Author's note : This chapter goes out to ND and her long haired friends... I seriously can't believe the inscription on the CD you gave me! I just put the SS cd on to use for soul food as I write this and there it was, I hadn't noticed it before honestly and had a total Grace expression on my face seeing it. I can't believe you wrote that. Thank you. Wink ; ) I'm just giddy that someone actually inscribed something to me (and my cat). I think I've decided what to do with this little attempted scribbling of mine... the last chapter will be put up on April 1st, 2003. That's really all I know. Until then, well you never really know what might happened because things can't always go according to plan. Please review and any suggestions let me know. If you want more chapters in between, maybe we can set up some kind of schedule- like Monday nights or something. In case you haven't guessed I want this guy back to the point where his cords were covered in chalkboard dusk, and all were happy. Once.
"Is't possible that on so little acquaintance you should like her? that but seeing you should love her? and, loving, woo? and, wooing, she should grant? and will you persever to enjoy her? "
SHAKESPEARE, AS YOU LIKE IT.
EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER KNOWN ON THE PLANET
August with Grace's hand to his, felt the gift slip from his fingers. It was a small box. Grace looked up smiling until someone started screaming in the foreground. Lily reluctantly left in search of the source, the dimpled new arrival Robert. There was a funny story attached to his birth but that is best left for another time. Robert was named with affection for a doctor that the family came to meet. They had invited the doctor to Christmas dinner also, but he declined whispering to Lily first and then announcing to the others his unfortunate inability to attend. That was the last day they saw him, in an way Lily was relieved. After all, he was vegan and Buddhist. Rick was asking all these new people in their lives way to many questions about religion lately and get Rick started on history he never stopped. Lily felt she should have know when he proposed under a parachute quoting dead patriots something like that could happen with Rick, but well it was love. So it was best for everyone it ended the way it did with that doctor.
"It's beautiful", Grace was genuinely overcome. "But what am I going to do with it?"
They were alone now and Grace fingered her new acquisition. "Whatever you want to do with it." He said and smiled.
"You know you are infuriating.."
He smiled even wider. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rick carrying a folding chair into the living room area. "Grace are your ready to go?" Grace was fiddling with her lipgloss in a mirror.
"I was looking at my eyes." She turned around, "August, have I changed?"
"Of course you have, we all do." He said in passing.
"I guess I've just been wondering lately what would happen if- I mean you were attracted to the fact I was so alone." She paused. "And I'm sort of scared of what would happen if that were to change."
"Grace when I said , in that inscription you had 'lonely eyes' please don't carry that with you. Because it wasn't what I meant at all..."
"But you said it."
"I did. But I said it to make you strong, stronger. Grace I don't perceive you as weak, I never have. I mean sometimes you scare the hell out of me-"
"I do-"
"You do."
"Cause you think I'm unstable and I might, I don't know kill myself or something. Well-"
Dimitri was stopped arrested. "Why would you think that. Besides loneliness doesn't equate weakness. The courage to be alone can be a demonstration of internal strength and character. And for that type of person to let someone else in, well that's even more rare and special. "
"The Orlando thing. You thought I would understand why she loved him. Why he needed her and let her love him. Why he fell for her so quickly. And strangely I did, and the way you said that then, well at first I thought you were talking about yourself, but then I mean that couldn't have been right because we both know [she squinted her eyes and gave him a look] that you had friends.
"Grace- "
"You really don't have to worry about that , especially now. I mean August ..I'm not hiding any razors on you. In fact [she lightly laughed] it's better odds that Kimmy comes after me with a revolver in the dining room. But wait I would see it through her shirt wouldn't I and know what was coming-"
"Not the Chris thing again, Grace I - "
"I wasn't even going there." Grace shuttered and he involuntarily smiled. He did like Chris, but Grace was a gifted timed comedian and the first meeting with Christine had not been a feel good moment. He knew he was partly to blame there but it wasn't like Grace had given him any warning of what she would do next. It was like living with Einstein always on the edge of genius, but lacking on other areas. All was relative to what she wanted and thought and felt. Grace had continued on filling his silent dead air ...
"So I've sort of come to the conclusion that you meant me. That I was Orlando and that-"
He was shocked, "You as Orlando."
"You think this is stupid. Okay forget I said anything," Grace said turning to get her coat. He started to make a motion to touch her and speak. It had obviously been something Grace had thought out and he didn't want to hurt her again like that. Grace looked down to the right and he stopped. August leaned back on the stool. Sometimes she felt acutely aware of the gap in experience between them. What she was saying didn't make sense in normal conversation. She was analysing and theorizing but they weren't in the classroom anymore. Real people didn't talk like that. Real people asked how the weather was, gossiped about their friends and made plans. They never made plans.
"Grace , you're not entirely wrong. And I'm the last person to tell anyone else who is right. Lest we forget so soon the lessons instilled by our Chekhov. Stuff just happens and it isn't planned. I never planned to say what I did about Orlando. No big speech. I just said what came to mind. Maybe I didn't say enough but I didn't know then the whole story and - in hindsight, it probably was me. It was my thoughts, my view of the play. And it was probably wrong to think that was the only way that it could be interpreted. So what I said it was about me. " Slowly .."I guess you could say then if anyone had to be, I was Orlando." He waved his hand at the arm and brought it up to his neck in the universal symbol.
"kkkluuuuurrr", he made the sound of a knife. But it was tinged with something rather sad.
Just at that moment a buoyant Jessie and Katie fell into the room. Katie smiled shyly at Dimitri.
"We better get out of here before Zoe comes down next." Dimitri said watching Katie disappear into the other room. " No way am I driving her to the store with us. She keeps asking to see inside my car. I'm nervous she might start asking for the specs, energy consumption and would want me to draw charts or something..."
"Just tell her you misplaced the memo .."
"You know your talent is wasted", Dimitri commented as Grace zipped up her coat. She looked up with a dead pan expression and wisely said ,"I know." She gave him a chummy affect and started for the door.
August unexpectedly, "You are followed by a faithful sheperd : Look upon him, love him ; he worships you." He stopped.
She had recognized the lines from the play. Silvius' line, the next line was Phebe's. Grace shook her head she just couldn't recall. August prompted her. "Good sheperd, tell this youth what 'tis to love."
Grace, "Why blame you me to love you ?"
August ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Grace that isn't the next line either. But it was decently close."
They left the house. It was snowing as Dimitri scrapped off the thin layer of white that had accumulated over this very long night on his windshield. Locks on either side of his face fell forward slightly, bouncing and the snow falling all around. He turned in profile simply stunning and covertly watched Grace's cheeks turning red as she waited. She brushed some snow around with her gloved hand.
At the store, Mrs. Gonzalez invited them for drinks........
~~"It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o'er the green corn-field did pass
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding :
Sweet lovers love the spring."
"Is't possible that on so little acquaintance you should like her? that but seeing you should love her? and, loving, woo? and, wooing, she should grant? and will you persever to enjoy her? "
SHAKESPEARE, AS YOU LIKE IT.
EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER KNOWN ON THE PLANET
August with Grace's hand to his, felt the gift slip from his fingers. It was a small box. Grace looked up smiling until someone started screaming in the foreground. Lily reluctantly left in search of the source, the dimpled new arrival Robert. There was a funny story attached to his birth but that is best left for another time. Robert was named with affection for a doctor that the family came to meet. They had invited the doctor to Christmas dinner also, but he declined whispering to Lily first and then announcing to the others his unfortunate inability to attend. That was the last day they saw him, in an way Lily was relieved. After all, he was vegan and Buddhist. Rick was asking all these new people in their lives way to many questions about religion lately and get Rick started on history he never stopped. Lily felt she should have know when he proposed under a parachute quoting dead patriots something like that could happen with Rick, but well it was love. So it was best for everyone it ended the way it did with that doctor.
"It's beautiful", Grace was genuinely overcome. "But what am I going to do with it?"
They were alone now and Grace fingered her new acquisition. "Whatever you want to do with it." He said and smiled.
"You know you are infuriating.."
He smiled even wider. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rick carrying a folding chair into the living room area. "Grace are your ready to go?" Grace was fiddling with her lipgloss in a mirror.
"I was looking at my eyes." She turned around, "August, have I changed?"
"Of course you have, we all do." He said in passing.
"I guess I've just been wondering lately what would happen if- I mean you were attracted to the fact I was so alone." She paused. "And I'm sort of scared of what would happen if that were to change."
"Grace when I said , in that inscription you had 'lonely eyes' please don't carry that with you. Because it wasn't what I meant at all..."
"But you said it."
"I did. But I said it to make you strong, stronger. Grace I don't perceive you as weak, I never have. I mean sometimes you scare the hell out of me-"
"I do-"
"You do."
"Cause you think I'm unstable and I might, I don't know kill myself or something. Well-"
Dimitri was stopped arrested. "Why would you think that. Besides loneliness doesn't equate weakness. The courage to be alone can be a demonstration of internal strength and character. And for that type of person to let someone else in, well that's even more rare and special. "
"The Orlando thing. You thought I would understand why she loved him. Why he needed her and let her love him. Why he fell for her so quickly. And strangely I did, and the way you said that then, well at first I thought you were talking about yourself, but then I mean that couldn't have been right because we both know [she squinted her eyes and gave him a look] that you had friends.
"Grace- "
"You really don't have to worry about that , especially now. I mean August ..I'm not hiding any razors on you. In fact [she lightly laughed] it's better odds that Kimmy comes after me with a revolver in the dining room. But wait I would see it through her shirt wouldn't I and know what was coming-"
"Not the Chris thing again, Grace I - "
"I wasn't even going there." Grace shuttered and he involuntarily smiled. He did like Chris, but Grace was a gifted timed comedian and the first meeting with Christine had not been a feel good moment. He knew he was partly to blame there but it wasn't like Grace had given him any warning of what she would do next. It was like living with Einstein always on the edge of genius, but lacking on other areas. All was relative to what she wanted and thought and felt. Grace had continued on filling his silent dead air ...
"So I've sort of come to the conclusion that you meant me. That I was Orlando and that-"
He was shocked, "You as Orlando."
"You think this is stupid. Okay forget I said anything," Grace said turning to get her coat. He started to make a motion to touch her and speak. It had obviously been something Grace had thought out and he didn't want to hurt her again like that. Grace looked down to the right and he stopped. August leaned back on the stool. Sometimes she felt acutely aware of the gap in experience between them. What she was saying didn't make sense in normal conversation. She was analysing and theorizing but they weren't in the classroom anymore. Real people didn't talk like that. Real people asked how the weather was, gossiped about their friends and made plans. They never made plans.
"Grace , you're not entirely wrong. And I'm the last person to tell anyone else who is right. Lest we forget so soon the lessons instilled by our Chekhov. Stuff just happens and it isn't planned. I never planned to say what I did about Orlando. No big speech. I just said what came to mind. Maybe I didn't say enough but I didn't know then the whole story and - in hindsight, it probably was me. It was my thoughts, my view of the play. And it was probably wrong to think that was the only way that it could be interpreted. So what I said it was about me. " Slowly .."I guess you could say then if anyone had to be, I was Orlando." He waved his hand at the arm and brought it up to his neck in the universal symbol.
"kkkluuuuurrr", he made the sound of a knife. But it was tinged with something rather sad.
Just at that moment a buoyant Jessie and Katie fell into the room. Katie smiled shyly at Dimitri.
"We better get out of here before Zoe comes down next." Dimitri said watching Katie disappear into the other room. " No way am I driving her to the store with us. She keeps asking to see inside my car. I'm nervous she might start asking for the specs, energy consumption and would want me to draw charts or something..."
"Just tell her you misplaced the memo .."
"You know your talent is wasted", Dimitri commented as Grace zipped up her coat. She looked up with a dead pan expression and wisely said ,"I know." She gave him a chummy affect and started for the door.
August unexpectedly, "You are followed by a faithful sheperd : Look upon him, love him ; he worships you." He stopped.
She had recognized the lines from the play. Silvius' line, the next line was Phebe's. Grace shook her head she just couldn't recall. August prompted her. "Good sheperd, tell this youth what 'tis to love."
Grace, "Why blame you me to love you ?"
August ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Grace that isn't the next line either. But it was decently close."
They left the house. It was snowing as Dimitri scrapped off the thin layer of white that had accumulated over this very long night on his windshield. Locks on either side of his face fell forward slightly, bouncing and the snow falling all around. He turned in profile simply stunning and covertly watched Grace's cheeks turning red as she waited. She brushed some snow around with her gloved hand.
At the store, Mrs. Gonzalez invited them for drinks........
~~"It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o'er the green corn-field did pass
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding :
Sweet lovers love the spring."