Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(6)
A few hours later, content with our goals and objectives, we resolve to bring our business meeting to an end. Any in-person meetings after this will be brief to just review the progress of what’s scheduled and the testing of any new products that have arrived, unless it’s to just get together and hang out.
“I need to check the P.O. Box for deliveries,” Jared admits. “I completely forgot to before coming here.”
“That’s fine. You were here really early,” I reply, letting him off the hook.
He did come over much earlier than regular, two hours earlier.
“How about we check after going out for some lunch?” I suggest.
His eyes gleam with elation. Grinning and pleased, Jared puts his notes and iPad into his bag.
Before we head out the door, I turn off the music streaming from the Baroque classical music playlist on my computer that has been playing since just before I got into the shower. I am disappointed to hear my favorite song, Suite for Cello No. One in G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach, start playing. I almost hesitate to turn it off, but both Jared and I are hungry and need to get out.
If I were musically inclined, I would have learned cello or violin, but alas, I am not blessed with the ability to play. I can dance and follow any beat. Jared and I have taken dances lessons for practically every style of music, but my creative gifts and abilities are the visual arts. Though I can’t play an instrument, I have always been able to pick up tones and notes, which help greatly with the variety of languages I speak other than English.
My parents wanted the best for me. They never forced their views, religious beliefs or their particularly desired topics of study. They made learning a game, and I loved it. Though we were never able to travel internationally, we wanted to learn as many languages as possible. Before the accident, I spoke fluent English, Spanish and French, and had four months into learning Mandarin. Each day of the week we would speak only in one dialect regardless if we stayed home all day or went out. It was funny to see people’s faces when we spoke in a different language. We got the most looks when we spoke Spanish or Mandarin, but we didn’t care.
“Where do you want to eat?” Jared asks as I pick up my purse, keys and hook Sadie’s leash onto her collar.
“What are you in the mood for?” I answer with another question.
“Well . . .” he pauses for a second to decide.
Jared knows not to go back and forth with me on asking each other. It could take an hour before he caves in and chooses a place. I always win. As much as I like control, I know I’d be content with any restaurant he chooses.
“I want to go to Stinky Pete’s.”
Noticing his devilish smile, designed to get a specific response from me, I simply smile and nod.
“You sure?” he inquires, trying to get me to break.
“Sure. If that’s where you want to eat,” I reply with a relaxed grin.
He will not break me.
“You're no fun,” he jokingly whines and sticks his tongue at me as I walk closer to him. “Besides, you know I can’t stand their food either.”
I smirk as he surrenders easily in defeat.
“Let’s have Indian. What was the place we went to last time?” Jared questions.
“Akbar?”
“Yep. That’s the one. I loved that place. I think it’s my favorite Indian restaurant in town.” He closes the door behind Sadie and me.
Though most places in Pasadena have outdoor seating, which is used the majority of the year, Akbar does not. The restaurant is on a side road off Colorado Boulevard which makes dining there more quiet and less distracting. With Jared as the main face of Naturally Me, we occasionally get interrupted at meals, especially if we are dining outside and he’s not wearing sunglasses or a hat. My first name and face are used for the business as well, but I try to minimize how much my photo is posted. I don’t enjoy being in the public eye as much. By bringing Sadie onboard, that may change.
Since we’re bringing Sadie along for lunch, I grab her service dog vest to grant her access into the restaurant. Sadie is not a full-time service dog, but I did have her trained and certified so she can go anywhere with me. With the vest on, Sadie is accepted everywhere.
For our meal, Jared and I share several of my favorite dishes from Akbar. Since he can’t remember what he had the last time, he asks me to order. Knowing he’s hungry, that he can pile a fascinating amount of food into his belly, and that we have the rest of the day to enjoy each other’s company, I chose to order a full three course meal.
To start, we treat our taste buds to samosa, mixed green katchumber and the kas-ke-badamjan. Jared rinses his food down with a glass of water and mango lassi. I just have water. About five minutes after we finish the appetizers, our waiter delivers us tandoori salmon, tandoori chicken, vegetable bhuna and a side of rice suffused with saffron. Jared takes photos of each dish with his cell phone and even has me take a few pictures of him posing to post on his social media for all his adoring fans to view.
As we eat, our conversation bounces around a myriad of topics, mostly memories of glorious excursions we’ve had together and many of them that included Maggie. We recount our clubbing days in WeHo and all the weird and eclectic types of people who would hit on all three of us. Jared would be hit on by every gay man, whereas Maggie and I would get hit on by the women. Maggie and I never minded being hit on by other women. We felt safe around them compared to men, especially me.