Chilton Hospitality
13 Feb 2022Creamy Goodness III
Green; that is what struck Creamy mostly about Chilton. The place was very green, and not in an unpleasant manner. It was clearly an agriculture-centric instillation, but not in the same way as the majority of hydroponic stations Creamy had visited. The problem was, Creamy was wearing red, and he clashed with almost everything here. He felt like a poorly chosen tie on a viridescent suit. There was nothing else for it. After boarding his Asp and almost an hour in the changing room, Creamy stroll towards the lifts in a respectable autumnal ensemble with white braking up the earthy browns and tan. He felt like his dad must when Goodness senior took a walking tour of his Cuboe estate. Letting his acute nose lead the way, Creamy gravitated towards the restaurant district, where he was assaulted with fresh cooking and fresh produce.
With his mouth watering, testing his willpower against the rigid diet Ninette had him on, Creamy decided to duck into the bar in an attempt to get away from the tempting aromas. Something clear and sparkling would clear his pallet and give Ninette time to make up a short list of chefs to audition. He put his slate on the bar and smiled at the barmaid while the drinks menu was filtered by his PA computer.
The place was packed, and the woman behind the counter seemed to be the only person on duty. She was rushed, but dealing with the jostling customers with in good measure.
“Good evening Haley” said Creamy after reading the womans’ name tag. “This will be a moment if you would like to come back to me” He waved the slate at her in way of explanation. All the interesting drinks were being listed red by Ninette. All that was left on the list was sparkling water flavoured with local flora.
When Haley came around again, Creamy was ready to order.
“A mint-water please. Sparkling with a little ice if you would be so kind. Put one on the docket for yourself if you like”
“Sure, thanks guy” answered Haley with a barely hidden annoyed huff.
Water flavoured with a mint leaves needed more perp than a drink from the tap or a bottle taking up more of her already pressed time. She slid a tall glass at Creamy and didn’t even add a tip for herself to the bill. Creamy backed away from the busy bar and watched the press of customers back up. It must have been shift change or happy hour here.
Halfway down his glass, Creamy made a decision. No one had come to assist Haley, and he wasn’t the sort of guy that could stand idle when he could ease a ladys’ burden. Haley didn’t notice she had a new barman until she had to say excuse me at the till. She looked at Creamy in disbelief as he added more shots to a cocktail shaker.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing man” she asked, pressing the silent alarm.
“Mixing a Ruby Rise currently, then I’ll be pulling two pints of Beer, and a long shot of Old Sol for the chap in the helmet” answered Creamy with a flat smile. “If ya not happy with my work, I’ll leave with security, no fuss, but I think you could do with some help”
Haley gave Creamy some heavy side-eye while she got back to slinging suds. She had to admit, the guy knew his drinks and he dealt with the customers well. People seemed to like him and Haley could see why; tall, handsome and endlessly friendly. He talked to everyone as if he was personally pleased to see them. It didn’t hurt that he was flashy with the bottles either. People were ordering cocktails just to watch him do tricks while he mixed.
When security did arrive, Haley waved them away. “Whats’ your name Imp?” she asked while they both dealt with the crowd. He had to be an imperial with an accent like that.
“Creamy Goodness the Third, pleasure to make your acquaintance”
“Creamy Goodness?” Chuckled Haley “No it isn’t”
“I assure you it is Haley. If you think that’s silly, I have a stylist called Meaty Toppings; and the last thing I want this to be ..” said Creamy running his fingers through his golden velveteen hair “.. is meaty, don’cha know?”
"Yeah right, and I suppose you had a nanny called Helga Popoff too" jibed Haley as she loaded up a tray.
"Nope, I had a governess, and her name was May Banks, but I did have an escort pilot called Lemony Fresh. Always felt he should have been on the cleaning staff"
"Ok, now ya just making up names. What table was this lot for?" she asked, opening the bar flap with a well practices hip flick.
"Oh I see. You can believe I'm a Lord, and two of my ancestors took the name Creamy, but a chap with a name one would best associated with a clean kitchen is a step too far? You're right, I did make up one of these names, but I'm not telling witch. Table six my sweet"
Eventually there was a lull in trade, but Creamy decided to stay on as it was not far off closing time by then, and he stuck around when the cleaning staff arrived. Haley used the synthesiser to make her trainee barman a set of cleaning overalls and treated him to a drink in the back-bar with the rest of the staff.
"Hey, thanks for jumping in today Your Lordship, but I don't think you came to Chilton to work in a bar. What's the story? Spill" Demanded a Haley gad to be seated at last.
Creamy took a tug from an unsanctioned beer before answering "I followed my nose here so to speak. I'm on a bit of a rough diet; all this shape doesn't keep its self, don'ch know?" Creamy swept his hands down his body and flexed a little. "Well, I have meals prepared for me as I'm not much of a cook, and one of the batches of the plain yet healthy meals I had, was elevated by its seasoning. The chef only had enough to do me a week's worth of my prescribed menu, so I came to the source looking for more"
"You came all this way for seasoning? Wow, you're gonna make someone happy with that tail. People here work hard on organics to improve everyone life" She took a moment to think of something else to say, wondering if Creamy would be here long "So, I take it you're gonna be here for a while?" Asked Haley, hoping her question sounded nice and casual.
"At least until I have auditioned some chefs and had a good supply cooked for my freezer. That means I'll be taking recommendations for hotels, and I would like a bit of work while I'm here. Got a big project on the horizon, and that will require most of the funds at my disposal. I'll be needing a bit more than you could pay a mixolagist I'm sorry to say. However, get ya bar a decent piano, and I'll draw in a crowd for you when I'm on station"
Haley shrugged with a non-committal grunt and thought of a few people that could probably use a guy like Creamy for something. She also thought about the logistics of getting some sort of keyboard set up in her bar. "I know a pilot thats in here at least three days a week. She's usually busy and may have something for you with my recommendation, but you know it's late. With the staff off, I'll have to be up early, you know?"
"Say no more madam" Creamy said from a bow before necking his beer.
"Will you be here tomorrow afternoon? I'll introduce you to someone" asked Haley as she helped Creamy peel off the overalls, and turning so he could return the favour.
"Oh, I'll be about, miss. Ta-tar for now"