Nina and Travis were both inside Yoshikawa’s now, waiting for a table. After a few minutes of waiting, a geisha waitress came by and escorted them to a vacant table. The geisha led the way, Nina followed behind her, and Travis followed behind Nina. During their small expedition to their table, Travis began to think about his situation. “Oh man, what am I gonna do? I can’t date this girl, she’s huge. And she’s hungry. Oh god, she’s gonna eat me out of house and home! I may have to pull out a loan just to pay for dinner! How am I…wait…what the?” Travis had noticed something rather peculiar about his date. Despite her overwhelming size, Nina moved with incredible grace. Her stride was delicate, and her footsteps barely even made a sound. It almost seemed like she was floating rather than walking.
When they arrived at their table, Travis noticed that the table itself was low to the ground and that there were no chairs, only placemats to indicate seating arrangement. “Thank God.” Travis thought, “If I had to pay for dinner and broken chairs, I’d definitely be bankrupt.” Nina moved to a placemat, gently lowered herself onto her knees, and then sat down on her heels. She then placed her purse down to her right. Travis followed suit by sitting at the placemat opposite of Nina. He also sat down on top of his heels; he assumed that’s how he was supposed to sit.
The atmosphere and décor of the Yoshikawa restaurant was obviously Asian. Ink tapestries and paintings adorned the walls and Asian music was played gently in the background. All of the other patrons in the restaurant spoke quietly to one another, creating ambience throughout the whole restaurant. Also, all of the servers were female and they were dressed in traditional geisha attire.
The geisha waitress handed them some menus and then asked what they would like to drink. Both Travis and Nina responded with the words “green tea”. The geisha then left to retrieve their drinks. Nina and Travis began looking over their menus. An awkward silence formed between them, both were waiting for the other to say something. A few minutes passed, the geisha returned with their tea and later left after delivering their drinks. They started to drink their beverages, and they both still waited for the other to break the silence. Several more minutes passed and Travis tried striking up a conversation. “So…” Travis began, “I noticed you have an accent. Were you born somewhere in Great Britain?” Nina responded “Oh yes, I was born and raised in the West Midlands of England.” “That’s interesting.” Travis said, “Judging from your accent, I thought you were a whale.” Travis realized he made a mistake; he hastily (and regrettably loudly) tried to correct it. “WELSH, WELSH, I SAID WELSH!” Travis’ sudden outburst surprised Nina, and also drew attention from many of the other customers in the restaurant. They both noticed they now had an audience and both became horrifically uncomfortable. Nina forced herself to laugh and then replied “Uh…no, but I do get that a lot. Heh, heh, heh.” They both became silent and the other patrons then went about their own business. The awkward silence was around them again as it was when they first sat down.
A few more minutes later, a new geisha appeared to take their order. She was taller than the original one and a little thinner too. The geisha first asked Nina what she would like to eat. “Oh boy, here we go.” Travis thought, “She’s probably going to order everything on the menu now.” However despite Travis’ assumption, Nina only ordered one thing on her menu; the Chicken Teriyaki Donburi. Travis was a bit surprised but then he thought, “Hmmm, maybe she’s just pacing herself.” When the geisha asked Travis what he wanted, he ordered a dish known as Salmon Teriyaki. The geisha then gently took their menus and left to procure their food.
Uncomfortable silence befell the two once again. They both remained quiet until this time Nina tried her hand at conversation. “Um…do you eat here often?” Nina asked politely. “Not really.” Travis replied, “Do you?” Nina answered his question. “Oh yes, very much so. I was always a big fan of Asian cuisine.” Travis laughed and stated, “Ha, ha, yeah, you must be considering how big you are.” Travis quickly covered his mouth; he couldn’t believe what he just said. Nina looked confused and a little insulted. She then asked, “Excuse me?” Travis desperately struggled to cover up his mistake but couldn’t find the right words. “Um…I…uh…what I said was …uh.” He then broke out laughing and after a few moments of laughter, he slammed his head on the table. He laid face down on the table, causing Nina to become very worried. She leaned in a little and then stated, “Travis, if I make you uncomfortable…” However, before she could finish her statement, Travis quickly stood up, slammed his hands on the table and stated in one word, “INEEDTOGOTOTHERESTROOMPLEASEEXCUSEME.” He then ran across the restaurant and through the men’s restroom door. Nina sat there, stunned and bewildered. She then stated, “Um……okay.”
artwork, characters and story copyright SatsumaLord
