Part 4
'Here we are,' Daphne informed Marty as they pulled up outside the Roundabout Theatre. 'Come on then.' She helped Marty out of the car, and together they headed in out of the cold.
'Tickets please,' a man asked them.
'I knew he was going to say that,' Daphne said. 'I'm a little bit psychic you see,' she informed the man, smiling.
'Well what else was he gonna say?' Quizzed Marty, '"would you like fries with that?"'
'Well, he could have said "Can I see your tickets please?" or "Do you have your tickets?"' Daphne defended, looking to the man for support. 'Couldn't you?' The man nodded, a little unsure of where this conversation was heading.
'Never mind,' Marty said to Daphne, and to the ticket collector, 'it's the British...'
'I heard that old man,' Daphne told Marty.
'Come on,' Marty said. They went through a door, and were soon seated. The lights dimmed, and they realised they had arrived just in time. Niles walked onstage, ready to introduce the opera.
'Oh look, there he is!' Daphne said excitedly to Marty.
'But where's Frasier?' Marty replied.
'Hello, and wel...' Niles began, before tripping up and falling flat on his face. He slowly pulled himself up, now with a black eye. 'Hello, and welcome,' he tried again. 'I am Doctor Niles Crane, co-writer of this opera, Le Freres Assombrir. For those of you who don't speak French, this means The Morose Brothers. I wrote this with my brother, Doctor Frasier Crane, who is unfortunately not available to come out right now – he is talking to the cast. I shall not spoil the story, however I shall say this; it is a story of two brothers. Neither are happy. It is about them trying to find out why they are not happy. So please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!' Everyone applauded as Niles slipped off stage through the curtain. He banged into Frasier, who was in position for the opening scene.
'What happened to you?' Frasier asked quietly.
'What do you mean?' Niles replied, confused.
'You've got a black eye.'
'Have I?' Niles questioned, unaware that the curtain was going up, for he had his back to the audience. 'I must have got it when I fell ov...' He stopped as soon as the orchestra started. Niles span round, to find that everyone was looking at him. In his rush to get off stage, he tripped again on a loose nail, and fell against part of the set. This had a domino effect; the impact rippled across the stage. Frasier and Niles watched in horror as their dream fell apart before their eyes.
The cast fled the stage, but the two brothers just looked on, transfixed. As Niles just lay on the stage, the audience started filing out angrily, as did the orchestra. A theatre critic pulled out a notebook and scribbled something down before leaving. In a matter of seconds the only people left were Frasier, Niles, Marty, Daphne, and Roz, who had surprised Frasier in turning up. He hadn't really thought opera was her thing.
'Hello all,' Frasier said weakly there came an almighty ripping noise from stage left. Niles had managed to free himself from the nail, but in the process had also accomplished ruining his Armani tuxedo even more. Frasier jumped off stage, shortly followed by Niles. They both went over to where Marty, Daphne, and now Roz were sitting.
'Roz, I didn't think opera was your thing,' Frasier confessed.
'Well, you didn't expect me to miss this, did you?' and she laughed. 'Sorry guys, but you've gotta admit, it was pretty funny.'
'Not when a year of your hard work had gone into this,' Niles told her.
'Sorry,' Roz apologised. 'But Frasier, your costume is pretty funny.'Yeah Fras,' Marty agreed. 'But why are you wearing it anyway?'
'Oh, our lead singer and actor has laryngitis,' Frasier explained, sighing.
'Doctor Crane, you really ought to do something about that eye,' Daphne advised.
'Yes, I suppose I should,' Niles said.
'Come on then, let's all go back to my place, and have a drink,' Frasier suggested.
'Yeah, ok,' Roz said. They all headed out into the cold, and got into their various cars.
'Well, on the plus side boys,' Marty said as he got sat down in his car, 'at least this is an opera premier no one will ever forget!' Frasier smiled at his father's ability to pick out the best in a bad situation as he slid the key into his car. He started up the car, or at least tried to. The engine failed to come on. Frasier hit the steering wheel in frustration, and looked across at his brother in the passenger seat.
'Oh Niles. Can this night get any worse?'
'Oh, look on the bright side of things,' Niles said optimistically, 'we can get a lift with Dad, and we'll call a mechanic in the morning. . Now let's not be le freres assombrir.'
'You're right Niles,' Frasier said, getting out of the car and locking it. They both walked over to Marty's car, and got in the back. The curtain had come down on another day.
