"Oh, no, I ran across
Vu by accident,"
Tamra explained. "The last expedition I went on...mind you, no further than base camp, but still..." Tamra said with a shrug. "Anyway, one of the team leaders, during one of the many preparatory meetings, sent me out for doughnuts. This was when I was fairly new to the city, and I had no idea where to find doughnuts, or any kind of bakery, for that matter. That's when one of the typists for the Department suggested I try the lunch counter at Welkins pharmacy. The cook there makes breakfast pastries as well, and sets them out in the morning. And they were unbelievably good. Vu's family moved her from French Indo-China when she was a little girl. Her father was classical trained to be a chef in a French colonial official's home, while her mother was a baker. The family runs their own restaurant, but Vu does the lunch counter on her own during the day, and works at the family's restaurant in the evening."
"As for the guide," Tamra continued, as her and Orson rounded the corner, with Welkin's pharmacy just down the street, "You know the natives of the Lost Continent keep to themselves. And as long as you don't enter one of their forbidden areas, you don't have to worry about your party being overwhelmed by a shower of poisoned darts. Anyway, it was early morning, and all of the teams were out. Theoretically, I was the senior team leader at the base camp while all the other archaeologists were out in the field. But as I told you earlier, I was there mainly to catalog and coordinate. Except that morning, a group of natives showed up, led by a young
shamaness. And her honor guard was completely in awe of her. She walked straight up to me and started talking English. Well, pidgin English, and what little I knew of her language, we understood each other. Except we didn't have a conversation. She asked me a few questions, seemed satisfied with what she learned, and then her and her entourage promptly disappeared."
When Tamra entered the drugstore, she immediately led Orson to a section with seats at a counter and a few tables. The early lunch crowd had already settled in.
"Xin chao, Vu," Tamra shouted to a young Vietnamese woman behind the counter, cooking at a grill. "Tamra!" the woman (presumably Vu) shouted back, waving happily. "Take a seat at the corner, I'll come take your orders in a couple of minutes."
Tamra led Orson to the table in question before continuing her story.
"So, I don't know for sure, but I think if we return to that beach, we might be able to get ourselves a guide," Tamra concluded. "At least, it can't hurt to try. Say, do you trust me enough to let me order for both of us?