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“Yeah, I suppose a Motel 6 probably wouldn’t give off the same vibe.” I snicker, giving him a raised eyebrow.
“Maybe not, but at least they would leave a light on for you,” Trey replies, instantly getting my humor.
“What are you two talking about?” Liv scoffs, scrunching up her face.
“You never heard the Motel 6 commercials as a kid? This is Tom Bodett and we’ll leave a light on for you.” I mimic, before laughing out loud. “We stayed in several of them as a kid when we would go on family road trips.” I foolishly admit.
“Where did you grow up?” Trey asks.
“I was born in New York actually, but we moved to Lynchburg, Tennessee when I was seven.”
“Ah, the home of Jack Daniels,” he immediately responds. “What do your parents do?”
“Dad actually went to work for Brown-Forman which is why we moved there, he’s the head of marketing. He always used to point out how clever those Motel 6 radio ads were and tried to come up with something just as clever for Jack Daniels. I honestly think that’s why we stayed at Motel 6. He was trying to tap into the vibe.”
Trey smiles. “We’ll age a bottle for you!”
“Exactly… he was obsessed,” I tell him emphatically. “He would run jingles past my sister and me all the time when we were kids. We were rarely impressed.”
“Do they still live there?” Trey asks, seeming genuinely interested.
“Yeah, they’ll never leave. My mom’s family lives there too,” I explain, even though I’m not so sure Dad is as happy there as Mom.
“What’s your dad’s name?” he asks, catching me a bit off guard.
“Ray,” I reply, not immediately seeing the harm in giving him that tidbit of information.
“Ray Gray?” He cocks his head and furrows his brow.
“Uh, yeah. Kind of funny, huh?” Shit. I didn’t think that one through.
“Why didn’t you pick up a southern accent?” Liv turns to me, finally joining the conversation.
“Oh, I did. It didn’t take me long to lose it though once I got into Berkeley. Sometimes people judge you based on how you sound, so I tried hard to change it. When I was in my teens, I would say y’all a dozen times a day.”
“I’ve always thought a southern accent was sexy as hell.” Trey counters.
“Really?” Liv scrunches up her face again and looks at him as if he’s an alien. She really shouldn’t do that with her face.
Luckily, two servers arrive with our drinks and appetizers so the whole line of questioning is dropped. The first server pours each of us a glass of Saki and a small glass of Mijiu. “Would you bring Liv a Gran Patron margarita on the rocks, please?” Trey asks.
“Sure thing, Mr. Addison.” He smiles at both him and Liv before hustling off.
The second server sets down a salad in front of each of us. The one he places in front of Liv is a Tuna Tataki Salad and based on the color of the fish it looks extremely fresh. Liv, however, is visibly upset that the tuna is served raw. “Don’t they even sear it?” she fumes.
“Apparently not. Here take this one.” Trey quickly trades with her, giving her a lobster and baby spinach salad. She takes a sip of the Mijiu, which is a rice based Japanese wine and once again gives us her sour face. “Just have a few sips of water. Your margarita will be here shortly.” He rubs her arm trying to pacify her.
“You always pick such freaky restaurants! Don’t they cook anything here?” she continues, as the three variations of Sashimi arrive, each containing a different type of raw meat or fish. Another waiter sets a plate of Octopus Carpaccio down in front of her and she completely loses it. “I can’t do this!” She jumps up and glares at the two of us.
“I can order you a beef fillet,” Trey offers. “You can order it as well done as you like.”
“No! I’ve completely lost my appetite!” She picks up her margarita and takes a sip. “I’ll just take this back to the room.”
She continues to look back and forth between us, but neither Trey nor I object to the idea of her going back to the room. She scowls at both of us before turning her back and walking away.
“Were we supposed to stop her?” I ask Trey, looking for a little direction.
“Yes. I’m supposed to drop everything, pay the bill and take her to that stuffy restaurant on the lower level, because that’s where she wanted to eat. Unfortunately for her, I really want to try all of this stuff. So you can either help me eat it or go back to the room with Liv.”
