7
Audrey was happilysurprised when she pulled into the parking lot next to the Riverside Recreation Area. When she asked Viv to text her the address her sister’s reply was simply Riverside Rec. Audrey thought she must have been mistaken but sure enough there was a tent that resembled a small wedding tent set up on the far end of the expansive grass area next to the picnic tables.
She got out of her car and looked around as she walked toward the tent, she honestly had no clue what she was in for. She’d never heard of eating in the dark, but she figured she’d just go into it with an open mind. Audrey had gone to dinner by herself plenty of times, but usually she brought a book with her and read while she ate. That wouldn’t be possible since the room was going to be, she assumed from the context clues of the name, dark.
Guilt niggled in her chest, but she was trying to put her abrupt departure from Golden Years out of her head. She felt bad for bailing on the residents, they’d been very disappointed when she’d said that she had to go but she told them she’d be back Thursday. But that hadn’t been as bad as having to take the dogs back to the shelter. The looks on the dogs’ faces when they had to go back in their kennels broke her heart. But she knew that it was better to get them out and socialized and getting pictures of them to put up on the website interacting with the residents. It was a good thing, but sometimes there were hard parts of good things.
As she stepped inside of the tent, she was greeted by an attractive woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties. She was stunning with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair on the roots that gradually got lighter as it went down the length of the strands and was nearly blonde at the tips. She was pretty sure the style was called ombré. She’d thought about doing it, something to switch things up. But she’d never actually pulled the trigger.
She’d never dyed her hair in her life. The last time she was getting her hair cut at The Last Tangle, her stylist Brianna told her that her hair was what the industry called virgin hair because it had never been treated with color.
Even her hair was virgin.
“Welcome to Dining in the Dark. I’m Kenna, it’s Vivien, correct?”
“No. Actually, I’m Audrey. Vivien is my sister, but she got stuck in traffic. So, I’m here instead.”
“Oh, okay. And have you ever dined at a blackout restaurant before?”
“No.” Audrey shook her head.
“Do you want to wait for the rest of your party, or would you like to be seated?”
“It’s just me, so I guess seated.”
“Oh, I have a reservation for two.”
“My sister was probably going to meet someone,” Audrey guessed. “But now it’s just me.”
Kenna smiled and went through the menu that had been preselected to make sure that Audrey didn’t have any allergies or dietary requirements. She asked Audrey to place her cell phone in a small locker and explained what she could expect from the experience. “Guests find that dining in the dark can feel a little overwhelming at first, but once you get acclimated it’s actually very enjoyable. When you take away one of your senses the others compensate, your sense of taste, touch, smell, and sound enhances, creating a unique and pleasurable experience.”
Audrey nodded with a grin that dropped when she saw Kenna pull out a long piece of black material. “What’s that?”
“It’s a blindfold. I’ll put this on you and then place your hands on my shoulders and I’ll lead you inside the dining room, sort of like a conga line.”
“Oh…I thought…I just assumed the room would be dark.”
“It is, but we also blindfold our diners just to ensure that they have a completely blacked out experience.”
“Oh, okay.”
For some reason a blindfold made things feel much more serious to Audrey, even though she knew that at any time she could take it off. Her heart was beating a little faster as Kenna wrapped the material around Audrey’s eyes and secured it behind her head.
“Does that feel comfortable.”
“Yes.”
The next thing she knew her hands were on Kenna’s shoulders, and she was escorting her to her seat. Audrey lowered down carefully, making sure that she could feel the seat beneath her as she did, so she didn’t fall on the floor. When she was safely in her chair, she put her hand on the table and felt the prongs of her fork press against her fingers as a clanking sound of silverware bumping together sounded.
She pulled back her hand like she’d touched a hot stove. “Sorry.”
Audrey wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for, but she felt very out of her element.
“No, that’s good. You should get familiar with the landscape of the table. Where your plate and silverware are and your glass of water. And there is a bell in the center that you can ring if you need me. Normally staff would be in the room, and you would be able to call them over but since this is a private dining experience, just ring the bell and I’ll come in. Would you like a drink before I bring out your salad?”
The way Kenna asked the question made Audrey think that it was more of a suggestion to take the edge off since she was jumpy. If she couldn’t read, she might as well have a glass of wine. “I’ll take a glass of wine.”
Kenna listed Audrey’s options and she went with the house white. “Great, I’ll be right back with your drink.”