Later.

The pie has made its way into my stomach. Very delicious! ~bartender? Tell ~remy that I'll come back for this food. :)

Time for the Schnaps. ¡Salud! Oh, good stuff. So I look around, eh, don't open your eyes! So my mind looks around (much better). ~inquiry has disappeared. Maybe he's gone to the men's room ... but he's amiss for a while now ... did he open his eyes and wiggle back to "here"? Or, oh horrors, did he find the door with the sideways eight and got lost on the way back? Hmmm. Then I notice Smudge sitting on the floor behind where ~inquiry was sitting ... staring into a hole in the ground ... oh well, looks like a self-referential oscillation of space-time has wrapped ~inquiry all up and he is in an undefined state ... what now?

I'm opening the door of The Midnight with the magic spell typed into my trusty dasKeyboard. Of course I spoil the magic on the first attempt. Hmmm. Ok, so I breath slowly, close my eyes --- there's nothing to see on the blank black key caps anyway --- the door opens. Yay! While I enter, my mind registers a small wiggle, barely noticeable. Then I see the familiar room, ~bartender is doing something behind the counter. I can hear noises from the kitchen, and Smudge is of course at my boots, meowing a little to grab some of my attention. Hey ~bartender! Are you all well? ~bartender smiles and nods. Is some of that shepherd's pie still available? Oh nice! Yes please. And a stout. My glasses are still foggy, but I know from last time ... ~bartender? What's this stuff in the middle cupboard? Bottles with some handwritten label? Ya, this stuff? Sure looks like moon shine. Oh, this is some Schnaps from your pal up in the hills? Ah, plums, cherries, pears, mirabelle and similar? Oh, intriguing! I'd like to have a mirabelle then, too!

I smile, I climb on a bar stool much to the dismay of Smudge. A pleasant smell announces my pie. Nice! My stout arrives and I take a sip. Cheers! Then I notice ~inquiry. Hey! Are you "in", too? Don't open your eyes! Of course, we are in and not "here". There's no shepherd's pie "here" but "there", trust me! We giggle like 7th graders. Buen' provecho! Ah, ~eaplmx is there as well, reading the paper. This is going to be a nice evening.

Sorry mates, my food has arrived, and I am hungry. "Dig it!" says ~bartender. I will.