It had to be said, Tris had been talking and leading the way to the restaurant, so she didn't exactly noticed Luke's absence until he was already back, right behind them as before, but with the exception of a gift, for Victoria.

Tris waited until Victoria, who seemed touched by Luke's gesture, had brushed past them and made a speedy, blushing path to the nearest bathroom or something. It was only then she raised a skeptical eyebrow, eying this man she knew so little about with a thoughtful expression;
"You are not a conjurer or anything of that sort are you?"
she was heard to mutter, while holding the door open for Luke to proceed her into the restaurant, she thinking deeply about abilities and coincidence and imagination and chance meetings.

It was obvious that Victoria was surprised by the gift and that was just fine by Luke. He knew it wasn't expected but at the same time he had felt it necessary to hopefully the young woman a little more at ease.

"I couldn't... " Victoria began softly before finally deciding that she really did need it. "Thank you Luke. I will be back in a moment."

As the woman dissapeared into the restaurant Luke turned his attention back towards Tris who he could tell was facing him... probably watching him carefully while trying to figure out he had done it.

"You are not a conjurer or anything of that sort are you?" Tris spoke up as she held the door for him to walk into the restaurant.

"No." Luke spoke with a slight chuckle as he moved past her into the restaurant, "You don't have to worry about me pulling coins out of your ears or anything."

Hopefully that would be enough to cover himself until the three sat down to a meal. Luke knew he would have to reveal his powers eventually but he wanted to do it in private if he had to do it at all.

"No." Luke spoke with a slight chuckle as he moved past her into the restaurant, "You don't have to worry about me pulling coins out of your ears or anything."

Tris laughed at the comment as she followed Luke into the restaurant, but she did counter his statement with;
"I dont know whether to be glad or sad, pulling coins out of peoples would be mighty helpful for finding that extra little bit of change, for tips, for the vending machine, for getting your car washed, that sort of thing."
All the while watching how and where he was walking, noting he had great balance and sense of direction for a bind guy.

A waitress greeted them not far from the door, asking them how many would be dinning today. Once Tris replied three, she smiled and showed them to a booth, leaving them with enough menus to peruse. Tris sat, waiting for Luke to make himself comfortable, and also craning her neck in an extra effort to scan the room for the reappearance of Victoria, and also giving her a distraction from asking the 'so Luke, whats your story?' question before they'd even gotten past the entree

For a few moments Victoria couldn't see Luke and Tris and she began to panic, thinking that perhaps they had decided to slip out but then she caught sight of them and breathed a sigh of relief. She would not have blamed them for not wanting to spend time with her but she berated herself for thinking that they might have sneaked out while she was changing.

It was only as she approached them that Victoria remembered she hadn't done anything with her hair and that it was still a mess. In a blink of an eye she had gone from feeling good to feeling inadequate again.

"What hope is there for me if I can't even remember to brush my hair when I have been looking at it in the mirror."

Victoria was very tempted to flee back to the bathroom and fix the problem but she was conscious that Tris and Luke were already waiting for her. Taking a deep breath she steeled herself and approached them.

"Thank you Luke." She said softly as she slipped past him and sat down at the far end of the empty seat opposite Tris. Victoria thought about giving Luke another hug but he had seemed uncomfortable the first time and so she refrained, contenting herself with a brief brush of her hand against his.

There was a menu on the table and opening it, perused the first page. The dishes seemed nice and then she saw the prices.

"It's much too expensive!" She declared, snapping the menu shut and sounding very much like a ten-year old. Her naturally high-pitched voice helped to cement the impression.

Tris had remained silent for several moments, apparently allowing the conversation about Luke's abilities to die off. That was just fine with the blind man an he simply sat back, enjoying the sounds and smells of the restaurant. "If the food's as good as it smell's I'll have to make sure to come back here." He thought to himself, mentally making note of the restaurant's location, "And here comes Victoria." There weren't many people around with the same type of figure and stature as the young woman so it wasn't to hard for Luke to notice her with his senses as soon as she made her way back into main dining area.

"Thank you Luke." The young woman murmured as she took her seat, briefly touching his hand. Smiling slightly and noding to Victoria, he did his best not to show any other reaction. It was quite plain that the girl was very innocent and there was no way he would allow himself damage the trust that was slowing building.

"It's much too expensive!" Victoria's voice suddenly rang out after she had looked at the menu for several moments. The shock in her voice was evident and Luke was sure that if he had been focusing on her face, the expression would have been rather comical.

"It'll be fine Victoria." Luke spoke up, trying to keep his voice kind and soothing, "I'm sure Tris know about the prices before she brought us here and if necessary I'll be glad to split the check with her. Don't worry about it. Just enjoy yourself for a little while."

The mental checklist of information about the two women was growing. First off they had not been friends before today. Victoria was very innocent and shy and also apparently sheltered. Luke was sure that the little place was all THAT expensive but for the young woman it had been shocking. "If money is that tight I wonder if she is staying somewhere safe?" The blind man thought to himself, "I'll have to ask about that later."

Tris smiled at Victoria as she sat down, in welcome of course, not in the least tiny bit at the cardigan that seemed to be doings its best to double as an overcoat for Victoria.

She did however, unsuccessfully try to disguise a laughing fit as a coughing fit as dear Victoria quickly scanned the menu before declaring;
"It's much too expensive!"
And the voice and the expression- everything about the girl was just so comically, innocently cute, that Tris gave up and gave in to her chuckles.

But the dear stand up gentleman that was Luke came to the rescue;
"It'll be fine Victoria." Luke spoke up, trying to keep his voice kind and soothing, "I'm sure Tris know about the prices before she brought us here and if necessary I'll be glad to split the check with her. Don't worry about it. Just enjoy yourself for a little while."

"Yeah, its cool Victoria."
Tris jumped in, doing her part to reassure.
"I've got the golden ticket......otherwise known as the company credit card.......so no worries- go nuts on the food if you want."
she subsided, humming the 'I've got a golden ticket' song from willy wonka under her breath- damn, now she'd never get it out of her head.

Victoria's concern was allayed somewhat by the assurances of Luke and Tris only to be replaced by another one.

"Is that right, using the company card? Won't they mind?" It didn't seem right to Victoria, using a company card for private purposes.

Nevertheless, a quiet growl from her stomach reminded Victoria that she had not eaten properly for the past couple of weeks. The thought of food and the smells wafting from the meals of other diners and the kitchen was making her feel very hungry and she picked up the menu again, studiously avoiding looking at the prices.

"There are so many nice sounding things. Perhaps I should try a little of everything." she said softly, her voice a mixture of shy cheekiness.

It took Victoria a while to make up her mind, eventually choosing an entree and a main, knowing it would mean she wouldn't have to eat much in the evening to tide her through to the morning.

"Is that okay?" She asked, suddenly unsure of herself again and not wanting to seem greedy.

Luke chuckled softly to himself as he mentally withdrew from the covnersation, allowing the two women to chat about their food choices. Unable to read the menu the blind man was using his sense of smell to identify what he thought would be good.

"Onions, peppers, meat, fries, onion rings." He thought to himself identifying one thing after another. "And it sounds like the table behind us is doing salads of some type."

"Sorry about the wait folks." A young man said as he walked up, obviously their waiter, "You three know what you want or do you need a few minutes?"

"I think I'll go with a Sweet Tea to drink, Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and instead of fries or onion rings I'd like a side salad with ranch dressing. I assume all that is on the menu." Luke spoke up first, a sly grin on his face he turned to face the general direction of the server.

"Of course sir." The man replied, starting slightly when he looked up and saw the blind man. Collecting himself quickly he turned to face the other two, "And for you two ladies?"

Leaning back into the cushions of his seat Luke listened to the two ladies order. Some people said that you could tell a lot about a person by the kind of food they ate and he was more than willing to put that to the test. For him, it was about an all american lunch. He had known from the beginning it would either be a burger or Philly Cheese Steak and with the scent of onions and peppers in the air there had been no real question between the two. Pairing it with a salad might have seemed odd but Luke wasn't big on to much grease and salads were healthy... until you drowned them under dressing.

"Is that right, using the company card? Won't they mind?"

Tris rolled her eyes at this comment, saying nothing, but still thinking in very loud and exasperated tones about how this chick could be for real- she seemed too Disney to survive New York for long.

But apparently, little Miss Angel did have a cheeky side, as Victoria, having apparently been finally reassured by Tris and Luke’s continuous assertions that the dinner, the price of said food, and that fact that Victoria didn’t have to pay were all okay, decided to exhibit a hint of this mischievous attitude by saying;

"There are so many nice sounding things. Perhaps I should try a little of everything."

Tris chuckled;
“Now that’s more like it.”
She complimented both the joke and the attitude.

"Is that okay?" ……Tris shook her head- and the Victoria she knew was back.

The waiter came over at this moment, interrupting any reassurances or mocking statement Tris might have said.

"Sorry about the wait folks." A young man said as he walked up, obviously their waiter, "You three know what you want or do you need a few minutes?"

"I think I'll go with a Sweet Tea to drink, Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and instead of fries or onion rings I'd like a side salad with ranch dressing. I assume all that is on the menu." Luke spoke up first, a sly grin on his face he turned to face the general direction of the server.

Tris stared at Luke as he was talking, musing on how incredibly well he got around for a supposed blind man- no seeing eye dogs, canes, or even someone to read the menu for him- was his sense of smell and direction really that good to help compensate for a lack of sight?….Tris had her suspensions, but truth was that she spent so much time around people with exstoniardy abilities now, it was hard to rate ‘normal’.

"Of course sir." The man replied, starting slightly when he looked up and saw the blind man. Collecting himself quickly he turned to face the other two, "And for you two ladies?"

Tris did not even pause to think about it;
"BLT on white please........and for this lovely lady here- anything she wants."
she glanced at Victoria, letting her know she was up to order.

"Too many choices." Victoria muttered. There were several things that she wanted to try

The pressure was mounting, despite the apparent patience of the waiter and Victoria started to get a little flustered. She couldn't decide whether to just have a main or an entree as well or two entrees and that was even before she looked at which of the items to have.

The drink was easier and she decided to start with that.

"Green tea please... do you have green tea?" The waiter nodded, or at least she thought he did and Victoria continued, "No milk or sugar and not too strong. And....I will have.... the Hummm....Humus for an entree." She had no idea what it was but she had decided to be daring. She hoped she wouldn't regret it.

"And....." Victoria paused again, still trying to make up her mind. "The Chicken Salad." Not an exciting choice but she felt she might need something plainer if the Humus turned out to be a little exciting. The smell of steak drifted across from another table and for a moment she wavered but she held firm and having shut the menu handed it to the waiter.

"Thank you." It was mainly directed at the waiter but she included Tris and Luke in it too.

Her meal ordered, Victoria leaned back in the seat. She didn't know what to say and fiddled with her napkin distractedly.

"BLT on white please........and for this lovely lady here- anything she wants." Tris spoke up before turning to look at Victoria.

"BLT... all-american choice. Pretty normal and average which is a good front to hide behind if you want to blend in." Luke thought to himself as he listened to Victoria placer her orders.

"Green tea please... do you have green tea? No milk or sugar and not too strong. And....I will have.... the Hummm....Humus for an entree. And....." Victoria paused again, apparently still undecided. "The Chicken Salad. Thank you."

"Humus and chicken salad?" Luke thought to himself, surprised by the two drastically different choices, "Obviously chicken salad is the safety net but Humus? Different choice that's for sure."

Taking his walking stick in hand Luke carefully pulled the pieces apart so that the normally long handicap stick was now in four separate pieces that could easily lay on the seat next to him. "I guess I look a little odd sitting here with sunglasses on but normally people don't like the look of my eyes." He joked doing his best to keep the mood light, "Maybe people will think I'm a drug dealer or something."

Victoria had been distracted, trying to think of something to say while mulling over the events of the day and so had missed the first part of Luke's statement, only becoming aware of him speaking as he completed his sentence.

"Drug dealer?" She squeaked. The rest of what Luke had said finally made it through into Victoria's brain and she flushed bright red with embarrassment.

Victoria returned to fiddling with the napkin, hoping the food would turn up soon and trying to disappear into the seat. It didn't work. It never worked when she actually wanted it to.

"They must think I am a right Muppet." she thought.

Tris rolled her eyes at what Victoria ended up ordering- chicken salard when she had the whole menu to chose from and an unlimted price limit, how boring.... but since Tris had ordered the BLT, she couldn't really say anything.

Luke spoke up next, his light tone accentuating his words;
"I guess I look a little odd sitting here with sunglasses on but normally people don't like the look of my eyes." He joked doing his best to keep the mood light, "Maybe people will think I'm a drug dealer or something."

Tris gave an easy laugh;
"Maybe."
she commented;
"But that sort of occupation would only be a plus in a dinner companion- there certainly wouldn't be a dull moment all evening."
she finished, joking as well.

But it was Victoria, pricelessly funny human being that she was, whos reaction made the statement all the more fun as her high pitcehed tone squeaked 'drug dealer' in suprise and shock, before subsiding in fidgetity silence.

Tris smiled at Victoria but said in a reassuring voice;
"Though I doubt Mr Jacobs has the temperment of a drug dealer, as last time I checked, drug dealers didn't buy cardians or recuse damsels in distress that they had just met.....though there is always a first time."
She then turned directly to the dark shaded Luke;
"So, since we are on the topic Luke, why dont you tell us more about yourself- who you are, what you do, so we can be assured of the goodness of your character."
Tris said this in a friendly way, yet she would like some questions answered, and wine and food always went well with a friendly interrigation.

Inwardly Luke smiled... so they had finally come down to the questions. Not that he was greatly surprised, he had been expecting Tris to ask questions for quite some time now. It was obvious that she knew he was more than just your average blind man but he figured that maybe he would just throw her a small bone and see just how tenacious she could really be.

"My name is Luke Jacobs, just as I said earlier. I'm a partner in 'Jacobs & Jacobs Security'. My... great-grandfather I believe it was opened up the business in 1881. Originally it was company that hired out security for the wealthy and elite but as times changed my grandfather saw an opportunity to specialize in security systems. Now we're either the fifth or sixth largest security company in New York. I forget which. We still offer security personel to the rich and famous but for the most part we focus on alarm systems."

Luke knew that he really wasn't giving anything away as any of the information he had just passed on could be learned with a brief search on the internet.

"My mother left us and my father died when I was young so I grew up mainly in schools over in Europe since my Uncle really wanted nothing to do with me. After getting an education I came back here and became a small partner with the company as well as the Chief Financial Officer. Circumstances made it necessary for me to leave that position but I still dabble with the company when I have a chance."

Giving his most disarming smile towards the two ladies he quirked one eyebrow so that it just appeared over the top of his sunglasses, "Does that cover it or are there more sordid details that you're interested in?"

"Though I doubt Mr Jacobs has the temperment of a drug dealer, as last time I checked, drug dealers didn't buy cardians or recuse damsels in distress that they had just met.....though there is always a first time."

"I guess not." Victoria replied meekly, still clearly embarrased by her outburst but followed up with, "What?" when she the last part of Tris' comment finally penetrated into her brain, only to be followed by another embarrased look when she realised that Tris was probably teasing her.

Luke told his story, surprising Victoria with his candor and the ease with which he revealed what she thought were quite personal details. She didn't think she could be quite so open.

The talk of his parents, though, reminded her of her own and how they had been snatched from her recently. It had been a traumatic day. Starting work for the first time in her life was bad enough. Going to pieces, not once but twice and losing her job had added significantly to the trauma.

Perhaps she could be forgiven for although she tried, very hard, but Victoria couldn't hold it back, bursting into tears and burying her face in her napkin, her body racked by sobs.