(a/n - yes, first person, I wouldn't come out any other way. I am going to stick to canon events as much as possible but from Elizabeth's perspective, so that we can see how I believe her and Emmett would have worked as a couple.)
Chapter 2
It was late one spring when my big break happened. The big break that would change my life forever. I suppose I should thank Hyacinth partially, since it was her that got it for me. Partially. She had dragged me to a ladies' event at the church, and had then rushed off in the car that seems to constantly follow her. The one with the exploding exhaust. Anyhow, I happened to notice a sign on the church notice board. Small, discreet. Advertising a small administrative role at a local amateur operatics society. I made a note of the phone number as the vicar came and removed the notice alongside anything else he felt Hyacinth might get excited about.
When I got home, I dialled the number and got accepted into the role immediately. I was on top of the world. Even Hyacinth calling five minutes later to ask who I was on the phone to when she had called couldn't dampen my spirits. I merely told her that it was my husband, calling to inform me of the latest exploits of his company, and the rising importance of oil in the Middle East. She never suspected that I had just gotten a wonderful job. Hyacinth was not a firm believer in women working.
I started my job the next week, and was instantly swept off my feet into a tremendous world of song and dance. Admittedly, I was merely taking registers and typing scripts, but it was wonderful to be earning money by doing something I enjoyed. I felt like a new woman. I had only ever really socialised at work or at Hyacinth's candlelight suppers, but at the theatrical group I was mingling amongst people of my own kind. People with a love of music and theatre. People who admired the work of Brecht and Artaud as practitioners. People who could distinguish Mozart from Beethoven. People who lived for the arts.
It was well into my second week in my new job that I met him properly. Of course, I had heard of him, and had spoken to him over the phone, but I hadn't fully met him until my second week there. Rehearsals were well under way: the chorus had learnt the opening song and the majority of the choreography for the opening piece, and the beginnings of a first scene were being blocked with the main characters. I had received a call from a stage company who had been hired to provide an extra catwalk for the actors to parade up in the production of The Wizard Of Oz which we were doing. Unfortunately, the stage was going to be 2 weeks later than the scheduled delivery due to the company's vehicle breaking down. I had found him during a break to inform him of the situation.
I walked into the small office and kitchenette area (which he used to write scripts and compose new musical scores, I had heard). I knocked politely at the door, and entered at his call. His back was to me.
"You don't have to knock, it's always open during the first few weeks. It's after the first few weeks when I can get dangerous due to the stresses of changing the pitches and speeds of my scores." I could here the smile in his voice. It was a wonderful voice, I had to admit. Soothing and strong at the same time. He turned. And his smile grew wider. Oh! His smile! I suppose I must have looked something like a startled goldfish, for he placed a hand on my shoulder as be asked as to my reason for seeking him. Without melting on the spot, I successfully managed to compose myself as much as possible and inform him of the problem at hand. He thanked me, and as I left, began to make notes regarding the matter. Later that day, I found a note underneath a cup of coffee on my small desk area, by the phone.
'Thanks for letting me know as soon as possible, staging arrangements sorted now. Don't worry, keep smiling, and follow the yellow brick road to achieve your dreams. P.S. I hope you enjoy coffee. x' I looked up to see him smiling at me before disappearing into the main rehearsal hall. I sipped my coffee and thought over my day. It was a great cup of coffee, too. He had managed to guess how I liked it perfectly. It was a fantastic moment, stood there that afternoon, drinking my coffee. I suppose that is when I fell in love with him.