(2018-11-22) Milkshakes at Maude's
Maude's milkshakes are delicious. Especially the banana ones.
Players:
katya..warren..stan..nate..

Today was Thanksgiving! Everything was closed. Almost. Maude's was one of the few places still open. They even had a thanksgiving meal on special today along with their usual 50s fare. Katya was sitting at one of the tables, ember-orange eyes today half hidden under her mess of curly brown hair, busying herself with her milkshake and basket of french fries. She was a regular at Maude's as of late, she might as well live off the food. Her usual attire, a white and blue flannel with a black tank top underneath and dark jeans with black boots. There was a winter coat laying in the chair next to her.

The Starr Ranch was bustling with activity ever since Presley invited the entire damn town to Thanksgiving dinner, so it was no surprise that Warren needed to get out and take a breather for awhile. It was to Maude's he went, not for the Thanksgiving meal but instead for the - "Banana milkshake, please ma'am," he orders once he's inside, leaning over the the counter with his elbows on the surface. He's dressed in warm emerald green and black flannels and a pair of jeans with his black cowboy boots, a heavy jacket over it all. It isn't until after he orders that he notes Katya there with her ember-orange eyes, head canting as he smirks over to her. "Hey there," he offers politely.

Outside on the phone, freezing his ass off, Nate was having this conversation: "Mom. Mom. MOM. MOTHER. I'm going into the restaurant now, mom. Love to Dad… Okay… Okay. OKAY. I gotta go, Mom… No, I gotta go… All right. You, too… Okay. Bye." He came in about halfway through, hanging up his phone and puffing out a big sigh. "Moms, right?" he says, dumping himself in line at the counter, and riding Warren's coattails - "Oh, hey! Two of those, please, that sounds awesome, man. Happy Thanksgiving." To everyone, apparently, he smiles at the cowboy, at Katya over there, at the poor waitress that has to work tonight.

Most people were having dinners and similar. For Stan it was patients and helping out mostly. Finally getting a moment to relax and eat has brought him along to Maude's. Glad that they are still open at the very least. Stan for his part has been here for a bit, but keeping to himself. Just finishing the actual meal but about to enjoy some milkshake and dessert. Which is when he hear Nate as he wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, "To you as well." Is offered from stan in return. Sitting at a table not far from where the others are.

Katya didn't do crowds. She barely tolerated going to the mall or sitting on a bus. So it was not so surprising, to her at least, that she hadn't taken up the offer to attend Thanksgiving at the Starr Ranch. That reasoning, however, didn't stop the semi-awkward/embarrassed look that crossed Katya's features when Warren addressed her. She quickly took another sip of her shake to recompose herself. "Hey." A little wiggle of fingers in a wave before her attention was drawn to Nate. "Uh, thank you? Happy T-Day to you too man." She offered to Nate before inspecting Warren again. "Surprised to see you out and about. They run out of room?" An attempt at a joke at least, offering up a hint of a smile to go with it. When Stan speaks up, she turns her head to look at him, offering a nod of greeting before looking back to the others and her french fries.

Briefly distracted by Nate's flurry of an entrance, Warren's brows spike upward in the loud man's direction. He straightens up off from the counter, chuckling low and deep. "Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. Banana milkshakes are the best, they go great with pumpkin pie," he offers helpfully, snagging his own milkshake from the waitress when it comes, and then dropping himself into one of the swivel seats at the bar somewhere not to far from where Katya's kept herself. He turns his attention back to her, and at the very least, there seems to be no awkward round of questioning as to why she didn't show up. "Ah, yep. They tried to sit me at the kid's table when half the town showed up and those chairs are much too small for me," he laughs, eyes bright. "It's quieter here, plus my momma doesn't make milkshakes like Maude's does. Don't tell her I said that, of course."

Snapping his fingers, Nate answers, "Gonna put it on my to-do list, pumpkin pie and banana milkshakes. I like your style, man." Whether he means re: food or re: cowboy boots is unclear, 'cause he's calling something about getting his in a to-go cup, please, then shooting thumbs-up at the waitress. To Katya and her question-mark at the end of the thank you, he answers, "Uh, you're welcome! What's up." That last to Stan, then he's bouncing idly onto his toes, antsy for his sugar fix.

Stan does hear the others, listening in some. Though to Nate's question he shrugs, "A bit of food before being off again." He says. "Hope you enjoy the milkshake." A bit of amusement at the talk of the thanksgiving dinner as well. "Sorry to jump in, but sounds like that would be quite crowded then." He offers to Warren with amusement as all of town seem to be at the Starr's.

On the subject of milkshakes, "I like mixing the banana and the chocolate. Though, I usually just get the chocolate. " A little bit of a shrug, though she too makes a mental note about the banana shake and pumpkin pie. She chuckled at Warren's response, thankful that there's no questions or the like. "Your secret's safe with me." She mused, straightening up just a little, pushing a hand through her hair. "Doesn't it?" She asked Stan, shifting slightly in her chair. "I don't do well in crowds. Too many people makes me feel…claustrophobic I guess the word is." A pause. "Unless it's during a Rodeo show. That's different. I like those crowds." She smiled a bit more. "Katya, by the way." Offered to Nate and Stan, if either of them cared.

"Mmhm, oh yeah! That's good too. Or mix in a little fudge," Warren cracks a grin over to Katya, agreeing with her on adding chocolate as he sips at the straw to his milkshake. "I like your style, too, sir," he adds with a tip of his head to Nate, likely because of the two milkshake ordering thing. Or perhaps it's appreciation for how loud the man is. His brows hike at Katya's admission, though he gives a thoughtful nod. "I can see how that'd be a problem. All those people breathin' the same air. In the rodeo, it's different, it's more spread out," he shrugs.

Stan nods to Katya as she do reply to him, before going onto claustrophobia. "To each our own. You should just take your celebrating outdoors." He offers a bit playfully. "Nice to meet you, Katya. Stan." He offers in return.

"Chocolate? Fudge? You guys are blowing my mind, here." Nate makes kersplodey noises, flaring out his fingers on either side of his head like the explosions are coming out of his temples right now, in this very diner. "Hey, Katya, what's up. I'm Nate." To Katya and Warren, who have now been lumped together as rodeo-people, "You guys do a lotta rodeo in November? Seems like your horses and cows and stuff would get cold!" He laughs much more loudly than the stupid observation really called for, then leans across the bar to check on the progress of those milkshakes…

The Starr Family and Jackfield Stadium is hosting a charity concert and rodeo exhibition. There will be live music, plenty of food and drink, entertainment for the parents and the kids. Tickets are 20 dollars each, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the local soup kitchen and homeless shelters to get them through the winter season. In addition, donations of non-perishable food items, warm winter clothing, and new toys will garner a wristband that will allow free food and non-alcoholic beverages during the event.

Stan nods to Katya as she do reply to him, before going onto claustrophobia. "To each our own. You should just take your celebrating outdoors." He offers a bit playfully. "Nice to meet you, Katya. Stan." He offers in return. As for dessert, he does nod agreeingly. "All those combinations sound quite satisfying." Chuckling as he listen to Nate as he points things out. Shifting to Warren and Katya. "When do the rodeo things usually go on? I've yet to go since I got to town. And I've been here over a year." He admits with a chuckle. "Now you have things to try out for the next few times you come here, Nate." He adds, about all the different desserts. Going back to talking about the food.

"Somethin' like that, yeah." She agreed with Warren. "Though occasionally outdoors I get antsy too if there's too many people. But like, with the rodeo, if I'm competing then I can focus on the bull and I have the whole arena practically. And if I'm not well, like you say - more spread out. Easier to get some breathing room." She chuckled. An amused little look back towards Nate. "Nice to meet you Nate and Stan. And no, at least, not to my knowledge." She corrected to Nate about Rodeos in November and then to both of them: "But there is the charity one in December! I probably should talk to someone about wanting to be part of the show if I could." Mostly thinking to herself on it. Once more to Stan, "And don't feel bad, I haven't done as many or gone to as many as here yet as I would have liked and I've been here for about 6 months myself."

"I get you. Hey, when you're up there, you gotta clear everything else out of your head before you wind up on the ground underneath four hooves," Warren says with a lift of one shoulder. The introductions pass through, and he realizes he's not given his own, so to Stan and Nate both he offers a faint wave. "Warren," he tacks on a grin with that name, nodding along to Katya's introduction. "Though the horses don't really mind the cold most of the time, all things considered. I take mine ridin' any season, though you gotta watch for the ice." He looks to Katya after, chuckling a little. "If you wanna ride in the charity event, you're in the right place. My sister and I are in charge this year," he tells her.

Nate, of course, "What's up, Warren." He laughs at Stan after that, patting his own midsection with his palm. "I guess I could use the extra padding to get through the winter, huh?" He laughs again, then brightens even more (if that's possible) when his to-go-cup full of banana milkshake makes its appearance. Settling his bill, he lifts his newly acquired cup and repeats, "Happy Thanksgiving," and then dives back into the cold. With his milkshake. Just before the door closes behind him, "Oh, duh. That's why I was gonna get hot chocolate!"

Stan ahs, "Interesting. Charity open to the public? Perhaps I should check it out." Is replied before looking to Nate. Giving a parting node as the man runs out. "Nice to meet you as well, Warren." He replies before sipping his own milkshake. A pear one, along with some lemony dessert. "Sounds like it is going to be a big event." He offers about the charity, as he listen to what Warren adds about it. "I haven't done much riding. But didn't know you rode even through the winter." He muses.

There's just a touch of a spark in her eyes, though she seems to quell it. Excited maybe but not wanting to show it. Instead she munches down on a couple more fries and nods, watching Nate rush off. Swallowing, "Oh, yeah? That's pretty cool." She smiled again to Warren. "So…how do I go about signing up?" She asked finally, taking another sip from milkshake. "I'm sure it'll be a good time. Rodeo's one of the main things to do and see around here after all."

Warren gives Nate a passing goodbye as the man leaves, chuckling at the shout that filters back when the door shuts behind him. "Funny guy," he comments to nobody in particular, shrugging over to Stan. "I just meant regular horseback ridin', not rodeo stuff. Rodeo's got a season, and winter's definitely not it," he says, before he turns his focus back to Katya, a wry grin twisting at his lips. "Ah, you just ask," he replies, taking another sip of his milkshake. "Presley's got the musical entertainment stuff down, I'm handlin' the event part of it. I was gonna do some ridin' of my own. But I wouldn't mind sharing the spotlight," he says to Katya. "And the tickets are pretty cheap. I think like twenty bucks," he adds as an aside to Stan.

Stan nods to Warren's words, "Ah, of course." Listening and nodding as he finishes his own food and paying. "That's not too bad. Perhaps I'll see you there." He offers he hear the price. Rising and bowing his head. "Thanks for the brief conversation. I should get going as well though." Nodding again before heading out. Thanking the staff as well before disappearing out into the cold.

She sat up a little straighter and nodded. "Well if you don't mind sharing the spotlight, I'd love to give it a go. Like I said, it's been a while. I'd love to get in a little practice before the new season." She gave Stan a wave as he left, "Hope to see you there." She back to Warren. "Anyone else riding? Or was it just gonna be you?" Quirking a brow, curious.

Warren lifts up his hand in a quick wave over to Stan as the man takes his leave, his milkshake set down on the counter behind him. He leans a little towards his knees, his gaze steady on Katya now that it was just the two of them talking. "There might be a couple others, not sure if the event schedule'll work out though," he shrugs. "You'll be in good company though. We host the charity event every year and the arena always gets stacked. Plus this year, we've got Calvin Shay performing as the musical act," he grins, eyes bright. "Hopefully it'll bring in a bundle of money for the soup kitchen, keep people fed through Christmas."

Katya shifted slightly to face Warren better, tilting her head as he explained. "Awesome! And Calvin Shay? Pretty cool. I think I've heard a few of his songs." She nodded, thinking it over and smiled brighter. "I'm sure it'll bring in a pretty penny if it's usually stacked and now you've got him on the books." She plucked up a fry to dip it in her shake, while moving the basked of fries closer to where Warren was, "Want some?" She offered before eating her milkshake covered fry.

Warren eases off his bar stool to move over to her table, motioning to a seat. "You mind? Probably easier to talk if we're sittin' in the same spot," he laughs a little, taking a seat if he gets her permission. He most certainly takes one of her fries, swirling it into the banana milkshake before he chews. "I'm lookin' forward to it," he says of the event. "More so 'cause I get a little bit of say how we're doing things this year. Usually it's my momma that runs the show," he chuckles, "But I think she's lookin' forward to passing over the reins." He cants his head as he looks to her, "So what're you doing up in Calaveras, anyway?"

"Easier to steal my fries too." Teasing, turning again as he sat down, obviously not minding. "My kind of guy." She nods towards the fry in his milkshake. "Some people think it's weird, but salty and sweet. It's the best combination." An emphatic nod and another smile. "Yeah? I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Your sister seems cool from what I've heard of her and seein' her briefly the other day here." She shrugged a bit at his question of why she was here in town. "Got too hot in Texas." A laugh at that, though she didn't offer up anything more. "I take it you've lived here all your life?"

"Same could be said about a person. Need a little salt with the sweetness. It's all about the balance," Warren quips with a low chuckle. "And the best thing about Maude's fries is that they don't get soggy when you dip 'em." His eyes are bright as he grins over to her, stealing another fry to dip it as he reclines back into his seat. "Presley's all right. She's a good kid. Dunno about the group she was hanging around with, but she's an adult now, so I gotta let her make her own mistakes," he remarks, popping the fry in his mouth to chew, a brow hiking at her explanation. "It got too hot in Texas, so you randomly chose Calaveras, Colorado on a map of where to go?" There's a skeptical squint, but he doesn't pry - he just steals another fry, nodding in response to her question. "Born and raised. Couldn't think of anywhere else to be, and I've been all over for competitions."

You say, "That's fair I s'pose." She twirled the fry she was holding between her fingers a moment, thinking about that and smirked when he took more of her fries. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to 'em. First step's admitted it right?" She laughed and then paused before there was a little bit of a devilish look and she reached over to quickly dip her fry into his shake and then eat it. "Buddy a mine down there was heading this way. Following some Rodeo stuff. He let me tag along. 'Course almost as soon as we got here he had somethin' come up that took him home. And I decided to stay." She elaborated. "It's a nice town. Seems like a good place to come home too ya know? Especially after travelling. What's the coolest place you've been to?""

"That's fair I s'pose." She twirled the fry she was holding between her fingers a moment, thinking about that and smirked when he took more of her fries. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to 'em. First step's admitted it right?" She laughed and then paused before there was a little bit of a devilish look and she reached over to quickly dip her fry into his shake and then eat it. "Buddy a mine down there was heading this way. Following some Rodeo stuff. He let me tag along. 'Course almost as soon as we got here he had somethin' come up that took him home. And I decided to stay." She elaborated. "It's a nice town. Seems like a good place to come home too ya know? Especially after travelling. What's the coolest place you've been to?"

"Ah, bein' addicted to Maude's isn't a problem, in my humble opinion," Warren winks at her, his chuckle deepening as she dips her french fry into his shake. There's no protest - he just presses his fingers against the glass and slides it a little closer towards the middle of the table. But, quid pro quo, because his next fry is swiped into her own. "Sounds like a good enough story to me. You think you'll stick around for awhile?" he asks, head tipping slightly to the side. But her question gets him laughing again. "Oh, man, coolest place I've been to? I'm probably the worst person to ask that question to, Katya. I mean I've been to Las Vegas and hated every single second of it," he remarks with a wry smirk. "But I did some side traveling when I was in Texas last. Wound up in this little two-bit town called Odessa. You ever been? They used to rope jackrabbits there."

She grins as he mimics her move and then nudges her shake to rest beside his. Why not. She laughed at his answer. "Las Vegas isn't for everyone. I've been there a couple times, passing through. I like the atmosphere. Not sure if I could live there though." She mused, raising a brow when he mentioned Odessa. "Never heard of it honestly. That sounds pretty fun. I was mostly in the Austin area. Traveled to San Antonio now and again. Didn't explore too many of the small towns."

"It's way too.. bright flashy lights for me. And so many people," Warren says of Las Vegas, taking another fry to twirl it around in her milkshake. "I don't really like the bigger cities. They don't have the kinda appeal that places like this have, yanno? It's all.. big gray buildings and too many cars and everything cut up into little squares of space. I can't breathe in 'em," he admits with a shrug, chuckling a little. "It's probably why I'll never leave Calaveras. Aside from the fact that all my family's here. But you should go to Odessa if you get the chance. Those little towns are where all the culture is."

Katya studied him for a long moment and then smiled again, dipping in his shake again. Tit for tat. But her next fry would be in her own. "Yeah, they all start lookin' the same honestly, but sometimes that's not so bad. I'll definitely check it out if I make my way back down to Texas." The smaller towns were harder to get lost in. Even in Calaveras she felt exposed, but it was so far from the East coast…Katya shook her head a bit at the thought and grinned again. "Usually I'd knock someone for wanting to stay in a small town but I see the appeal of this place. Especially when ya got all your family here. How many siblings do you have anyway? Just Presley?"

"I dunno there, we'll have to agree to disagree on that not bein' so bad sometimes," Warren smirks over to her, returning to his own milkshake with his next fry as they talk. "And thanks, I think? For not knockin' me. I dunno what it is about this place, but it's just got a pull on people sometimes. I've known a lot of people that left right after high school, and they get into their thirties and come right back," he shrugs, chuckling a little. "And I got a few. But Pres and I are the poles, yanno? She's the baby, I'm the oldest. The rest are scattered in the middle. What about you?"

"Agree to disagree." She nodded, taking just a sip of her shake now and sighing contently. "Yeah? Like one of those towns from a country song, huh? Always gotta come back home." She looked a touch whistful for a second but it passed and shook her head, "Nah. No siblings for me. Least, not that my parents ever told me about." Adding as an afterthought, "I'm adopted." She flagged down the waitress to order a country fried steak. She probably should eat something more than french fries and a milkshake. "So, growing up around here. Around the rodeo, Did you just know it was what you wanted to do?"

"Exactly," Warren replies to her, dragging his milkshake back to him to take a drink of it. His brows lift slightly at her answer, but he nods his head a little bit, setting the milkshake aside after. "I never really wondered what it'd be like to be an only child. I imagine it's a lot less noisy," he laughs, snagging one last french fry and eating it plain, before he goes to wipe his fingers on a napkin. "I guess you could say that. I mean, almost everybody in my family's involved in the rodeo in one way or another. But I always sort of felt like it spoke to me, more so than I did it 'cause I had to or anything like that. And I love horses, I always have. When I was little, I used to sit in the stables for hours talkin' to one pony or another, and get my ass whooped for not doin' my chores when they found me," he grins to Katya, glancing to the watch on his wrist with a sigh and a frown. "I was gonna ask you what got you into it, but.. it's gettin' kind of late, and I should start heading back before they miss me over there," he wrinkles his nose, looking back up to her, "I don't suppose you'd wanna get a drink another day? And you can tell me what got you into the sport?"

Katya listened closely as he explained how he got into the rodeo way of life. "Best way to fall into I'd think. If it feels that right, ya know?" She chuckled at the story of him getting in trouble for not doing his chores. A flicker of disappointment, but understanding when he said he had to go. A bright smile offered to him. "I'd love to get a drink some time." She went up to the counter to borrow a pen and a blank ticket slip and scrawled her number on it, handing the paper to him. "There. Call me up any time. Or drop in at Alibi. I bartend there most nights." She took her seat again, "It was nice talking to you Warren."

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