[color=f7941d]CELESTE BROWN[/color] - Adam's place -- nightfall

Celeste had begun to worry that perhaps Adam had forgotten about their date...or maybe he had meant a different night? Sudenly, some thudding from behind the door could be heard and the door bumped open to reveal a dimly lit room and the silhouette of Adam himself.  A beautiful tune warbled over the air from behind him.

"Ah.." Adam cleared his throat, "C-Celeste, you look beautiful. I love the way you've done your hair and the dress, it compliments you too." 

Celeste offered a short curtsey and a smile.  "Thank you, Adam!  How sweet of you to say.  Wonderful night, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry! Here." He stepped aside and let her in and shut the door behind her. "I'm sorry, but I fear my home ain't exactly as nice as yours, but I did make you dinner." He went over to the hotplate setup and brought two warm plates of steak and a mixed array of vegetables. 

Celeste couldn't help but glance around.  It wasn't in a state of disarray, but Adam certainly had an eclectic collection of things strewn about.  It was extremely fascinating.  She took a seat at the table, folded her hands in front of her, and gave a genuine smile.  "Thank you so much for inviting me over.  I, well, have been looking forward to spending the time with you like this all day."

'"I've also...uh..." Adam looked around, almost panicked. "Ah!" He knelt down on the floor, digging in boxes under his cot. "I have a vintage bottle of the good stuff." He produced dark sealed bottle. "Can't read the brand, but it's Franciacorta wine. Good stuff, found it at some ritzy golf course down the coast."

Celeste's heart leapt and that moonstruck feeling seized her once more.  "My goodness, Adam, what a treat!  I...I'm just so flattered you would share such a treasure with [i]me[/i]."  

Adam uncorked the bottle and poured Celeste a whiskey glass of the wine, its clearish-yellow streaming with a soft hiss into the glass and he placed it beside her at the table before pouring himself a glass and seating himself at the table with the bottle between them. Adam spoke up and blushed, "Sorry I took so long, Celeste.  See, ahem, I was trying to get the music player to start and it likes to be a pain in the ass but I wanted to surprise you, give you a special night and all." He chuckled softly, "I'm sure running an inn with a few Handys can't exactly be easy." Adam smiled once more, "So. How was your day, Celeste? I reckon you must have quite a tale to share running that place."

Celeste had fallen into every word he'd spoken so deeply, it took her at least a moment to realize he had posed her a direct question.  "I...oh!  Yes, definitely," she replied dreamily, reaching for her whiskey glass and casually swirling the wine.  "You're an excellent host, Adam, to be sure."

She lifted the glass up to her nose and sniffed, like she saw in the only pre-war film she'd ever watched in her life.  The wine smelled tangy.  Celeste realized she had no idea what she was really smelling for and took a sip.  The wine was wonderful.  It was smooth on her palate, despite its age, and had sweet notes she couldn't at all identify.  Perhaps fruits from before the war, that no one would ever know again.  "You weren't kidding," she smiled again, "this tastes like nothing I've ever had before."  She held her glass up over their plates.  "Cheers!"

"My day was just super, thank you.  And thanks to you!" she giggled.  "I'm really happy I met you."  Celeste helped herself to her dinner, cutting off a small portion of the steak and taking the bite.  She chewed the meat, tender and flavourful in her mouth, then swallowed, before continuing.  "Actually, I only got into town yesterday morning.  It feels like months ago, though..."  She took another sip of wine.  "Archie -- my robot -- uh, I mean, [i]the[/i] robot -- took out all the skeletons and broken furniture and whathot out, changed most of the beds, all that sort of thing.  It's no wonder people seemed to love them before the war, they're just so helpful, you know?  Must be why there are so many still around."

"I have my first customer, too.  Her name is Sara.  She came in -- oh!!  After the first gunfight!  Jeepers," she carried on, having another bite of steak and vegetable, "there was some kind of fight out on the edge of town.  Then later, just before I was getting ready to come and see you, there was another fight."  Celeste shuddered, shaking her curls down to her bosom and hips.  She clutched her glass with both hands.  "It was really close, too.  Almost like it was right outside the inn, itself."

Celeste paused.  "Well.  We don't need to talk about that, hmm?  Nothing new in the wasteland, as they say."  She reached out and placed her hand over his, looked him in the eyes, and smiled.  "Tell me, what brought you to town?  A new treasure?  Ooh!  What all was in that chest you took from the inn?  What do you like so much about old world treasures?  I mean, I've seen my share of this and that, but I am always so [i]fascinated[/i] by what other people see in them.  They don't have hardly any trade value, but so many folks collect them!"