A couple of nights later, I decided to stop by the resort's bar. The entire place had a monochrome theme to it, with black walls, a black tile floor, and black counters with white marble countertops. The lights that hung from above the counters were a shiny silver.
I took a seat, presented my ID, and decided to give rum and cola a shot. I was shocked by how little gold they wanted for it.
It was as I was holding that gold out to the bartender, though, that a familiar voice said "Ah, it's you!"
I turned around to see Elliott himself, heading right for the seat directly to my right, then sitting in it once he got there.
"That, it is," I said. "How are you doing tonight?"
"Ah, quite alright, thank you," Elliott replied. "I've finally managed to find a bit of inspiration for my novel, so I've been working on writing that most of the time."
"Ah, that's fantastic!" I smiled.
"I'm so glad," he said. "Well, how about you? Have you been enjoying your time here?"
"Oh, very much so," I nodded. "Mountains are more beautiful than I could have imagined. Every time I look out at them, I try to imagine what's going on at each mountain's base. Do people camp out there? Maybe try to climb the mountains?"
"I would imagine so," Elliott nodded.
The bartender then returned with my rum and cola. He sat it down in front of me, then asked Elliott for his order. After Elliott ordered an ale, the bartender took the gold for it and went to make it.
I immediately took a sip of my drink… and was caught off-guard by how tolerable it was. I could barely taste the alcohol, which I always figured was too much to ask for.
"If there are people climbing those mountains," Elliott continued. "I imagine they're laughing at us, for enjoying the view from furnished and air-conditioned rooms, beach chairs, and queen-size beds, rather than being willing to sweat a little and experience it head-on."
"Ah," I shrugged. "I do imagine the view from atop one mountain would beat the view from here, in that it took work to experience it. But mountain-climbing isn't for everyone. I don't think I could do it."
Elliott opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and instead said "I admittedly don't think I'm up to the task, either. I try my best to do a little bit of exercise every day, but I don't think I have the endurance to climb a mountain."
"And hey, that's okay," I said.
"Yes," he nodded with a smile.
The bartender then returned with Elliott's ale. As soon as it was set down, he picked it up and drank it.
As he did so, I just so happened to be looking past him and at a rose that was on the counter, in an elegantly-painted pot.
"Hm… that rose," I pointed out, literally pointing at it. "It's wilting a bit."
"Is it?" he asked, looking at the same rose.
"Yeah," I replied. "You see that crack in the petal? I'm not sure it's being properly taken care of."
Of course, the bartender was helping a patron, presenting them a bottle of beer. If he'd heard me, he didn't care. Poor rose.
"Quite like humans," I heard Elliott sigh. "We think we can tackle everything on our own, but if we aren't properly loved and cared for, we'll wilt and crumble."
"I mean, humans are allowed to be independent and care for themselves, of course," I pointed out. "But sometimes, we do need a little help. You water a flower and make sure it's in the proper sunlight, you can leave it be, and it'll be fine. But yeah, if you leave it for dead, it'll… well, die."
"Of course," he agreed. "All of us… we really are living creatures, in the end."
"Mhm," I nodded. "…I have half a mind to water that rose myself."
"Not with your rum and cola, I hope," Elliott quipped.
"Oh, yeah, because I woke up and thought 'I want to see a plant die of alcohol poisoning today,'" I quipped back. "…Not that I'm going to try anything, but I'm curious now. How well can plants hold their liquor?"
Elliott laughed, as if I was crazy, but in an endearing sort of way. Like an "Oh, you" kinda way.
I was genuinely thinking about how well a rose could hold its liquor.
Author's note: I guess the answer is that as long as it's diluted and sugar-free, some alcohols can actually help preserve flowers. The more you know.