Part Eighty-Four
Roisin couldn't believe what had happened to her. Only that day, she had done her day to day job at the local school which saw her as respectably anonymous as any other woman of her age. She had picked up the phone while she had just finished sewing a button on Niamh's school blouse and had been transported out to Karen's flat as if by magic carpet. Someone looking a lot like her had seen her when she had picked up John's violin and had coaxed sounds out of it that was better than she knew that she could play. There was something in her that could be very nervous of situations and yet when push came to shove, she could rise to the occasion. She knew that she was going to be part of something new in her life, as new in its way as the way she had first laid eyes on Cassie Tyler in that special way that took her by surprise as much as anything. She knew also that the many demands on her life hadn't smothered that love of music, which had held her in its thrall from way back when. On her way home, the practical side of her had started working out the implications of the commitment that she had made to Karen in a romantic artistic passionate declaration to life itself. Or so it seemed to Roisin as she had inwardly listened to herself.
Of course, it would cut into her spare time and that latent anxiety in her worried if she would be able to do it proper justice along with everything else in her life. Most of all, she would need to talk with Cassie and the children.
By the time she had returned, the children were safely tucked up into bed and Cassie was reading a magazine with the television turned down low.
"So who's this tall dark stranger who's spirited you away?" Cassie's lighthearted joke was totally relaxed judging from the way she stood up and kissed her.
"Nearly right, Cassie, only she was fair haired and her name is Karen. I've been invited to play second violin in an orchestra in a performance of "The Creation," Roisin answered with a brilliant smile and a breathless rush of words.
This went over Cassie's head. "You mean, babe, that Karen had a crystal ball, thought to herself, we're a violinist short and figured that you fit the bill and can play this gig with them." "Something like that, sweetheart." "So who's the leader of the gang?" Cassie enquired in her best flippant manner. In reality, she was taking a leaf out of the Book of Maturity, which she had done a crash course on since she and Roisin had started living together. She needed to find out more information to get her head round a novel situation and so asking questions in a non-threatening manner seemed the best tack.
"John Deed, the judge you know." "Sounds right." "He's first violinist and is in charge of the orchestra. Karen was there and she played viola with me." Roisin hesitated for a second and Cassie figured that she needed to be sat down and to talk when she was feeling at her most physically relaxed. She ran her hand gently along Roisin's arm.
"You pour us a drink each, we'll cuddle up on the sofa and you talk while I listen." With a huge feeling of relief, Roisin lay back and cuddled close to Cassie and carried on at a more leisurely pace.
"You really, really want to do this, babes?" She asked gently.
"I really, really want to do this. You've heard me play occasionally on a Sunday when both the children are sleeping at their friends house and we have time to ourselves when we have finally got out of bed." "Don't I know," Cassie said smugly when she recalled that a house without children made for more passionate lovemaking than usual. It was later on in the day that Roisin felt the desire to transform that feeling of blissful contentment into a different form. The music wasn't Cassie's cup of tea if she had heard it on the radio but, somehow heard in the sanctuary of their house, it was starting to grow on her. It made Roisin happy and that was the main thing.
"So who else is in the band. I mean tell us all the hot gossip," Cassie teased.
"Mr. Grayling is in it. He's going to play the part of Adam." "Grayling?" chorussed Cassie in utter surprise and incredulity.
"The part of Adam is that of the male bass singer," Explained Roisin. "He is taking one of the three main singing parts and very demanding it is too, from what I remember. Karen spoke very highly of him." "We knew he had one hidden side to his personality when he was at Larkhall and he seemed heartless, pretty useless and having a strange choice in boyfriends. Ah well, there's no accounting for people," Cassie concluded, coming out with one of her mother's proverbs that she had always despised as totally mindless and typical grown up rubbish.
"It sounds really promising, Cassie. If you want an idea of what it is going to be like, I've always got the CD of the performance if you want to borrow it." "Maybe, Roisin," Cassie played for time, her insatiable curiosity competing for a type of music which didn't do anything for her. She had her image to live up to, and that was very worrying.
"But I'll go and see you perform. Me and the kids." Roisin beamed at her. This was a very generous offer from Cassie which she had offered lightly but which Roisin knew was absolutely genuine and could be utterly depended on. She would put her weight into encouraging the children to see them when Michael was at an age when he was starting to get self conscious at being around either one of his parents or both in front of his friends. It was so different when she had to contend with Aiden's pig headed, unreasoning refusal to back her up.
"So what about the judge? You'll be working with him quite a bit, I guess." "To some extent, Cassie. However, he won't be coaching me one to one on every little detail. Believe you me, I wouldn't have been taken on if they thought I was a beginner. He's got the rest of the orchestra to look after, I imagine. I'll know more when I go to the first proper rehearsal. He was very kind and helpful without suffocating me. I hate anyone crowding me while I'm playing." "So what does it involve, Roash?" Cassie said, slightly relieved. From her detached viewpoint, the man seemed to be an attractive older guy for those that that liked that kind. "It will mean some rehearsals, possibly quite a few. I'll have to find out more. It might mean that you will have to do the ironing once in a while." "You can't mean that, Roash. I hate ironing. I get all the crease marks going all wonky. The kids will only moan at me," Complained Cassie in that wheedling, childlike tone of voice. Roisin burst into laughter at the expression on her face. While they had always shared the jobs round the house pretty equally, ironing was something Cassie had always balked at, declaring she was hopeless at it.
"Well, now's the time to learn, Cassie Tyler," she declared laughingly. Spotting out of the corner of her eye a pile of freshly washed clothes, which she had picked out to iron that very night and would have done if she hadn't had the phone call. Everything in the house was fine and the children were peacefully in bed. She had managed to clear up, the first time one of the children was sick and now she could manage this one.
Sighing, Cassie followed her destiny, painfully aware that her obcenely domesticated mother was looking over her shoulder. She had grown up in rebellion as the party girl, clothes strewn over the floor and proud of her ignorance at sewing and cooking. There were dry cleaners and eating out places around town in her life as a single woman. She might as well make her own bloody choice and learn to do it right, much as she had learnt a lot these last few years. It was not much to help her girlfriend pursue her dreams and Roisin wasn't going to look elsewhere than her. She was confident that she was the dream lover for a woman not to worry about her. Narcissism wasn't such a deadly sin after all if it kept jealousy at bay.
Roisin couldn't believe what had happened to her. Only that day, she had done her day to day job at the local school which saw her as respectably anonymous as any other woman of her age. She had picked up the phone while she had just finished sewing a button on Niamh's school blouse and had been transported out to Karen's flat as if by magic carpet. Someone looking a lot like her had seen her when she had picked up John's violin and had coaxed sounds out of it that was better than she knew that she could play. There was something in her that could be very nervous of situations and yet when push came to shove, she could rise to the occasion. She knew that she was going to be part of something new in her life, as new in its way as the way she had first laid eyes on Cassie Tyler in that special way that took her by surprise as much as anything. She knew also that the many demands on her life hadn't smothered that love of music, which had held her in its thrall from way back when. On her way home, the practical side of her had started working out the implications of the commitment that she had made to Karen in a romantic artistic passionate declaration to life itself. Or so it seemed to Roisin as she had inwardly listened to herself.
Of course, it would cut into her spare time and that latent anxiety in her worried if she would be able to do it proper justice along with everything else in her life. Most of all, she would need to talk with Cassie and the children.
By the time she had returned, the children were safely tucked up into bed and Cassie was reading a magazine with the television turned down low.
"So who's this tall dark stranger who's spirited you away?" Cassie's lighthearted joke was totally relaxed judging from the way she stood up and kissed her.
"Nearly right, Cassie, only she was fair haired and her name is Karen. I've been invited to play second violin in an orchestra in a performance of "The Creation," Roisin answered with a brilliant smile and a breathless rush of words.
This went over Cassie's head. "You mean, babe, that Karen had a crystal ball, thought to herself, we're a violinist short and figured that you fit the bill and can play this gig with them." "Something like that, sweetheart." "So who's the leader of the gang?" Cassie enquired in her best flippant manner. In reality, she was taking a leaf out of the Book of Maturity, which she had done a crash course on since she and Roisin had started living together. She needed to find out more information to get her head round a novel situation and so asking questions in a non-threatening manner seemed the best tack.
"John Deed, the judge you know." "Sounds right." "He's first violinist and is in charge of the orchestra. Karen was there and she played viola with me." Roisin hesitated for a second and Cassie figured that she needed to be sat down and to talk when she was feeling at her most physically relaxed. She ran her hand gently along Roisin's arm.
"You pour us a drink each, we'll cuddle up on the sofa and you talk while I listen." With a huge feeling of relief, Roisin lay back and cuddled close to Cassie and carried on at a more leisurely pace.
"You really, really want to do this, babes?" She asked gently.
"I really, really want to do this. You've heard me play occasionally on a Sunday when both the children are sleeping at their friends house and we have time to ourselves when we have finally got out of bed." "Don't I know," Cassie said smugly when she recalled that a house without children made for more passionate lovemaking than usual. It was later on in the day that Roisin felt the desire to transform that feeling of blissful contentment into a different form. The music wasn't Cassie's cup of tea if she had heard it on the radio but, somehow heard in the sanctuary of their house, it was starting to grow on her. It made Roisin happy and that was the main thing.
"So who else is in the band. I mean tell us all the hot gossip," Cassie teased.
"Mr. Grayling is in it. He's going to play the part of Adam." "Grayling?" chorussed Cassie in utter surprise and incredulity.
"The part of Adam is that of the male bass singer," Explained Roisin. "He is taking one of the three main singing parts and very demanding it is too, from what I remember. Karen spoke very highly of him." "We knew he had one hidden side to his personality when he was at Larkhall and he seemed heartless, pretty useless and having a strange choice in boyfriends. Ah well, there's no accounting for people," Cassie concluded, coming out with one of her mother's proverbs that she had always despised as totally mindless and typical grown up rubbish.
"It sounds really promising, Cassie. If you want an idea of what it is going to be like, I've always got the CD of the performance if you want to borrow it." "Maybe, Roisin," Cassie played for time, her insatiable curiosity competing for a type of music which didn't do anything for her. She had her image to live up to, and that was very worrying.
"But I'll go and see you perform. Me and the kids." Roisin beamed at her. This was a very generous offer from Cassie which she had offered lightly but which Roisin knew was absolutely genuine and could be utterly depended on. She would put her weight into encouraging the children to see them when Michael was at an age when he was starting to get self conscious at being around either one of his parents or both in front of his friends. It was so different when she had to contend with Aiden's pig headed, unreasoning refusal to back her up.
"So what about the judge? You'll be working with him quite a bit, I guess." "To some extent, Cassie. However, he won't be coaching me one to one on every little detail. Believe you me, I wouldn't have been taken on if they thought I was a beginner. He's got the rest of the orchestra to look after, I imagine. I'll know more when I go to the first proper rehearsal. He was very kind and helpful without suffocating me. I hate anyone crowding me while I'm playing." "So what does it involve, Roash?" Cassie said, slightly relieved. From her detached viewpoint, the man seemed to be an attractive older guy for those that that liked that kind. "It will mean some rehearsals, possibly quite a few. I'll have to find out more. It might mean that you will have to do the ironing once in a while." "You can't mean that, Roash. I hate ironing. I get all the crease marks going all wonky. The kids will only moan at me," Complained Cassie in that wheedling, childlike tone of voice. Roisin burst into laughter at the expression on her face. While they had always shared the jobs round the house pretty equally, ironing was something Cassie had always balked at, declaring she was hopeless at it.
"Well, now's the time to learn, Cassie Tyler," she declared laughingly. Spotting out of the corner of her eye a pile of freshly washed clothes, which she had picked out to iron that very night and would have done if she hadn't had the phone call. Everything in the house was fine and the children were peacefully in bed. She had managed to clear up, the first time one of the children was sick and now she could manage this one.
Sighing, Cassie followed her destiny, painfully aware that her obcenely domesticated mother was looking over her shoulder. She had grown up in rebellion as the party girl, clothes strewn over the floor and proud of her ignorance at sewing and cooking. There were dry cleaners and eating out places around town in her life as a single woman. She might as well make her own bloody choice and learn to do it right, much as she had learnt a lot these last few years. It was not much to help her girlfriend pursue her dreams and Roisin wasn't going to look elsewhere than her. She was confident that she was the dream lover for a woman not to worry about her. Narcissism wasn't such a deadly sin after all if it kept jealousy at bay.