"This is really nice," Aaron said, as he looked around their section of the peacock room that he and Dannika were seated in. The walls were papered to resemble that of a peacock's tail feathers, all different colors.
The chandeliers were designed to look like peacocks as well, and even the silverware had the design of peacocks, even the table rings that were around the cloth napkins. The menu pages were even designed to look like a peacock's tail feathers. Overall, the effect was charming and also stunning.
"Yes, it is and I've only been here a couple of times with my family as I don't usually like to spend the money to come here, because they're kind of expensive and it's not like I make a fortune as a medical examiner. Still, the food is exquisite and the atmosphere enchanting."
"Instead of piping in music they actually have a piano over there in the corner with somebody playing it, which tells me it's not just there for show," Aaron said. "That's rather unusual in this day and age."
"What is?" Dannika asked quietly even as she pursued her menu.
"A place this classy," Aaron explained quietly, even as he chose what he wanted to eat. "Most places, even high class ones, don't have piano music or any type of live instrument music and instead they pipe music over their audio system. I haven't been in a place like this for decades at least as this type of place seems to be dying out or perhaps I'm just missing them," Aaron shrugged. "This kind reminds me more of the 1930s to 1950s where these kind of places were more common
"So you eat out a lot then?" Dannika said.
"What can I say? I don't cook very well as I told you when we first met and I can only eat so much of that pre-prepared stuff before I'm tired of it. I try to alternate with getting food from some restaurant for one meal and then eating something pre-prepared for another," Aaron said honestly. "As I mentioned before, I can't get any diseases from eating out all the time other than obesity, but then, I exercise so I don't get fat."
The waitress came back to their table, and both of them ordered their meals along with a bottle of wine.
The two continued to talk quietly until their meal arrived each, sipping a glass of wine, as the bottle had been delivered within a few minutes. The wine was a very nice vintage, and Dannika was enjoying it very much though she usually didn't drink that much, as she couldn't afford stuff this high quality on her salary.
She could get used to having this kind of quality when she drank alcohol if she decided to take Aaron up on his offer, but she'd wait and see. It was much too soon to make any decisions, as this was the first night that Aaron had taken her out on a date. They could've been dating for a month if not for Aaron being shot with that stunner beam, but that was in the past, so there was no point of dwelling on it.
"I only hope I don't run into anybody I know," Dannika said.
"Whyever not?" Aaron smiled at her.
"Because for one thing you are supposed to be keeping a low profile," Dannika told him seriously, "and for another with my luck I'll run into Candy and she'll just make nasty remarks, even if I think she's too dense to realize you're the body that disappeared. Even if I don't run into her, we could run into one of my old boyfriends or somebody else I don't particularly want to stand around and chat with, but who won't care that we're on a date."
"And you don't want to be rude," Aaron said, and Dannika shook her head.
"No, I don't, especially for somebody I work with and see on a normal basis. Besides, if I run into anybody who knows me there will be gossip about you and me. Before you know it, whoever we run into will be questioning us about our relationship, and how long we've been going together. Then they'll ask why they didn't know I was dating in the first place that kind of thing. It'll be really invasive and they'll ask a lot of personal questions that neither one of us wants to answer."
"I understand and that's one of the problems about small town living. There are very few secrets in towns this size," Aaron said. "People feel free to gossip about your personal life and to ask intrusive questions. You don't have to answer them though, and you can tell them it's none of their business more politely of course."
"That won't work for some of them," Dannika said sighing, "as they'll be very persistent, but still, you're right, we don't have to stay around to be questioned on matters that are none of anybody's concern. That doesn't mean, that they won't question me when you aren't around, as I see a lot of them in the morgue at one time or another."
"If you fob them off often enough they'll quit bothering you eventually," Aaron advised.
"Yes, after I'm sick and tired of answering personal questions or telling them it's none of their business," Dannika said dryly, but knew Aaron's advice was sound so changed the subject.
The two continued to talk softly, as they finished their delicious meals, and then, Aaron got out his wallet and took out the amount of cash that the meal cost as well as enough for a large tip, placing the money on the table for the waiter to take.
"It's probably wise not to use your credit cards around here considering," Dannika said, "but people might question why you're paying for everything in cash as most people just don't."
"If they do, I don't have to answer them, as it's none of their business so long as the bills aren't stolen and they aren't as they came from my bank account. I went to the nearest bank machine as soon as I was in Helsinki where I felt safe to use my credit card again, I withdrew a large amount as I told you."
"Why choose Helsinki?" Dannika asked.
"Well, for one thing, it was far enough away that it was safe to use my credit cards, as nobody would recognize my name and so long as the police weren't watching my expenditures, then it was relatively safe for me too. For another, there's a car dealership there and I needed a new car, as you know. I had other reasons for choosing it, as for one thing, it has a large population where I could get lost if necessary. You see I had multiple reasons for choosing it," Aaron said. "I really didn't want to go too far away as that would mean a longer journey to get back to you when it was relatively safe to do so. As it was, I was a day away, two, if I stopped for the night to sleep and eat. It took me several more days to get there by bus, but then, they had multiple stops along the way and I had to get on different buses, so it's no wonder the journey was longer than when you're driving your own vehicle," Aaron explained.
"You were really thinking," Dannika approved.
"Which I should've been doing from the beginning," Aaron said. "Lesson learned. I'll do better in the future if something similar ever happens again. In any case, let me tell you about this guy I met on the bus to Helsinki."
Aaron began to tell his mate all about Steve Garby and how they had shared a meal together at this diner out on the highway to where the food was fantastic.
Dannika laughed all through Aaron's retelling of his adventures while he had been gone, but all to soon the pleasant dinner was over and the two of them left, since Aaron had already paid the bill and the waitress had been by to collect the money already.
The two of them walked out of the restaurant and Aaron unlocked Dannika's door while the driver's side opened automatically.
"I'll have to see about inputting you in to the system so that you can drive it if you need to without the alarms going off," Aaron told Dannika after he was in the driver's seat.
"That's not necessary," Danika told him.
"Even if you never drive it, it means both doors will open automatically when we approach instead of me having to unlock it and do it with the remote," Aaron said. "It's just more convenient."
"There is that," Dannika said not having thought about that, but Aaron was correct. "You know for a man born hundreds of years ago you have a pretty good grasp of technology."
"An immoral has to change with the times and while I don't need to know or understand how things work, I do need to learn to use it, which means that I needed to learn to input somebody else into the system whenever I buy a new car. That philosophy applies to a lot of things when it comes to technology not just automobiles. If they don't, they stick out like sore thumbs amongst people."
"Point made, because you're right," Dannika agreed.
Aaron drove Dannika back to her apartment and bid her good night before watching her go inside before driving away. He then headed back to the hotel he was staying at.

~~~Aaron and Dannika~~~

Aaron and Dannika hung out together, going on multiple dates in public and people had began to notice the handsome guy that was hanging around with Dannika.
It was a couple of weeks later, and Aaron and Dannika spent every spare minute together sometimes in public and sometimes at Dannika's apartment.
"Do you know I was questioned about who you were at work today?" Dannika told Aaron.
The two of them were in Dannika's apartment, sitting together on the couch.
"We knew it would happen, though," Aaron said.
"That's true we did. I know very well that humans can be curious by nature and considering this is a relatively small town and I've known most of these people all my life that curiosity is understandable, even if it is annoying," Dannika said sighing. "I knew in advance it would be annoying, but I'm already quite tired of people asking me about who you are, since they don't recognize you and this is only day one of people asking questions. Let's just say, I don't have much patience for people who ask personal questions, unless they have a legit reason for asking and not just because of curiosity."
"And what did you tell them?" Aaron wanted to know.
"I told them you were a visitor here, but that we had met at the technology museum so you decided to stick around for awhile, as we decided to try dating after we got to talking. I told them they didn't need to know anymore than that, as it was none of their business."
"That's exactly what you should've said," Aaron said. "So I'm assuming at least one of them was persistent in questioning you about me considering you're already annoyed with the questions and this is only the first day."
"That's the understatement of the decade," Dannika rolled her eyes. "One of those that questioned me has had a crush on me ever since high school and I've never given him the time of day. I think he's hoping one day I'll say yes, to his offer of a date, but the chances of that happening are basically nil so I don't know why he keeps trying."
"And what's this guy name?" Aaron asked curiously.
"Edgar Wesson," Dannika answered. "He goes by Ed though and I don't blame him considering Edgar is a very old-fashioned name."
"Good lord, what were his parents thinking?" Aaron grimaced. "He would be a perfect target for the bullies just because of his name alone."
"And he was," Dannika agreed, smiling. "He was a geek just like me, but I wasn't picked on as much as he was, because I was more outgoing while he is not, even to this day. He was the type to get knocked over for people to step on and have his head stuck in a toilet. The clothes he wore in high school were another reason for the students to bully him, as his parents didn't buy him brand names, but generic, which also got him picked on. He works in one of the police labs now and is probably smarter than any five people put together."
"Which is also why the bullies targeted him other than his generic clothes and I'm assuming shoes," Aaron summarized.
"Yes, his shoes were also generic," Dannika agreed.
"I also can't blame him for going by Ed as Edgar is so 1900s," Aaron said.
"So the name was popular back then," Dannika said, and Aaron nodded.
"Exactly," Aaron agreed. "I suppose it could be a family name and I'm well aware he had no choice in what his parents named him, but you would think his parents would've been more thoughtful and thought of the impact of such a name would have on him when he became school age. It sounds as if he should've been sent to a private school from what you've just told me about him as he certainly seems intelligent enough to be sent to a school with harder courses."
"That would've meant sending him away to be schooled as there are no such schools here in Dupar Woods," Dannika said. "This isn't New York or Chicago there's only around 100,000 people here, as you know, so there's no need for such a school."
"And those kind of schools also have a fee required and if he had to board that just would've made it even more for tuition. I also can understand the parents either not being able to afford it or not wanting to send their son away to get his education, even if he probably would've been happier than in a public high school. Personally, I would've gone the homeschool route, since there was no private school close enough for him to come home every day," Aaron said. "I would've hired tutors personally if I had gone that route."
"They both have good jobs, so I'm sure they had enough to send him to a private school. It was probably more than they didn't want to send their son away, as he is an only child," Dannika said. "I also doubt hiring tutors ever occurred too Edgar's parents, since a lot of people just don't think like that and I don't think it's necessarily the money in this case. Anyway, it's in the past, as there's nothing either one of us can do at this late date."
"Also, it could be that they might not have recognized how intelligent their son really was, as a lot of parents don't when it concerns their children, and unless one of the parents is also super intelligent. His teachers certainly should have though and mentioned tutors to his parents, but that apparently didn't happen," Aaron said. "That kind of scenario happens all the time all over the world, as I known people in the past, that were really super intelligent, but they went to public high schools, because the parents either didn't recognize that intelligence or didn't care. Occasionally, it was because they didn't have the money to send that child to a private school, even if they wouldn't have to board because they lived nearby."
"In any case, he's like the boy next-door with exception he has a big brain and I could never date someone like that mostly because his social skills are very poor," Dannika said.
"That's not very nice," Aaron told her with a half smile.
"He's OK, even though he lacks self-confidence when it comes to women in general, at least when it comes to asking them on a date. Also, he stutters when he's around me, which is another reason I could never date him," Dannika said. "It took him five minutes just for him to ask me about you, because he was stuttering so badly. No thank you, I could never date anyone that stutters so much, as it shows me that he lacks self-confidence in himself and I don't have time to baby anyone or help them get over their problems. I can just imagine us on a date now and how whenever he talks, he stutters so much I have trouble understanding him. That kind of man is not for me. He needs someone that is very patient and can help him gain self-confidence to where he doesn't stutter, but it won't be me."
"I understand," Aaron said, "that doesn't mean that this Edgar Wesson doesn't have a crush on you, however."
"Believe me, I know, as it's pretty obvious. He's not really very good about concealing his feelings at least when he's around me, which is one reason he was bullied so badly in high school," Dannika said.
"So how did he react when you told him that we were trying the date thing?" Aaron asked curiously.
"It was obvious he was disappointed when I told him, and I'm sure he's hoping that it doesn't work out, but even if it doesn't for whatever reason that is, I would never date him, as I have already stated several times," Dannika said. "His crush on me is going to remain unrequited. I won't claim he's unhandsome either, because he's not, but there are a lot of handsome, nice guys in the world that don't stutter whenever they talk to a woman."
"It's going to work out, though," Aaron told her giving his mate a look, "even if Edgar Wesson doesn't know that and is hoping our relationship fails it isn't going to."
"You're probably right," Dannika said, "as even though you've only been back in town a short time I know I'll be miserable without you, but still, I want to take things slowly, because I'll be changing my whole life for a man so I want to make sure it's the right decision."
"Understandable," Aaron said calmly. "I wish we could stay here for this generation, but because of what happened that's not possible. I know I'm asking a lot from you, to change your whole life, I'm sorry about that, but an immortal is miserable without their mate, as I told you weeks ago."
"I remember," Dannika said. "You were very vivid, as you described exactly how you would feel if I turned you down. So how were you when you had to leave for those few weeks, even though we talked almost every day?"
"Talking almost every day helped, but still, I was lonely though not precisely miserable, because you hadn't rejected me," Aaron answered honestly. "I won't say I wasn't eager to return, because I was, if I'm being completely truthful here, but as for depressed and all those other negative emotions I told you I would feel if you rejected me no, I wasn't. I did go through a kind of withdrawal, because we had to be apart, but nothing dramatic. I didn't stop eating for instance like I would do if I was really depressed, even if I missed you."
"That's very good," Dannika said pleased. "I'm glad you weren't depressed, even if you were lonely and were going through a kind of withdrawal, because we couldn't be together right then."
Aaron smiled, as it was clear that his mate cared about his well-being and that was very good in his book. If she cared about his well-being while they'd been separated, then that was a very big step in the right direction and soon she would come to love him, which would only help her reach a decision about getting involved with him permanently, about basically changing her life for him.
She might already be in love with him, but hadn't recognized her feelings yet Aaron knew so he said nothing. He didn't want ruin his chances if she hadn't realized her feeling yet, as she might deny them at this point.
The two continued to cuddle together and talk softly before Aaron finally took his leave giving Dannika passionate kiss before he did leaving her dazed, but smiling goofily.

~~~Aaron and Dannika~~~