfieldian sucking down coffee with great dedication. Looks like he may become one of Ilsa's regulars. That being the case Tarvek's determined to try to be friendly. He may try to hard: he was trianed for the life of a nobleman in a parallel 19th C Europe, not for a more casual, direct age.]

[Nods rather regally.]

Hello. May I introduce myself? I'm Tarvek Sturmvoraus, a...friend...of Ilsa's.

[beetlemania]

[Ted's body language is anything but regal, he's a pretty casual sort of guy. He gives Tarvek a grin and a nod.]

Name's Ted. Ted Kord. I'm...

[He laughs.]

Well, I was hunting for pancakes, really. Can't believe I actually found some.

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa serves Tarvek coffee, ] You two talk up the civil engineering of the town, but let him eat at the same time.

Has anyone checked for underground tunnels, yet?

(Sorry, folks, weekend from h*ell...)

[velesdonnersen]

[He nods at Ilsa, and smiles, then turns back to Ted.]

She makes good pancakes. Good food. I won't let engineering interfere with that. At least...for long.