A Place Of Refuge? (Lumen)

Paul had only been waiting a few moments before Lumen rounded the corner and came walking into the lobby. She looked... well it was better if he didn't focus on that. Thinking about it to much would just get him looking for something that was not likely to happen. As much as it might be shown in popular culture, like TV shows and movies, first date or no date hook ups were really not that common. Most women, and for that matter men as well, were a little more cautious about who they were intimate with.

"Hello yourself. Time does seem to drag on when you're looking forward to something now doesn't it." He replied with a smile before holding out the teddy bear for Lumen to take. "Merry Christmas... hopefully you still like stuffed animals."

Paul hoped that the time spent waiting to see each other again was worth what they experienced on this date. If things went south and he really messed things up then Lumen was going to be left wondering why she had been so looking forward to this night. Of course, Paul did have on thing in his favor. He had lived a long time and had a lot of experience making women happy so he felt rather confident that he could make sure Lumen had a nice evening.

"I like your dress. The color suits you quite well." He complimented as they turned to head for the hotel door and the waiting cab. "As I remember it, we were going for a sleigh ride first and then dinner, right?"

(OOC: No problem! I just figured you were probably busy with the holidays. As for me, I will probably have time or some posting this evening and then I'll be away from the computer until Monday. You have a Merry Christmas!)

The squeal excitement and the glimmer of emotions in the eyes was always wonderful when you gave a woman a gift but with Lumen that was... non-existent. She accepted the bear graciously with a smile but she didn't go crazy over it like so many females did. Maybe the bear hadn't been such a great idea. Of course, since Paul really didn't know Lumen well enough to pick out a proper gift he couldn't really be blamed for the mistake? Could he?

As they were leaving, Paul noticed something else in the conversation. The attractive blond had completely ignored his comment about liking her clothing. He had already prepared himself for getting a full discourse about where she got it and how great the sale had been and even what the weather had been like on the day she got it but none of that happened. She just seemed to accept the compliment and keep right on moving without spending any time thinking about it. If this had been Lori and he compliment her clothes, she probably would have made some sort of sarcastic reply and teasing him about hitting on her but Lumen was even different from that. She was a puzzle and Paul found himself getting somewhat intrigued. He also enjoyed puzzles.

"Not to cold, just cold enough." Paul's answer formed a cloud of steam in the air as they stepped back outside. Thankfully he had dressed warmly enough and even had the right shoes for handling snow and cold. If they even just remained pleasant through the whole evening then he would consider this night a success. Far better than any other Christmas in his recent past.

The chatter in the taxi cab was nice and when Lumen began to talk about Broadway shows Paul could actually carry on something of a conversation. Even though it had been years since he last saw a show, he had taken in several when he first came to New York so many years before. "I missed seeing West Side Story and South Pacific but I did get to take in 'Bye Bye Birdie' and 'Fiddler on the Roof'. It is rather amazing how wonderful some of those shows can be when you actually get to see them on Broadway." The 60's had been interesting years for Paul. The world had been changing so quickly that Paul had been able to experience many different facets of life including some interesting Broadway shows.

It seemed like time was flying by as Paul suddenly found himself standing in line for the sleigh rides. Lumen was continuing to chat with him about various subjects while nearby a group played Christmas songs and others in line talked about how wonderful Christmas time was. For a brief moment, Paul felt a pang of regret that he had wasted so many previous Christmas seasons because of his own pain and feelings of loss but immediately he shoved it aside. This Christmas was different and he mentally vowed to make sure that his future holidays were different as well. This was the time of year that people actually talked about loving one another and bringing peace to the world. He should be out enjoying this every single year not just shacking up at home with some novel.

Moments later they were in the sleigh with blankets tucked around their legs and thermoses raised in celebration."Cheers!" Opening his thermos Paul took a sip of the warm liquid within. Thankfully it had been sitting long enough so that it was no longer scalding but was actually just the perfect temperature for drinking. The bells on the sleigh jingled merrily as the driver led them along the prearranged path. Central Park and the city around them looked simply magical, covered with the newly fallen slow that glistened and sparkled from the city lights all around them. "Thanks for asking me to come to the service with you." Paul spoke up, deciding that now was a good time to get his gratitude out in the open. Once this was said they could just focus on enjoying the evening but first, "I probably would have ended up with a quiet day at home so I appreciate you getting me out of the apartment."

For the next thirty minutes or so, they talked, laughed, and sipped at hot chocolate. Occasionally Paul would crack a joke to try and get Lumen to laugh some more but for the most part he just stuck with pleasant conversation. It was nice to just feel normal for a little while. People all over New York took dating for granted but for Paul it was something special. He didn't go out with just anyone not only because if his age and experience but also because he was a mutant and he had to be cautious about who he might hang around. For him, an evening out with an intriguing attractive woman was something special and something to be cherished.

"I'm curious. Do you like a Christmas Eve service because of the holidays or are you actually a religious person?" Paul asked when they came to a slight lull in their conversation. There was no ridicule or accusation in his voice but more of just an honest curiosity. He remember how religious his family had been until the war broke out but he had never spent that much time around others that had sincere beliefs. Was Lumen someone that did or did she just get wrapped up in the spirit of the season?

She had actually been up to Alaska and Canada? Paul actually felt slightly impressed. Since coming over to the states from Europe he had never ventured out but the idea of going up to Alaska or Canada did sound intriguing. Maybe some day he'd have to take a trip there just to see what it was like. Heck, maybe he'd escape from people as a whole group for about twenty or so years then come back to see if society had improved at all. Of course, that would be like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. If he wasn't willing to work to try to make things change then why should he expect them to change on their own?

"I know a little bit about the brown bear, in fact they were rather plentiful where I grew up, but I've never seen a polar bear or a grizzly bear in person." Paul answered, trying to be part of the conversation even though he didn't have the knowledge bank that Lumen obviously had access to. He could talk about great authors, great music, or great Broadway plays but animals... animals had never been a huge interest. "Knowledge and facts are never something to be ashamed of. You never know when some piece of what most people consider trivial information just might save your life."

It was as they were getting off of the sleigh that Paul had a chance to make his own response to her spiritual beliefs. He didn't know where he stood on the idea of God, with the wars he had seen and the life he had led something like that was hard to grasp, but he could respect those that saw something positive in religion. "There's nothing wrong with anything that helps to make you a better person. Whether its meditation, religion, or just basic study. Improvement is always profitable." His response was simple and honest, "I've never been much of a church person. My parents raised us Protestant but I guess you could say I'm one of those that strayed from my foundation. I've just always focused on study and education instead of religion but I've had friends that were very, what did you call it, spiritual? They're good people and I can respect their view point."

Walking away from the sleigh ride, they made their way toward the nearest taxi stand. "I hope you like Italian food because I know of this great little restaurant in Little Italy."

***

For once, New York City traffic wasn't all that bad and they made it to their destination in just over twenty minutes. It was a little restaurant that could seat maybe thirty or thirty five people at the most. In the back there was actually a brick oven behind the counter. A small bar was off to their right but the rest of the space was taken up by small two or four person tables. After being seated and ordering drinks, Paul once again turned his focus to the blond that was now sitting across from him.

"So what do you normally do on Christmas Day after attending the midnight service the night before? Do you call your parents and brother to wish them a happy holiday? I'm sure they must miss you with your having moved so far away." His goal was to simply plumb the depths a little bit to try to learn more about Lumen. He didn't mean to step on any toes so if that's what happened then he did it innocently. After all, most people enjoyed talking about their family.

Hearing about Lumen's family was certainly... eye opening. Her parents didn't celebrate much outside of attending a service and her brother was M.I.A. somewhere in the world. He had disappeared when Lumen was 6, twenty years ago and since more than likely he hadn't been all that much older or younger than her, that meant he had to be in the range of 24 to 28 if he were still alive. Right then everything seemed to click in place. It made sense why she had chosen a profession looking for missing people. While she was helping out other people she was probably also running down leads and narrowing down possibilities when it came to her own missing sibling.

For a brief moment, Paul almost started going into his own childhood tragedy about how his family had been split up by the war and he had never seen them again but he managed to stop himself. That would reveal his mutant ability as well as his age and that wasn't something he was willing to divulge. How could he tell the story without giving away the wrong information?

"My family fractured and split in different directions after... some external issues became internal issues. I haven't seen or heard from my brothers or sister or my parents in years. From what I've found out I'm sure they're no longer alive but the not knowing was always the hardest." Paul spoke slowly as he swirled the red wine in his own glass, simply looking at the dark liquid instead of the woman across from him, "Getting some sort of closure helped but it still wasn't easy."

Taking a sip of wine, Paul paused speaking as their waiter came up to take their order. For his own meal he ordered steak marsala with a side of fettuccine alfredo. Once both of their orders were in and a basket of bread sticks was in front of them the waiter moved off to take care of his next customers.

"Is that what eventually led you to come to the states? " Paul asked softly, doing his best to keep the conversation intimate where Lumen's private information wouldn't be spread through the whole restaurant, "If I had been able to, I think that's what I would have done."

Unfortunately for Paul, or Henri as he had been called back then, his family had been split apart by war and he had been to young to really do anything about it. After the war, so many people had died or just disappeared that, there was no way to track his family down. Instead he had moved on with his life, eventually take on one name after another trying to become the person he wanted to be. 'Jack' had been close but after the loss of Ashley there had been no way for that life to continue. Thus far 'Paul' was a good life and he planned on keeping it for a while, as long as he didn't die someplace that he shouldn't.

For a brief moment Lumen seemed reflective, commenting about how she wasn't sure if she really wanted closure. And then she moved the subject away from her and right back onto him. For most people the offer to help find living family would be appreciated but for Paul it was an area that was off limits. He knew his family was all dead, unless they happened to somehow have a mutant ability similar to his, and her searching wouldn't do any good. Plus if she searched under his current name she wouldn't find anything... not a single thing.

"I'll keep that in mind." Paul did his best to try and sound grateful but it was a little bit hard when he knew someone with Lumen's skills could uncover his secret with some well placed questions. He had never lost an identity because someone had found out his secret and he didn't particularly want to start right now. "Maybe down the road we'll have you take a look." It was just positive enough that it should take the suspicion off without actually encouraging her to do the job. It was a nice balance and Paul was quite happy with that.

After a brief but simple explanation of why Lumen had come to New York she once again turned the questions around to him. How did that keep happening? Paul was experienced with controlling a conversation so that he never really had to give out personal information but somehow she kept turning things around on him. Was he losing his touch or was it possible that Lumen was experienced at doing the exact same thing? A sudden thought pricked at the edge of his mind and made him look at the young woman with even more interest than before. "Does she have secrets she doesn't want to share either?"

"Well let's see... running is probably one of the things I do the most of. I run almost every day, on very rare occasions I even do it twice in one day. I do a little bit of meditating to try and keep my mind calm and adjusted and you already know about my reading." For a brief moment he fell silent, racking his brain to see what else he could tell her. There was nothing wrong with mentioning that he knew how to fight, was there? "I experiment in the kitchen on occasion and every now and then I even manage to make something that tastes decent. I also occasionally take a kick boxing class down at the Y, but other than that I guess you could say I lead a rather simple life." Well, he was simple if you didn't count the dieing in empty warehouses, rescuing electric ladies from puddling water, or stealing painting to give away as gifts. His was a quiet and sedate life only occasionally interrupted with a brush of excitement. Only occasionally...

Lumen seemed to respond positively to the few things that Paul did have as hobbies and that was a good sign. Sure, he couldn't reveal the whole truth about himself or trust her with every secret but at least they were having a nice time. Besides, it seemed like she probably had some secrets of her own so that meant they were playing on an even field... right?

"I picked up on kick boxing over anything else because it kept my hands safe for the most part. Doing physical work like I do my hands are important so if I have to fight or defend myself then I want to do it without damaging them." It was a good feeling to be honest with another person, well, at least partially honest. It was true that he had picked up kick boxing to protect his hands but it wasn't true that it was because of his landscaping. Being a pick pocket, safe cracker, and accomplished burglar his hands were far more important than they ever would be to a simple landscaper.

Finally the food arrived and they settled back into a simple rhythm. Take a few bites of food, perhaps a sip of wine, then chat about news, politics, entertainment... anything besides themselves, then go back for some more food and more wine. Paul was purposely taking his time with the wine so that he wouldn't get to much alcohol in his system. A slight buzz was OK but he did not want his judgment to be impaired. Who knew where the night would end up and he didn't want to wake up in the morning knowing that everything the night before had been alcohol induced.

A few moments after their plates had been cleared away, Lumen surprised him by apologizing for something that really hadn't even been bothering him. "Social courtesies are over rated." Paul responded with a quiet chuckle as he took a moment to just enjoy the touch of her soft skin on his hand. "I enjoy your company because your just natural. You don't try to pretend to be someone your not, you're you and you don't apologize for that. In a town that's full of people trying to be something their not, it's refreshing." It was refreshing, even if it did make Paul feel like something of a hypocrite. He was pretending to be just an average human that worked a job and relaxed at home when that was far from the truth. He was a mutant that couldn't die and liked to cross back and forth over that line that people called 'law & order'.

"So... where to now? You said something about a midnight service but since I haven't attended church in so long I have no idea where we're heading." It was time to keep the evening moving though he made sure to give her hand a gentle squeeze before they stood and she pulled it away. "And just so you know... I'm having a great time too."