Ember looked herself over in her reflection of the Fireplace window. She had on her nicest dress and a light shawl over her shoulders.
"You look stunning."
She turned at the voice behind her, smiling softly at Wade standing just a few yards away. He wore a white shirt and black blazer.
"You clean up nice, yourself," Ember responded, stepping closer to him.
Wade took her hands in his, steam gently wafting up from them. "Are you ready to go, my light?" he asked in a sultry voice.
Ember shook her head. "Not yet," she said before gently taking his collar and pulling his face down so that his lips met hers. Wade pulled her closer by the waist and they kissed a moment longer before Wade pulled away just a half inch.
"Well, if that's the criteria, I may never be ready," he said, his breath mixing with hers.
Ember laughed and pulled him to the side, looping her arm in his as they began making their way to the train station.
"I love you, Wade," she said softly.
"And I love you, my light," Wade responded, gripping her arm to his side a little tighter.
The two stopped at the train station, waiting for the train to unload its passengers before boarding.
"So," Ember started, "these friends of yours we're meeting, how long have you known them?"
Wade gentlemanly stepped aside and put his hand against the sliding door of the train car and let Ember pass into the car first. "I've known Beau since I was in grade school. We've been close friends for many years now. He met Bridgette about four years ago and they just got married last year. They're looking forward to meeting you."
The train moved forward now and the two watched Element City whiz by.
"It's nice that you've known him for so long. Do they have any kids?" Ember asked.
Wade shook his head. "No, they actually don't want children."
"What do they do for fun?" Ember followed up.
Wade chuckled. "If you keep asking questions, we'll have nothing to discuss on our double-date."
Ember smiled nervously. "Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous," she admitted, fiddling with the hem of her shawl."
Wade gently smiled and pulled her into his arms. "There's nothing to be worried about. They're going to love you. They'd be crazy not to."
Ember smiled up at him. "I hope you're right."
It only took a few more minutes for the train to deposit the pair in the heart of Element City. It was late into the evening now, and the sun barely dipped below the horizon, light emptying from the sky like water down a drain. The lights of the city made the stars above impossible to see. Wade led Ember by the arm down the sidewalk, every so often giving her hand a gentle squeeze. It was only a mere ten-minute walk until they arrived at the restaurant: Outback Poolhouse.
The Sprits were waiting for them by the hostess stand when they entered. Beau wore a simple red dress shirt and stood, leading his wife, who wore a flowing blue dress, by the hand to meet them.
"Hello, Wade!" Beau greeted cheerfully. "You must be Ember. Wade's told us so much about you."
Ember smiled bashfully and nodded. "He's told me a lot about you two as well."
Bridgette stepped closer. She spoke slowly and deliberately. "It's so nice to meet you finally."
Ember exchanged a quick glance with Wade, but shook it off and smiled. "Of course, It's lovely to meet you both as well."
The hostess stepped forward, a tall Earth person with short limbs on her head and moss growing from her neck and shoulders like a scarf. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Are we ready to be seated?"
The four smiled and nodded, following her through the maze of tables until they stopped at a table in the center of the restaurant. Beau and Bridgette took one side of the table. The hostess draped a sheet over Ember's chair – a fireproof blanket. Wade and Ember wondered why they didn't just use chairs that were fireproof in material, but decided against asking as they took their seats. The hostess set menus down in front of them.
"Your waiter will be with you shortly, enjoy your meal!" the hostess said before walking away.
Wade was the first to pick up his menu. "So, shall we?"
The others smiled and followed suit.
Ember attempted to pick up the menu but flinched when she realized it wasn't fireproofed and dropped it back to the table, a small flame growing from its corner. Wade noticed immediately and held his hand over it, letting water fall over the flame.
"Are you okay?" Wade asked.
Before Ember could answer, Beau spoke up. "Is she okay?" he asked incredulously. "She nearly caught the table on fire."
Wade sideways glanced at him for a moment, but ignored him. "Are you okay?" he asked again, softer this time.
Ember nodded. "They didn't put any fireproof coating on the menus," she answered softly.
Wade sighed and scooted his chair closer to her. "Here, you can just look on with me."
Ember smiled nervously and looked on with him. An awkward silence fell over the table as they assessed their options. After a few seconds of scanning the menu, Ember frowned.
"There aren't many options that a fire person would enjoy," she commented softly.
Wade looked at her, then studied the menu for a moment. "Hey, Beau," he spoke up. Beau lowered his menu. "Are you sure there aren't any other restaurants we could try? There isn't really a lot of Firish food here."
Beau looked between them, exchanged a glance with Bridgette, then laughed slightly. "This reservation was made three weeks ago. We've all come here and settled in. You really want to inconvenience us by looking for another restaurant at the last minute?"
Wade shrugged a little. "Well, I –"
"It's fine," Ember interrupted. "I'm sure I can find something."
Wade furrowed his brow and raised his menu to shield them, not noticing the eyeroll Beau and Bridgette exchanged with each other.
"Are you sure, Ember?" he asked.
Ember nodded quickly. "Yeah, it's fine. I promise."
Wade wasn't convinced, but decided to drop it. A waiter finally dropped by a few moments later.
"Good evening!" the air person said as he hovered by their table. "Thanks for choosing the Outback Poolhouse for your dining pleasure tonight. I'm Alexandair. Do we know what we'd like to drink?"
Beau spoke up first. "My wife and I will have a lemonade."
"And I'll have the cider, please," Wade spoke up.
Everyone looked at Ember as she awkwardly shifted in her seat. "No drink for me, thanks," she said quietly. Sadly, there weren't any options that wouldn't evaporate as soon as she brought it to her lips.
Alexandair jotted down their drink orders. "Perfect! Do we need a few more moments with the menu?"
Bridgette didn't wait for anyone else to respond before saying, "I'll have the soup special. Broccoli cheddar."
Beau nodded in agreement. "I'll have the same, but I'll have the potato leek."
Wade looked at Ember. "Do you know what you want?" he asked softly.
Ember looked at the menu a moment longer. "Um, I suppose I'll just have the chicken parm slider, please."
"Oh, that's an appetizer, miss," Alexandair informed her with a smile. "Do you know what you'd like for a main course yet?"
Ember shook her head. "That's all I'll have, actually," she insisted quietly, unable to meet anyone's eye.
Alexandair nodded and jotted down her order. "And you, sir?"
Wade continued to look at Ember for a moment, feeling sullen. He sighed softly and turned back to the waiter. "Um . . . yeah, I'll just take the Greek salad."
"Perfect!" Alexandair exclaimed. "I'll be back shortly with those orders."
Another awkward silence followed after the waiter left them. Beau cleared his throat slightly and turned to Ember.
"So, what do you do for work?" he inquired, folding his hands on the table.
"Well, right now I work at my father's store in Firetown," Ember responded, leaning forward. "It's really the heart of the town, and we sell a lot of cultural staples from Fireland."
Bridgette nodded curiously. "I see. What brought your family here to Element City?" she asked.
Ember laughed nervously. "Well, it's kind of personal. Long story short, things became unstable in Fireland and my parents had to flee their home to find a better life."
Beau and Bridgette pressed their lips closed and nodded.
"I totally understand that," Beau said with a wave of his hand. "Once when I was a child, a bus crashed into my family's apartment building. The building became structurally unsound and we all had to move out!" he finished with a laugh.
Ember and Wade exchanged another uncomfortable glance. Wade found himself wondering how he'd never really seen this side of Beau before. Was it always there and he just never noticed? Perhaps he was just putting his foot in his mouth out of nervousness?
Alexandair saved the moment by coming by with a large tray. "Here we are! Here are your soups, your salad, and your sandwich. And of course, here are your drinks," he said, placing the dishes in front of the respective diners. "Is there anything else we need?"
The four shook their heads and the waiter nodded and walked away.
"So, what do you two do for work?" Ember asked, trying to change the subject.
Beau picked up his spoon and smiled. "I actually work in the immigration office. We help people immigrating to Element City find a home! I've actually helped some Firish people too."
"Oh, that's nice!" Ember commented. "How many have you sent to Firetown?"
Beau looked nervously from Bridgette to Wade, then looked back to Ember. "Well," he said with a small laugh, "I actually usually send them to this community downtown. They have a nice program there that helps them learn Elemenglish, our customs here in Element City, and it has a nice school where the children can assimilate to our culture!"
Ember noticeably faltered, but remained calm for the time being. "What about . . . our customs? Firish customs?"
Beau stopped in the middle of sipping soup from his spoon and shifted uncomfortably. "Well . . . I'm sure the parents will teach that to their children in the privacy of their home."
Ember brightened. "Right, where no one else can see it?" she snapped.
Another silence fell over the group. Ember had picked up her sandwich a few minutes ago, but had yet to take a bit of it. So it was now a charred lump in her hand. She clenched her fist and it crumbled back onto the plate. Suddenly, she stood from her seat.
"I need to use the restroom," she said sharply before turning and quickly storming off.
When she was gone, Bridgette let out her breath and nervously laughed.
"My, Wade. You sure are gonna have your hands full with that one, aren't you?" she said, sharing a humorous look with Beau.
Wade was questionably silent, studying the two as if seeing them for the first time. It was as if he was dining with strangers. Every encounter he'd had with Beau flashed across his mind, almost as if his life was flashing before his eyes. He'd known Beau for years. He had never said anything cross about Firish people. But then again, the community he grew up in didn't have a lot of Firish people in it when he was a child. Were there ever any opportunities for Wade to see him interact with the Firish people?
"Wade?" Beau said, breaking him from his thoughts.
Wade took a deep breath. "Um . . . Beau, you've been my best friend for many years now. I don't think you're a bad person. But you have to understand that some of the things you're saying and doing are harmful. You're treating Ember and people like her like they're . . . less than."
Beau scoffed and laughed a little. "Wade, we have been friends for years. I'd hope you know me better than that. I took you both out to a nice accommodating restaurant and I've been nothing but nice to her. You're treating me like I'm an elementist when she's the one that's been getting aggressive."
Wade tensed. "Aggressive? Do you hear yourself? I haven't gotten any more elevated than she did. Do you think I'm being aggressive?"
Beau considered and shrugged. "I suppose not."
"Then you have to see how you perceiving her as aggressive kind of seems like a bit of a microaggression on your part, right?" Wade pointed out.
Beau didn't respond. He looked at his wife for a moment, who also remained speechless.
Wade stood. "I'm sorry," he said as he pushed his and Ember's chairs in. "I think tonight was a mistake. I hope that you'll take some time to reflect, Beau. You've been a good friend of mine, and I'd hate for our friendship to end like this."
Beau looked at him incredulously and spread his hands. "You mean you'd end more than a decade long friendship for her?" he asked in disbelief.
Wade looked back in the direction of the bathrooms, then looked back at him. "For her, I'd do anything."
With that, he turned on his heel and left them sitting there. Alexandair arrived a moment later, eyeing the empty seats curiously.
"Is . . . everything to your liking today?" he asked awkwardly.
Beau and Bridgette exchanged a glance before nodding silently to the waiter, who took the hint to walk away.
"Ember?" Wade called after knocking on the restroom door a couple of times. No answer followed.
"Excuse me, sir," said a voice from behind.
Wade turned to see a little water girl.
"Are you looking for the pretty fire lady?" she asked innocently.
Wade smiled softly and knelt down next to her. "Yes, I'm looking for the pretty fire lady. Do you know where she went?"
The girl nodded. "The bathroom wasn't made of much fireproof material, so she went outside," she responded, pointing to the door across the restaurant.
Wade followed her finger with his eyes and nodded. "Thanks," he said, patting her on the head.
It was dark out now, save for the little glow of a flame sitting on the curb several yards from the door of the restaurant. Wade approached Ember from behind slowly before stopping behind her.
"Ember?" he called softly.
Ember was silent for a moment before turning her head in his direction. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner, Wade."
Wade shook his head and sat on the curb next to her. "You didn't ruin dinner. They did. I'm the one that should be sorry. Ember, I swear to you I had no idea they felt that way."
He continued to watch her though she wouldn't meet his eye. He sighed.
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" he said, studying the ground.
Ember exhaled and rolled her eyes. "It's not about you, Wade."
Wade looked back at her. "Then what is it about?" he asked.
For a moment, he thought Ember wasn't going to answer. Finally, she spoke, still refusing eye contact.
"It's just frustrating. This is why I spend most of my time in Firetown. When I'm in the city, I never know what to expect. A lot of people are fine. They're either kind or they mind their own business. Then there are others who give me dirty looks or call me slurs. Then there are those in the middle. The ones that actively think they aren't the problem just because they don't say 'I hate Fire people' verbatim. The ones who actively harm our community thinking they're trying to help, when what they're really doing is trying to distinguish between the good Fire people and the others. And if I try to defend myself or other Firish people, they act like I'm the out of pocket one. The one that started it. The aggressive one. It's just . . . exhausting."
By the time she'd finished talking, her flame had shrunk some. She had noticeably relaxed, her arms falling to her sides limply. Wade realized her mask was failing, her mask he hadn't fully realized she wore so often. She was trying so hard to seem like a normal person, which was ridiculous since she is just a normal person. He realized how much work she had to put into keeping the approval of others for living her life no differently than them. He felt a few tears start in his eyes, but forced him back. It wouldn't be fair to make the moment about his emotions when it was about hers.
"I'm . . . sorry, Ember. I really don't know what else to say. You've been forced to be so strong so you can fight against these ridiculous stereotypes. I just . . . wish I knew what to do to fix it," Wade said, dropping his hands into his lap.
Ember looked over at him finally. "Wade, you don't have the power to fix it, nor do I need you to have that power. Some people just don't understand that it's not enough to just not be elementist, that you have to be an active anti-elementist for this world to be better."
Wade nodded slightly before his eyes widened and he looked over at her in shock. Then he threw his head back with his face in his hands. "Oh, man! I still made this about me!"
Ember finally let out a laugh and scooted closer to him, taking his hand. "Wade, it's okay. I appreciate you trying. And I appreciate you coming after me. What happened after I left?"
Wade looked at her hand and stroked her fingers with his thumb, admiring the way her light refracted his water onto the ground. "You didn't miss much. I basically told him that . . . I couldn't be his friend anymore if he couldn't understand why he was being problematic."
Ember closed her eyes and nodded. Then she scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder, still holding his hand. "I'm sorry you had to do that. I hope you don't have to lose a friend because of me."
Wade pulled his hand free and wrapped his arm around her. "Ember, it wouldn't be much of a loss to lose a friend that made you feel this way."
Ember let herself melt against him. They stayed this way for a couple of minutes before a voice from behind caused them to pull away and turn.
"Hey."
Beau and Bridgette stood just a couple feet behind them, arms looped together. Wade helped Ember to her feet and they turned to them hand in hand.
"Look," Beau began, "I apologize for my behavior tonight. Bridgette and I discussed what you said and . . . we realized there's a lot about the Firish people we really don't know. Perhaps there are some things we need to learn . . . and unlearn."
Wade smiled and started to speak, but stopped himself and turned to Ember. He leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Let your voice be heard, my light."
Ember smiled at him and then turned to Beau and Bridgette. "I don't believe anything you've said or done was to intentionally cause harm. But the impact of those words and actions negate your intentions. But . . . I appreciate your willingness to criticize your own biases. I hope we can start over and come to a better place of understanding."
Beau and Bridgette smiled at each other.
"Of course," Beau responded. "You spoke so eloquently, by the way."
Ember pressed her lips together and closed her eyes with a big exhale. Wade put his hand in his face in embarrassment.
Beau frowned and laughed nervously. "I suppose I did it again, didn't I?"
Ember and Wade laughed it off and stepped forward, moving down the sidewalk. Beau and Bridgette followed.
"How about we talk about it over dinner," Ember said, looping her arm around Wade's again. "I know a great place a few blocks from here that has a more . . . diverse menu."
Beau and Bridgette smiled as they kept pace with Wade and Ember.
"We'd be delighted," Bridgette responded.
"Perfect," Ember said. "Don't expect me to always be the one responsible for educating you, though," she added with a laugh.
Beau laughed. "Deal."