An Expert Patch Job

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Ayla blushed again, but smiled. She couldn't help but feel supremely pleased by his answer. "Are not very much old," she said obligingly, rewarding him for his gallant statement. She took a happy bite of her food and purred. "I, eh, am hope to impress too, by making better at read, so am happy you are like ad I am find," she confessed as well.
 
His tail thumped against his seat happily. The food was good, the company was good, and she just admitted she wanted to impress him! And that she didn't think he was old! "Well, so far you have impressed me with your tailoring skills." he said with a wink. "And with the adds you found. They all look pretty great to me."
 
Ayla fought the urge to wiggle happily in her seat. She couldn't wait for Saturday now, to go visit some of the apartments with him.

The two spent a good lunch together, and when he returned her to the shop promptly on time, she gave him a happy kiss on the cheek before heading inside, much to the disapproving stare of her employer.

"I see you Saturday? You, eh, meet me here, ya?" she said, confirming the plans made over lunch. She wasn't quite ready for him to see her tiny place, so this was a good enough compromise.
 
Joshua nodded happily. "Yes. Right here, Saturday, lunch." He grinned. He wasn't ready to take her by the boat yet either. A few more dates, then maybe he'd let her come by. The men would behave while she was around, but afterwards would be a whole other story...
 
She smiled and waved at him as she headed inside. The rest of the day, she felt as if she were floating on air.

On Saturday, Ayla stood under the awning of the shop, peering out into the rain. She had on a raincoat and wool cloche and held an umbrella nervously in her paws. What a day for rain! At least it wasn't windy or cold, and it was coming straight down, even though it was fairly heavy. She checked her rain shoe covers and peered out into the rain again, watching for Joshua.
 
Rain didn't bother Joshua. He hopped on a bus from the docks and got off a block away from the shop. He could have walked, but with the rain he would have been soaked through before he got there. He had on his rain gear which included a plastic cover for his hat. When he got off the bus, he opened up his umbrella and hurried along to the shop. He was a minute or two late because the bus was running behind and knew he needed to hurry now.

He ran under the awning of the shop and grinned, putting his umbrella off to the side and shaking it a little before closing it. "Hi! Sorry I'm late. The bus was running behind." he smiled at her, looking her over. "You didn't have to wait too long, did you?"
 
"No, I not wait too long," she reassured him, smiling. "Is terrible raining, ya? But is good for not cold. You are ready?" She was definitely ready for breakfast. She'd been up since early, too excited to sleep any longer, and too nervous to eat anything. Now that he was here, she still felt the butterflies in her stomach, but they were much less as she hugged his arm and huddled under his umbrella with him as they headed back out into the rain.
 
Joshua smiled and held her close to him, making sure the umbrella covered her from the rain as they headed to the diner where they always ate. "It's raining pretty bad, yeah. Definitely glad it isn't cold yet. But it's ok." he looked down at her and smiled. "I won't melt."
 
Ayla couldn't help but giggle at that image. "Are silly," she told him affectionately, rubbing away a drip of water from his ear. "Just in case," she told him, grinning impishly. She looked ahead to the diner, and could already smell the bacon and breakfast which cut through the wet morning air.
 
He chuckled and looked down at her. "Thank you." He looked ahead at the diner, letting go of her only because he needed to get the door for her, and he couldn't do that if he was also holding the umbrella. He let her in ahead of himself, staying behind to shake off his umbrella and stick it in the rack by the door. Afterwards, he walked with her to whatever seat she picked out. "It smells good in here this morning!"
 
"Mmm, yah," she agreed, savouring the smell as she found a rear booth next to a window. While she didn't much prefer to be out in the rain, she loved to watch it from the inside. To her it felt romantic. She happily picked up the menu and started looking through it. "Am even more hungry now..."
 
He looked out the window as well, smiling softly. "So am I." he looked at her, smiled, then looked down at the menu. Pancakes and eggs and bacon and sausage and toast sounded great....

After they had ordered, he smiled at her. "I made us a list of the apartments you picked out. They are ordered in the most efficient way to get through them all today." he said happily. "It will take us by another restaurant for lunch and maybe we can have dinner too?"
 
"...ordered...most efficient...?" she repeated slowly, trying to make sense of the phrase, looking up at him questioningly. Usually, she'd just nod and stay quiet, embarrassed at not fully understanding, but she felt comfortable with him, and she knew he wouldn't make fun of her. "Order, like put in order, eh, in list?" she guessed, moving her paw to indicate items on a list. She had no clue about 'efficient', though.
 
"Oh! Sorry!" He smiled at her. "Yes, I put them in a list. Efficient is...um...a way to do something that takes the least effort? Like, say if all of the apartments were on one street, we would start at one end of the street and work down. That would be the most efficient way to do it, instead of hopping from one to the other back and forth." he said, poking the table and gesticulating to help her understand what he meant.
 
"Oh, yah!" she nodded, understanding and agreeing. "Is very good idea, much more fast." She looked back at the menu, considering getting something that wasn't familiar, feeling adventurous. "What is something you are like in apartment?" she wanted to know. "I am like when is not so dark, have good light. Or is not have low ceiling."
 
The man thought on the question for a moment before smiling. "I like bright spaces. Anything that doesn't feel like I'm below deck on a ship...big windows would be nice. And maybe even a big kitchen."
 
"Yah, I think all person are want much light, big window. And big kitchen is good for when have children, and guest. Are good for cook?" she wondered idly before pausing to pick out the words on a menu item, her lips moving silently as she read. She nodded as she came to a decision and looked back up at him expectantly.
 
He shrugged a little. "I'm not bad. I had to learn after the divorce, or my kids would have starved every summer." he laughed. "I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking..."
 
She smiled at him. "I am enjoy cook. Is not very interest to cooking for one person. Before I am find job, I cook in boarding house to have room for sleep. Was odd place for living, but is always other person nearby. Now," she shrugged, putting down her menu, "is just me." She looked around for the waiter, feeling a bit awkward now and hoping for a convenient way to end this line of conversation.
 
He nodded. "Yeah. I still don't know how to be by myself, which is why I sleep on the ship..." He looked up when the waiter came and nodded for her to go ahead and go first. He knew what he wanted. And it was a lot. So he'd let her go first.
 
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