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 Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:39 pm
Phedre was all alone at the Opera that night because her dad had work to do for the opening of his new branch. It seemed like a waste of a perfectly good night but they had the box to use so, well, she couldn't complain too much. This entire city wasn't what she expected. She was used to the New York skyline, a town car driving her to the Met and enjoying the beauty of cityscape when she emerged from the beauty of the play she'd just witnessed. Her feet had somehow always just known the rhythm of Manhattan. She'd been born there, their condo was there, and she'd been criss crossing the city for as long as she could remember.
Now she was in Destiny City which was no where near as large or as impressive. At least they still had Opera and her father finally got a box since it was cheaper here than at the Met. People were grandfathered into those, passing them along old money lines. So she was dressed up in the lobby where everyone was mingling before seating was allowed. It felt kind of boring.
She moved to the counter and would have ordered a glass of wine but her father wasn't here to get it for her and she'd never use something as tacky as a fake ID. Daddy believed that wine could do good things for digestion and didn't mind letting her have a -small- glass at special events. That failing she supposed tea wouldn't be so bad and she could legally order that without a fuss. There'd be enough drama in the show to need to court it out here.
She missed the blond as she bumped into him and blushed to find she had.
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry! I was lost in my own thoughts I guess. Are you alright?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:04 pm
Alexandre wasn't much for opera, never had been much for ballet, plays, or concerts either. He was a fan of classical music, always had been, but he didn't make a hobby of going to things like this. Tonight however he was dressed in his best, meaning he'd bought a new outfit a week ago and had it tailored in to fit his smaller frame. His hair was washed and dry and he had the light scent of cologne clinging to him, he didn't know how some people could bath in it or perfume.
Stepping away from his parents, both of whom were equally well dressed, as they stood and spoke to his mothers client and his wife over wine, he went to find himself something to drink. He had, till now, not even been to the opera. He'd managed, till last week, to avoid joining his parents when they were invited to the opera by some of her more well known clients - such as this one. The man owned a box, planned to pass it along to his poor children, and liked to invite people with him from time to time.
It was as he was headed toward a counter, hoping there would be something he could drink, that he was bumped into. It wasn't as though he had let her simply walk right into him, why would he do that? But rather his own mind was wandering off to just how he had allowed his mother to talk him into this. He supposed it was when she had brought up the lack of time spent together; he always got along so well with his mother.
He had caught his balance before he could fall, he really didn't wish to fall on his a** in a place such as this, and was grateful for his quick reflexes. Turning slate hued eyes on the girl he shook his head. "I was distracted as well - it was my fault as well." He answered quickly, wanting to get past that awkward moment where people apologize and take blame and such. "I'm fine, yourself?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:25 pm
"I'm fine."
Phedre gave him a winning smile, trying to push down her embarrassment. Things like this happened and the formal wear shouldn't fool anyone. She was still just herself underneath the fancy dress and the makeup. She reached out a gloved hand to steady herself and waited a moment to make sure she was stable before she tried to move again.
"I'm Phedre, by the way. So what were you thinking about?"
She knew what she was contemplating but it was probably better not to disclose that to potential new friends as in this society under aged drinking was frowned on and considered uncouth. Her wine would simply have to be for some other night. Maybe they had sparkling apple juice instead and she could fantasize that it was champagne. There we go. That did not scream junior alcoholic to the uptight elite.
"Have you been enjoying the opera so far? Senore Carcelli has a good grasp of romance, don't you find? The lyrics are exquisite."
It simply did not occur to her that not everyone spoke Italian and some people spent an entire opera only having an inkling of what was being said through the motions of the actors. That hadn't been her for a long time and she learned the romantic languages for just this purpose.
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 10:15 am
Nodding his head as she answered his question, she was fine, he wasn't all that surprised that she gave her name. It seemed like the next thing which should come in this conversation, although it hadn't been a conversation till now he supposed, and decided to continue the small talk for the moment. It would be rude to just dismiss her; and he was not rude upfront.
"Alexandre. It wasn't anything important really." At least not to her. It wasn't even that important to him. So when he answered what he'd been thinking about he gave a slight dismissive wave of his hand. For a moment his thoughts slipped back to where they had been and went a bit further in their development - was there anyway he could find an excuse to leave early? He doubted his mother, or father, would permit it. So he was stuck here...bored and mostly clueless.
It was the others voice which pulled him from his thoughts. "Not in particular and I can't speak to the grasp on romance he has or the lyrics. I do not speak nor understand Italian." So he had been, and still was, mostly clueless about this opera and it made it even more boring then it otherwise would have been. At points, when things got very dramatic physically, he would put his own ideas to those movements in order to entertain himself and keep from falling asleep.
He had been made, by an annoying guidance counselor, to take Spanish in high school and was now working toward learning French. He had been working on that since last winter, or right before it actually, and felt he was doing well actually - Paris was a good teacher.
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Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 11:03 am
"Oh, that's terrible!"
Phedre frowned. Not that she expected everyone to speak Italian, mind you, but the opera was so much better when you knew what was going on! She couldn't very well translate everything that had happened in the first half for him word for word. It would take too long and he would probably find it tedious if she tried but she wanted him to have some idea of how beautiful it all was.
"Well, it's terribly sweet. And it's a comedy. Vincenzo is in love with Adelina. His best friend Marco is in love with Bianca. The friends have decided to help each other woo these two young ladies who seem to love them in return. Only Bianca saw Vincenzo practicing what he will say with Marco and believed he was speaking to another woman."
Obviously that would cause hijinks to ensue in the second act. She'd seen this opera before but enjoyed it enough that seeing it again didn't bother her. Obviously he had no seen it before and wasn't sure what was happening. It seemed to her that he was not one of those people that could appreciate the artistry for its own sake by the way he spoke. She nearly chuckled but stopped herself at the last moment.
"You know, I have a box upstairs. Well, my father does. I sort of insisted. Anyway, if you want you and your date could come share it with me. I'd be happy to translate?"
She had unobtrusively translated before when her father wasn't sure of the words. He was a good sport for coming out with her most of the time but it was clear the Opera was not his passion as much as his daughters.
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Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 12:56 am
It might be terrible, and perhaps it really was, but he wasn't too upset with not understanding what was going on but only because he wasn't a big fan of being here. Understanding it might make this better - more tolerable. But either way he wasn't a fan of being here and would love little more, right now anyway, then to go home and find something warm to eat and drink.
Listening as the red haired female told him about the opera he nodded his head while wondering just what issues such a dilemma could cause. It sounded, or at least reminded him, of one of Shakespeare's comedies...but which one? He'd read several of Shakespeare's plays and so shouldn't remember which one this reminded him of. "I see, it does sound more interesting then I'd thought it to be. However, opera still isn't much my thing." He spoke honestly before casting his gaze around them. "Do you know, by chance, if they have anything to drink. Something warm or water even." Since he didn't drink wine, like others here were, or champagne not that he was old enough to do so if he liked either anyway.
"Date...no - no date. I am here with my parents who were invited by a client of my mothers. He has a box here and likes to invite people he does business with. My parents decided it was best to accept the invitation as a family." Rather then just the two of them, and leave him out of this. "I will speak with them and let them know that I will be joining you...if you will be translating this for me." At least it would give his mind something to do; other then making up the story as it went.
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:14 pm
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to assume."
Fay typically didn't bring her dates here for the express reason that they'd probably distract her from her real love. Who could be bothered with that while all of that beautiful singing was going on onstage? She certainly couldn't with boys who were much too forward for their own good. Her father worried about her priorities sometimes but, honestly, she worried about his too.
As Alex explained she nodded understandingly. That was how she was introduced to the Opera as well, being invited along by her father who went often to entertain clients in New York. She just happened to fall in love with it and was glued to the stage ever after.
"Alright. I'll wait here while you tell them. Our box isn't hard to find but, still, it's polite to wait, isn't it?"
The lights flickered to indicate that the intermission was nearly over with. She looked startled and realized what it meant.
"Hurry!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 4:11 pm
"It's alright, I suppose it's a common thing to assume?" He questioned, well sort of, with a certain casual manner. He wasn't here without a date for the same reasons as her though, not that he knew it of course, but this was simply not the place he'd go on for a date - or at all if he had a choice in the matter. An art museum would be a good place, so would an arboretum or some other form of garden. A night at home also sounded good though a night out energy hunting was a very likely date night idea as well, just not with the two people he'd actually dated in the past.
Surprised he nodded and hurried off to find his parents, which wasn't that hard of a task, where he explained things to them as they indicated he should hurry back to this person. They didn't worry over their son going off with some female, so hadn't a worry in him wandering off, as he did so they did tell him to meet them back here when the opera was over with.
With a nod to his parents he did hurry off to find the red haired female, moving through the crowd toward where she last was, was there time for drinks? He hoped so.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 11:48 am
Fay hurried to the bar and asked for an assortment of drinks to be brought to her box, and snacks, too. Since she was a box holder the staff agreed to comply. She wasn't sure what Alex might like but she tried to talk them into champagne as well as other non-alcholic options. Usually when someone tsked about her fondness of champagne she explained that she didn't over-indulge and usually blamed her Italian father and French mother. It was never vilified in their home.
Anyway, when she spotted Alex rushing back toward her she moved to meet him and grinned, grabbing his hand. If they didn't hurry they would miss the beginning of the second act. That was near to a cardinal sin for Phedre. She did not leave him any time to get a drink or ask questions.
The family box was upstairs and was one of the lower boxes, closer to the stage than to the center. There were two plush chairs inside covered in the same red velvet as the rest of the theatre. She took a seat on the left and offered him the right. There was a knock on the door a moment later as the curtain was being raised and a man set a tray of drinks and snacks between them on a small console table.
"I didn't know what you'd like so I got a little of everything."
And, much to her relief there seemed to be a small flute of champagne among the glasses that she plucked up quickly. The bill, of course, would go to her father.
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Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 12:04 pm
Surprised by the greeting upon his return, being grabbed by the hand and hurried off, he cast a backward glance about while wondering about a drink or something. He wasn't about to whine though like some child, that was beneath him, but he did wonder. It didn't seem like he had time to get a drink though, as he was being dragged off back into the theater for part two.
The box was nice, private, and he supposed it was a nice thing really. It would allow her to translate for him and not interrupt other people, or for people to hear him getting help in understanding this whole thing. Less embarrassing for him though his thoughts on such derailed as someone arrived, a knock right before hand signaling someone wishing to join them. "Drinks...and food. They do this?" He was unaware of this and rather surprised and yet pleased, if the smile didn't give that away already. "Thank you, it looks good." Some of the things on the tray he didn't know; but he was willing to try them. Other things he knew and he found himself hungry where he hadn't been before.
"Help yourself to some food also, I can't eat it all." And he honestly didn't want to grab something she might want, after all she was paying and was being the host. It would be rude of him to indulge in something she might want, at least that was his opinion on the matter.
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