Tommy and Erika slip into the bistro from the wet street, and the host leads them to a secluded corner near a fogged window. Soft jazz hums under the clink of silverware, and the room smells like espresso, butter, and raincoats drying by the door.
They settle across from each other as the server leaves two waters and a bread basket. The corner feels tucked away, but not invisible, with window light laying a pale strip across the tabletop.
Erika
This is better. Less like an interrogation, more like a test I can actually take.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
Tommy gestures toward the menu, then toward her glass, inviting her to relax and order what she wants.
Erika
She angles her face toward his voice, listening past the music. If this family is as loud as he says, she will need to catch the meaning fast.
A server pauses nearby, waiting politely with a small notepad, while the bistro’s low murmur presses around their quiet table like a curtain.
“I order for us both”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled +0)
Tommy catches the server's eye and gives a quiet, efficient order, one that covers both plates and the table's mood with practiced ease.
The Server
Of course. Any preferences I should note?
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
Tommy orders for both of them, keeping it simple and leaving room for Erika to speak up if she wants to change anything.
Erika
He makes it look easy, like he has done this in harder rooms than this one.
The server scribbles the order and slips away, and the table loosens a little as the small decision lands.
Erika
That was smooth. You always sound that calm when people are watching?
Rain beads on the window beside them, the bread basket sits untouched between their glasses, and Erika keeps her gaze on Tommy, waiting for the answer.
“Only when there's a beautiful woman that coukd kill me in seconds around”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -3)
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
You look like trouble in a dress, and I mean that as a compliment.
The words land cleanly, but Tommy feels the cost in the heat at his collar and the faint slide of sweat in his palm against the tabletop.
Erika
That so? I was aiming for honest. Trouble is just a bonus.
Erika's mouth quirks, then she leans back with a slow, appraising look that keeps the teasing alive without letting it get careless.
Erika
He said it like a man used to walking up to the edge and stopping on purpose.
Outside, rain ticks harder against the window, and the bread basket stays untouched while the space between them feels a little less formal.
Erika
If I'm walking into that dinner with you, I need to know, do I keep it polite, or do I keep it real?
“A bit of both will get you far”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
A bit of both, maybe. Polite enough to survive the table, real enough to count.
Tommy lets the answer sit there, simple and clean, as the rain keeps tapping at the glass beside them.
Erika
There it is, the part people usually dress up. He does not.
Erika
So I do not have to play nice all night, just smart.
Erika straightens a little, the tease easing into something steadier. The bread basket still waits untouched, but her attention does not wander from Tommy.
Erika
Tell me the truth, then, who at this dinner is going to test me first?
The question hangs between them with less bite than before, more invitation than trap, and the table feels settled enough for the next answer to matter.
“It coukd be any one of them”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Tommy gives her the shape of it, not a name, just the pattern. Around his family, any one of them can turn the room sideways if the mood catches.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
It could be any one of them, honestly. Vinny first if he is wound up. Toni if she wants to needle. Joey if he gets comfortable enough to talk too much.
Erika
That is less a family tree than a hazard map.
Erika
So the trick is not guessing who is hardest. It is not letting them drag me into their version of normal.
Rain stitches a brighter line across the window, and Erika’s shoulders ease as the problem becomes legible instead of mythical.
Erika
I can do clear. I can do honest. I just need to know when honesty helps and when it becomes bait.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
She gets it fast. Fast enough to survive them.
The bread basket sits untouched between them, but the silence now feels chosen. Erika waits, steady-eyed, for Tommy to say whether the dinner is a test or a warning.
“I tell her how each of them tests people”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled +2)
Tommy leans in a little, then gives her the map in pieces. Vinny tests with pressure, Toni with needles, Joey with noise and oversharing.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
Vinny pushes until somebody shows nerve. Toni pokes at weak spots. Joey fills the air until people slip and talk too much.
Erika
That makes them easier to read, and harder to fake.
Erika
So I do not need to win them over. I just need to not hand them leverage.
Rain hammers the window harder. Erika straightens, the bread still untouched between them, but her focus is sharper now, almost practical.
Erika
Then tell me this, who is the one I should watch when everybody thinks the room is already decided?
✓ Quest Accepted
Answer Erika’s question about who to watch at the dinner
“Well, Nikki might try to flirt with you.”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled -2)
Tommy lets the silence sit for a second, then answers with a little more care than before.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
Nikki. If she thinks you are interesting, she may flirt with you just to see what happens.
Thomas "Tommy" Capozzi
Do not take it as a green light. Take it as her way of testing the room.
Erika
So the danger is not hidden, it is social.
Erika
That is useful. Annoying, but useful.
A server brushes past the aisle and the water glass on Tommy's side trembles from the vibration, a little spill of rain noise and restaurant noise crowding the corner.
Erika
If she comes at me like that, I will know what it is.
Quest Complete
Answer Erika’s question about who to watch at the dinner