Off the Eatin' Path

“Where are we going?” Echo asked.

She had been mentally mapping their route, trying to figure out if they were taking a different path home. The area was still new to Echo, having lived with Liz for just over a week. Left turn.

“We are almost there. It’s a surprise!” answered Liz.

Echo could feel Liz watching her sometimes, like she was piecing something together and pretending she wasn’t. Liz had already learned a few things: Echo avoided certain questions, didn’t eat meat, and seemed startled by the world in small, telling ways.

Somehow, she’d also become Liz’s friend.

It was a complicated relationship already, but Liz had been avoiding complicated for so long, it felt like a refreshing change. The mystery of Echo became a game; a challenge. Left turn.

“There. Look.” Liz pointed.

“The Vineyard?” Echo questioned. “You’re taking me to a restaurant?”

“Don’t look so shocked. I told you I wanted food.”

“Is this your subtle way of torturing me?”

“C’mon, it is just like your diner back home—just better food, better atmosphere, and cloth napkins.”

Echo’s naiveté sent shockwaves through her brain. Should she run now? She could leave this world with Liz and no one would get hurt. Liz would just wonder what happened to her, but nothing bad would happen. Echo wondered as Liz found a parking spot near the entrance. It was Wednesday night, so there wasn’t a big crowd.

“Liz, I…” Echo tried to voice an objection.

“No…remember, we talked about getting you out. Well…this is out.” Liz interrupted, her forcefulness jarring to Echo, but at the same time she felt a caring in her voice. She knew she could trust Liz.

Echo pulled on her door handle first, signaling to Liz that she was ready and they could proceed with their evening. Little did Liz know that when Echo pulled the handle, she was still considering whether to run or not.

Inside the restaurant, Echo marveled at the smells. The unfamiliarity was exciting, even if the aroma was off-putting to her delicate sense of smell. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but there were still several groups of people seated.

Echo noticed the family of five first. The two younger kids watching something on a phone together. The teenage boy watching them with an angered look on his face. The mom and dad both chowing down their food.

Then there were a couple of teenagers, perhaps on a date. Or maybe just friends? It didn’t matter…

“Right this way,” the hostess interrupted Echo’s thoughts.

“See, nice people, nothing to be nervous about,” Liz tried reassuring Echo.

Echo’s nervousness could be felt as she grabbed Liz’s right arm and held to it like she was grasping a buoy to avoid being swept into a sea of sharks.

After being seated, Echo felt a little more relaxed. They had their own individual place where they could tune everyone out.

“Would you like to start with some drinks? An appetizer?” the server asked politely, but abruptly. Echo’s mind scrambled for answers.

Liz took the reins, knowing how daunting this experience was for Echo.

“Onion petals for an appetizer, and water is fine,” Liz told the young woman, whom Echo noticed was wearing her hair back in a long braid. Echo’s hair wasn’t long enough for a braid like that, but she loved it. Echo saw Liz looking at the menu as the server left, so Echo pulled up her menu and started looking over options.

After a moment, Echo glanced at Liz, leaned over, and whispered, “Hey, Liz…I don’t know what any of this is.”

Liz thought for a moment, mentally reviewing the menu and realizing that Echo usually doesn’t eat meat.

“Oh, yeah—well, do you want to try something with meat or without?”

Echo’s meatless diet was mainly a habit rather than a choice. Her wife, Jillian, was vegetarian and preferred fresh food from their garden, so Echo never really thought about meat, except for the diner she and Jillian patronized weekly.

“We are out to eat, right? So, I guess I can try something with meat. What do you suggest?”

“Hmm, let’s do the Italian Sampler for you. It will give you five of their popular dishes. That way, you can get a taste for everything.”

The decision was just in time, as the server returned with their appetizer and waters.

“Have you decided, or do you need a little more time?” the server asked, still abrupt, but not rude.

“I think we’ve got it. I’ll have lasagna, and she’ll have the Italian Sampler.”

The server turned to Echo. “Do you want the standard sampler, or do you want to mix and match?”

Echo’s deer-in-the-headlights look clued Liz into jumping in. “Just go with the standard, please.”

The server left, and the girls looked at one another, giggling under their breath.

“I feel so awkward,” Echo said, half embarrassed, covering her face with her hands.

“You’re doing pretty well. I half expected you to run away as soon as we got out of the car.”

Echo almost confessed that she indeed thought about it, but thought better of it. Liz was being thoughtful, trying to show Echo new experiences. Awkward was just how it had to be.

As they waited for their food, Echo brought up the ambience and wondered how “Italian” it really was. Neither had actually been to Italy, so they were left to make fun of the artificial grape vines with plastic grapes decorating the walls and wondering if there were actually any Italians in the kitchen. They laughed and joked, with Liz admitting she knew the previous owner who “definitely wasn’t Italian.” Echo laughed even though she didn’t get the joke.

As the food arrived, Echo’s eyes grew wide. “Is this all mine?”

“Well, you are expected to share it with anyone who walks in. It’s a sampler. Anyone gets to sample from it,” Liz said with as serious a tone as she could muster.

Echo looked at the plate and then looked around. The thought of anyone being able to eat off her plate was horrifying at first. She wasn’t germaphobic, but she was cautious about where she got her germs from.

Liz let out a chuckle and revealed her joke. “Sorry, Echo, had to do it.”

Echo chuckled, too. She didn’t mind being the butt of a joke. She loved Liz’s laugh and would take being made fun of all day to see her friend so happy.

“I will take a bite of your chicken, though. It looks good,” Liz said, her mouth already watering for her lasagna.

Echo carefully cut a piece of her chicken and placed it on Liz’s plate as Liz cut a bit of lasagna with her fork. Cutting her chicken with her knife and fork brought a question to her mind.

“So, Liz, I’ve seen you eat different things, and you do a lot with a fork for cutting, but how do you eat something like this that needs a knife?” Echo asked.

“See, if you’d read my book, you would know that.”

“I’m working on it, okay? I’m only on chapter four. I guess you cover meat cutting later on.”

Liz chuckled again. She hadn’t had this much fun in quite some time. She hadn’t realized how much she had isolated herself from people.

“Well, when I’m making things at home, it’s easy. You’ve seen me use my rocker knife. Of course, it is a bit challenging when I eat out, but I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Echo looked confused. “No?”

“I’ll just have you cut up my food,” Liz said, seriously, but with a slight grin.

Echo chuckled and put a bit of lasagna in her mouth.

The two enjoyed the rest of their meal. Still, in the back of her mind, Echo wrestled with the fact that her friend had no idea the truth she held inside. Having one arm was a struggle for Liz, but Echo knew the truth of why she lost her arm would probably tear their budding friendship apart.

Now wasn’t the time for truth. Now was the time for laughter and fun with a friend.