"What do you think about taking a ride on the cable cars? Tour that particular section of the city and then we can perhaps try one of the other two on different days," Kainen asked Tabitha as the two of them were sitting on the couch and Kainen's living room. The couch was a very nice comfy one and also brand new. No shopping secondhand for Kainen Hotchner Tabitha noticed. There was no buying cheap furniture to fill every room of the house Kainen had bought, since money wasn't an issue for her boyfriend.
"I never really thought about just riding one of the cable cars until the end of the tour and then having it take me back to my starting point," Tabitha admitted. "Then to be fair, I grew up here, so it never occurred to me to try the attraction that so many tourists seem to enjoy."
"Most people don't though, as the cable cars are ancient, but they're still in operation and the city makes sure they stay that way because they brings in those tourists dollars," Kainen said. "I just moved here so I haven't had a chance to see any of the sites yet, but I thought it might be something you want to do together and if you're not interested, just let me know and I'll go by myself."
"I never thought about it, since I've always lived here in San Francisco, but they're supposed to tell you a lot about the history of the city and they're even supposed to tell you about the great earthquake in the early 20th century. At least that's what I've heard anyway," said Tabitha.
"Which is why I'm interested in taking that tour, because as you know, I'm something of a history buff at least part time anyway," Kainen said. "If I didn't have such a talent for metal work, I might have become something like a history professor or maybe worked in a museum."
"Like your cousin Amos, you said he was a teacher, though you never did say what he taught," Tabitha said.
"Not history. History was never Amos's passion and in fact, it bores him," Kainen said with a charming grin causing Tabitha to blush and for her insides to do a happy wiggle. "He teaches advanced math, calculus, algebra, differential geometry, that kind of thing. He's really super intelligent is Amos. It's not even that all my family isn't intelligent, Amos just has a higher IQ then most of us at least when it comes to those subjects."
"That's impressive, considering that that kind of math was never my long suit," Tabitha said in an impressed tone.
"Mine neither," Kainen said, "which is another thing we have in common. I could never understand what Amos teaches, and he also teaches differential equations. I tried to understand some of it at one point and it gave me a headache, trying to solve advanced problems using it and I quickly learned that kind of advanced math is definitely not for me."
Kainen didn't bother to mention the fact that his supposed headache had vanished as soon as he had given up, trying to understand any kind of advanced math, because so long as he wasn't concentrating on something that he had no hope of understanding his headache had been gone a moment later. Immortals never got headaches, at least ones that lasted more than a few seconds, which meant as soon as he had given up, trying to understand something his brain just wasn't wired for his headache hadn't lasted.
"Oh well, we all have our crosses to bear," Tabitha said dramatically, causing Kainen to grin. "Still, some people are just naturals at that kind of thing like your cousin Amos and others have other abilities."
"Like some people are good at different kinds of art or history or even cooking," Kainen said. "We all have a different talents. My aunt for example, is a whiz when it comes to making things for customers at her bakery. You saw how popular the place was and Rosamond, who runs it got, her talent from the first Jazzlyn Lincoln way back centuries ago, and there have been multiple people in the Rossi family that also inherited her talent for baking dessert items."
Kainen didn't bother to tell Tabitha exactly what the talent entailed and why so many people had inherited it. That information would have to wait until she knew about immortality and magic, though the time was approaching to where she would be told, but not quite yet. Really though, the children that inherited their mother's bakery magic it was a simple case of genetics. Still, it wasn't just Aunt Jazz and Uncle Dave's children that inherited the bakery magic. It was also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"So it's been a talent on that side of the family for awhile," Tabitha said.
"Exactly," Kainen agreed smiling. "It's been a talent in their family for centuries. The Hotchners on the other hand, don't have that kind of talent. I mean, we can bake and cook and everything, but any dessert type item is never quite as good, as those in the Rossi family with the talent. As for me, I don't even bother to try to bake anything just go by my cousin's bakery whenever I have that urge for something sweet. I mean, why bother to try to make something yourself, especially from scratch, if you're not anywhere half as good as your cousin at baking and you get whatever you want for free?"
"I definitely see your point," Tabitha agreed, as she finished off what she had chosen from the bakery. "Why bother trying to bake anything, especially from scratch when their people better suited to the task in your own family."
She knew she could become easily addicted to the sweets at the bakery as she had never tasted anything so scrumptious in her life, not even at some of the finest restaurants. The fact that Kainen's cousin hadn't even charged her, even though she wasn't family definitely made her want to come back, but also puzzled her. All Kainen had had to do was tell Amos to put her on his tab and that had been enough for her to not have to pay a dime.
Tabitha drank the last of the coffee as well as took the last bite of her snack Kainen had been nice enough to bring her from his cousin's bakery and sat back feeling very contented. The coffee had still been piping hot when Kainen had handed it to her when he picked her up at her place, and she had been grateful, as it had already been a long day, so she could use the boost that the caffeine provided.
"I'm definitely going to have to go back sometime, though I'm sure I'll have to pay if you're not with me," Tabitha said.
"Amos knows who you are now and he'll spread the word, so no you won't have to pay whether I'm with you or not," Kainen said mildly.
"But I'm not family," Tabitha protested.
"You will be if I have my way and Amos knows that. Amos knows I never would've told him to put you on my tab if it wasn't serious between us. I've never done it for any girlfriend in the past just so you know so you are the first," Kainen replied seriously.
Tabitha sat back in shock at what Kainen was implying.
"I'm the first you ever done that for?" Tabitha questioned in astonishment.
"Yep, you are," Kainen agreed sincerely. "Now, while I'm sorry if I shocked you, I do intend on asking you to marry me, though not for awhile," Kainen said, as he glanced at her and away from the road for a few seconds. "I know you were afraid we weren't really compatible other then our surface interest in art and being artists, but I think we've proved by now that we're more than compatible."
"You did shock me, but I'm not really surprised despite being shocked," Tabitha said. "I knew in the back of my mind that you were serious about me, but I didn't let myself acknowledge it not until now anyway. I mean, I thought I had plenty of time to find right the guy, get married, have children, and the right man just drops into my lap when I'm least expecting it and am not really looking."
"That's usually the way it happens you know," Kainen said. "I didn't expect to meet you either if truth be told. If you look at my own family, my father Aaron didn't expect to meet my mother Shonda and yet they knew they were right for each other nearly from the beginning. They've been very happy together for a quite a number of years now and have had multiple children including me."
Kainen didn't bother to mention that his mother was pregnant, but she was due soon within the next few weeks and he'd have a new sibling, which he'd learned was a boy. He knew that his parents as well as his aunt and uncle were planning on having several more each before they stopped for this generation. It was always 4 to 5 per generation for both families, though usually, the two families stuck to four each, but occasionally it was five for at least one of the families.
"The same goes for my aunt and uncle, David and Jazzlyn Rossi," Kainen added.
"So your aunt is Jazzlyn and I guess she's a descendent of the original one that started the first bakery," Tabitha observed remembering what Kainen had originally told her about the original Jazzlyn that had started the whole chain of bakeries or at least her family had once her children were grown.
"Something like that," Kainen said not agreeing or disagreeing. He did not bother to tell his mate that Jazzlyn was the original not a descendent. She would learn that information when she learned about how unusual his family was.
Tabitha didn't notice Kainen's wording, and that he hadn't exactly agreed with what she had said.
"You know this coffee is better than any I've ever had," Tabitha observed, as she took another delicate sip. "I've had some decent coffee before and also some terrible coffee, but I would consider this gourmet."
"My aunt has her own blend," Kainen explained. "I don't have to know what she puts in it to make it taste so amazing I just know that I love her coffee as well as her desserts."
"I can't blame you, since I have become addicted since you introduced me to your family's bakery," Tabitha said, as she finished her coffee regretting that it was gone, but she could just get another cup tomorrow, as she was addicted. "I've become a regular patron at Magical Treats and I go by there most every day for an excellent cup of coffee and usually a snack of some kind. It's too bad your cousins bakery isn't close to where I work or I'd go there on my lunch break."
"Yeah, it is a little out of the way of the art gallery that you work at, but I'm glad to see you don't mind going out of your way when you really like a place. It is however, relatively close to this house, so that makes it convenient for me to stop in and get us both something whenever I come to visit you at work," Kainen said. "Still, out of the way or not, I'll never go anywhere else for my treats. As for coffee, I prefer to go there, as it's the best coffee I've ever had, as even the gourmet brands I've had don't compare, but I do drink coffee from other places including here at home, as I can't always get by the bakery, even if I want to."
"Yeah, I did notice the fancy coffee maker sitting on your counter," Tabitha said. "Those things are really super expensive."
"Yes, they are, but if I'm going to drink coffee here, I'd rather have a latte than plain coffee, as regular coffee doesn't compare to the bakery's blend."
"So are you ever going to fix me a cup with your fancy high-tech coffee maker," Tabitha teased him.
"Sure, if you want," Kainen agreed smiling. "I don't mind fixing you a latte or whatever drink you want me to fix, as it has multiple capabilities so long as I have the ingredients on hand."
"You'll have to do that sometime but right now I'm all caffeinated up," Tabitha said, even as she crushed her large paper cup into a tiny ball and threw it in the nearest trashcan without even having to get up.
"Great shot!" Kainen cheered, as the crumbled paper cup went right into the trashcan that was sitting several feet away.
"Thank you, but I've always had great aim," Tabitha boasted making Kainen chuckle.
"Yeah, I was on the basketball team in high school, so I know what you mean about being a great shot. I probably could have been a professional, but that was just for fun, to relieve stress you know? It wasn't a career choice, not for me."
Kainen didn't tell Tabitha that one reason basketball hadn't been the career for him was that any bruises he gotten during the game would've healed immediately and so would broken bones. Somebody would notice if he came in the next day for practice and there was no sign that his arm his leg had ever been broken. He wouldn't even make it to the hospital before whatever bone was broken healed, whether it had been straightened into the proper position or not. No, one immortal got involved in a sport like that as it was simply too physical and players could use elbows to knock a player out of the way and even cause them to fall and break a bone. There had been bruises and broken bones in professional sports before and would be again. Playing on his high school team had been dangerous enough, as basketball players tended to play rough and if anybody had noticed that he healed much faster than anybody else and started to comment on it, he would've had to quit, but luckily, he'd never gotten an elbow in his face to where he had a black eye afterwards, one that healed immediately. If a black eye or a visible bruise like on his bare arm healed in front of someone, they would start asking questions, which could be very dangerous for him and his family.
"Well, I learned something new about you," Tabitha told Kainen.
"Oh, you'll be picking up facts about me just, as I will about you for sometime to come," Kainen told her. "That's what you do when you're in a relationship you pick up facts about your significant other things like birthdays, family names, whether they have a sibling, that kind of thing.
"True," Tabitha agreed, as she leaned back into the comfortable cushions of the couch. It was clear that Kainen went for comfort, not for show, as she could easily take a nap on this couch and wake up refreshed, because it was just as good as a bed. Also, the couch was wide enough that she and Kainen could lay spooned together if they wanted to nap at the same time. Tabitha wondered if that's what Kainen had had in mind when he bought the couch, that the two of them could take naps together. Probably not though, as she was sure he had bought the couch before they had met since he had been looking for art for his walls when they had. That suggested to her that the furniture shopping had been finished, as most people didn't shop for art until everything else was done like furniture shopping and unpacking boxes of knickknacks, appliances, clothes and everything else.
"So what about a movie or something?" Kaine suggested. "I have all the channels and we can choose something on one of the movie channels, as I don't mind paying for the cost if you like."
"That would be OK," Tabitha decided and Kainen looked for the remote and found it between two of the cushions and then turned on his large screen TV. He then turned it to the movie channel and asked, "So what are you interested in watching?" asked Kainen, as he listed the movies that were playing within the next few minutes on several different channels, reading the short summaries for each, and Tabitha thought about it then gave him her decision.
The two of them sat back on the couch Tabitha's head on Kainen's shoulder as the movie began 10 minutes later and both of them watched it, just pleased to be together.
~~~Kainen and Tabitha~~~