Cafe 101

welllll, so it starts anew. Perfect for the start of spring.

you're first again, k. that's very nice.

Fitting, I suppose....

So, it's spring in NYC. Or, it is very nearly spring. I saw some snow drops abllom on my way over. Boy, it's good to be back!

I have memories of that corner from....seems like yesterday. Boy how time flies.

Hiya Mikey.

hey kids!
i just put the nyc street map down before i signed on. might be a subtle hint of somekind.

Hi all :-)

:-D Yay!

< jingle jangle >

Peace&Love and Jack (super Border Collie) enter Cafe 101. PaL hangs her raincoat on the coatrack next to the door, pausing to reflect on the many times in the past that she has hung coats, muffers, shawls, leashes on that very same coatrack.

Surveying the customers, PaL sees her old friends, sitting around the big table. Jack has already made his way to the couch by the fireplace, looking for Cheshire and White Rabbit.

"Hi Everyone!!"

Sal and Prissy, behind the counter, each wave at PaL. Sal, through an old well-established sign that he and PaL developed in the past, asks her if she wants her usual double-vanilla-latte. PaL smiles broadly and gives Sal the "thumbs up". Wassau, sitting at the end of the counter, sets down his science fiction book, and comes over to join everyone at the big table.

"Hey, Wassau!" PaL gives him a big hug, which kinda embarrasses him.

"You know, just the other day, I was thinking about our time-travel adventure to Pompeii, and that mysterious poet that I met there."

PaL is glad to be back in the Cafe with her friends.

Lola straightens her dress and looks in the mirror to see if her lipstick is on straight. She's not far from the cafe now and she wants to look just right. Walking along MacDougall Street this morning has been exhilarating. Good ole New York City. Busy every hour of the day. Lola looks at her high heels and straight black skirt and wonders if Wassau will like the change in her. She's not sure, she's worried a bit that he won't be satisfied with what she has become. But it's not really the way Lola knows Wassau to be. He's a very laid back sort and will love her and everyone as they are. He'll be surprised to see her, but he'll be himself.

Lola stops for a moment and then turns around to go back home. She's got something to do and she needs to do it quickly.

At home she changes out of her stockings and high heels and looks back in the back of her closet for her relaxed clothing. She doesn't have to be all dressed up all the time.

All dressed finally, feeling comfortable in her full shirt and Fornarina sandals, she hurries back down MacDougall to Bleeker and enters the cafe.

"Hi everyone," Lola calls, as Jack the superist of Border Collies comes over to greet her.

Kneeling down and rubbing Jack's ears, she says, "hi there boy. Aren't you well behaved."

Looking up, Lola sees her old friend Wassau and she smiles. Wassau smiles a surprised smile too.

"Well," says Wassau, "how nice to see you Et...uh Lola. I've been wondering when you would come to call. Wanna bagel and coffee?"

Hugging Wassau, and still smiling, happy to see all her friends at the Cafe, Lola says she would love a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and raspberry jam.

dingaling...goes the little bell above the door and in walks what looks like an extra from Lawrence Of Arabia.
"Saw dust folks,not sand.Phew,I could do with a cold something or other.I´m new to this part of town,Café 101 eh?"

jes tosses hebba a couple of bottles of water. "One's for drinking, the other's for cleaning off the saw dust. There's a wash room in the back, and the water's clean and all, but I figured a nice guy like you deserves a little something special, and all I've got is water. Okay, I'm babbling, sorry." jes whistles for Jack the super border collie and takes a couple of aspirin, as the act of putting together a sideboard has resulted in sore wrists and fingers.

Lola looks up from her place on the couch by the fireplace. The soft rag rug under her feet feels soft, her sandels kicked off several hours ago under the a table. Lola is petting Cheshire with one hand (shhhhhh, don't tell, Cheshire doesn't like to admit he wants to be loved) rubbing Jack's tummy with her foot and throwing Betty and Bob little pickled herring.

"ORK, ORK!" Betty and Bob are truely grateful seal pups. Well trained too. In between herring throws, they play with their red ball, and do tricks.

Wassau and Prissy are busy mopping up the mess.

Hey, Hebba, how are you? Have a seat here and Sal will get you a drink. Whatayahave?

Hiama staggers in to the cafe after looking for it for two days, he had Lola's directions but a gust of wind came and blew then away.

Hi Little k, Gezzy, Jes, P & L, hi Jack how are you boy ?

And nice to see you Mikey and Hebba , looks like the new place is just like the old one only newer. Clever idea to reconstruct using the same bricks, the ambience is still here.

Hiama gives Wassau a hug as its been some time and Sal gets them all a drink.

Hey Lola how about breaking out the Champagne or are you saving it for the re-opening party ? :wink:

Ethel's Cafe
"Hi All ~ good seeing old and new friends at the Cafe again"!

Stradee <always rushing ~ today Spring sprucing with trips to Home Depot> gives Wassau a hug, brings treats for the animals, greets Sal, our host Ethel with a warm hello and compliments on the new decor.

Wassau preparing lunch says "Hey guys, take a look at the pool area. We've made some changes. We've built a new house for Betty and Bob, and enlarged the tree house".

"And the pool is heated," says Lola as she slides down the slide from the tree house and splashes into the new enlarged pool. Betty and Bob, standing on the deck, clap their flippers and say, "ork, ork!"

Jingle, jangle--Diane comes in to see so many familiar faces. WOW, this is great. Hi everybody, Hebba and Mikey, I haven't seen you two in a long, long time.

Felix Noir slipped in when Diane opened the door and has already said hello to Cheshire and Jack, flicking his tail at Betty and Bob. He decides a nap by the fire is called for after all that social interaction and curls up, falling asleep immediately.

Diane heard hiama ask about champagne and says, 'Ah, a man after my own heart' while watching Wassau go to the wine cellar. Sal and Prissy are putting some caviar on ice and offering vodka right out of the freezer for those who would prefer a more authentic drink to go with the caviar.

As she sits in an old, comfortable chair near the fire, she asks the company if anyone has a special adventure in mind. Diane is always ready to travel anywhere there is adventure and she knows this company is the best in any situation.

So, what do you think? Shall it be future, past or present? As far as I'm concerned, anything but the present would make me happy.

As she lifts her first glass of champagne, Diane counts on P&L and hiama to cut her off if she starts to sing "The Yellow Rose of Texas."

Lola, wearing a towel and barefoot, joins Diane by the fire. "Brrrrrrrrrrr......even if the pool is heated," says Lola as she takes a glass of champagne from Wassau and kisses him on the cheek.

"Have I told you I love you lately," says Lola to Wassau.

Wassau blushes deeply and sits down beside Lola and Diane to enjoy a glass of champagne for himself and the roaring fire.

(Lola's in love, can anyone tell?)

Ah, a little slice of home this is in these crazy times. What? Champagne? No thanks, maybe a mug of cocoa before I curl up on the pillows.... wassau.....? Oho, maybe I'll just get the cocoa myself. I'll just drag a pillow over here close enough to the fire to be warm, but not so close as to over-hear any whisperings.