Truth and Beauty 2-7

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The table fell silent as Stephen and Jevons consulted their menus. Jack, already familiar with the menu and knowing what he would order, checked his email to give his companions time to decide, humming quietly to himself as he did so.

Stephen found the sirloin near the top of the second page, but also found a pasta dish of about two-thirds the price, not quite the cheapest entree listed. He stared at the specials listed on the chalkboard over teh bar, not seeing them (all were far more expensive than the pasta dish), torn between hunger and manners, trying to make up his mind.

The waitress returned. Jevons ordered fish, Jack ordered the sirloin, and Stephen, freed by his hosts example, did the same. Jack and Jevons ordered appetizers as well but Stephen, feeling that he had tested jack’s hospitality enough with the sirloin, tried to demur.

“Nonsense,” said Jack, who was a big, well-fed man who never missed a meal if he could help it. “The clam chowder here is particularly good if you prefer the England style. Or a caesar salad? You can’t just sit there and eat nothing while Jevons and I eat.”

In the end, Stephen agreed to a house salad with Russian dressing, but he drew the line at a drink. “I have surgery later,” he heard himself say, “and must have a clear head.”

“But we’re wetting the swabs,” Jack protested, and “Come sir, just one won’t hurt,” said Jevons. Jack went on, “just the one, then you can revert to water or a soda to be set for your surgery. Molly,” he said to the waitress, “a shot of the black label for the doctor, please, and I’ll have the same. Jevons? Yes, Jevons too. In fact, just put a counter on the bottle and bring it with three glasses, please,” and when Molly had left, “I dare say being a doctor keeps you quite busy?” he asked again.

“Well,” said Stephen, shifting in his chair. “I do occasionally have time to dine out with good company,” he said as Molly returned with the bottle and glasses.

Jack and Jevons smiled, and Jack hastily poured three shots. “To good company,” they toasted, and when they had clinked their glasses and drained them Jack asked, “what kind of a doctor are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”

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