A night to remember

Bad wingman. Two friends that were in love. A failure. Míngzé mused about it, wondering where it went wrong. “Did they fall in love with the wrong person?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. It sounded like there was so much more to the story and for some reason he was starting to get invested. These small pieces of information were not nearly enough.

Most people did not burn their hands on it either. Míngzé gave it a thought and came to the conclusion that Lamar must be the only one who learned it for some other reason than family. Unless he secretly was from Fènghuáng too. He wanted to ask him, but before he could, he made the bad decision to try his drink.

With a wave of his hand and a shake of his head he told Lamar no. While his throat was very well still on fire, he would not let it get him down. “No need,” he added, his voice sounding hoarse. Almost as if these people were making fun of them, they came to fill their new glasses with another type of wine. “See, refreshments are already here.” With a lazy gesture he motioned to their glasses, nearly hitting the bottle without noticing. He shot the other a small smile.

Silently he prayed that there would not be too many more wines, because everything was already feeling more heavy than before. Yet he reached for his newly filled glass, his coördination completely off. Just where did they put this glass?

He gave Lamar the time to explain where it had gone wrong with him as a wingman. They were apparently people who liked to travel, which explained why things were difficult. “Understandable,” Míngzé said with a short nod. “Some things are not meant to be, I guess,” he continued with a shrug. It was impossible to force love, that was something that slowly had to grow and sometimes it just did not work out.

With a serious look in his eyes he searched for his newly filled glass of wine. Surely he was not going mad. Someone had brought new glasses and had poured wine. Then where was it? Not where he was reaching for, that was sure. It was when he noticed Lamar shifting in his seat that he stopped his own failed attempts. Again he reached out and there it was. First his fingertips brushed against the other’s hand, before finding the glass. "Thanks," he said with a small smile on his lips.

How embarrassing.

“They should invent glowing glasses,” Míngzé complained with a faked sigh. He was aware of his own inability to hold glasses straight. In his head he always held them right, which was not always the case. He was really trying, adjusting the angle constantly.

A waiter appeared at their table again, placing down their plates and explaining what their next dish was. A  croquette of lamb’s brain with asparagus, morels, and peas. Míngzé raised an eyebrow as he looked down upon it. “Does it look good?” he asked a bit hesitantly. It absolutely sounded disgusting. Eating brains? Who does that? He took a sip of his wine, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

Míngzé raised his glass to his lips, looking inside it as he drank while wondering what it must be like. The idea was rather fascinating. Why had he not thought about this sooner? The idea was briljant. “If you invent it, be sure to give me some credits too,” he said with a small grin as he placed down his glass, just in time for their food to arrive.

However when they were being told what it was, Míngzé felt the urge to take another sip of the strong beverage.

It looked good. Míngzé stared down at his plate, his appetite from earlier gone. “They can’t possibly expect us to eat it?” Brains— they were making them eat brains during a date. It was an idea he could not get behind. Hesitantly he lowered his fork, searching for anything that did not feel like a croquette.

“Have you tried it yet?” Míngzé asked during his search. He noticed the other was moving, so perhaps he was a brave soul who ate brains. It felt like a victory when he stabbed something else which did not feel like a croquette. As expected it wasn’t, instead he could taste the asparagus. While he was not a big fan, he preferred it over brains.

While the idea of eating brains was already not to his liking, Lamar did not help. Míngzé’s expression became one of worry when he heard the taste was not great either. “Can’t say I expected anything else,” he muttered. By now he ate everything he could find that was not a ball of brains. With his fork he poked the small croquette, careful not to squash it.

“I assume you don't want my—” A soft chuckle escaped. One day he would develop a higher tolerance for alcohol, but that day was not today. “You want my brains too?” Míngzé managed to finish his sentence. He gestured at his plate. It was not even funny, but still there was a smile tugging at his lips. What a stupid thing to say. He should probably apologize after.

And then the question came if he wanted another drink. The only right answer was— “Why not.” While he would regret it the next day, he did not mind it right now. As long as they had a good time. “What do you suggest this time?” The first one had been a bit too strong to his liking, but Lamar seemed to have more knowledge about all this, so he was the better person to choose. “I don’t know much about alcohol, the only ones I’ve really tried are cocktails.” Those were a lot sweeter than what they had. “And tequila.” Still, he preferred cocktails.

Míngzé snorted when Lamar said he did not want to eat his brains. “Too bad, they were still warm I think.” He carefully shoved his plate forward and away from him. If Lamar did not want it, he would not even give it a chance. They could take it back and he would wait for the next dish. Hopefully that one was something normal.

Already his head felt heavy and a bit hazy. Adding more alcohol to it together with the wines they kept receiving, it would only get worse. Míngzé was already dreading the moment when he would have to get up. What if he made a fool of himself? He could not have that. “And some water, please.” Water should help at least a little bit. Or so he hoped.

“So I guess you know your drinks. Is there something you really don’t like? Besides brains.” Meanwhile Míngzé reached for his glass of wine, emptying it. By now he was used to the taste and it was easier to drink a bit more each time.

Lamar had a point. But still— “I also did not expect them to put any brains in my croquette,” he countered with a raised eyebrow. Just a nice simple dessert, that was all he really wanted. Maybe that would be enough to quell his hunger completely, because right now that was not the case. “Do you think they have hamburgers here? Like the ones from mcdonalds.” Now that was something he could use.

This time they did not receive new glasses for wine and instead only got the small glasses of limoncello. He shot the waiter a small slime, thanked them and then looked at the table. “Before I hit everything, could you maybe hand me the glass?” Míngzé already lifted his hand. He did not like to ask these kinds of questions, but the alternative was worse.

“So you are not someone that needs their morning coffee before doing anything else?” he asked the other calmly. He assumed someone like Lamar had to get up early each day. “Spicy food, my eyes will start tearing immediately and there is no stopping my nose from running.” Even if food was a little bit spicy it was often already too much.

No matter what, this dish was one he would never forget, even though he had not even given it a try. They took away their plates, and he was not even sorry, he only felt a little bit bad. These people put so much work in these dishes, and then he did not even touch them.

“Brains filled with cream and a sauce of warm chocolate, sounds delicious.” The idea alone sent a shiver down his spine. It was best not to imagine what it must taste like, or he would not even dare to try the desert. “Only if you want to.” Otherwise he would find something to eat once he was back home. “I could definitely still eat, even after dessert.”

He flashed a quick smile when he was handed the glass. “Thanks.” Once he had it, things would be easier. He could place it somewhere and know where exactly it was. Míngzé brought the smaller glass to his lips and took a small sip followed by a hum. “This is good,” he said with a few nods. Much better than what they had before.

“I’ll make sure to remember that.” Míngzé made a quick mental note. He had no idea when he would ever need it, but never say never. If he ever were to serve him coffee, it would be with milk and sugar. Food would not be a problem, as he did not eat spicy food anyway.

There was a soft grin on his face followed by a chuckle. No way he would be able to eat a dessert that contained brains. He drank the last of his wine and pushed the glass away. “Sorry,” he apologized, the amusement not leaving his voice. “These are moments I’m glad I can’t create a mental image.” That would make it ten times worse he assumed.

He was hungry, or better yet starving. Leaving now felt like a good idea, but he was too curious what the dessert might be. “How about this,” he started, raising a finger as if he was about to tell him something very important. “We wait for the dessert and if it’s gruesome, we make a run for it.” Or fast walk. Or just walk. Running was not the best idea, it never was really.

With the limoncello in hand he waited, taking a sip every now and then even though it was but a small glass. Drinking this was easier than everything they had before.

The waiter soon arrived again, bringing them their last dish. Luckily no brains were involved. A moelleux au chocolat with roasted strawberries and homemade vanilla ice cream. It smelled delicious. “Happy we waited?” he asked while trying to find the cake to take his first bite.

They’d seen each other a few times before, but never had Lamar asked anything about it. Which was fine. Some people were far too curious while others were unsure if they could ask these kinds of questions. “I have, many, many years ago and even then it wasn’t anything to write home about,” he told him with a soft smile. “There is not much I remember from that time, sadly enough.”

He chuckled and hummed in agreement. “A first time for everything.” With that he finished the last of his drink, now he could focus on the desert alone. And the water he had ordered, which he almost emptied in one go.

“I’m really glad we don’t have to sneak out. Although, running away from your blind date with your blind date would’ve made for quite a story.” Míngzé felt the weight on his spoon and brought it to his mouth. A hum escaped as it melted on his tongue, the taste rich of chocolate. This was better than anything else they had that night. “This is really good,” he said, pointing at his plate. If only the whole night had been filled with desserts.

“Who’d have thought that was one of the positives about being blind.” It was best to joke about these kinds of things, otherwise it would only send him down a rabbit hole of self pity. One of the downsides was that he could not necessarily run if they were to make an escape. “I’d say it makes for a good story,” he said with a nod.

His plate was empty in a matter of minutes, or at least he thought it was empty. A nice ending if you asked him, but it had not been enough. For a moment he did not want to say anything about it, thinking that maybe Lamar was done for the night. He quirked an eyebrow when their previous plan was mentioned again. “Sounds like a great idea. Just give me a moment.”

How to do this…

The world was spinning, which was fine as long as he sat down, but the moment he would stand up that would change. Míngzé cursed himself for the decisions he’d made, for all the alcohol currently in his system.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed his chair back and slowly got up. He held his hands on the table as support and first grabbed his cane. “You know—” Míngzé started before pausing for a second. “Walking when you can’t see and while your head is spinning is more difficult than you would realize.” He quickly flashed a smile. That was smooth, very smooth.