[He's got himself a table, it is on the busy side so he hasn't gone to fill a plate. There are glasses of water in the booth though. The old man's shaved, dyed and looking put together for the most part.]
[Here comes a Freddy Newendyke, also shaved and looking cleaner than he has in a week's time. The kid wanders in looking over the crowd for a familiar old man. He won't spot the dark glossy head of freshly colored hair just yet.]
[The old man sees him first and for a moment is struck dumb. There's Mr. Orange. Looking like he first saw him more than a year ago. It's gonna be two years they've been here in August. He doesn't wave t the kid, instead he just stands up. Maybe that'd do the trick.]
[It sure does and because of that a split second shows the kid looking mildly dumbfounded for how sharp Mr. White looks. Almost like he did over a year and a half ago. Wait was he dying back then? And well, this isn't the same as that funny looking shirt he had on at Smokey Pete's. Still, he looks fucking good. Oh shit it's only been days since they last saw each other. Don't wag.]
Hey.
[Freddy says once he nears Larry then helps himself to a seat.]
[Funny looking shirt? It was a classic button down Hawaiian. Right now he is wearing a green shirt with his favorite small alligator at his chest. It compliments his jeans.]
Hey to you too. I hope you worked up an appetite. The plates are pretty big.
[Except he didn't come on over to talk about the plates. Is it his imagination or can he smell Freddy's cigarettes already? Man. How long has it been without that?]
[Happier? Yeah. That he can see. His eyes don't seem so lidded. And there have been a few short and easy smiles to his face. It fills the old man up with hope. Still, he keeps telling himself to calm down. He knows better. By the time Freddy gets back, he has a coke with a straw, easy on the ice.
[He greets again, more to the coke than the old man. Look at this fucking plate of buffalo wings, macaroni and cheese, bacon, ribs, and other heavy foods.]
Keep clear of the mashed potatoes. Just trust me on this one.
[Lips clench because they'll grimace otherwise. Larry just nods.]
Okay then. Be back in a second.
[A real friend gives a warning. Yep. That's how it feels right now. They're not quite so raw as they were walking around the square. He doesn't expect as much anyway. They have so much ground to cover as it is. Larry's own plate comes back pretty full and missing those tainted potatoes.]
[He jokes. Bear joke. Hah. Note how little of his own plate has been emptied while waiting for Larry. The kid doesn't want to rush a nice dinner. He can have manners contrary to popular belief. Also maybe time with the old man isn't so bad.]
Yeah, well, I'm not getting any less hungry right now.
[Modest take out has been enough. Right now he's plain starved. And it isn't because of the waiting around at all. He's gonna start with his own ribs. They're wedged next to the scoop full of shrimp cocktail.]
Then again, I'm not the guy who goes around having a twinkie for breakfast.
I think the problem was this guy's English wasn't too good. While making the rounds I seen him at the tables, he was doing pretty-pretty good.
[Hold that thought for a big slurp of coke.] So the time comes to change in his chips. Now, I didn't see how it started but the attendant must have explained it wrong or moved too fast and so the foreign guy pulls out a knife. People start to flip out.
Kinda dark. I really couldn't understand him very clearly.
[Just being honest. He's not even gonna speculate there. Larry shrugs again and he picks up a wing.]
He slashes the attendant's tie in two. I get there and we're both giving him plenty of breathing room. Get this though, the attendant still wants to try and sort things out. Holding both hands up like, saying his not armed. So the foreign fella tucks away his knife then goes at him again with his bare hands.
He put the knife away to use his hands? Musta been personal.
[You know what they say, guns are for business, knives and everything else is personal. Munch munch munch, no further comment on the foreigner. He could've been an alien too although in that case one wonders why he didn't pull out a laser or shoot a proboscis from his mouth.]
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