Mother smiled, “It really does depend on your taste, so why don’t we all have a wine-tasting today to go along with the food-sampling.” She raised Njáll’s arms, welcoming the idea, and Léonie left to do just that; busy night. Blæc frowned, wondering why she was being so generous and doubting that it was for good intent, but he softened his gaze to prevent any ill notions in their guests’ minds and drank his water. He would remain sober while they delved into their merry alcohols. Isidoro picked up menus at Mother’s request and gave one to her, Vincent and Alexa with Iudicael leaning over the brunette’s shoulder to point out what Mother went on about. They would have Rosso wines first, so the sweetness would not be lost on latter deserts.

For all their selections a cart had to be wheeled over, starting with taking the food already set down so that they did not eat in front of their starving couple, then with the first course of appetizers on a large platter that required two waiters to slide on—it was almost like a buffet in itself—and the last cart covered in an assortment of glasses, each designed for specific beverages. Léonie personally commanded that dispensary so that they never had to pour glasses and it did not seem like much drink at first, since each portioning was small and it had to be as the night dragged on. There was a wide variety to test and Mother introduced them each, including her favorite Nebiollo. They had plenty of food too, which assisted in lowering their intake of liquids, but it was too pure to last for long. Mother did not appear to succumb to the side-effects, but Iudicael certainly became more talkative and friendly with Alexa, draping himself on her at times to speak closely or play with her hair, before he would rise up to encourage Blæc’s consumption, though the latter took very little. Isidoro as well, but he could hold far more.

“So, why have we not seen you here before?” Mother broke off from her tales on the restaurant and city going-ons. “I do not think I could have missed such a lovely lady walking in here before or her handsome escort. Are either or both of you new to the area or simply this part of town?” Blæc watched with befuddled curiosity as she took an interest in them that he had not seen before, even with Iudicael. The fact that she was not using Njáll’s abilities made him even more inquisitive, though it may have been just small talk to woo them into a relationship with him. He shook his head; Mother always had reasons and his lack of effort on interaction would not seal the deal, though that was a fault of his, since he was the restaurant owner.

He tilted forward and took the same pose Mother had earlier, though unknowingly, fingers laced and elbows propped to support his chin. He pointed toward the front door, “There is a camera there that tracks who enters and their orders, so that we can better understand what each particular customer enjoys or desires. Honestly, if we had machines to scan your tongues and health, we would have that, but that technology is not currently available. You can see, however, why we would discern you from the rest.” It was a big place with lots of seating, so there had to be some sort of personability or devotion to knowing all of the customers. Mother had neither, so he assumed she memorized faces from the computer, which they did have someone for, in case of a break-in or betrayal.