The Photo Shop Ch. 52

"God we don't, so we'll go shopping again tomorrow then, shall we?"

"I'm afraid not Jeff, this is not the States, most shops are closed on Sunday."

"Wow, at home they would be out of business almost before they opened."

"Yeah I know, you'll have to learn to live with it, keeping shops open 24/7 is not possible in Belgium. Most normal shops open between 8 and 10 am and close around 6 pm, but only 6 days per week."

"What's with the 7^th day then?"

"Legally shops need to close 1 day per week, they can choose which one though and there are a few exceptions like for the Christmas period or when they have the twice-yearly sales period."

"What do you do if you need booze, say in the middle of the night?"

"We have, what we call 'night shops', there you can buy all the booze, cigarettes, snacks and phone cards you want, but only between 6 pm and 1 am so I'm afraid you are going to have to go thirsty or hungry after 1 am if you haven't stocked up on what you need."

"Oh boy, you really lead tough lives don't you?"

"We're used to it, some shops are open Sunday morning, the baker, the butcher, and the occasional supermarket are open with some garden centers all day, but that is about it. In some European countries, it's even worse, in the Netherlands even the bakery is closed on Sunday, so no fresh rolls or bread for the Dutch on that day.

"I see, we have a lot to learn, is that the same in Italy?"

"I guess so, Sunday is a day of rest and worship, especially in Italy where still a lot more people go to church than in our country."

But for now, let's enjoy the culinary delights Belgium can offer you."

When it was time, we piled into the car, waving at Nancy and Amelia who hadn't been able to find a babysitter and stayed home. There would be other opportunities for her to join the American couple on their sightseeing tours later that week. After a short drive, we arrived at the restaurant and I parked the car.

Jeff looked at me and asked, "you have to park the car yourself, no valet service?"

"Nope, you'll have a hard time finding a restaurant or any place, for that matter, that provides this kind of service in Belgium."

When we walked into the restaurant what I had expected happened. Indeed, Rachel was like a magnet for all the male patrons' eyes, for some even their mouths opened slightly, almost drooling. Most of the women looked hostile, but some looked at their partners and chuckled at their expected reaction. We were met by Claire, Sunshine's sister.

"Hello, Lew, nice to see you again, and you brought some friends I see."

"Yes, hello Claire, we have friends over from the States and we wanted to treat them to some of our Belgian culinary delights."

"Good idea, and thanks for thinking of us for that. I have a very nice table for you and your friends, not in the kitchen this time, but away from the prying eyes of the big crowd."

"Excellent, thank you, oh yes before I forget, how's your sis Sunshine, it's been a while since I last saw or heard from her."

"She's fine, still talking about the evening she spent with you. You must have made a big impression on her, 'cause I never heard her mention anybody else as often as you."

"Wow, please give her my regards and tell her I look forward to seeing her again in the near future, maybe at the end of the school year when I'll probably accompany Jada to the proclamation. Most importantly, I still have an open invitation to come to drink that very nice bottle of Burgundy your boss offered us after our last visit."

"I will, now if you would like to follow me, please."

Grace grabbed my arm when we were walking toward our table and asked, "did you know Claire worked here?"

"Yes, of course, I'm surprised you didn't, after all her older sister Danielle is a contemporary of yours and even a former school buddy."

"Yes that's true, I knew Sunshine had a younger sister, but I had no idea she worked here as the restaurant hostess."

"It's a small world, Grace, a small world indeed, and not only in the Magic Kingdom."

Jeff and Rachel were impressed by what they saw.

"This looks like a very nice place Grace," Jeff said.

"It is, they even have a Michelin star and are working very hard to get a second one.

Claire handed us the menus, in Flemish for us and in English for our friends, they didn't even notice, sort of taking it for granted. When we'll take them to Mario's in a couple of days it'll be different, he only has menus in Flemish, French, and Italian, as far as I know. We will need to translate unless, of course, we let Mario do his thing and decide for us what we should eat.

"So do you see anything that you like, or are you guys strictly steak eaters?"

"What do you mean by steak eaters?" Jeff wanted to know.

"Over the years I've been going to restaurants with different people, I've put them into two groups: the steak eaters, who always eat steak, dull, no interest in the finer culinary things that a restaurant or a country has to offer, and the more adventurous ones that always go for local things and ask the locals what is best."

"So you want us to ask you what is best here?" Jeff said with a chuckle.

Both Grace and Rachel had been following our conversation smiling, exchanging knowing looks, but not saying anything. Jeff looked at his wife and said, "what?"

"Nothing dear, though I do think that if Lew knew you a bit better he would put you in the first category; you always eat chunks of fried or grilled dead cow."

"That's not true, I had pasta on the plane."

"Yes because they didn't have any steak, and fish would be the very last thing you would choose."

"OK, but I need all that meat to be strong enough to keep satisfying your 'needs'," he said, emphasizing it with air quotes. "But hey I'm open for new things, what can you, being a local, recommend Lew?"

"Well since it'll be just the four of us tonight unless we consider Nancy, I would like to suggest the Escargots à la Bourguignonne as a starter."

"What do you think Grace, will she mind?"

"If we have that, I'll text her and tell her to get some out of the freezer to have as well.

"Good thinking."

"Hang on a second, where do I find that on my menu, this escar...thing?"

"You won't find it written that way on your English menu, Jeff, you might find it as snails Burgundy style though."

"WHAT! Snails! No way buddy, I don't eat slimy creatures in shells."

"Where's your sense of adventure Jeff?" Rachel interjected with a smile.

"Sorry but that's where I draw the line."

"Would you prefer oysters then?"

"That's different, they are very good for one's potency or so they say?"

"You see that's where we differ, for me, raw oysters taste like salty snot, on the rare occasion I have them I prefer them oven-baked"

"Oh yes, I prefer them that way too."

"Shall I ask the chef to oven-bake the snails for you then maybe?"

"NO no."

"Have you ever tasted them?"

"Uh, no."

"Then what's your problem? You are like the farmer in a saying we have 'what the farmer does not know the farmer does not eat'. Shame on you Jeff, I thought you were more adventurous," Grace said, getting involved in the discussion.

"OK, I'll try them, if only to show you I'm not afraid of new things, but only one or two."

"I'm afraid it's 6 or none Jeff."

"OK 6 then."

"Excellent now that we have the appetizer out of the way, let's concentrate on the main course."

"Can I have steak now?"

Rachel gave Jeff a stern look and replied, "no you can't, you will eat what Lew or Grace suggests...and like it!"

"Yes ma'am," Jeff replied with the tip of his finger between his lips; like a little schoolboy."

"Oh stop acting like a child." Turning towards us, Rache asked both Grace and me "what do you suggest?".

"We were thinking about crown of lamb, one of the specialties of the chef and completely in line, herb-wise, with the escargots."

"Oh yes I remember, both are prepared with lots of garlic."

"Yes indeed, that's why I said I would text Nancy so she could get some for herself out of the freezer so that when we get home she isn't blown away by the garlic fumes."

"OK lamb I can go for, it's close enough to beef, but please no mint sauce."

"No mint sauce, in that I fully agree with you Jeff,' I added.

"I won't even guess what you'll suggest for dessert Lew, that will be Dame Blanche," Grace interjected.

"You know me too well dear."

"Oh boy here we go again with the French names, why did they give us a menu in English in the first place, what is Dame Blench?"

"Dame Blanche or if you translate it literally, white lady, consists of 2 or 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream covered with hot chocolate sauce, made of course with real Belgian chocolate, and whipped cream."

"Oh, like an ice cream sundae."

"No, not really, there is a subtle difference, you'll see, or better yet you'll taste it."

We placed the order with Claire and asked for 4 glasses of bubbly. I knew that in the Deer Hunter they only served the best champagnes, avoiding the Spanish Cava and the Italian Prosecco, both good in their own way, but not up to the real thing. I didn't even have to order the wine, Claire knew my preferred Burgundy, which would go perfectly with the food we ordered. With the Champagne, she brought an amuse-bouche, which she named and described what was in it. Jeff looked at me again mouthing what is an 'amous boush'.

I explained they were formerly called amuse-gueule, but the vulgar word gueule was replaced by bouche, indicating that it was something to entertain or amuse your mouth while you were waiting for the first course to arrive.

"Oh boy I've got a lot to learn, I should have paid more attention during French lessons at school."

"Wait until you get to Italy, my friend, you'll be confronted with a whole new vocabulary there. I tried to learn Italian once and I got some of it, as a lot of the words are similar to French, which I speak fluently, but I never got around to practicing it and then you lose it very quickly."

"Yeah, I always wondered how you cope with all these different languages in Europe and up until recently all the different currencies."

"A lot of people speak multiple languages, but most communicate in English. Concerning the currencies, the arrival of the Euro was a blessing, not having to exchange every time you went on vacation to a different country. I used to keep envelopes with all the different European currencies when I was still working and traveling extensively throughout Europe."

"Why didn't you use your credit card?"

"That my friend was a luxury the company I worked for did not allow us and I wasn't inclined to pay for things out of my own pocket, even if I could, of course, claim it back."

Throughout the conversation, Rachel had placed a hand on my leg, squeezing my thigh and slowly but surely moving upward towards my dick, which of course automatically responded to her manipulations by getting hard. When I looked at her, she mimicked a little kiss to me as if inviting me to do the same to her. How could I refuse such a nice invitation? My hand crept under the tablecloth towards Rache's thigh, where I quickly found the split in her skirt. I saw on her face that she had felt my approach and when I moved upward in the direction of her crotch, I was pleasantly surprised to find her naked pussy, with no panties to be detected. When I touched her inner sanctum with my finger she gave an almost inaudible yelp.

Jeff looked at her, "anything wrong dear?"

"No, no I'm fine must be something from the jet lag," while she looked from Jeff to me giving both of us a smile. I found myself reassured that this was what she wanted and continued my manipulations feeling her getting moist which allowed me to slip the tip of my finger inside her. Unfortunately, I couldn't go any further or it would be obvious from the way I was holding my arm. I contented myself with wiggling the tip of my finger between her inner lips, trying to find her clit. She crossed her legs, trapping my hand between them, thus urging me to keep on stimulating her.

She too became a bit more adventurous, searching for the zipper of my pants, and I have no idea how she managed it, but I felt it slide down just enough for her to slip a few fingers inside. I looked at her and almost imperceptibly shook my head. She looked at me with innocent eyes, pursed her lips, and mimicked another kiss. Unlike her, I was wearing boxer shorts and she managed to get her fingers inside, touching the head of my cock. The treacherous organ immediately grew hard as if begging for attention.

Shortly after, Claire came back to get the empty amuse-bouche cups and bring us the tools to eat the snails safely without causing accidental spills. I saw that she had opened one more button on her blouse, giving us a more extensive view of her ample bosom. Both Rache and I smiled at her, our little play under the table continuing as if nothing was going on. Unfortunately, it had to end when Claire and a waiter returned with dome-covered plates with the snails. They put them on the table and on cue lifted the domes to reveal the feared snails to Jeff's eyes.

Rachel had reluctantly released my hand from between her thighs allowing me to get both hands above the table again, ready to attack the succulent snails doused in the cholesterol-laden garlic and herb melted butter sauce. Jeff was still looking doubtful, with no real enthusiasm to start eating. He looked at us to see how we were going to proceed.

We took the tongs Claire had brought before, grabbed a snail shell with it, and plucked the beast out with a thin fork. The bread that had been served with the snails we soaked in the butter sauce and put both in our mouths, savoring the taste. Jeff watched and tried to copy us, but he had a few problems before he could grab and hold the snail shell with the tongs. When he put the soaked bread and the snail in his mouth he closed his eyes as if this would be the very last thing he would ever put in his mouth before he would die. Then I saw his facial expression change, from "this is going to taste yucky to, mmm, it doesn't seem too bad after all, ending with God, this tastes really good."

"So Jeff, you want to stop after one, or is the farmer changing his mind after tasting?"

"I'm not sure yet but it tastes better than I expected, I think I'll try another one."

No need to mention that he finished them all, soaking up every drop of sauce he could find on his plate with the last of his bread. We'll make a gourmet out of him yet. By 11 we had finished the meal with coffee and cognac, not for me though. I told them I was 'BOB' that evening.

"BOB what do you mean by BOB?" Rachel wanted to know.

"It's a name we use for the designated driver in the party, who either doesn't drink at all or very little. It's from a long-running campaign to reduce drink-driving in Belgium."

"Yeah, now that you mention it I saw you only had one glass of wine."

"If we're stopped and I have to do a breathalyzer test it will show up well within the legal limits."

I had noticed that Claire had been hovering around the table like a chicken not really knowing where to lay its egg, so I beckoned her.

"Everything OK Claire? Is there anything we can do for you?"

"No, no I'm fine I was just wondering what you're going to do next, are you going dancing or having some drinks in a café?"

"I guess we'll be heading to Grace's home and have a drink there and I can join them, why, would you like to join us too?"

"Would you mind? My shift is over and I love to get to know your American friends better."

"Oh why, any particular reason?"

"I plan to go on vacation to the States this summer and I could use some first-hand information on where to go and what to do."

"I don't think we'd mind, would we Grace?"

"What wouldn't we mind dear?"

"That Claire comes with us to have a chat and get some information from Jeff and Rachel for her upcoming vacation trip to the States."

"No, great, you're very welcome to join us, Claire; you know where I live?"

"Yes, of course, my sister told me everything about you."

"Ah, Sunshine, how is she?"

"She's doing great, especially after she met Lew, she can't keep quiet about him."

"Why am I not surprised, but I have to warn you; Jeff and Rachel are swingers so if you join us you might not get home early, or should I say you might indeed only get home very early tomorrow morning."

"I don't mind, I love a good party."

"So we'll see you in half an hour then?"

"Yes, I'll be there. Do I need to bring anything?"

"No, just your lovely body and a willingness to experience new things maybe?"

"I have met swingers before and together with my sister we went to some swinger parties in the past."

"Wow, now I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better."

During the drive over, we decided we were going to challenge Claire. Different ideas came up but we selected a suggestion from Jeff who had been ogling her every time she came to the table throughout the evening. Rachel remarked that he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her ample bosom. It was no secret that Jeff was a tit man.

I'm sure he'll be thoroughly delighted when he will be able to actually see her boobs live and he can get his hands and mouth on them.