Mmm, Bacon

[Anita Stern]

She really did snap out of it this time, and turned her attention to Michael.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My head finally gets around to relaxing at the end of the day, and lately, it gets right back up and goes out wandering."

Recalling his 'much too pretty' comment, Anita blushed. It had honestly been a good while since someone other than a child or a creepy, cracked out man with ulterior motives had said anything of the sort to her. She unlaced her fingers, and folded them in her lap...then decided to take her gloves off and put them in her purse before placing her hands on the table. As soon as she did that, she smiled a little.

"Oh, how nice." She said, more like a secret to herself than a statement to her evenings' companion.

[Stern]

"Something interesting from the table?" Stern asked.

He watched her with curiosity. The corners of her mouth had begun to curl only slightly. The college student knew better than to credit himself for that. Nothing was going on and the conversation had been surface stuff. Clearly the amusement came from the table.

"You said your power let you read things like books, right? What's the table's story?"

[Anita Stern]

She looked right at him.

"Yes. I'm able to pick up transferance, as well. Whoever last sat at this table..."

Anita smiled again. It was a beautiful thing on one hand, encountering these secretive little snippets of people she didn't know...on the other hand, it made her feel slightly like she was getting away with something she shouldn't. Kind of like a guilty pleasure - like a woman on a diet pounding back a pint or two of ice cream after a break-up, except without the effect it would have on such a woman's stomach afterwards.

"It's just so pleasant. And I can see why the boy was so nervous." The thought made her blush, having such a view into the confession.

[Stern]

Stern nodded. "She must have been a real cutie. Can you read me through the table as well?"

Stern had to ask. He wasn't afraid of her picking up surface thoughts, though he did worry what she might do if she picked up on the notion that he severely enjoyed her eyes.

Mostly Stern was flipping through Liebnitz, King Lear, and the dual natures of Christ. Silly papers.

Stern was kind of nervous himself. It wasn't every day a perfect stranger found it worth their while to go places with him. It was a nice change of pace.

"Anything else about the people?"

[Anita Stern]

"Well, the girl really likes peanut butter. Probably a little too much. And the bo-..."

Too late. She had. Such a thing, and knowing where it came from, and that it was directed at her, caused the librarian to move her hands back, gripping the edge of the table in front of her...but not letting go. Anita had slowly been realizing lately, at an increasing rate, that she could no longer hide from direct (yet accidental) confrontations such as these. As uncomfortable as it was, for the first time in a long time, she would force herself to deal with it. To try and defeat this impasse. Then she blushed a deeper hue, and swallowed.

"...the boy...just keeps staring."

[Stern]

Stern raised an eyebrow. "Staring?"

He chuckled. "I think I'd stare too if I found out my date was very obssessed with peanut butter."

Why was she blushing? It was cute, but still. Did he do something? Then he realized what might have happened and leaned back, removing his contact with the table.

"Sorry if I caused you discomfort."

[Anita Stern]

Anita finally released her hands from the table, folding them in her lap. She knew it really was unavoidable now. She was just going to have to learn to trust people again in a way she hadn't since...Well, since a while.

"It was uncomfortable, yes. I can't deny that. But really...I've been hiding for long enough." She sighed. It was hard to admit to cowardice for most people, but she knew it had to be done. The librarian open her mouth, hesitated, then proceeded to speak. Some questions were hard, especially the one she was going to be asking. Men are usually quite uncomfortable with admitting to most any form of weakness, but Anita's curiousity sometimes got the better of her.

"Is there anything you're afraid of?"

[Stern]

Stern's answer was immediate. "The dark."

He tapped the restaraunt's window. "That out there scares the pieces out of me. I hate being in it. I have a hard time sleeping at night. Due to my mutation my eyes can't stand much light at all, so if I want to wash my face, I have to shower in the dark. I can see fine, but it still scares me.

My powers illuminate the area around me. My vision makes night day. But as long as I know it's dark somewhere, I have a hard time getting the courage to go.

He laughed. "I was made to counter darkness, and I can't stand to go near it."


"It does make me feel rather useless."

"And you're afraid of being close to people? May I ask why?"

[Anita Stern]

Anita had started rubbing her thumb over the palm of the opposite hand. What he was asking touched on a subject she had kept silent about, but was only half the reason why physical contact and closeness with other people made her uneasy.

"Uhm..." She paused, not sure how to explain, or why she was saying it to a stranger. One supposes it would be much easier to speak with someone with whom she had no history. As odd as it seemed to let unknowns in on her personal life, it was easier than bringing it to the forefront with people she saw daily.

"...ever since my gift manifested at 16, I've been slowly learning that a lot of people's thoughts aren't anything nice, pleasant or at all comforting. I've stumbled across some disturbing things over the years, and often those things were contradictory to whatever face the people the thoughts came from put forward. It's hard to trust people that you know for a fact are two-faced."

Anita fidgeted with her hands more, finding it difficult to gather thoughts on something she'd avoided thinking on for so long.

"Daniel was the last one I trusted. After he disappeared..."

She trailed off.

"...after he disappeared, I couldn't stand the thought of touching, trusting or knowing anyone else that deeply." She whispered, and looked down at her hands, trying to hide the shaking in her eyes. Then she spoke up again. Her voice was a little uneasy too. "I couldn't help but feel betrayed and abandoned. Oh, hell...I don't know why I'm even telling you all this."

Anita buried her face in her hands. She didn't think that when the time came to stop hiding herself that it would be so hard.

[Stern]

Stern nodded. "Yeah. That sucks."

The drinks came at last.

Francine chose not to bother Anita and slipped Stern her notepad.

Stern orderd two rounds of hashbrowns and a side of bacon. The old woman smiled. "That's my good boy."

Stern handed the notepad back and considered Anita carefully.

"I'm sorry it's been hard on you."

Stern leaned on the table with his elbows and took a moment to consider what ought to be done next. He didn't want to upset her more, but he really wanted to do something to comfort her.

At the last he took a breath, reached out, and gently took her hands from her face. Then he grabbed a napkin and gently dried her eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

[Anita Stern]

Anita just let her hands flop to rest on her lap. She was slouching, her shoulders sagged, and she couldn't look at Stern, even though he could already see her wet face. Whe he had removed her hands from her face, she could find no motive other than a genuine want to comfort. She let out a heavy breath, then sniffled a little.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Anita mumbled, her voice still a little shaky. "I barely know you."

[Stern]

Stern shrugged. "It's ok. It seems like you've been holding that back for a while. At least you got it out there."

Stern looked out the window at the darkness.

"You know, my fears are pretty easily avoided. If I keep even a little bit of light with me, I'm ok. My fears are eased. But to not trust people or have even one person close enough to you to confide in and find companionship with? That's got to be nearly impossible."

Stern sighed and handed her another napkin. "You shouldn't have to feel like you have to do that."

[Anita Stern]

Anita accepted the napkin, and dabbed at her eyes a little more, and blew her nose. She could see where he made sense, that she didn't have to do what she was doing, but it wasn't like she was doing it on purpose. It was habitual, and after what happened with Daniel, it was an excuse, as well. Miss Florence picked up her iced tea and sipped at it through a straw.

"I don't suppose you've ever lost anyone, have you?"

A cold tingle went up her spine. She shivered.

[Stern]

Stern sat back and folded his arms. "Not like you have. And I really can't begin to imagine what that pain is like. It was probably wrong of me to say what I just said, but even so I just--"

He paused and fumbled for the words. "I just can't imagine any amount of pain being worth living alone."

Stern shifted in the seat so his back was against the panel window. "I can't exactly say that I wouldn't follow your example if it happened to me, but after a while I think I would want that companionship again. I think eventually I would be motivated to take whatever steps I could to let people in again, you know?"

The food arrived steaming hot. Not sure of what to put on Anita's hashbrown's, Stern went with a more normal type of hashbrowns with nothing really fancy for them.

Stern's however had everything the restaurant dared to put on them. He chuckled myrthfully at his plate and rubbed his hands together like a mastermind on the verge of completing a diabolical plan.

Fancine placed a gentle hand on Anita's shoulder. "If you want any extra with those, dearie, you just let me know and we'll make up another plate on the house."

[Anita Stern]

"Thanks. I'll let you know if I do." She said in response to Francine.

Immediately, Anita reached for some bacon and started munching. The taste of it had a rather calming effect on her. Her mother often made maple smoked bacon to go with the pancake breakfast they had every Sunday morning, and there was always a wide range of topics to broaden her horizons while growing up on those mornings. It made Anita feel a smidge better, that nostalgia.

"I guess you're right. It's probably high time I joined the rest of the human race in being relatively normal again, huh?"

She cracked a small smile.

"Time to move on. Honour the memories and make new ones."

[Stern]

Stern nodded and took a huge forkful of his hashbrowns. potatoes, cheese, ham, green peppers, jalapenos, and onions greeted him like an excited friend eager to see him.

"Man, that is good. I'll regret it by morning, but for now it's bliss."

Stern swallowed the morsel and smiled. "Something like that."

Stern ate with his left hand and held out his right. "Here, hold my hand. You say you get resonance from things. I can't help but consider it like reading a book. You get the cover, a table of contents, and then you peruse and find things of interest."

Stern sipped his drink. "So here's what we'll do. Take my hand and flip through my pages. Take note of things and pass them over. People are constantly bombarded wtih information, but we screen out what's not important."

He looked at her. "It's going to take some trust on both of us. But I figure at least being able to choose not to be overwhelmed with information is better than wearing those gloves all the time."

He took another few forkfulls and kept his hand out, palm up.

[Anita Stern]

Without a doubt, it was obvious she would hesitate. Any woman was bound to think in some remotely similar circumstances to these that it was too much, too soon, but here? And to what point would that resistance be for? She already knew that Stern wasn't full of malicious intent, and he was genuinely nice and - one would suppose - unconditional in his caring. Good quailities to have in a friend, for sure. And there was that small thought.

He would be good to have for a friend, wouldn't he?

Yes, that was true. It'd barely been an hour since she met Michael Stern, and she already had it figured that he wouldn't be such a bad thing to keep about. So it was decided then. Anita took a deep breath, and her eyes swept up to set on him.

"Ok, then..." She said between bites, reached out the mirroring hand, pausing just above his, not quite touching. "...I'm not aware of my having any ability to filter anything out, just to warn you. My powers will just take and take - but I think I can try to focus on choosing what I want."

Her hand still hovered above his.

"Are you sure you want to offer me such insight into your soul? The street of my power only goes one way, so you will get nothing from me."

[Stern]

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Stern wiped the corners of his mouth. "Try to find something simple. A fact about me, say. I'm Catholic, so find my patron saint. And on the related topic: since you are a librarian, find the two patron saints of libraries and librarians."

He made no attempt to focus on any of the facts. He just let his mind wander free-form as he ate. He was perfectly content to wait on Anita.

His patron saint was Michael the Archangel, and the patron saints of libraries and librarians were St. Jerome and St. Catherine of Alexandria.

The thought of his patron saint sparked several memories of his high school years, some of his recent college adventures, and class assignment. He picked at his hashbrowns as he worked them over.

[Anita Stern]

With some sort of finality, Anita breathed in, then out, then dropped her hand on his and grasped it. As the first thought hit her, she gripped his hand tighter. Fighting against the waves of thought, she tried to concentrate. The petite woman closed her eyes and attempted to visualize each thought as if it were a file, indexed and searchable. As she did this, the thoughts seemed to pile up, and pile up, and just as she would have crushed his hand if she were stronger, it stopped, each thought tumbling like building blocks to a stop, threatening to avalance again. Then, like a pre-programmed system, everything started to be set in certain order and funneled into where it seemed to belong.

Anita breathed in, and out. In and out.

Ok. It stopped! She would almost have been giddy at such an accomplishment, but too much excitement would likely have broken her fragile and intense concentration. Someday, with enough practice, this ordering act would be like second nature, like breathing. Well, she hoped so. Inwardly, she 'watched' as everything categorized and the mountain dwindled down, compartmentalized. The interface warbled, and Anita's face cringed warily. Gritting her teeth, she willed it to stand strong, and it snapped straight to attention, the associated wave of conformity rippling out to the boxes. Anita let it sit and got used to the idea of calm and order in her mental world. It was unusual, but, it felt good. There was a certain lack of torment in having control.

When she thought herself capable, after many, many minutes had passed, Anita cracked an eye open a slice.

"This...this is simply astonishing. I wish..I wish you could see it." She whispered.

Again, her eyes shut completely. The interface warbled again, but this time, she remained calm when bending the system to her will.

"Now...where is...it..." A few moments passed, as she rifled through the files. "OH!" A box tumbled, spilling the contents. An avalance was starting. Her time here was running out.

Anita's eyes snapped open, and she broke physical contact with Stern.

"I...I got it. I GOT IT!" She shouted. A couple that had slipped in and been seated during the little exercise shot her a wierd look. Anita looked back sheepishly, and blushed. She then looked again at her companion.

"I got it." She whispered, leaning forward over the table. The librarian was grinning.

[Stern]

Stern looked up from his food when Anita shouted, but didn't seem to mind the tiny scene she had caused. She was making some kind of progress, and that was good.

"Cool," he said with a smile. Then he leaned in and whispered back, "So you have the information you were after?" he asked.

It was good to see her excited about her gift.