Gumbo With Salty Tears

Posted on Sun Mar 31st, 2019 @ 5:44am by Civillian Shae & Civillian "Mama" Edith Jackson

Mission: Interlude 1
Timeline: 2 days after returning from P3X-842

Shae had finished her debrief paperwork and was now waiting for Asher to finish up some business he was tending to; they had made their escape the night before, leaving base before Shae had a chance to document her account of what had happened on the planet of the Lost Children, and he had taken her to his house on a stretch of isolated property so she wouldn't feel so confined in the base. After what had happened between them on P3X-842, they had needed the alone time to sort out a few things between them, but Sunday morning came, Asher got a text that Shae still needed to fill out her after action report, so they reported back to the base where Shae had to dictate her report to a clerk since her writing in English was so poor. Asher had made himself scarce by doing whatever it was that Air Force Majors do in between missions, so she had privacy to work, but afterwards, she was left wondering what to do. With the clerk's help, she managed to get a text to Asher where he replied that he would come find her in another hour. What to do for an hour? Food was always a good option, and so Shae made her way down to the dining facility to see what was being served today!

"My, my, my, what we got here?" Mama said as she came out of the kitchen and saw the little waif of a girl. "Looks to me like we got us somethin' a but hongry! Y'all c'mon o'er here and we make sure we fix ya right up. C'mon, don' be shy, ain't nobody gonna feed ya better than Mama!"

Shae tilted her head curiously; if she had been in her hybrid form, her ears would have been standing tall to emphasize her inquisitive nature, but for the moment she was free of her Kitsune features. "Ah, you are the one that is called Mother Edith?" Shae asked, polite but cautious; this had to be the Mother Edith, the things she'd heard about this woman, this just had to be her! "I am Shae and I have been meaning to introduce myself before today, but it seems that I keep missing you when I come here. Oh, and I wanted to thank you for all the food I have been able to try; it has all be so delicious!" she said, then bowed out of respect and gratitude.

She laughed, loud and raucous, "No, child! I'm Mama Edith! Not Mother!" Mama came out from behind the counter wiping her floury hands on a tea towel threaded through her apron strings. "Now, why's your name so familiar 'Shae'?" Mama asked as he grabbed a tray and deftly set down a plate. "What you like d'mos' and we see if'n we can' get ya more."

"I do not understand, what is the difference?" Shae said softly, thoroughly confused; were not 'mother' and 'mama' the same thing? "Oh, my name is likely familiar because I required some attention to my diet; apparently I cannot have chocolate or caff... uh, caff-in? Oh, and there's some kind of nut I can't have either," Shae explained as she sat down where Mama Edith set the plate, assuming this was where she was to sit. "And I like many things and I enjoy trying new things, so I am pleased to try whatever you have available today."

"Nah, child!" Mama said as she picked up the plate and set it back on the counter. "A 'mother' is someone that is all 'prim and proper'," she stood up straight and stuck her hand up as if gripping a delicate cup, her pinkie straight out, "and wants you to say all your 'Puh-lease' and "ATHANK you's! A 'Mama' is a big ol warm hug that makes you feel cozy and loved!" She set another plate down in front of Shae. "Now this here is somethin' ya can eat! Gotta say," she said as she sat down, "ain't got many on the base who got food allergies like ya got. But, you in luck, I just pull out some peanut butter cookies and they're de LISH is! That is, you can get to'em 'fore Jeremy come down and sniff'em out. I swear that boy can sho' eat!"

"My apologies, Mama Edith, my English is not one of my better languages, so I am having trouble understanding some of the things you are saying," Shae said in an apologetic tone. She supposed it didn't really matter, this Mama Edith seemed so nice despite the communication barrier! Looking at the cookies in front of her, she pondered them with intense curiosity; it smelled sweet! "Itadakimasu!" she said to show her appreciation for the food, then picked up a cookie and took a bite. Instantly, her eyes went wide and she quickly gobbled up the rest of the cookie and then picked up another. "These are really good!" she declared around a mouthful of cookie, then continued to chew with a hum of delight.

"Whoa! Slow down there! Y'all like a starvin' dog off'n de street gulping down yo food like that!" Nevertheless, she put a large glass of milk down next to Shae. "Now them's some funny words y'all sayin'. You ain' from round here are'ya?"

"I'm not a dog, I'm Kitsune," Shae replied with a perplexed tilt of her head. She took a sip of the milk and found that it did help with the dryness in her mouth. "I am not from this place, and the language I speak is like the Japanese here. Itadakimasu is gratitude for food, 'I humbly receive this food'," Shae explained as best she knew how, then started munching on another cookie.

"Ah, Japanese, well that explains that," Mama said, without even a pause to contemplate what was actually said. "Explains why ya got all them food issues goin' on. Can't ever raise people ta be able to eat right if'n all ya feed'em is rice and fish head soup." Mama wiped her hands again before settling into the chair across from her. "You one of them squinty eyed sciency folk they got doin them science experiments round here?"

"I do not make a habit of eating fish heads. I do like fish, but mostly I eat deer and rabbit," Shae said, then took another sip from her glass of milk. "And I am not a science person; I know many languages, so I am a guide." She paused to turn her attention to the kitchen, her nose twitching as she caught the scent of something cooking. "Something smells very good!"

"Well, child! Ya gotta be more s'pecific than that cause ever'thin' Mama makes is very good!"

Shae sniffed the air again. "I smell... pig? Oh, no, that's not right... Ano... Pork? And prawns? And spices! Lots of peppery spices!" Shae said with a smile, then sniffed again with a dreamy expression on her face. "Mmm, and chicken, with something sweet... Some kind of berries?"

"My, my, my!" Mama said, chuckling, her body jiggling with mirth. "I hear you Japanese are different and there you are showin' what a good nose you got! Yep, Mama makin' a big ol pot of her gumbo cookin' up for lunch. And for them that's not got good sense I'm also makin up some braised chicken breasts in a cranberry butter reduction. An' I'm betting both a'em is on your okay lists. I'll go make ya up a tray." She stood and moved toward the kitchen, humming happily to herself. It didn't take long for her to return with a second tray, a plate with a good sized flattened chicken breast covered in a thick, rich reddish brown sauce amid a serving of diced butternut squash and pan fried quinoa. A bowl of thick, steaming gumbo laden with large prawn and thickly sliced okra.

"Now you go'an and eat up, you gonna need some thickening if'n you intend to survive this winter we got go'an. Ain't been no place where it so cold, my fresh vegetables flash freezin just unloadin'em from de truck."

"I told you, I'm Kitsune," Shae tried to say as Mama Edith walked off, but somehow she got the feeling that it didn't really matter, she was getting more food regardless. She nibbled on another cookie while she waited, only to be presented with some of the most wonderful foods she'd ever smelled! "Oh, this looks so good!" Shae said with excitement, eager to dig on. "Many thanks, Mama Edith, I am grateful for this food!" And with that she picked up the bow and took a greedy slurp of the gumbo, then wiggled in her chair and fanned her mouth with her hand with a loud 'Mmm!'. "It is very spicy, but so good!" she declared with a bright smile, then sipped a bit more gingerly so she didn't burn her tongue. "Oh, and if you think it's cold here, you should see where I am from; last time I was there, there was snow up to my waist! The cold here is mild in comparison, but oooh, this is perfect to help a person warm up after coming in from the cold!"

"I didn' know it got so cold in Japan! I've always seen it as a sunny type place wit' all them cherry trees and such," Mama said as she watched, with a smile, someone new enjoying the food she prepared. One of her desires was to make a lot of food that tasted like it was freshly prepared on demand and just for that one diner. It was hard, and made her catering a bit more expensive, but so far it seemed to work out. "Now, you just tell Mama what you like and I make sure sometimes you get to have a bit of it, unnerstan?"

"I do not know how cold it gets in Japan, I have never been there," Shae said, setting down her bowl to try a piece of the chicken. Forgetting once again to use her utensils, she pulled the chicken apart and it was so tender and juicy that the only thing keeping it together was the searing of the skin, and popping it onto her mouth Shae found that it was the perfect combination of savory and sweet! "Mmm, I really liked that barb-q stuff, that was very good. Oh, and the breakfast biscuits, mmmm, the sausage..." Shae was practically drooling. "Can you teach me to make some of this? I would like to try to make some of these foods, but you use things, machines I don't know how to use."

"Now, I ain't got any of them sticks you use in Japan to eat with," Mama said as she pushed a set of utilitarian utensils wrapped in a paper napkin toward Shae, "but when you're not in Japan we use forks and knives. It make us seem civilized and like we belong where we're at. I know, it's a bit different from being from a foreign country, but whatcha gonna do but try to blend in?"

"My apologies, Mama Edith, I am still getting used to how you humans do things," Shae said, accepting the utensils with a polite bow and then proceeded to unwrap them to use the napkin to clean her hands. "And as I said, I am not from Japan, I merely speak a language that is like it. I have been many places, but when I am not needed here, I return to my home on Lethuan."

"Lee thue awn?" Mama said, sounding it out carefully, "ain't that a cute sounding place. But, I gotta let ya know, while it may be all fine and good in Japan to like robots so much you wanna be'em, but some folks o'er here gonna think you gone plan nutso loco and maybe think ya need to be in some hospital somewhere. Or maybe bein' studied. Sad, but true," Mama said.

Shae's eyes went wide. "They would really do that?" she asked, then a small whine escaped her. "I don't want to be in a medical place or be studied! Can we not do that?" she asked, growing visibly uncomfortable as she shifted around in her seat and her eyes darted for the exits. Was it not safe here? Should she just run and go find Asher?

Mama took Shae's hand in her own, patted the back of it with her other hand. "Now, some people round here, they don't like things that seem different and would want ya locked in a room and studied. They may not know much about Japan but they know different. You get'em thinking y'all diff'rent by spoutin' off 'bout things like not bein' human and comin' from different places and they'll think y'all be needin' ta be locked up. Now, people think y'all just a little quirky cause you're from Japan an they'll whisper some, maybe make a few underhanded comments, but then think nothin' more 'bout it. You beginnin' to understand what Mama tell ya?"

"No, I don't!" Shae replied, on the verge of tears. "I was told that outside- outside I should say I am immigrant, a refugee, to explain why I don't know the customs here, and I have papers for this, but in here... I thought I was safe in here! The Wolf General said I could be Kitsune here and I would not have to be afraid inside the mountain. I don't want to be studied!"

"Now child!" Mama said, her voice becoming stern but warm, "You hush your moanin right quick an' open your ears. From what I hear they're big enough! How you 'spect anybody gonna think you from anywhere decent when ya go around actin' like you're from another planet or somethin? Y'all think ever'one here knows everythin 'bout them science 'speriments they got goin all over this place? You be just as much'a you as y'all wanna be, but you 'spect anyone to think you're an 'immigrant' from 'round these parts, ya gotta start thinkin' it all the time. You too easy to trip up." She pulled over a second napkin, offering it to Shae. "Now, Mama don't care where you come from or ya pretend ya turn into some giant, big, hairy thing at the new moon, but others will care. Wipe them tears away an' tell Mama about this Lee thue awn place you come from in Japan!"

"But I am from another planet!" Shae blurted out, still trying her level best not to cry, but she accepted the offered napkin and wiped her eyes. She really didn't understand what Mama Edith was trying to accomplish, the woman's words just confused her. "Lethuan is another planet, not Japan! And I am not human, I am Kitsune, and General-sama said it was okay so long as I'm inside the mountain! But I know not to tell anyone these things when I am outside the mountain because no one can know about the Chappa'ai, and since Asher took me to his home and we were going to go back later, I made myself look like this so no one could see me and know I was not human," she insisted with a few sniffles.

"Nah, you might be hearin' but you ain't listenin!" Mama said. "You think it's just the way ya look that make people think ya diff'rent?" Mama shook her head as she clucked her tongue. "No way, Child! It's more'n that. It's so many small things, like how ya forget where ya supposed to be from, where ya come from. You think ever'one here know 'bout you? Think again. Inside, maybe ya safe. But I got my kin here workin and ya think they know ever'thin' goin' on in this mountain? No and Lord be praised they be ignur'nt a'that. They's gonna wanna whip out they phones and wanna put you up on them viewtubes and chatsnaps and the like. Then what ya think gonna happen?

"Now you listen to Mama, when you 'round those you know an' can really trust, then you can be as Kitsune as ya want, but when you're mingling 'round others, ya gotta be as pretend as if you were outta the mountain. An nuthin' say you can't be who ya are, just not tellin ever'one what ya are all the time. An' ya can't learn that, then y'all only got yo'self to blame." Mama stood and began collecting the various dishes. "I'd think this be a safe place for ya to try, but only y'all can decide that for ya."

Shae's eyes grew even wider; she had come down to the dining facility a time or two with her ears and tail on full display, not knowing that there were people here who shouldn't see her like that, but she had been told that it was safe, she didn't know! "What if they've already taken pictures of me?" she said, wringing her hands with worry. She really wanted to go find Asher now, she was so scared! "General-sama said it was safe here, he didn't say there were places in the mountain I should not have my tail or my ears, I have been coming here to get food and I didn't know, I swear, I didn't know... Please, I don't want pictures of me like that, I don't want to be the reason that General-sama is mad that people outside have learned what happens here!"

"Don't you worry none 'bout what happen here afore," Mama said. "This is Mama's Dinin' Facility and what Mama wants, Mama gets. Ya need to worry 'bout workin' on makin' sure nobody else knows 'bout what you really are until the world's ready for ya. Way ya goin now, next time ya leave the mountain and go anywhere, ya gonna have people talkin'."

Shae whimpered and her eyes once again sought the door. "I think I should go now," she said with a strained squeak, quickly rising from her chair and neatly pushing it back under the table. "Thank you very much for the food, Edith-okaasan," she said, offering one last bow before rushing out the door to go find Asher.