A/N: Baron's best original line in this story is provided by Garbage CAN not Can't. This is partially based on my only dinner theatre experience (Beauty and the Beast!) and a nice talk with Catsafari.
Birthday Bash Prompt 4: Jealousy/Fisticuffs
This is what parenthood was all about, wasn't it? Doing something you don't care about for the sake of your child? She could have been snug at home, making more progress on her deadline and maybe listening to the radio for inspiration.
Instead, she was doing a favor for a comrade-at-arms. At least, that was how it felt.
"Reservation?" a tired-looking woman asked as the couple before them in line were escorted into the main theatre.
"It should be under 'Hashima' for three," Naoko answered, wrapping one arm each over her own daughter and the girl she had all but adopted by now, nudging her large handbag behind her so that Haru didn't have to bend around it for the embrace.
Hiromi was nearly bouncing in her sneakers with glee. All three of them had made an effort to dress a little nicer than usual, but Hiromi had forgotten her dress shoes at her own home. Naoko couldn't resist being grateful that Haru had given her the perfect excuse to keep her regular sandals instead of suffer through high heels for two hours.
"Ah, there you are," the woman said with a slight more enthusiasm as her pen jabbed at a line near the top. "Naru? Table number three's here."
The younger woman serving as a waitress this evening nearly bounced forward with a huge grin. "So which one's the birthday girl?"
"That'd be me!" Hiromi chirruped like a bird, making her best friend roll her eyes with a resigned smile.
"Right this way. Man, I wish my dad would do something like this for my birthday," Naru pouted, leading the three women to a round table that was very close to the stage. It wasn't far from where a single musician in medieval attire was contentedly playing on a lute to set the mood. Three places at the table had been set in a formal setting, but the middle place had a folded golden napkin instead of wine red.
"That one's yours," Haru asserted, easing the appropriate chair out for her friend before the waitress had a chance.
Hiromi blinked. "Are you sure you don't want to sit next to your mom? We could switch the napkins, I doubt Naru would tattle on us."
"I can handle one night of letting you be the center of attention, dear," Naoko soothed her, even though she had been looking forward to sitting next to instead of across from her child.
But a birthday was still a birthday, and she didn't want to risk a misunderstanding later. Her hands gently added pressure until Hiromi was sitting and Haru could push in the chair slightly.
The lighter brunette had to laugh at the familiar gesture. "Who needs a boyfriend with a friend like you, Haru?"
"Ha ha," she answered dryly, settling herself into the left seat as Naoko did the same on the right. Noticing that a program was where her plate would soon be, she curiously took a peak at the menu side. "Mom, what's bruschetta?"
"Toasted slices of bread with something on it," she replied, already fishing a quilt square out of her large bag. "It's a common starting point in Italian meals."
Hiromi couldn't help but giggle as she looked over the menu as well. "Italian Wedding Soup! Man, this is the best time for this dish!"
"Other than an Italian wedding," Naru agreed with a laugh, already returning to her post to escort more guests to their assigned tables. "Don't worry; everything's been prepared without alcohol, and the bowl of shards is just stained glass candy."
"That's one less thing to worry about," Naoko muttered under her breath as she wove her needle into a time-consuming stitch. "Our bottle of sparkling cider made me nervous before I looked at the label."
"I'm pretty sure they would have checked I.D.s if they were going that authentic for the meal," Haru pointed out while looking over the program in half-interest, helping herself to a red shard and licking it like a lollipop. "We'd have probably ordered pizza and let Hiromi pick a movie if they were doing that."
'That would have suited me just fine,' Naoko couldn't resist thinking in resignation as her needle continued to dance.
Taking in her daughter's best friend while her father was out of town was no chore, but his birthday request on Hiromi's behalf was definitely cutting into time that she didn't have to spare. Still, it had been a while since she had done something with her own daughter, and at least neither of them minded her bringing a bit of work to the theatre.
"Orange custard for dessert," the birthday girl announced firmly while pointing at the menu again. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds like ice cream."
"Well, more of a sherbet," the lutenist called from his chair with a roguish grin. "I got a small taste from the first batch this morning, and it wasn't bad."
Hiromi beamed happily as she looked around the theatre. Nearly all of the tables had occupants now. It couldn't be much longer!
It was still a good fifteen minutes more before the doors were closed and the waiters had finished passing each table a plate of the bruschetta.
'Thank heaven we're close enough to the stage so I can work by the dimmed light,' Naoko couldn't resist being grateful for as the lights overhead grew faint. 'I just hope the actors don't take offense.'
The lutenist got up from his chair to inch closer to the side door of the stage, letting his fingers steadily play softer and softer until stopping completely when he was safely out of sight.
Hiromi looked up around a mouthful of the soup, swallowing it and using the golden napkin to pat the broth on her chin away as Haru regretfully lowered the last of the bruschetta.
Instead of the stage, the actors came in from the main door, circulating between the tables in a slow and steady pace. As one, townspeople, noblemen, and everything in between chanted as one with their palms clasped to their chests.
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
"From ancient grudge to new mutiny,
"Where civil blood made civil hands unclean-"
The dignified introduction was ruined when one of the bigger actors accidentally tripped over an unused chair that someone had forgotten to push back in with a surprised yell.
The somber mood was ruined. Nearly the entire room erupted into laughter at the classic slap-stick as the large man, blushing scarlet, hurried to his feet and snatched his fallen sword away from a curious three-year-old. His face was like a storm cloud as he stomped toward the stage, using his voice like a megaphone to try distracting the crowd.
"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes!
"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life!"
The other actors joined in again, although more than a few of them had silly smiles that further dampened the attempt at a regal setting.
"Whose misadventure piteous overthrows
"Doth with their death bury their parents' strife."
"Spoiler alert," Hiromi breathed through a small giggle.
Thankfully, the next scene was free of unplanned incidents. Naoko got a bit worried when the big actor, playing the part of Tybalt, got a little too enthusiastic with knocking down the other actors with sword or fist, but thankfully the actor playing the prince showed up before any real damage was done.
It was definitely easier to tell which person was Capulet or Montague, since the outfits were color-coded. Montagues were all in varying shades of green, while those loyal to them had accents or hose of green. Red was the theme for the Capulets, and those that were loyal to the prince or neutral were in white, or brown for the lower born.
'Which makes sense since Friar Laurence cared for both of the families.' Finished with the blue embroidery thread, Naoko spooned a few mouthfuls of the soup before searching through her bag for the red thread. 'I don't even like Shakespeare! Why am I here if the only thing I like is my daughter, Hiromi, and the food? I could have taken us to a restaurant and been done with all this in a bare minimum of half the time.'
After the prince was done breaking up the fight, Lord and Lady Montague started discussing their worries for their son with a taller actor with glasses serving as Benvolio.
It was soon clear why he had been chosen for that role. Everything about his demeanor screamed 'wet blanket'. It was such a shame that his long-standing friendship with Romeo wasn't enough for some of that 'think before you jump' mentality to rub off on the titular character.
After a while, a resigned sigh echoed through the room, making Naoko turn her head to see who was as 'thrilled' to be here as she was.
There was one actor that must have slipped in when the others had and stayed silent against the farthest wall until the crucial moment.
Naoko had to admit, he was a very handsome youth. Perhaps in college, well-built, and crowned with a thick head of strawberry blonde hair. He was dressed in a light green hose and a deep emerald doublet with gold embroidery that the quilter couldn't help but get distracted by.
But hey, it was a better alternative then checking out someone young enough to be her son.
Romeo was wandering aimlessly between the tables with a far away expression, almost absently pushing an empty chair to the table with one foot before another accident could occur.
"See, where he comes. So please you step aside
"I'll know his grievance, or be much denied." Benvolio promised his aunt and uncle, properly stepping down from the stage and running between the tables.
It was almost sad, how believable Romeo made his heartbreak seem, even if some of the passages were slightly on the vulgar side on his hopes for the unnamed girl.
'Why are parents letting their little kids watch something this crude? Why am I letting Haru listen to something this crude?'
Thankfully, her sweet angel was spending most of her attention on her soup before it got cold, although she was keeping one eye on the two men as Benvolio attempted to comfort, and Romeo refused the comfort.
The slight blush on her face said loud and clear that she wasn't checking out Romeo's gold embroidery like her mother.
Sighing with resignation, Benvolio wrapped an arm around Romeo and gently eased him to face away from the stage to speak more privately.
While the audience had been neatly distracted, Lord Capulet, Paris, and a servant had taken over the stage to speak of Paris' hope of marrying Juliet.
'Not seen the change of fourteen years?!' Naoko started fuming again, attempting to calm herself before setting needle to fabric again.
The pretty blonde woman in all red she had glimpsed before in the chorus was definitely not a brand-new teenager, but the idea still made her blood boil. Forget Romeo's age; how old was Paris to insist this badly that he wanted to make a thirteen-year-old Juliet a mother as soon as possible? She was obviously still a baby herself!
Thank heaven society standards have evolved since then! But next time someone tried to sweet-talk her into watching Shakespeare, the quilter would be remembering all this.
The all-too cheerful servant was happy to take the list of names he was meant to invite to the Capulet feast, but remembers after leaving the stage by the side stair towards the tables that he can't read the list.
'Yet another downside to having uneducated servants,' Naoko couldn't help thinking smugly as the servant pretended to run down Romeo and Benvolio to see if they could read the list. 'It could have potentially kept your daughter, nephew, prospective son-in-law, and many others from getting killed in less than a week if you had let them have a bit of schooling.'
Romeo was delighted by the list, since the poor girl he was interested in was among the invited guests, but it was Benvolio who spoke as the servant went on his merry way. He drew the actor aside, towards the table where Naoko and her girls were enjoying their meal.
"At this same ancient feast of Capulet's
"Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so loves," Benvolio told his friend with repressed jubilation, waving a grand hand at Hiromi, who stopped licking a blue candy shard in surprise.
Romeo's eye had been to Hiromi to continue the small homage, but it almost slipped of its own accord to Haru instead. There his gaze stayed in a spell of wonder, and his mouth slowly fell open in astonishment. The rest of Benvolio's lines fell on deaf ears, and the lead missed his cue long enough to make people from other tables start squirming around to see why things had suddenly stopped.
"Um, crow?" Benvolio prodded, both with his voice and with an elbow, but Romeo continued staring at the brunette like he had forgotten how to do anything else.
Haru was now blushing at the unexpected attention from the handsome stranger, using her large brown eyes to unthinkingly perfect the 'deer in the headlights' look as she tried to shrink down in her seat to put some distance between them.
It was then that Naoko fully appreciated that her daughter had taken some pains to look nicer than usual tonight for Hiromi's special birthday dinner. Her simple handmade dress of varying green hues neatly mirrored Romeo's color scheme and eyes. By having the top part of her hair held back in a braided crown instead of the standard ponytail, she could almost have passed for one of the Montagues herself!
"… She doth teach the torches to burn bright!" Romeo finally breathed in complete appreciation, forgetting that anyone else was in the theatre. A different, gentler smile was playing on his lips as his green eyes grew tender.
Haru blushed redder than a Capulet tunic before almost frantically pointing a finger at her friend. "Not me! Her!" she tried to remind him through a whisper.
Hiromi had caught on to what was intended to happen by now, but her ecstatic grin said loud and clear she didn't mind the change of plans. "She doesn't have a boyfriend," she tattled in a similar whisper.
"Go for it!" Naoko also encouraged, shoving her needlework into her bag for now. 'He isn't looking at her the way the Romeo so far would!'
Romeo beamed at both the news and encouragement, but a horror-stricken Benvolio grabbed him by the arm and started physically dragging him away before he could prematurely continue the 'ne'er seen true beauty' speech.
Haru breathed a deep sigh once he was a good ten feet away, even if he was still fighting to close that distance again.
"Yes! There sups the fair Rosaline thou loves!" Benvolio began again, his tone now verging on the edge of panic as he tried to remind the other actor they were indeed acting.
"With all the admired beauties of Verona.
"Go thither, and with unattained eye,
"Compare her face with some that I shall show,
"And I will make thee think thy swan a crow."
The disappointment on Romeo's features turned to rage, making him double acrobatically on Benvolio until he was standing and had a fistful of the man's purple and green doublet by the throat. He had been shorter by a head's worth, but now he seemed to tower over poor Benvolio that now seemed genuinely afraid for his life.
"One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun
"Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun!" the lead snarled, more than willing to defend his lady from such slander. He even had one fist raised in a silent promise to beat better taste into the man if he spoke against Rosaline again.
Naoko couldn't hold back her enjoyment, even if she had bothered to try. Now that there was a girl Romeo actually liked, his enforced countenance had changed from the medieval equivalent of a whiny, horny teenager to the most chivalrous of knights. For her sweet daughter, no less! 'I take back everything I've thought for the past week! This is where I want to be!'
Hiromi was grinning from ear to ear as she took a firm grip on Haru's arm to keep her from crawling underneath the table out of sheer embarrassment as the other tables caught onto what had caused the change in Romeo.
Benvolio fought to regain his composure and whispered something quickly before speaking again in a louder voice.
"Tut! You saw her fair, none else being by,
"Herself poised with herself in either eye:
"But in that crystal scales let there be weighed
"Your lady's love against some other maid
"That I will show you shining at this feast,
"And she shall scant show well that now seems best."
Romeo was giving him the death glare, and mentally counted to ten before dragging his friend back to the stage for their exit.
"I'll go along, no such sight to be shown,
"But to rejoice in the splendor of my own." He managed to make eye contact with Haru at this, and did his best to offer an apologetic, adoring smile before he was swallowed up in the curtains surrounding the stage.
Haru moved her soup aside enough to rest her head on the table. "That did not happen. That did not happen," was slightly muffled by her brown locks.
Still beaming, Hiromi reached over with one hand to start rubbing her back in comfort. "That totally happened. That totally happened, you lucky jerk!"
Haru looked up fiercely with a glare. "Not all of us like that much attention, Hiromi! This was supposed to be your birthday surprise! Your dad arranged it with the director, that's why you had a gold napkin!"
Hiromi couldn't stop impishly grinning as she used her other hand to start sucking on the shard again. "This is so much better! You're going to talk to him after the show, right?" she asked eagerly.
"What? No!" Haru was aghast at the thought, taking a quick look around the theatre for the exits. "If anything, I should leave before the next scene!"
"I wouldn't if I were you," one young man called out from a table over, still holding hands with his giggling date. "I'm on the fencing team with Baron, and he's never reacted to a girl like that before. Save yourself the embarrassment of having him track you down later, because he will."
"I have your word on that?" Naoko pressed, one eye on the stage in case 'Baron' snuck another look at Haru.
Tybalt poked his head out instead, looking straight at Haru as if mentally weighing her. Tilting his head to one side as if mentally saying 'not bad', the head then retreated to the other side of the black curtain.
The college kid from the table nodded through a grin. "You bet, ma'am! Baron's next to nothing like Romeo off the stage. You won't have to worry if he's going to be a-"
"FIGHT ME, PEASANT!" Romeo suddenly roared, a chorus of violent sounds and surprised yells coming from the back stage.
The only evidence on this side was how the curtains were billowing and getting moved around quickly, as if a tornado were rampaging on the other side.
"Baron, don't! You're supposed to fake-kill him later! Fake!" someone could just be heard trying to reason.
Haru paled before burying her face in her hands as the sounds continued. "Somebody tell me that he's getting into fisticuffs over something other than me."
"Sorry, sweetheart," Naoko apologized, now too excited to return to her sewing. "Tybalt looked like he was going to say something right before the second fight broke out."
"Ye-eah. Just take it for granted that he won't put up with any disrespect to her," the college guy finished with a nervous laugh as his date patted him on the back with sympathy.
ooOoo
It took a while, but the play got back on track. After the scene that introduced Juliet and her nurse, they began the somewhat lengthy affair of 'getting the party started'. There were a few of the actors that were working around limps that hadn't been there at the beginning of the play, and one that was being especially tender of one of his arms. Nearly all of them were sneaking curious glances at Haru as they past by her table, but it was hard to read what they were thinking.
Romeo was still noticeable, of course. His small black mask helped conceal the force of his gaze, but regardless of where he was in the reverie, his eyes never really left Haru.
"Please let me hide under the table," she begged Hiromi, who still had a vice-like grip on her arm.
"Never," she smirked, pulled her seat a little closer to her friend to ensure that she didn't move.
The party was a little more three-dimensional than anticipated, since the actors were spreading out between the tables again, as if all the theatre were a part of the stage. Naoko had to admit that it made her feel like the play was slightly more real, but she had to admit that she was really looking forward to when Romeo finally had a chance to talk to her daughter!
Juliet, looking every inch a princess in her scarlet gown and flowing golden hair, managed to dance close enough to their table with a random Capulet guest, daintily helping herself to the big red rose on their floral arrangement. She held it to her nose to artfully partake of its fragrance, resting one hand on the tablecloth as she paused in her merrymaking. "Psst, Rosaline," she whispered, letting the rose mask her lips to anyone that wasn't at their table.
Haru looked up at her as if she feared the worst.
"I'm letting you have my share of the custard after the show for what's about to happen. Sorry in advance," Juliet whispered as gently as possible while sneaking the girl a sympathetic look.
Haru opened her mouth to make the standard inquiry, but started blushing again as Romeo managed to say above all the suddenly softened noise;
"What lady's that, which doth enrich the hand
Of yonder knight?"
"Oh, please no," Haru choked, catching onto Juliet's strategic placement.
Romeo's sudden infatuation with her had been anything but subtle. But with Juliet standing right next to her, it enabled the illusion that the sweet flowery speech was really directed at her instead of some stranger trying to mind her own business.
"Hang in there," the Capulet escorting Juliet murmured, casually reaching back and patting the poor girl's hand. "What Baron lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in everything else."
Haru had her face down on the table again, making an agonized groan as she tried to drown out the flowery speech with her hands to her ears.
'Poor Haru,' Naoko couldn't think without resisting a giggle. 'She's never gotten attention like this from a boy before. I hope he's at least a gentleman once he gets all the Shakespeare out of his system.'
"Did my heart love 'till now? Forswear it, sight!
"For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night," Romeo finished crooning like a lovesick idiot.
Juliet comfortingly patted Haru's head once Romeo was done swooning, gave a sly wink to Hiromi and Naoko, and rejoined the party as the focus switched to Tybalt and Lord Capulet.
"Nice to know she isn't mad about this," Hiromi whispered to Naoko, who nodded her agreement before reaching across the table to nudge her daughter's arm.
"Please stop that, Haru. You're too old to pout like this."
Her child lifted her head enough to level a glare at her mother with one eye. "You're not the one everyone's staring at this time. Sorry, but I'm Dad's kid on this."
Naoko felt her heartstrings twang violently at the reminder. She gave a deep, reminiscing sigh as she took hold of her daughter's hand, dragging it across the tablecloth so that she could continue to grip those familiar fingers.
Hiromi understood the pain of losing a parent, so she reached forward to lay her hand on top of theirs. "We're still here for you, Haru. You're not doing this alone, you know."
That glare softened into a loving glow as she slowly sat up, keeping their hands in hers until it was resting in Hiromi's lap. Naoko scooted her chair a little closer to Hiromi's to make the clasp a little less strained but kept an eye on who she was dead certain was her future son-in-law.
As expected, when he had to do the 'pilgrim small talk' with Juliet, she was once more between them in such a way that Baron could see Haru over one shoulder. His eyes were still gentle and adoring as they looked at the brunette, but when it came time for the first kiss, he actually blanched. His eyes turned wide and panicked as they darted between Juliet and Haru, but what had been said couldn't be taken back.
Naoko could see a mischievous smirk on the side of Juliet's face as she intentionally lowered her head for him to press a kiss to her forehead instead. He did so with a grateful smile, then carried on as if the kiss had been normal.
There was a mixed reaction from the dinner participants. Some of the ones that were a little farther away had obviously been hoping for a real kiss, but the ones closer to the front were passing thumbs-up to the true object of Romeo's affections.
"Quick thinking," Haru couldn't help muttering with a wan smile, giving small hand waves to acknowledge the bits of encouragement complete strangers were offering her.
Yes, everything was going surprisingly well for the remainder of the scene. Romeo found out who Juliet was, although he should have known from crashing a Capulet party, and he was mournfully leaving as Juliet began inquiring her nurse as to the man's identity.
But then Romeo made the mistake of looking over his shoulder for a last glimpse of Haru. As such, he didn't see the one chair left out by a patron that was paying a quick visit to the bathroom.
"Look out-" Haru tried to warn, but it was already too late as the man tripped on the chair and scraping one arm against the table's edge.
There must have been an exposed nail or sharp edge that had been overlooked, because the sound of ripping cloth was surprisingly deafening.
Fighting back a groan of pain, Romeo looked down at the rip that had turned half of his sleeve into an open one, exposing the snow white tunic underneath. Blushing terribly, he stumbled to his feet while using his other hand to hold the tear together as he made a hasty exit to the door that lead backstage.
Naoko took no time at all for her decision. Getting up from her seat, she marched around the table, grabbed her daughter's hand, and started dragging her to the same door that Romeo had disappeared into.
"Mom?" Haru asked in a horrified whisper, almost as if she knew what her mother was planning.
Mercutio stepped in front of them with his arms out in a blocking gesture. "Now's a really bad time," he nearly begged in a whisper as Juliet and her nurse spoke in louder voices in an effort to distract the dinner guests from Romeo's embarrassment or Mercutio's attempted intervention.
Naoko threw her large bag into her daughter's surprised arms and pushed her a little closer to the actor while keeping her own voice just as low. "My daughter's been making her own clothes for years, other than school ones. She can handle Romeo's doublet."
"Mom!" Haru hissed in mortification, but Naoko only returned a steely smile.
"If I go fix his doublet, what kind of information do you think I'll give him before it's done? Besides, you're faster at hand-sewing than I am."
Despite herself, Haru managed a small glare while holding the bag to her chest. "Well, you're the one that's always on the sewing machine for work, what choice do I have?"
Mercutio took a brief second to look over Haru's well-fitted dress before clasping his hands to her with a heavy breath. "We can't keep a tailor to save our lives, and we desperately need a good one right now. If Baron hits on you harder than you can handle, I'll knock him on the head until he behaves."
Haru still looked sick, but at least she understood there was no time to work with. "Lead the way," she invited with a weak smile, making him beam and wrap an arm around her shoulders to encourage a fast walk to the door that quickly swallowed them both.
"Sorry about robbing you of Haru for the rest of the night," Naoko apologized to Hiromi as she claimed her seat.
The birthday girl was smirking as she carefully chose an orange shard to lick. "What do you think her chances are of walking away without a date?"
Naoko beamed while letting herself suck on a green shard. "Nonexistent."
Hiromi wickedly giggled her approval. "Lucky jerk."
xxXxx
For clarification:
Romeo- Baron
Juliet- Louise
Benvolio- Natori
Mercutio- Toto
Tybalt- Muta
The Prince/Director- Lune
Capulet servant- Natoru