Ezraphel said that she chose this particular restaurant because it reminded her of home. Stanley could believe that, just one look at the front picture or rather the name itself would clue him in as to why, Balder's Castle Restaurant. Stanley could admit, he didn't think a place like this actually existed so close to him, well relatively close, it still took over an hour to get there. It was definitely a long drive that took them outside the scope of Stanley's sphere of commute and into unexplored waters.
Or rather it took them into private property since the restaurant was owned by a wealthy family. From what he read on its homepage the 'restaurant' didn't start out as one and its history could be traced back to nearly a century ago when some old rich bastard took a trip to Ireland and was so impressed with the architecture of a particular castle that when he came back home he decided to build himself a scaled down version of it.
That's right Ezraphel chose an honest-to-god medieval castle as the location of their first date. Granted it wasn't an actual castle just a three storey building made to look like one. Upon seeing the place Ezraphel had a wistful expression, just because it wasn't a legit castle (by the thinnest margins) did not mean it didn't have the same aesthetics such as the brickwork, hedge sculptures and a freaking fountain.
That homesickness must be hitting pretty hard.
Luckily for Stanley the employees didn't dress in armor, tunics or robes to complete the whole theme. Despite wearing the best clothes he had ever worn in recent years, Stanley felt he stuck out like a sore thumb just from looking at some of the cars entering and leaving the estate. His newfound heightened Incubus senses picked up the little cracks in the valet's professional facade when we came out. Of course his eyes were drawn to Ezraphel while she continued to admire the decor. After snapping a finger in front of the guy an irritated Stanley reluctantly gave him his keys after memorizing his face and name tag for which he received a number.
'Whoa' once inside the ambiance of it all hit Stanley and an acute sense of not belonging hit him 'what the hell am I doing here?' A squeeze on his elbow and the smile Ezraphel gave reminded him 'oh yeah.'
The two went inside where their host awaited them with a greeting "welcome to Balder's Castle" he came up short. To give credit to the man he regained his composure rather quickly "do you have a reservation?"
"Yeah, should be under the name Berkowitz."
He checked the tablet attached to the podium and confirmed the reservation before leading them further inside where the stonework continued to mostly be shown on the walls and arches separating the rooms. The floor was polished wood, electric lights made to look like torches lined the walls, chandeliers were present and every table had two LED candles at the center. There was also an unlit fireplace at different ends of the separated rooms.
Stanley took in all of this before he noticed the stares or rather the subtle and not so subtle glances of the seated patrons and employees as they passed by on their way to their tables. Naturally their eyes were drawn to Ezraphel which was expected since he too was having a hard enough time not staring as well. This wasn't exactly the first time the two went out to a public venue together and every time she gained attention. For some reason however Stanley could not help but feel something was different this time.
What could it be though? As far as he could tell Ezraphel didn't look any different from how she…normally…does…oh.
'God dammit.'
"Here is your table, a server will be with you shortly."
"Hmm, they have done well with the decor" Ezraphel praised "of course it pales to some of the castle I have seen in my home-"
"Ezraphel."
You could see the unspoken "uh-oh" in her eyes when she regarded Stanley. He only ever calls her by her proper name when he is upset.
Luckily he was a reasonable man and she could not quite remember doing anything to offend or otherwise irritate him so she remained hopeful "yes Stanley?"
"I promise I won't be mad if you tell the truth. Did you forget to modify your body proportions and nullify your charm effect?"
"O-oh" she looked down at herself and true enough aside from getting rid of her inhuman features Ezraphel had not done anything to her frankly supernatural figure and allure, at least for the most part "well I did lower the extent of my charm effect. I wouldn't want to cause a distraction."
"Too late for that" he muttered acutely aware of the myriad of sneak glances by some of the men and women around them "you mind filling me in on why you made this decision?"
Ezraphel's lips pursed and her brows furrowed as she thought about how best to answer this without having him 'fly off the handle' as the saying goes.
Luckily she was saved by the arrival of their waitress, who was dressed snappily in black uniform reminiscent of a suit "good evening sir, miss. My name is Christina and I will be your server for the evening" she introduced professionally though her gaze lingered just a little on Ezraphel's bountiful and nearly exposed cleavage "here are your menus" she handed them two laminated menu booklets and continued.
Stanley paid little mind to what their specialty would be or what he assumed to be her pricey recommendation and instead focused on the menu itself. It was a three course meal with appetizers, a main course and dessert. The issue of payment wasn't the individual items themselves but what it will come to at the end.
Luckily they post a copy of their weekly menu on their website so Stanley was able to memorize exactly what he would order. This was a godsend because he anticipated and even encouraged Ezraphel to pick what she felt would be appetizing. Stanley would too, he absorbed what felt like an entire thesaurus over the week specifically because he was warned not to pick an item from the menu randomly because it has a weird name.
Everything on this menu he at least had a vague mental picture of and as stated before he already knew what he wanted to order. Him looking into the menu was just a cover for him to reassess how he would conduct himself on this date after finding out Ezraphel had 'forgotten' to humanize her body proportions and unnatural charm. He didn't know what was more alarming, that she would do this now or the fact that it took him this long to notice.
In any case chances are that whatever she would say was more than likely going to disrupt the so far smooth flow of the date. After a few minutes of them looking at the menus in silence Christina came and Ezraphel was the first to recite her order in a seamless and concise manner as befitting a princess.
For appetizers Ezraphel ordered the Louisiana 'gator cake, her entrée consisted of stir fried tofu with a side of garlic whipped potatoes and for dessert she chose the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. For drinks, she didn't ask for a wine list and instead asked for a beer list.
Huh?
Putting that on the backburner Stanley ordered for himself the breaded cheese ravioli as an appetizer, grilled veal chops with a side of roasted tomatoes for the entrée and the cheesecake with strawberry sauce for dessert. For drinks he ordered sparkling water, not because it was the least expensive but because all the other options had alcohol in them.
After their server left Stanley cocked an eyebrow at her "interesting choice of food there Ez"
She chuckled a bit "eh, well this date is about trying out new experiences" she smiled lacing her hands together in a bridge while peering at him "why should I limit it to just going to a place like this."
"Okay I see where you're getting at but still, 'gator cakes?" he asked incredulously.
"W-well it is something new and when will I ever be able to eat something so exotic again?"
"…point" alligator meat was not something that was available at their local supermarket or most places really.
"As for Tofu, I admit I was curious about it ever since I first knew of it, however" she paused as her cheeks flushed a bit in embarrassment "I was…concerned with how it would turn out if I attempted to make a dish out of it and I know you hate wasting money so when I saw it on the menu I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try a new dish made by a master chef."
Stanley wasn't a big fan of Tofu, he'd eaten it before but if Ezraphel gave him Tofu for dinner, well…he'd eat it but she'd have to make something pretty impressive to convince him to try it again.
So from that thought he continued "I'm guessing the 'flourless' part in the chocolate cake made you choose that right?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed with excitement "I did not even know it was possible to make pastries without flour, I simply must learn whether or not it is viable and if it is…"
"I get to eat cake?"
At this her expression turned sultry "among other things~"
Well when she puts it like that…
A small wolfish smile formed on his face as he leaned a little forward "oh yeah, like what?"
Her smirk turned coy as she swayed her head a bit "oh you know, a little bit of this…that…and maybe some…Nyotaimori"
"Neo-what?"
"Nyo~tai~mo~ri~" she annunciated.
"Okay and what the hell is that?"
Instead of answering the question she winked and said "look it up."
Their server chose that time to arrive with their appetizers. Stanley chose to put a pin on their conversation for the time being to enjoy the first taste of upscale cuisine. The portions weren't much but that was the whole point of an 'appetizer' so he let that go. He could not help but notice that they don't have prices on their menus. He figured customers know that if you don't have enough money to dine why bother show up right?
Assholes.
That said, the cheese ravioli was damn tasty!
"Hmm"
And from Ezraphel's reaction she was also enjoying her…meal? It appears that he had mistaken Ezraphel's inquisitive hum for a moan of satisfaction.
Honest mistake really.
"What are you doing?"
She was observing the food as if trying to solve a riddle "I am just trying to divine the recipe and method by which the chef made this delicacy."
"That's cool and all but if you hadn't noticed, your 'divining' is making your eyes glow and its kinda noticeable" he said whilst shifting his eyes about for anyone looking.
This made Ezraphel stop for a moment before huffing lightly "I already know this Stanley and I had placed a minor glamour spell so no one would notice. Really now, I know I can be a bit dense to certain things but I thought I had convinced you of my expertise at these things."
Stanley blinked and stared for a moment before he gave a retort "does your glamour also fool the various security cameras set around the place?"
Ezraphel stopped again, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head before her eyes stopped glowing and returned to its disguised state. Looking about, there were indeed some cameras but they would not have seen her little stunt since she kept looking down.
"I am sure they did not see."
"That's not the point Ez. It's that you didn't think about there being a camera in the first place. Remember what I said?"
"There is always a camera."
"Right" there was a bout of silence before Stanley broke it again "So…about that outfit-"
"Excuse me."
'Dammit Christina'
"Here is our Beer List Miss."
"Thank you."
"And your sparkling water sir."
"Thanks."
They allowed Christina to take their plates and exchange it for the main course and damn if it didn't smell good.
"This looks divine, my compliments to the chef" Ezraphel praised before looking at their server
"I-I will ensure he gets the message Miss."
"Mrs."
"Pardon?"
"I am Mrs. Berkowitz" Ezraphel declared much to Stanley's silent horror.
'She said it, she said it'
"Oh, my apologies then Mrs. Berkowitz."
"Honest mistake, after all" she held up her pale, dainty and perfectly manicured hand "the rings are still being made."
Christina nodded before shuffling away with a quickness in her gait.
"I daresay she might be a little intimidated by me" she chuckled before looking at Stanley.
"Mrs. Berkowitz?"
"Yes. Why, do you have an issue with this?" she challenged.
Stanley met her challenging stare for a moment before thinking better of it "no."
Ezraphel gave a smug hum before taking a bite of her tofu "hm, acceptable."
Meanwhile Stanley was feeling very uncomfortable with his utensils. Despite the etiquette lessons Ezraphel had him go through the knife still felt foreign in his dominant hand and the whole setup felt unnecessary. He'd rather just cut the veal into bits then eat everything with a fork instead of dual wielding utensils like an idiot.
Compared to his fumbling, Ezraphel was chopping up and picking out her tofu and potatoes like the damn master she is. After a few more minutes of this he was about ready to toss etiquette out the window and pick up the veal with his hands caveman style just to be spiteful.
"Patience Stanley."
"What?"
"I know it may seem cumbersome to eat like this but you are too hasty. The entire point of this date is to enjoy ourselves so there is no need to rush."
…you know her words would have been sound advice for Stanley if it didn't feel like she was mocking him. Throughout her entire sentence Ezraphel hands worked in slicing and dicing with near superhuman dexterity. Of course when he was about to make a snippy retort Christina chose that time to arrive with Ezraphel's drink.
"Here is your drink ma'am" she placed it down.
"Thank you."
"Are you enjoying your meal?"
Ezraphel's smile widened "yes, why I do believe I will have to bother your chef for the recipe for this~"
"W-well I am s-sure he will be very flattered" her gaze diverted to see her 'husband' giving an unimpressed look for which she straightened and the blush on her face faded some "and how is your meal sir?"
"Dunno, come back again and I'll have an answer for ya" he answered bluntly.
Christina recoiled a bit before bowing her head and leaving "excuse me."
Ezraphel gave him a disproving frown "that was not very nice Stanley."
"Hey she asked" he shrugged before looking at the knife and fork. It should be said that Stanley has yet to actually eat any of the veal and at this rate…
'Fuck it.'
He began cutting the veal into bite sized pieces using the fork for stability as he haphazardly made slices across the pair of calf meat.
"What are you doing?"
"Something I should have done five minutes ago" he answered "there" the meat was sliced and Stanley dropped the knife in favor using his dominant hand to wield the fork. He picked up a piece of veal bits and bit into it "hmm, and all is right with the world again."
Ezraphel giggled at his antics, truth be told she was wondering how long it would take him to do something like this. Stanley wasn't one to play by conventional rules if it was inconvenient so it would only make sense that he wouldn't take to the etiquettes of fine dining.
'He lasted longer than I thought.'
Could it be that her Stanley was growing?
Dispelling these thoughts, now that he was properly eating she decided to throw out the question "so how is your meal Stanley?"
He took a moment to swallow before answering "it's veal actually" he corrected and raised a glass of sparkling water to drink.
"Huh?" she grew confused at first but sensed the mirth and realized his meal is Veal "oh! Good one" she laughed "but really, how is it?"
"Eh it's good."
"Better than mine?" she edged.
"Yep" he answered without missing a beat causing Ezraphel's shoulders to slump.
"R-really?"
"Oh yeah these are definitely the best cut of meat I've ever tasted" the way he spoke was matter-of-factly "then again the chef has way more experience with cooking foods, the ingredients are supposedly of the highest quality and their cooking station is probably one of the best in the state" he held up a cut of Veal by the fork, admiring it "real professional stuff."
She knew what he was doing and she appreciates it very much but there was that small voice of doubt in her mind because her Stanley preferred food made by a fancy chef to his own wife. Was it an unreasonable thought? Yes it was but it was there and she felt a little depressed because of it.
"I see" she spoke with a figurative cloud over her head.
Stanley rolled his eyes "they have the better stuff but if I were to choose I'd still eat your food over theirs."
"You're just saying that out of obligation."
"It's a matter of perspective really" he retorted "sure I'm obligated to say I like your cooking more but it's the truth" he reached out and grasped her hand "you're my wife Ez, there isn't much that I'd choose over you."
"…like what?"
"Don't pay any attention to that last part, I'm someone who doesn't believe in absolutes" at her shoulders slumping he added "however, if there is something out there that I'd choose over you I haven't seen it yet."
"Oh Stanley~"
"Are we better now?"
"More than better~" she practically purred.
"Okay, down kitty. Save that for when we get home."
"Why wait so long?"
Stanley felt a stir in his loins before shaking his head "later."
"Oh, alright" she pouted.
The rest of their meal passed by in small talk with bouts of amicable silence and in twenty minutes they were finished and ready for dessert.