Breaking Through

"No need to apologize. It's like something out of a movie," Kayla crooned, leaning back in her chair and raising her closed eyes to the ceiling. "I have always wished for a romantic love story like that! But I've never had so much as a boyfriend." She chuckled, then, but the laugh didn't reach her eyes. Her fingers fidgeted with the phone on the table before disappearing into her lap.

Eric sensed his sister's discomfort through his lifetime of practice, and almost without realizing it he threw himself into his usual role of protector and cheer-er. "You will, sis. You just have to leave the flat once in a while!" He winked and jammed his pointer finger into her side, which caused her to fly back a little in surprise like she always did. "Who knows? Maybe your story will start here in this little cafe just like all the cheesy rom-coms you insist on watching whenever you think I'm not paying attention."

"I feel for your husband, Daizi. I would like to meet him someday, I think." Damien looked at his watch, realizing that nearly an hour had passed already and sighed. "I have to bail soon. I've got a- I've got places to be."
 
"Well, you may have, actually," She replied, "you go to the community college, right? You and Eric? He teaches there, so if you've taken a history class, you may have had him already. We don't have the same last name: his is Dark... if you haven't taken history yet, and still need to, you should take his class, he's so passionate." She truly was enchanted by him, but then again, if either Eric or Damian had taken one of his classes, they'd know the frequency with which he said the phrase, 'my wife,' and how he frequently interjected adjectives of high praise between the two words.

Rose shrugged, "Men are overrated. Daizi's lovestory, isn't, of course, but men as a whole? None for me thanks," she laughed, although it was partially to hide the pain of her recent breakup. She couldn't even think about dating someone new, yet, and hearing such a lovely story made her ache, but she didn't want anyone to know that. She checked the time after Damien's comment and swore under her breath, "I have to go, too, I've got to get to Emilia's, and make myself look more professional."

Tarot nodded, and was about to speak but grimaced slightly, and rubbed a specific section of her abdomen. A bit later her face relaxed and she said, "My husband has therapy on these nights, I have to feed our dog and start dinner. Only night of the week I cook, unless he's sick or I want to surprise him. I just go on my lunch hour, though, I'm too exhausted at the end of the day to go to therapy in the evenings, especially now." She clearly was not ashamed that she dedicated time to care for her mental health, and never tried to pretend like she didn't need it. Recently she had been attending twice a week, as recommended by her therapist, because she was in an precarious spot, and they decided it would help with the transition.

But although she agreed she needed to leave, too, she stayed sitting, both hands on her middle, and one long leg tucked underneath her. Rose glanced at her and wished desperately she was one of those brave, foolish people daring enough to just ask, but she knew she wasn't, and would have to just be patient enough for the older woman to say something, or come in with a baby one day.

"Oh," Rose said, as she gathered her things, "I suppose we should have the first chapter read by our next meeting?"
 
"Yes, perhaps the first two. I think there are twelve? That would get us finished just about perfectly before midterms." Eric picked up his copy of the book and checked the contents, nodding as his memory was proven correct. "I'll be honest, I've never actually done the whole book club thing, so I apologise if this has been so very unconventional."

He stood and stretched, brushing some crumbs from his lap and gathering his belongings. Kayla joined him, piling the dishes to make the cleanup easier on the waitress. "I'll wait here while you pay for the refreshments."

Eric nodded and stalked off toward the barista, while Kayla turned back to Damian, Daizi, and Rose. "It was a pleasure meeting you all. I think it's going to be fun discussing the book and getting to know you better."

"You too," Damien replied. "See you next week." He ran his fingers through his messy hair and left quickly, disappearing into the street before the door even properly closed.
 
"Oh, I could have payed," Daizi said, carefully standing, as she did she lifted up her bag, "I'll get it next time, I guess," she rubbed her back, "I'll see you all next week--well, not see, obviously, but... well, you understand." She smiled, and took her collapsible white cane from her bag, and headed to the street to hail a cab.

"I suppose I shouldn't do this but... catch one of my streams on twitch... you can find it just by searching my name, but the screen name is actually CelticRose," she said, gathering her things,"you don't need t'do anything. I'm not asking for a follow or anything, but you know... you might enjoy having it on in the background. I enjoyed meeting you all, I can't wait for next week." She put her hat back on, and on her way out the door, she put some money in the tip jar. Then, with a slight, polite, wave, she headed out.

She was unlocking her bicycle from the rack, and offered to stay and wait with Daizi until she caught a cab, not wanting to leave a probably-pregnant blind woman standing alone on the street corner, but when she was told she didn't have to, she hopped on her bike and rode home.
 
The twins departed the cafe and walked up the street. They shared a flat just a block up, so there was no need to catch a ride. "That went better than I expected," Kayla tossed out when they were well away from the doors. "Everyone seems quite lovely. I was convinced we'd either end up with nobody or with a bunch of snobs."

"That anxiety of yours is ridiculous. Doesn't it ever take a holiday and let you enjoy your life? It's not all doom and gloom, you know. Things actually do go right most of the time." The blonde man flashed his sister a cheeky grin and offered his arm. "Come, my fair maiden. Let's go home and lose ourselves in a fantasy land for a while."

Kayla smacked her brother's shoulder playfully before linking her arm in his as they had since they were children. "I have heard good things about this book. Hopefully it's as enjoyable as the reviews say."

Five minutes later they stood outside their flat, fishing keys out of their pockets to get inside. No sooner had Eric pushed the door open than the pair of them dropped their bags on the floor and retired to their favorite places to sit: the left end of the couch for Eric, and the giant bean bag in the corner for Kayla. Each pulled out their copy of the book and fell into an easy silence.

Once outside the cafe, Damien pulled a skateboard from the bushes where he had hidden it and jumped aboard. He smiled at the sensation of the breeze on his face as he rolled down the street toward his psychologist's office.

He felt good about how the book club meeting had gone. It appeared his gamble at telling about his parents had gone over alright; nobody had mocked or smothered him over it, so that was a definite win. Besides, his therapist would be glad to hear that he left the house and interacted with other people.
 
Rose bicycled home to her small, simple flat. It wasn't spectacular by any means, although it was positively overflowing with plants. She didn't even particularly enjoy plants, but she didn't feel right owning a pet, considering how much time she spent going back home to Ireland. Since her main source of income was as a high school music teacher, she had summer break and winter break, and she spent all of those back home with her family. Either way she had to find a sitter, obviously, but her plants didn't miss her like an animal would. She had actually only just returned back from her homeland a few weeks ago, for the start of the new school year.

Of course, all she really had the time to do was run down the hall to her bedroom, toss her hat onto her bed, throw some makeup on, and change into a white and gold cocktail dress. Then, right before she ran out the door, she grabbed a prefilled water bottle from her refrigerator, and hopped back on her bike, and peddled to the restaurant where she "performed." She ran in through the backdoor, put her bag in it's proper place, and within twenty minutes of arriving, she was playing some simple, mindless mood music for the Thursday night patrons, the majority of whom were there on buisness.

Daizi, meanwhile, rode home in the taxi. Her house was, something, but she was a nearly forty year old woman working a lucrative career, and her husband worked a semi-lucrative career... and also she came from money, but she just walked right inside as if it were nothing. Her dog happily hurried up to her, and rubbed himself against her legs, and tried to go through her legs, but was blocked by her ankle length dress.

"Hey, baby, hi, did you miss me?" She asked, scratching him behind his ears, and then hung up her bag on a hook. Then she did exactly what she said she was going to do: she fed her dog, and started on dinner. She put on the audiobook version of In Olden Tymes and was about an hour into it when her husband cane home.

"I'm in the kitchen," she called, hearing him enter, "how was therapy?"

"Same as always. How was your meeting?" he replied, gently taking the wooden cooking spoon from her and taking over the meal preparations, so that she could sit down.

She rested her feet on one of the other stools at their island counter, and once in a comfortable, reclining position, she said, "Well, I'm the oldest one there by a mile, I forgot to let them know I can't see, and we did this getting to know you game that kept making me cry--which I blame you for--but... they're good kids, and I enjoyed my time. And I got to tell them about how we ran away together, which they found extremely romantic."

"Well it is romantic," he grinned, slipping on an apron and then taking a moment to give her a kiss, "a star dies with less passion than we have in our most mundane moment."

"Oh shut up," She laughed, "you're not as poetic as you think you are."

"Perhaps not on a dime."
 
Late afternoon had broken over the village before Kayla closed the book and stretched. Eric had wandered off somewhere about half an hour earlier, so she had the flat to herself. She leisurely wandered over to the refrigerator and opened it to see what was inside. A few containers of leftovers, condiments, carrot sticks...eh. Nothing really called out to her, so she closed the door again and returned to her chair.

She didn't have to go to work for another couple of hours, so she considered picking the book back up. It was quite good, as she had hoped. The five main characters seemed fairly relatable (at least to her) and the unexpected quest trope always managed to catch her interest. These characters were headed to a cave deep within a mountain to seek out a dragon. What's not to love?

Before she could pick up the book, however, she heard the clink of metal on metal. She froze and pricked her ears, not hearing the sound again. Huh. Must have been the neighbors washing metal dishes or something. Her muscles relaxed and her eyes flitted to her bedroom door. A nap actually sounded quite good. She was working a graveyard shift, after all, and would be grateful for all the sleep she could get.

~~

Meanwhile, Eric wandered the streets of the little hamlet, hands in his pockets and a whistle on his lips. He always went for a walk when he was nervous, and nervous explained him perfectly right now. A feeling of being watched prickled at the back of his neck, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't spot anyone so much as glancing his way.

The feeling had subsided slightly when he set down the book, but had not disappeared. He had hoped that if he got some fresh air he would be able to get rid of the paranoia. His favorite sweets shop came up on the left and Eric shrugged. Why not get himself a bit of a treat? He had already worked out before the book club meeting, so a little something something wouldn't hurt.

~~

"I went out and met some new people today."

Matthias looked up over the rim of his glasses and nodded, a smile on his freckled face. "That is great! What brought about this turn of events?" The therapist held a quill pen in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, his eyes focused on the tousel-haired young man before him.

"Well, one of my professors offered extra credit if I would join one of the book clubs that the advanced literature class was sponsoring. I could always use some cushioning for my grade, so I decided to pick up the book and go. It wasn't too bad, but I might have messed up during our get to know you exercise." Damien's eyes flashed and he continued looking at the ceiling as he always did. Matthias nodded again, scribbling a few notes in the brown notebook he always carried.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Matthias waiting for Damien to continue unprompted, while Damien waited for Matthias to ask for clarification. Finally, Matthias acknowledged that Damien wasn't quite there yet and broke the stalemate. "So, what happened? Tell me all about it, my boy."

"We were doing this exercise where everyone starts a story about themselves, and then after five minutes it gets passed to the next person to add onto. I...couldn't think of anything else to choose, and started telling the story of how I found out my parents had been killed. I'm positive that I made everyone uncomfortable, and I'm nervous to go back again next week."

"That is definitely a heavy start," Matthias agreed, though he offered Damien a gentle smile. "But I am glad that you were willing to open up to others about that. Do you remember how it took us weeks to get to that point?" Damien nodded and Matthias continued. "So that is a good thing. Did anyone seem to have a negative reaction to your story or treat you negatively for sharing it?"

Damien thought for a few moments before shaking his head. "No, not really. I mean, the older lady started to cry, but she also cried over a story about a four year old's birthday party, so I don't know that it really counts. Everyone seemed to be pretty supportive, actually."

"Wonderful! Well, I think you should definitely continue to attend this book club. Make some friends, enjoy some literary adventures, and tell me all about it next week. Is Saturday still a good day for you?" Damien nodded and Matthias jotted a note in his book before showing him to the door. "Alright, see you next week then!"
 
"Did you tell them about their sixth member?" Daizi's husband asked as he set the table.

"Not yet, I'm kind of hoping one of them will be daring enough to ask me about it, and then naturally I'll tell them, 'I'm not pregnant,' and let them dangle and squirm for a bit," she laughed, and was about to make her way over to the table when she paused, and asked, "Babe, were you hanging out with Cooger?"

"Mm, no. Why do you ask? And..." he shook his head, cracking a smile, "why do you like pulling that prank so much? Every time someone asks."

"You smell like the forest, and not, you know... like you." She said, and after it sounded like he wasn't carrying anything anymore, she wormed her way between his arms, partially because it was the end of a long day, and she missed him, but mostly because she was trying to figure out why she was smelling the woodlands in a house that typically smelled like spice and incense. Of course, being so close to her husband only confused her more because... he did smell like himself, and not at all like the forest.

"Well, Spider, I have not been anywhere near the woods today," he replied, smoothing her hair, "but we should eat before it gets cold. And tell me more about the meeting, what book are you reading?"

~~~~~~~~~

Rose hadn't begun reading the book yet, because she was at work. However, late at night, when she finally made it home, she cracked it open while she ate leftover Thai food from the container. Then, she went to bed, leaving the dishes for the morning. However, she woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, after a dreamless sleep, and out the window she swore she saw fire. She lept from bed, and threw her window wide, only to see nothing but street lamps.

"I must have been having a nightmare and forgot," she thought, and crawled back into bed, but it didn't feel like a dream at all, and come morning she still remembered it vividly, as though it had only just happened.
 
"We're going to be late!" Kayla stood at the front door, pack over her shoulder and umbrella in her hand. "Don't forget to grab your slicker and umbrella, Eric. It's pouring like someone up there forgot to turn off the tap." She checked her watch and growled, wondering why she was the one worrying about whether they'd be on time or not. It wasn't like she was even taking the class...

Eric finally emerged from the restroom, a towel around his waist and a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. Kayla stared at him in disbelief. "You aren't even dressed?!" She felt the color rising in her cheeks and her hands balled up into fists. "This is why you're never going to get married. You'd drive your wife right off the edge!"

"Oh come off it, Kales. It takes like five minutes to walk to the cafe. We don't even have to be there for fifteen. Just sit down and relax for a minute, okay? Unlike you, it only takes me a couple of minutes to get dressed." He flashed her his trademark grin and disappeared into his bedroom, ignoring the growl from the doorway.

He emerged five minutes later, dressed and ready to leave. "Told you so. Let's go." Kayla sighed, tossed the door open, and stepped out into the deluge. The pair rushed down the sidewalk, boots splashing in growing puddles.

When they reached the coffee shop, they stepped inside and closed their umbrellas, shaking them off under the small awning before pulling them through the door. They wiped their feet on the mat and looked to the same table they had occupied last week.

Damien already sat there, wearing actual pants and a t-shirt today. He smiled and waved, looking much happier than the week before.

"Hey, man!" Eric called out, crossing the shop and dropping into the chair next to Damien. "Good to see you! Glad we didn't manage to scare you off last time with our inexperience." He offered his hand for a handshake and Damien took it firmly. "You enjoying the book?"

"Sure am, you?" Eric nodded and scooted over a little for Kayla to join him. "Interested to see what Daizi and Rose think, too."
 
Just like the following week, Daizi was there early, except this time she seemed to be having a conversation with a mother and her seven year old son. She could be heard saying, "and finally: ten of cups, inverted. It suggests strife amongst family or friends. Do you know what that means? No? It means... fighting, arguments, do you understand? You do? Great, so, having you been fighting with your mother, lately? No? What about your friends at school?"

While she was having this conversation, Rose entered the coffee shop looking like a drowned rat, because she had been stuck in the rain because she had extremely curly hair which, after being rained on, puffed up and frizzed out, making her look like a mess. She stood for a few moments in the doorway, trying to squeeze some of the water from her billowy, olive green blouse, and then put her hair up into a bun so her hair didn't look too much like a high school theatre's discount Annie wig, and after she felt she was dry enough to not make a mess, she sat down in the same seat she sat in the previous week, "This rain came out of nowhere, I swear," She sat her bag down beside her, alongside a small, somewhat beat up, black instrument case, "how are you all this week?"

After finishing her conversation, Daizi made her way over, rubbing her lower back with the slightest grimace on her face. She was in another ankle length dress, and this time her sunglasses were black with gold rims to match the golden stars and moons on her black dress, and she made her way over to the big arm chair she sat in last time.

She yawned through her greeting, and then, apologized saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well last night. Hello, I hope we all returned this week and that nobody was scared off. I thought I heard everyone's voices."
 
"We are indeed all here," Eric replied with a grin. He set his pack on the table and pulled out his book just in case he ended up needing it. He also pulled out a notebook, pencil, and his cell phone. "I'm a little more prepared this week. At least I like to think I am." He chuckled and turned to the waitress who had stepped up to the table with pad in hand. "Hello again! I'll have another cocoa and a chocolate muffin, please."

She nodded and looked at the others at the table expectantly. Damien again shook his head and motioned to his bottle of water, mumbling something about being all set. "I think I'll have some hibiscus tea and dry toast with jam. Raspberry jam, if you have it." Kayla turned her green eyes on the waitress with a gentle smile. She nodded in affirmation before turning her attention to the other ladies.

"Anything I can get for you dearies today?"

After the waitress had gone back to the counter, Eric looked around the table. "So I guess we might as well start what we all came here to do. How are you guys enjoying the book? Who is your favorite character? I think mine is Sir Gawain. I know he's just your typical dashing knight, but I think his jokes are great. I've also always enjoyed a manly man who isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes, even when it's unpopular."

"I couldn't really bring myself to put it down, but that's how I am with pretty much every book. I don't know if I just have low standards for books or what, but I've come across very few I /don't/ like." Kayla shrugged and flipped through the pages. "It wasn't easy to stop at the end of chapter two! But I think my favorite is the princess. I love that she doesn't just conform to the standards that her society tries to impose on her. She is so brave, leaving despite the king's orders and joining the adventure party. I really wish I were that brave."

Damien thought for a moment, his eyes on Kayla. "I bet you could be just as brave, Kayla. You just have to be given the opportunity. You'd be amazed what you're capable of when you have no other choice." He winked and returned his eyes to the table. "I think my favorite character is Puffin, the thief. Even though he feels out of his element and kind of out of place with the others, he still finds ways to make his skills useful to the party. He makes himself in place, and I think that's awesome."
 
"It's somehow become the first book we're reading as a family," Daizi said, "I listen to an audiobook version, because I couldn't find it in braille, and sometimes I'll have it playing when my husband is around, and he likes it, too. He actually went out and bought his own copy, because he likes to read along to audiobooks, and he's kind of taken over the official recording... we've started spending time just on the couch together, and he'll read it, with his head resting on me like a pillow..." she sighed, and like always, her hands rested comfortable on her stomach. Again, she ordered a bizarre food combination: this time (upon thinking it sounded good when Eric ordered it), she asked for a chocolate muffin, but asked for a side of hot sauce, ketchup, and (if it was possible, and wouldn't be too much trouble), ham, since they had it in stock for their sandwiches, "he says I'm like the mage, but, I don't know... I like her character, and I love the idea of wearing those flowing robes, but our physical descriptions... don't match." She waved a hand in front of her face slightly, trying to gesture to her overall asymmetric and less-than-attractive features.

"As a family--" Rose began to ask, but quickly stopped herself, and said, "I like the ranger character--although I'm forgetting his name at the moment, which is embarrassing, seeing as we're all here just t'discuss the book... I suppose he isn't really as major as the other characters, but I like that he's steady. Dependable. We're only on chapter two, so there isn't that much t'be said about any of the characters, but I like how gentle he is, while still being unabashedly himself... oh, and I actually do archery competitions myself, so I like t'think I can do the things he does, too."

Daizi leaned back a bit, and said, "I suppose we might want to talk about the reading time frame going forwards. Are we planning on sticking two chapters a week? It isn't a problem for me, because I take the train into the city work every day, but I know Eric and Damien, you two are both in college." Time occurred to her quickly, because each week seemed to be going by extremely quickly to her, and more so than the average person, she was (of course) keeping close track.
 
Damien nodded, taking a long pull from his water bottle. "Outside of class and rehearsal, I don't have much going on. This week's chapters actually only took me a couple of hours to read, so I'm not too worried." He ran his fingers through his messy hair and leaned back so the chair stood only on two legs. The waitress shot him a glare across the room and he quickly lowered the chair, a sheepish look on his face. "We can always re-evaluate later on, but for now I'm alright."

"I'm alright as well," Eric responded. "I'm a pretty fast reader. I could honestly finish the whole book by the end of the week if I really wanted to." He chuckled and ignored Kayla rolling her eyes at him. "Besides, I don't even have anything like rehearsals to attend. I'm probably the most boring college student you've ever met."

Kayla nodded in agreement at that statement, giggling. "You can say that again! Unless you are going out for groceries or sweets, you never leave the flat. You need to get some hobbies." She stuck her elbow in her brother's ribs, and he jammed his into hers in retaliation. Remembering that they were in the presence of company, the pair quickly straightened and pretended nothing had happened. "I think it's adorable that you and your husband are reading it together, Daizi. That is so romantic!"
 
"It's more our codependency than anything else," Daizi laughed, obviously joking, "I tried to tell him he couldn't read the book unless he joined the club, but he didn't agree... hm, two chapters a week, with twelve chapters total... it should only take us five more weeks to finish the book... that's good. I'll definitely still be here by then, if we only read one chapter a week it'd be risky."

"What are you rehearsing right now, Damien? I used t'do a bit of theatre, before getting my job at the high school. There's no time for it anymore, I've got my hands full with band and the choir. Last role I ever played was Eponine...." Rose smiled at the memory, and tucked her legs underneath her, "I hate being a proper adult, I swear... but I can still keep to two chapters a week, if I read during my lunch break. It'll annoy the art teacher I hang out with, but he interrupts my class so fair is fair."
 
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Kayla looked at Rose knowingly, almost wondering if Daizi was egging them on to ask about her pregnancy with all the hints she was dropping. "It'd definitely be pushing the limits of the end of the semester, too. Though I guess that really only matters to Eric."

He nodded, closing the book and slipping it back into his bag. There wasn't much plot to discuss yet, so they might as well take some time to get to know each other better. "Yeah, we should probably finish the book before the semester ends so I can actually finish my project."

"We are performing Jekyll and Hyde," Damien responded. "I'm just an ensemble member, but that suits me just fine. I was never meant to be a leading man."
 
Rose stifled a giggle at the way Kayla looked at her, and glanced at Eric and Damien to see if they were as quietly aware 0f Daizi's less-than-subtle hints as she was. As unbelievable as it sounded, Daizi wasn't even trying to force them to ask, despite the pleasure she took in her favourite prank, she just found it awkward to talk about, for a variety of reasons, so either being forced to reveal it or everyone just kind of figuring it out on their own suited her fine. At the current moment, everyone in her life knew for sure, except for these four mostly-strangers.

The rain outside took a turn for the worse, with a loud crash of thunder. Daizi jerked forwards slightly, wincing, and rubbed her ribcage. In a move which, for those who were unaware of her 'condition', would have sounded... questionable, in a low tone she said, "Don't punish me, it's not my fault."

Rose only looked out towards the window for a moment and then turned her attention back towards the conversation, "Oh, I don't know, Damien, you never know what'll happen in the future. I never expected to make first chair in my college's orchestra. I wasn't even expecting second--I was just plucked from our version of an ensemble one day. Jekyll and Hyde is fun, though, although it isn't really my genre."
 
Damien cringed at the crash of thunder and did his best not to appear nervous. He'd never been a fan of thunder storms, even before the storm that took his parents. Instead, he focused on the conversation in an attempt to tune out the booming. "That's awesome for you, Rose. I don't know that I even want to be a lead, though. At least not right now. I think all the attention would put me into a coma."

He rubbed his elbow out of habit. "This show is darker than I'd like, but nobody consulted me when they were planning the season, so here we are." He forced a chuckle and took another draft of his water. "What are your favorite shows?"

While Damien conversed with Rose, the twins checked in on Daizi. Her grumble and wince caught their attention. "Are you alright, Daizi? That was a crazy loud one! Sounds like we might be here a bit longer than we expected. There's no way I'm walking home in a lightning storm!" Kayla shook her head, her golden locks bouncing.
 
"Well," Rose said, thinking about it, "I absolutely adore Falsettos, and A Man of No Importance, and Brigadoon, and Camelot... of course I love Les Mis, even before I was in a production..." she shrugged her shoulders, "I enjoy almost anything, honestly, but theatre isn't really my venue. I like it well enough, and when I did shows I did fine, but it was really just something I fell into because of my love of music, and my training in dance... but I'll do anything if it lets me work with music. I played the titular Fiddler in the Fiddler on the Roof, one time, because he doesn't have any lines, you know? And the theatre knew I can fiddle better than anyone else they knew, so they pinned my hair up underneath this hat and put me in, like, three sports bras and sent me out, and it was probably my favourite experience on stage, although a lot of the male ensemble members were angry about the casting."

Daizi took a moment, and after a slow exhale said, "Mhm, I'm fine... and yeah, it sounds pretty bad... I take a cab home, but when it's like this, waiting for one is miserable... if it doesn't get better and we stay longer, I'll have to call my husband, we'll just go out to eat." She shifted in her chair, trying to get comfortable again, but struggled to do so. She was grateful for when the waitress brought all of their orders, so at least she could assemble and snack on her chocolate-hot sauce-ketchup-ham muffin.
 
Damien caught himself pulling a face of disgust at Daizi's snack, but reeled it in rather quickly. "Fiddler is one of my favorites too," he replied, mostly to get his attention off the awful combination. "I don't really know why so many people are insistent that the fiddler must be a man, anyway. Nowhere is it explicitly stated that the character is a guy, so it's odd to me."

"They're just afraid of losing their place in the theatre," Kayla teased. "If women can play all the roles, who needs the men?" Eric looked at her coldly, and she began to laugh. "You know I'm just joking, you big oaf. Calm your titties." Another crash of thunder rocked the little cafe, and the twins sighed. "Good thing I brought my laptop with me. At least I can watch youtube or something until the storm dies down."
 
"I suppose... tradition," Rose mused, "in that time, who would just let their daughter sit on a roof and fiddle? But I always think they should cast the best fiddler who auditioned, rather than the best man, which, fortunately, they did, in my case," she grinned, but then her smile faded and her cheeks turned as red as her hair, "not that I'm saying I'm the best, or anything."

"I'm sure you're--" when the thunder boomed, Daizi winced, although she didn't jerk as much this time, "wonderful. No need to be modest. This storm is loud. I'm glad I'm in a place I know, otherwise I'd get lost."

"It really is," Rose nodded, and turning to the twins said, "you're lucky, I came from work. All I have is my violin, and my students' syllabus contracts."

"It's not luck, nothing is luck. It's fate."
 
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