Post by lubbybaby on Jun 26, 2006 14:13:59 GMT 10
Yes Chap IV is UP!
Storm Keeper IV – Day Out
“God, I’m glad it’s still day time!” Abby announced, more to herself than to Luka, when it finally hit her that she was outside.
“Don’t you worry, I was a soldier, I know boxing and I learned a Brazilian fight once called Capoeira” Luka said as he put a hand round her shoulder bringing her closer to him.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a fight where you kick and dance at the same time.”
Abby had to laugh. “You kicking and dancing at the same time?! So are you scaring them away or something”
“Ha ha, very funny”
“So is this place like far? Cause I feel like we have been walking for centuries”
“Come down, it’s not that far, we’ll be there in a few minutes. We’re actually lucky the owner is in town, he hardly ever comes.”
“Why, where does he leave?”
“In LA, he has a chain of these restaurants, he started in Boston, where he went to Law School and than when he married a woman in LA she gave him as a gift the house where he opened the second restaurant and than soon it was a chain.”
“Wow a chain of Croatian restaurants, that is hard to believe.”
“Gee, thank you”
Abby laughed. “Sorry, but come on, it’s not exactly the best culinary. Anyway, how did you find it.”
“he told me, he had opened it here”
“Oh, so you’re friends?”
Luka smiled at her. “Sort of. We’re here” he opened the door for Abby and she was amazed. The place was cozy. The entrance was like a living room of a traditional European home. The walls had family pictures, maps, sights and things that were probably important to them, typical clothes, hats, … … … The tables were cozy and private and right in the middle was a large bar with a TV hanging, turned on, on some Croatian sports channel.
On the left further inside here was a giant Ball filled with candy and small toy cars, small dolls, though different to the American Gum Ball in this one you didn’t have to put any coins. There were also toys around that area and smaller tables where kids could sit together, drawing, painting, even on the walls, Abby noticed.
On the right also further in the tables were more delicate and elegant with flowerpots in the middle, very feminine.
She realized the restaurant had an ambient for men, women and kids, and the public didn’t seem to be just Croatian, you could see many Europeans walking in and out of the place. Abby was amazed.
She started inspecting the pictures on the walls while Luka looked for a table, she didn’t know why but she was drawn to the pictures. Suddenly her mouth fell open. “Luka!”
Luka walked back to her, standing behind her. “Is this you?” She took the portrayed holding it on her hand. A bunch of men had their arms on each other shoulders Luka stood in the middle; he had long hair, which made it for most people hard to recognize him but not for her, definitely not for her.
He smiled. “Yeah, I was 17, it was my bachelor party”
Abby watched as he inspected the picture a little more carefully. Bu soon put it back on the wall. “Come on, let’s take a seat” he told her, pushing her by the hand.
“Luka!” The voice male voice called. They turned around and Abby was surprised to find a man that looked a lot like Luka, tall, with black hair and deep blue eyes, the smile was alike, not the same, because Luka’s smile was unique but you could tell they were related, plus this guy was not as young, he should be around late 40’s early 50’s
The two men greeted each other with a hug and taps on the back and soon the man turned to her. “And who is this gorgeous lady?”
“Abby, this is my brother Petar, owner of the restaurant. Petar this is Abby Lockhart”
“You’re brother?”
“Brought you here with no warning, didn’t he? That’s Luka”
Luka smiled at his brother.
“It’s nice to finally meet you Abby, Luka has told me everything about you, as a matter of fact he never stops talking about you.”
Abby stared at Luka from the corner of her eyes. He was so red, she thought it was better to ignore the comment.
Petar chose the best seat for them and informed Abby of plates she might like “Or we can always recommend pasta, but might I suggest these eggs with cinnamon and sugar as an appetizer”
Abby thought for a minute. “I’ll try if he’s willing to help”
Luka laughed. “Bring it on, Petar, and I’ll have Abby’s favorite, lamb gruel”
“God!” Abby shrieked. “I’ll follow with the pasta. Thanks”
Petar shook his head with a smile.
“So, how did he end up here?” Abby questioned turning to Luka.
“He was the first to come, wanted to study law, like I said, and he was such a good student and boxer that he got a scholarship at Harvard for boxing. A friend of his than invited him to LA one weekend and he fell in love with Julianne”
“Did he ever go back?”
“No, he loves it here, besides Julianne is not a fan of Croatia. But he went back for a while when my family died. … …”
“Don’t you have your father there?”
“Sure, but my father is really not someone I wanted near than”
“Why not, though you were crazy about him”
“I am, but the man is too dam honest and I know everything he would have told me once I got in the house. Would put me to work in my grandfather’s factory in Germany and simply get move on. For him, grieving for more than a week doesn’t exist, it just ruins you”
“Maybe his right”
“Sure, but human beings aren’t like that. Anyway Petar is the older brother, the richest, he picked me up, brought me to LA, let me live in his pool house and than found me the job in the ER”
“Remind me to thank him later”
They smiled at each other till Abby felt weird and got back to the menu. “It’s official I don’t get a word of this and what’s with the German flag and the Swiss Flag?”
“To separate the Croatian courses from the Germans and the Swiss”
“Sure, I mean you never want to put the Swiss mixed with the others”
They laughed.
Later, as they finished their meals, Petar offered Abby some wine. “This one, Luka and I made together a few years ago. What do you think?”
“I love it. I love that you can nearly feel every content”
“Perfect, hum.”
“I never though Croatia produced wine”
“Oh, yes, we’re no French but sometimes we end up surprising many producers. Of course Luka there always complains to have to wake up at 4 in the morning”
“You try getting up early every day and working 12 hour shifts and when you think you’ll have vacations, you’re father pushes you out of bed at 4 in the morning”
“You complain a lot Luky”
Abby nearly chocked on her wine. Luka rolled his eyes.
“Hey, Lucky, wait up” Abby laughed as they made their way out, Luka ten steps ahead knowing she’d mock him any time soon about all Petar had told her. He could have killed his brother. He starts by saying all Luka talks about is Abby and than goes on, with revealing things Luka would have in life never told a soul.
“Oh, I knew you’d love this”
“Oh, you have to confess a nickname like hat for a big man like you? … … It just doesn’t fit!” She laughed finally reaching him and putting her hand on his arm.
“You see now, it’s not fair, now you know all about me, and I’m stuck with the same old facts.
It was pitch dark outside and Abby didn’t seem to care. She felt safe, safer than ever before, but as they made their way across the street things changed.
But suddenly Abby had frozen, she didn’t move. Her eyes were wide open, her heart beat at a thousand miles per minute, she felt like she couldn’t breathe and she squeezed Luka’s arm so hard he thought she’d tear up his skin.
“It’s him” She whispered.
Luka stared around; all he could see was a black kid with a leather jacket and a cap.
Abby stared at him, she was so scared she stared shaking.
What the hell was going on?
Storm Keeper IV – Day Out
“God, I’m glad it’s still day time!” Abby announced, more to herself than to Luka, when it finally hit her that she was outside.
“Don’t you worry, I was a soldier, I know boxing and I learned a Brazilian fight once called Capoeira” Luka said as he put a hand round her shoulder bringing her closer to him.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a fight where you kick and dance at the same time.”
Abby had to laugh. “You kicking and dancing at the same time?! So are you scaring them away or something”
“Ha ha, very funny”
“So is this place like far? Cause I feel like we have been walking for centuries”
“Come down, it’s not that far, we’ll be there in a few minutes. We’re actually lucky the owner is in town, he hardly ever comes.”
“Why, where does he leave?”
“In LA, he has a chain of these restaurants, he started in Boston, where he went to Law School and than when he married a woman in LA she gave him as a gift the house where he opened the second restaurant and than soon it was a chain.”
“Wow a chain of Croatian restaurants, that is hard to believe.”
“Gee, thank you”
Abby laughed. “Sorry, but come on, it’s not exactly the best culinary. Anyway, how did you find it.”
“he told me, he had opened it here”
“Oh, so you’re friends?”
Luka smiled at her. “Sort of. We’re here” he opened the door for Abby and she was amazed. The place was cozy. The entrance was like a living room of a traditional European home. The walls had family pictures, maps, sights and things that were probably important to them, typical clothes, hats, … … … The tables were cozy and private and right in the middle was a large bar with a TV hanging, turned on, on some Croatian sports channel.
On the left further inside here was a giant Ball filled with candy and small toy cars, small dolls, though different to the American Gum Ball in this one you didn’t have to put any coins. There were also toys around that area and smaller tables where kids could sit together, drawing, painting, even on the walls, Abby noticed.
On the right also further in the tables were more delicate and elegant with flowerpots in the middle, very feminine.
She realized the restaurant had an ambient for men, women and kids, and the public didn’t seem to be just Croatian, you could see many Europeans walking in and out of the place. Abby was amazed.
She started inspecting the pictures on the walls while Luka looked for a table, she didn’t know why but she was drawn to the pictures. Suddenly her mouth fell open. “Luka!”
Luka walked back to her, standing behind her. “Is this you?” She took the portrayed holding it on her hand. A bunch of men had their arms on each other shoulders Luka stood in the middle; he had long hair, which made it for most people hard to recognize him but not for her, definitely not for her.
He smiled. “Yeah, I was 17, it was my bachelor party”
Abby watched as he inspected the picture a little more carefully. Bu soon put it back on the wall. “Come on, let’s take a seat” he told her, pushing her by the hand.
“Luka!” The voice male voice called. They turned around and Abby was surprised to find a man that looked a lot like Luka, tall, with black hair and deep blue eyes, the smile was alike, not the same, because Luka’s smile was unique but you could tell they were related, plus this guy was not as young, he should be around late 40’s early 50’s
The two men greeted each other with a hug and taps on the back and soon the man turned to her. “And who is this gorgeous lady?”
“Abby, this is my brother Petar, owner of the restaurant. Petar this is Abby Lockhart”
“You’re brother?”
“Brought you here with no warning, didn’t he? That’s Luka”
Luka smiled at his brother.
“It’s nice to finally meet you Abby, Luka has told me everything about you, as a matter of fact he never stops talking about you.”
Abby stared at Luka from the corner of her eyes. He was so red, she thought it was better to ignore the comment.
Petar chose the best seat for them and informed Abby of plates she might like “Or we can always recommend pasta, but might I suggest these eggs with cinnamon and sugar as an appetizer”
Abby thought for a minute. “I’ll try if he’s willing to help”
Luka laughed. “Bring it on, Petar, and I’ll have Abby’s favorite, lamb gruel”
“God!” Abby shrieked. “I’ll follow with the pasta. Thanks”
Petar shook his head with a smile.
“So, how did he end up here?” Abby questioned turning to Luka.
“He was the first to come, wanted to study law, like I said, and he was such a good student and boxer that he got a scholarship at Harvard for boxing. A friend of his than invited him to LA one weekend and he fell in love with Julianne”
“Did he ever go back?”
“No, he loves it here, besides Julianne is not a fan of Croatia. But he went back for a while when my family died. … …”
“Don’t you have your father there?”
“Sure, but my father is really not someone I wanted near than”
“Why not, though you were crazy about him”
“I am, but the man is too dam honest and I know everything he would have told me once I got in the house. Would put me to work in my grandfather’s factory in Germany and simply get move on. For him, grieving for more than a week doesn’t exist, it just ruins you”
“Maybe his right”
“Sure, but human beings aren’t like that. Anyway Petar is the older brother, the richest, he picked me up, brought me to LA, let me live in his pool house and than found me the job in the ER”
“Remind me to thank him later”
They smiled at each other till Abby felt weird and got back to the menu. “It’s official I don’t get a word of this and what’s with the German flag and the Swiss Flag?”
“To separate the Croatian courses from the Germans and the Swiss”
“Sure, I mean you never want to put the Swiss mixed with the others”
They laughed.
Later, as they finished their meals, Petar offered Abby some wine. “This one, Luka and I made together a few years ago. What do you think?”
“I love it. I love that you can nearly feel every content”
“Perfect, hum.”
“I never though Croatia produced wine”
“Oh, yes, we’re no French but sometimes we end up surprising many producers. Of course Luka there always complains to have to wake up at 4 in the morning”
“You try getting up early every day and working 12 hour shifts and when you think you’ll have vacations, you’re father pushes you out of bed at 4 in the morning”
“You complain a lot Luky”
Abby nearly chocked on her wine. Luka rolled his eyes.
“Hey, Lucky, wait up” Abby laughed as they made their way out, Luka ten steps ahead knowing she’d mock him any time soon about all Petar had told her. He could have killed his brother. He starts by saying all Luka talks about is Abby and than goes on, with revealing things Luka would have in life never told a soul.
“Oh, I knew you’d love this”
“Oh, you have to confess a nickname like hat for a big man like you? … … It just doesn’t fit!” She laughed finally reaching him and putting her hand on his arm.
“You see now, it’s not fair, now you know all about me, and I’m stuck with the same old facts.
It was pitch dark outside and Abby didn’t seem to care. She felt safe, safer than ever before, but as they made their way across the street things changed.
But suddenly Abby had frozen, she didn’t move. Her eyes were wide open, her heart beat at a thousand miles per minute, she felt like she couldn’t breathe and she squeezed Luka’s arm so hard he thought she’d tear up his skin.
“It’s him” She whispered.
Luka stared around; all he could see was a black kid with a leather jacket and a cap.
Abby stared at him, she was so scared she stared shaking.
What the hell was going on?