Chapter 43

It was a beautiful walk in the late afternoon sun. Even taking a slow stroll down the street and thru several parks slowing the route, I came upon the Savoy before the sunset.

I felt happy, and satisfied, and sad, and alone, all at once. I stepped into the American Bar, and sat at the counter. The bartender asked what I wanted. “Do you carry Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew, or Virgil’s vanilla cream soda?”

“Sorry, I don’t.”

I lowered my hand below the counter, and pulled up a bottle of Reed’s. I set the unopened bottle on the counter, and said, “Give it a taste, and match it with something nice. Back home I’d say southern comfort, but I’m sure you can do better than American whiskey.”

“What an intriguing challenge.”

I watched as he happily poured a little into a glass and tasted it. “That’s got some bite, I see why you’d want to give it something mellow to balance it out.”

I pulled out a second bottle, and set it down. “I brought enough from home so that we can make a proper test of it,” I told him.

“Very good sir, do you mind if I bring in one of the mixologists to consult?”

“Not at all, lets keep our testers small, say half a shot glass, and bring me an Intergalactic while I’m waiting.”

“Do you have a room number, or would you like to start a tab?”

“Room 504, Sam Atwood.”

A few moments later the non alcoholic Intergalactic was sitting in front of me. I sipped it carefully, and found it odd but enjoyable. I mostly needed the coffee, but I didn’t want to sit in a famous bar, and order something I could get at a Starbucks.

“Hi, I’m Mike. I’m the head mixologist, I hear you have a challenge for us?”

I pointed at the opened and unopened bottle and explained what I was looking for. He grasped the idea immediately, and made a sample with southern comfort. We both tried it, “I see where you’re going with this, but I agree we can do better.”

He started testing tiny splashes, and sharing them with me when they were good. He finally hit on a combo we both thought was a perfect pairing. He called over a regular, and offered him something new.

The regular thought it was very good, “What this called? I think I’ll want it again.”

“I miss Miranda,” I told him.

“That’s perfect,” he told me, “It’s got a faint heat from the ginger, but it’s mellow and peaty, with a touch of that warm nostalgia.”

“What was it we paired it with?” I asked Mike.

“The 16 year Lagavulin.”

“Well that’s ironic,” I said without explaining, and signed my bill. I left a 10 on the counter to tip, and four more bottles of Reed’s extra ginger. “Keep one bottle for me, but feel free to share the rest if you want to serve it,” I told him.

I was definitely tipsy, I needed to eat, as drinking on an empty stomach, even if lunch had been huge, was not good. Karl saw me, and gave me a hand to my room. I ended up falling asleep in my clothes on the bed instead.

‘Good morning sunshine,’ Adam greeted me.

“Get bent,” I mumbled back.

He waited a moment, ‘It’s almost 10, and another beautiful day.’

I grunted then winced.

‘A hot shower is suggested, and I’ve ordered breakfast. It’ll be here in fifteen minutes.’

With eyes mostly closed, I stumbled into the shower. I left the lights off, and stood under the hot spray. No drinking before eating ever again, I silently promised.

I had just wrapped a towel around when there was a knock at the door, I opened it, and stepped back, “Just set it up at the table,” I suggested, and shut the bathroom door.

I pulled underwear and comfy clothes from my pocket dimension, and stepped into the room, dressed but barefoot.

“Everything you ordered, sir.”

I thanked the waiter, signed the slip and handed him a 20. Sitting at the table, I slowly sipped at the hot coffee, before adding a splash of dark chocolate almond milk.

I sat back enjoying the view out the window. That Ferris wheel was something else. It seemed to be held up on only one side, the side facing me was unsupported. I had noticed a glow from the window just before crashing, and could make out a few lights on it as it turned even during the day.

I was finally awake enough to dig into breakfast, enjoying the fresh fruit, fresher croissants, and a nice egg and veggie scramble. I finished up with a nice muffin and whipped butter.

‘Adam, call down and see about getting tickets, I’d really like to ride that thing.’

‘No need, I can order them online, 24.95 to ride.’

‘How do I get across the river? The bridge I see is for the trains.’

‘There’s a water taxi, I can actually book that online, or a river boat tour, plus the usual taxi or tube.’

‘That tube thing, is that pneumatic or something?’

‘It’s just what they call the local mass transit system, a good portion of it is underground.’

I mulled it over, ‘What I’m really wanting right now is a really hard run.’

‘That’s the Orb optimization, you’ve consumed extra calories so your body wants to turn that into muscle.’

‘I don’t think that’s how it is supposed to work.’

It’s either muscle, or a large elimination.’

‘I thought extra calories were stored as fat?’