Lost and Found (Growing Pains #1)(42)

The bartender nodded again, put the menus away and headed off.

Krista’s stomach gave a loud rumble. With an embarrassed grin, she clutched it. Sean smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

“It was great,” she went on, “one of my favorite places because of the art history, but one of my least favorite places for trying to fit in.”

Sean laughed. “I can imagine. Tell me, did you get to see the Great Pyramids and go in one?”

“I saw them, but didn’t go in. I was with a group and we had a guide, so we went in a different pyramid that didn’t have lights. It smelled like pee.”

“Oh, smelled like the BART station, you mean?”

“Exactly,” she laughed. “Have you traveled at all?”

He nodded, his eyes getting distant. “I have, yes. I’ve hit all the places you have, except Egypt, of course. Australia, China and Japan, and parts of Africa.”

“I’ve always wanted to go on an African safari.”

“Have you? It’s dangerous.”

“I know. It’s wild and raw, and therefore, real. I want to see an elephant so bad it hurts. I’ve watched enough documentaries and nature programs to know how dangerous they are, but I just can’t help it. They are so majestic.”

Krista paused as Sean took a sip of his Guinness. Into the silence she said, “And I want to marry an Australian.”

Sean choked into his beer and put the glass down in a hurry. Krista gave his large back a slap, clearly helping. The way he jerked forward against the bar, choking a little harder, he thought she clearly wasn’t.

“You alright?” she asked in laughter.

He chuckled, “Just so happens I’m Australian.”

“Uh huh. I am younger than you, yes, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“Honest,” he raised his hand as if to say ‘Scout’s honor.’ “My parents are from Australia. I am first generation American.”

“You just said it—you’re American. Doesn’t count. You don’t have the accent.”

“Oh. In order to count I need the accent?”

“Exactly.”

“Pity.” There were layers to that word, and Krista didn’t want to know any of them.

Thankfully, the food showed up right before it got awkward. On Krista’s plate sat a large sandwich stuffed with thick slices of red meat. Beside it was a small cup of au jus. The rest of the plate was filled with fries.

“Wow,” she said, not knowing where to start. “This is manly.”

Sean looked over at her, just about to bite into his giant burger. “What? The food?”

“Yeah. Meat. Bread. Fries. Enough food for two meals. Manly. Let’s hope it tastes womanly.”

“You don’t think men know what good food tastes like?”

Krista smirked, “Let’s see.”

Sean took a big bite. Krista picked up her large sandwich, thankfully cut in half by the kitchen, and took a Krista-sized bite. She got mostly bread.

“It won’t taste womanly if you eat like a chick,” Sean said with a smirk.

“I am trying to maintain some decorum.”

“How’s this for decorum—I was in Ireland shortly after they stopped smoking in the bars. It was a wonderful thing for the most part. Before that, you’d get home from the pub and smell like an ashtray. You had to wash your clothes every day, which isn’t easy when traveling. After the ban went into effect, though, the old guys would sit and drink their Guinness, as usual, but without the smell of cigarettes in the air, they filled the bar with their farts instead. It wasn’t pretty.”

Krista put her sandwich down, choking. “Why did you just tell me that?”

Sean started laughing, “So you’d know that a pub is no place for decorum. Take a bite. A big one. No one’s looking.”

“This is a work lunch.”

“And?”

“And…fine. You want to sit next to a sloppy mess? So be it!” Just to make a mockery of the scene, Krista dipped her sandwich in the au jus and took a mouthful.

Sean watched for a minute, then took a mouthful as well. When he was chewing, he said, “Goorrd?”

“Huuumm?”

They both started laughing, taking a sip of their beer so as not to choke. When they’d both finished, Sean said, “Well?”

“Good. Really good. Quality bread and quality meat. This place is a keeper.”

Sean nodded, “Yeah, food here is consistently good. The bar is consistently full, and the waitresses are consistently unimpressed.”

Krista laughed as she scarfed down most of her sandwich—she’d been starving. There wasn’t much conversation as they finished up and the plates were taken away. She was about halfway through her Guinness, Sean on to his second.

“So… Fatty?” Sean asked as he looked at his beer. He was trying to hide a smile.

“I didn’t think that comment was out loud.”

“I snooped, too. Blaming me for turning in a report early, huh? Excuse me for saying, but your department is…backwards.”

“You didn’t already know that?”

“I did. In theory. I took Ray to meet Mr. Montgomery. It was…funny. Ray is probably the most polite guy I know. He doesn’t like saying negative things. He was hard pressed to say anything at all concerning James. He was flabbergasted.”