The sun was starting to set which made for a beautiful sight, one he couldn't help but stop and admire. It wasn't often he felt a true moment of peace since she died and he felt guilty immediately after. Exhaling slowly, Shintaro turned his eyes away from the sunset and focused instead on the town just down the road. His reading skills in English was good enough he could read the sign indicating this was Kalispell before him.
Urging his horse forward he road into town at a light trot, not in any particular hurry nor did he want to bring unnecessary attention to himself. Pulling down the brim of his hat, he made sure his face was in shadow. People tend to be more polite and amiable when they didn't realize he was Japanese.
It didn't take long to find the local saloon and from the sounds inside, there were a fair amount of patrons. Shin knew it will be a good place to learn about the locals, especially if they don't realize he spoke perfect English.
Dismounting he tied his horse to the hitching rail and entered the saloon, pausing a moment near the entrance to let his eyes adjust to the difference in lighting and take in the interior. He made his way to the bar and using heavily accented words, he ordered a simple meal and beer before taking a seat where he could observe the room.
A top heavy woman with a painted face approached the seated man, clearly a whore.
"Hullo, Mex! Lookin' for company? I'm Hettie." she asked with a well practiced smile, Hettie didn't know a Japanese from a Mexican, having met none of the former if quite a few of the latter. This john looked like he'd come up from San Jose with a cattle drive to her.
"You look kinda lonesome, and I am too." she tried. He looked sort of handsome for a gaucho - not that that mattered, as long as he had money.
Caroline was standing by one of the tables where four men were hunched over their cards, trying to decide if they were in or out this current poker hand. She liked to chat and watch the games but knew better than to give any hint of what a player might hold. She noticed another fellow come in but didn't get a good look at him, not that she was exactly focusing. He went straight to the bar.
Ralph got a better look but, let's face it, he probably had never seen someone from Japan his entire life and besides the man was wearing normal enough clothing. The man ordered a beer and food.
"We only serve stew here. But it's really good stew," Ralph told the newcomer. As he got a better look during this short conversation, Ralph now was fairly certainly this jasper was a Chinaman, he'd seen Chinamen before.
"Find a table and I'll have someone bring ya yer order," he advised the man. This was a first for the veteran barkeep, having a Chinaman customer. Well, long as his money was American.
As the man headed for an open table, Ralph looked toward Caroline and the two exchanged a wordless signal. That look meant Caroline was needed and she left the cardgame.
Now by the time Ralph poured the beer and Caroline fetched a steaming bowl of beef stew to take to the stranger, wouldn't you know it but Hettie was over by the fellow being her usual annoying self. Caroline disliked the whores but the owner allowed them to ply their wares. And Hettie never missed an opportunity.
ooc: I'll give Shintaro and Hettie a moment to chat before Caroline will show up at his table with the beer and stew. :)
Quentin sat at his table, nursing a drink and reading the local paper and catching up on some of the larger ones he paid to have sent to Kalispell. Currently Quentin had the San Francisco paper open and was perusing the various articles when the newcomer walked in. The hair and skin tone immediately caught Quentin's attention but his initial thought of an Indian were dispelled when he heard the man order a drink and some food. His eyes narrowed with thought as he pondered the man.
Cantrell watched the man walk over and settle in to a seat and wait for his meal. A smirk immediately drifted across his face as Hettie swooped on him with all the subtlety of a vulture on a fresh corpse. Quentin gave a head shake and went back to his reading about the goings on in Frisco.
Shintaro grunted and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment to the man who took his order. Stew was find though he did miss the cuisine of his homeland. It was fortunate he had long ago adapted to Western cusine as outside of Chinatown in San Fransisco he would be hard pressed to find anything but.
He had barely settled into his seat when a woman came to his table and introduced herself. He wasn't a stranger to whores frequenting saloons and other locales, he had seen plenty of them in his travels. Not that he ever spent time with any, they were definitely nothing like even the common yūjo of his homeland, not that he had time to indulge in such things.
"No, so sorry," he said, purposely saying his words with a thick Japanese accent. Hopefully she wouldn't press him, he truly didn't want to be impolite.
"No, so sorry,"
Hettie shrugged. Fella must be either broke, tired, religious, scared of catching something or a pansy. One or the other.
"Why that's all right, I understand." she said. Clearly, she didn't, but some men craved to be understood by woman - often their wives 'didn't understand them', or so they said as she saw to their carnal needs "Maybe another time, huh, Mex?" she smiled and lifted her hefty body off the chair with a creak (either of the overburdened chair legs or her overburdened corsets, who knew?) She looked over.
"Oh, here comes the serving-girl with your vittles, anyway - maybe when you've had something to eat you'll be feeling a little stronger. I'll be around." she smiled as she drifted off looking for further prey. Hmmm, who was in? Cantrell? Uh-uh. He might be the fastest draw in Montana, but he'd never shown any interest in getting his little six-shooter out for her. Oooh, there was Jimmy Miller with wad of bills in his wandering hands, now this was more like it!
She passed Caroline, carrying the stranger's stew, en route.
"Careful, little serving maid, don't spill any" she advised, smirking.
@[Anybody]
Caroline smirked when she saw the stranger indicate zero interest in Hettie. The whore would just have to find somebody else. Well, Jimmy Miller was present, he was an idiot, the pair would be a good match. Caroline and Hettie passed by each other, going opposite directions, Caroline heading for the customer.
"Careful, little serving maid, don't spill any" Hettie just had to say something.
"Fuck off!" hissed Caroline with a glare but by the time she reached this new cowpoke she was all charm and smiles.
"Howdy! You wanted a beer and a big bowl of beef stew, right?" she greeted him, not even waiting for an answer because she knew she was right, setting down the tray in front of the man. The beer was foamy and filled right to the brim but she did not spill a drop as she took it off and tree and set it onto the table. Next came the stew, oh and a big spoon too.
Now she got a good look at the jasper. Oh my, he was not the kind of cowboy she was used to. He was a....a...
"Pardon me bein' nosey n' all, but are you a Chinaman?" she boldly inquired, "I've seen a few of your kind in the distance but never up close."
But she did not forget her saloon duties either, "Oh before ya sample the goods, that'll be thirty cents, beer's a nickel, stew's a quarter."
@Ldypayne
He was glad the yūjo didn't push her attentions upon him, he simply didn't desire her at all. The lost of his wife was still too fresh in his mind and he certainly wouldn't lie with another woman till her death was avenged. He missed her touch, the scent of her skin, no other woman could compare.
Blinking in feigned incomprehension he watched as the yūjo stood up, giving him a clear view of her cleavage as she rose. It made it easier to ignore the taunt about his strength, whether it related to physical or his virility. Shintaro had learned the American culture was very different from his own and he couldn't expect them all to have the same manners as his.
He turned his attention to the waitress, smelling the aroma of the stew she was carrying expertly on a tray.
"Arigato," he responded then paused as she asked him if he was Chinese. In any other place he would consider that an insult but it wasn't the first time he was mistaken for one. Given it was only around five years or so since the Emperior allowed his people to travel to foreign lands its not surprising he would be mistaken for Chinese.
He sighed and shook his head, "Japanese, not Chinaman," he clarified, keeping his accent thick. Her question answered, he focused on paying for his drink and meal. He didn't have a huge amont of money but he wasn't broke yet. His search for his wife's killer was keeping him from working and his savings won't last him for much longer. Hopefully his search would end soon and he could see his wife was avenged. After that it may not matter if he had monety anymore.
Pushing the coins across the table he looked at her and gave a slight bow of his head.
The man replied to her 'howdy' with ....umm, arri..something? Well, had to be Chinese and she didn't speak Chinese so she ignored it. She wouldn't be any better of course if she was in China. He probably didn't speak American very well.
Caroline had never been shy so she outright asked him if he was a Chinaman.
He sighed and shook his head, "Japanese, not Chinaman."
"Japanese...is that like near China?" she was puzzled. Geography was something she'd never learned, she had never attended a school and her folks (such as they were) at least taught her basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.
When Caroline had to ask for the money, lest a customer drink and eat and then plead they were broke (oh Ralph would not like that!), he produced the necessary coins. No change needed. Course no tip either. Foreigners...
Pushing the coins across the table he looked at her and gave a slight bow of his head. Undaunted she scooped up the money then stood right there still studying him.
"Hey, my name is Caroline. What's yers? What brings ya to Kalispell, if I might ask?"
Of course the plan was, be friendly like, chat a bit, get him to order another beer maybe and then less than subtly mention she was awfully thirsty too. Men jumped at the chance to buy a pretty gal a drink. Japanese men must be the same, right?
It was fast becoming apparent the serving woman was a talkative one and he would only go so far in pretending he wasn't understanding everything she was saying. In the past once payment was given, he was left alone so he could focus on listening to what was being said around him and use it to his advantage. To continue pretending to not understand or speak much English now would just be rude and dishonest.
He nodded when she asked where Japan was. Korea was closer but he didn't think she would know where Korea was anymore than his homeland.
"Shintaro Takahashi," he responded with only a slight hesitation. Despite being a few years in American now a lifetime of always giving one's family or clan name first when introducing one's self was a hard habit to break. It always puzzled him why Westerners didn't do this as well, so many put as much importance in their family name as his own people. Westerners had so many strange customs which still baffled him.
He paused after given his name, knowing he couldn't just say he was looking for his wife's killer. The man he was looking for he didn't have a name and only a basic description yet he knew he would recognize the person if he saw him again. There was only one person he could think of who would harm his wife and that same person had left San Francisco the day after his wife's death. Unfortunately the local police didn't do anything, stating there wasn't any proof. In fact they assumed it was another Chinaman, despite him pointing out he and his wife weren't Chinese. If he didn't have a solid alibi he was certain they would have assumed he was the one responsible.
"I hope to find work," he responds, deciding it was a better reason and not an unexpected one. It wasn't a complete lie, as he would need to find some work soon as it was to ensure he didn't run out of money before he found who he was looking for.