“Like what kinda stuff?” Cal admittedly didn’t know much about Germany or German food, except for schnitzels from the local pub at home and pretzels which were a little too dry for his liking, except for the ones with cinnamon sugar on them. He was pretty sure that none of that was authentic German food, however, more like German concepts bastardized by less adventurous pallets. “I’ve always wanted to go to Africa- I don’t know where, maybe Nigeria,” he couldn’t point it out on a map but he had definitely heard of it, “Or South Africa,” that’s where most people traveled when they visited the continent, wasn’t it? “I did a school project on Kenya when I was in primary,” he explained, “I was obsessed with tribal music after my Dad was listening to Graceland by Paul Simon in the car and garage on repeat, every time he played music and then we got to pick a country to make a poster about and I picked Kenya,” it wasn’t a story about Nigeria, he didn’t have one of those for Romy but it was close enough, he thought. He chuckled at her question, “Forty-three actually, you reckon I look younger though?” he asked, tipping his chin as if to help her make an assessment about his age as a goofy grin spread evenly across his face.
He smiled at the assurance that indeed, his explanation was as cheesy as he’d suspected it was. He didn’t mind though, he could be a sentimental sap sometimes and didn’t hate to admit it. “Yeah good one,” he complimented her as she nailed his accent. It wasn’t common, he’d discovered. People always asked him where he was from, identifying his accent as foreign but usually, they suspected he was Australian, English or even South African, depending on what he’d said. “It’s different ay, really different. I don’t know, the people are cool, pretty chill but it’s a real different vibe, I don’t know how to explain it. I feel like a bit of a fish out of water but maybe that’s cos it’s all new to me,” he reasoned, “There’s a lot going on, I’m headfucked trying to keep up with it, to be honest,” he confessed easily. “How long you been here?” he naturally assumed that most people were from elsewhere, having traveled to Los Angeles to be somebody or do something. He tended to forget that like everywhere else in the world, like Paris, London, New York and other iconic cities, Los Angeles had genuine locals, people who had never left or had never been anywhere else, even to visit.
"There’s these cookies called lebkuchen and they’re the best. Little gingery things, I can’t even describe. So good.” Also the alcohol was always really good, but she supposed she should be keeping off of that now. Romy laughed at his story, but it was endearing to hear about a small Kenya-obsessed New Zealander running around. For the most part, she hadn’t focused much on that side of her heritage, it had only recently become accepted by mainstream media for black women to be proud of their ethnicity. “I’ve been to Morocco, Egypt - some of the islands like Cote D’Ivoire. I’ve been to Australia a bunch, not New Zealand though - think I should give it a go?” She leaned theatrically to consider him as he raised his chin for inspection, eventually tapping his cheek and nodding with a smile. “Not a day over thirty-nine.”
His view of LA was one that a lot of people shared, she figured. It was a wild - and expensive place to be, but she needed a lot of stimulation, so anywhere quieter wouldn’t work for her. “I get that. Nobody belongs here until they do - and then you won’t dream about leaving.” She knew people who’d been complaining about how much they hated LA for years and yet they were still here. The tar pits were a good analogy for the rest of the city, it sucked you in. “Nah, I’m all in. I’ve never lived anywhere else - I mean, I’ve moved all over LA, Malibu, NoHo, Pasadena with family, but now I’m just here.” It was only now when she felt like she didn’t know the place. She’d always known the best clubs, the best bars, which liquor stores stayed open later than they were allowed to. Now she had to avoid all of that, had to build up a new city in her head. “It’s so big though, so I figure I still need to do some exploring. I’m Romy, by the way.”
