Joyous Friendship Over Fish And Wine
Thirteen Years #43: The story of a friend, and his fight with AIDS

Half an hour later, the five friends joined the line outside the Ocean Basket.
“I think we will not get in soon,” Isaac said after they had been standing in the line for about fifteen minutes, “let’s try the restaurant over there.”
Isaac pointed to the other side of the street. Just then, a server came downstairs. They had a table free for a larger party. Three couples in front of them were not allowed in, since the management of the restaurant didn’t want to seat two people at a table where at least six people could sit. The first larger party in line was Isaac, Annie, Jacques, Jeanne and Kathy. They followed the server upstairs.
The ambience inside the restaurant equaled mood between the friends — relaxed and pleasant.
Jacques and Jeanne each ordered calamari, while the other three ordered fish — kingklip. They served the food in frying pans. Inside the frying pans, which were placed on a wooden coaster in front of each of them, were not only the calamari or fish they had ordered but also the rice they had ordered with it. Their salads were in separate bowls. Annie and Jacques watched the other three and saw they could eat their dinner from the frying pan, which was quite an experience. Annie noticed the food stayed warm longer than it would have on a normal plate.
During dinner, they had a couple of laughs again, when Kathy impulsively used her favorite word. They just couldn’t stop teasing her. Another part of dinner was the conversation about their plans for the following day.
“Tomorrow is the last full day that you will be here,” Jeanne said. “What do you want to do?”
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