For Lenna, the breakup with Edgar was a bittersweet one. In part, she had known--perhaps even better than he himself did-- what his feelings truly were, who it was that he belonged with. To know he was back with the person that he had been forcefully separated from by his father, straight into this arranged marriage with herself, made Lenna happy. Rather, knowing Edgar would be happy and true to himself with the one he was with now in a way she knew he could never fully be with her, made her happy. But, it was hardly that simple, even if she had tried to always prepare herself for this potential outcome. Over this past half year, she had fallen in love with him, even when she had told herself not to, not so soon. The part of her she deemed selfish looked forward to being his wife, to having a home of their own, to being in his arms every night, to signing papers 'Lenna Figaro'. So, while she could smile at him throughout their parting, in the days after, there was a sort of unshakable sadness in her, as well.
Her own father, kind man that he was, realized there was no guilty party at heart here, and that getting upset with Edgar for calling off the engagement wouldn't be what Lenna wanted. What had happened was what Lenna wanted, as strange as the thought was of wanting something that would bring hurt to oneself. But he knew his daughter to have a selflessness that way, the sort she really shouldn't of had to of been experiencing at her age. A daughter who was loudly crying into their pillow in their room, or cynically saying they never wanted to see another boy again, would of been a lot easier for him to deal with as a parent-- things more expected of a still young girl-- than the way Lenna treated the whole thing.
Although time would be the primary element in the healing process, Alexander also hated to see his daughter this way. Every day now, she was in the gardens behind their home, finding things there to busy herself with--alone. Given what he had seen, she looked to just be keeping everything she must of been feeling inside; while it would be some time before she could honestly be expected to be entirely better, he didn't think this was helping.
"Lenna, you're going to have Fredrick out of a job at this rate," he said to her with a smile in his voice, when he came outside to join her.
Lenna looked up from dirt she was patting down, up towards her father as he mentioned their gardener. "Father," she said, before she smiled. "I'm planting some new seeds," she told him, explaining that she wasn't just doing some sort of upkeep here. "Fall is when the chrysanthemums grow best." She looked back down to her work then, smoothing some more dirt over with her gloved hand. She did enjoy the flowers back here a lot, as well as the good feeling that came with nurturing growth, but primarily, she took to the activity because it kept her busy.
In reply, Alexander gave a thoughtful sound underneath his breath. "Something new does sound good." Lenna didn't look up again at those words, but smiled a little still, calmly. "And what about you, Lenna?" he continued in a not exactly direct way, tilting his head slightly to catch her gaze, and this time, she did give him a slight glance.
Truly, Lenna hoped she hadn't disappointed her father, thinking that was the only thing he could be feeling in regards to her and Edgar's breakup. If she had married him, it would of been a very positive thing for both of their families; now, it would only make things worse than they had been in the first place. Her poor father-- the things that the men at work must of been asking him, expecting him to have answers to, when she was sure she hadn't given him nearly enough herself.
He continued, when she did not immediately say anything to that. "George gave me these two tickets to the game at Pelham Bay Park tomorrow. The teams playing there tomorrow give a great show. He was going to go with his son, but they ended up having to go out of town."
Lenna blinked, at the offer. "...Oh...? That's too bad..." Sports was one area her knowledge was incredibly limited, but any gift from her father was one she'd quickly take. "But, I'd love to go with you, father," she then said.
Alexander chuckled. "I won't be going. I've got a meeting right at the same time, unfortunately. Why don't you and a friend go?" Said meeting was nothing he couldn't of moved over, but his whole point here was to encourage her to spend some time with someone she felt she could confide in about this-- and in this case, he knew it wouldn't be in him.
"A friend?" Lenna asked, before she quickly continued, "Oh-- yes, all right. That ... sounds nice. I'll have to think about who to invite." Once more, she smiled, and when he saw that the idea seemed to take with her, felt his plan had been wholly successful.
Lenna couldn't of told her father she didn't have any friends to invite. The closest things she'd had to friends were Edgar's own, and of course, she couldn't call any of them at a time like this. Because of how she'd grown up, the only peers she knew were like her: children of wealthy parents. And Lenna and Edgar were rare exceptions to how those types usually turned out; Lenna wouldn't be the type to think ill of anyone who hadn't wronged her severely, but she didn't really find anything but acquaintances in others her age. So, she attended the game that day--because she would not want her father's gift to go to waste-- alone. At the least, it was a refreshing change of scenery, and one unlike anything she and Edgar had done together, in the time they had been.
It was somewhat of a strange crowd for her to be in the midst of, mostly male, mostly loud, but there were families there too, and a little boy to her left actually ended up helpfully summarizing most of the game for her when he noticed she looked a bit confused.
Of all the players on the field that day, there was one who stood out to everyone watching. A man with tanned skin and dark hair, who scored unbelievable goals, from impossible angles and distances. The crowd cheered for him the loudest, and Lenna sort of joined in with everyone's boisterous clapping, at first taking her cues from those around her, but then because she was honestly impressed. "Who is that man?" she asked the young boy.
"You kiddin'?!" the boy replied-- couldn't of been any older than six, maybe seven. "That's Jecht! He's the best soccer player ever. Nobody else even comes close." Lenna nodded her head, in an agreeing way actually. From what she'd seen, no one else did come close to the shots he was pulling off. Noticing him steal the ball from another player flawlessly, she said, "He's very good."
"He's the greatest," the boy corrected, knowingly.
Continuing to watch him, Lenna fell into the same mindset as a lot of the crowd here: eager to see Jecht get the ball, discouraged to see someone take it away, but whenever someone managed, it was always a very short lived victory. One time, after a particularly long play of the two teams unable to overcome one another, he blocked a pass with such speed that Lenna's mouth fell open a bit, her eyes transfixed on him as he expertly crossed the field, bypassing all those who tried to stop him. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath, watching this man who was clearly a master at his craft, until he'd actually scored the goal, and she found herself standing up just like some of the others around her, to cheer for him. Really, that shot-- his skill in general-- was just magnificent, and there was a smile on her face when she'd stood.
She did not call nor holler like those who'd also rose, yet she was sure-- for just a moment-- that his eyes landed on her. Her smiled dimmed, though did not entirely fade, surprised as she was in that moment. It was only a second, but his gaze had such an intensity to it, and that feeling-- the feeling he was looking at her-- made her want to shrink back. She sat down again, just as the young boy hopped in front of her, hoping to catch the player's attention, noticing he was looking over here. Once everyone had sat back down again and the game had continued, she would be warmed by the boy's enthusiasm, but in that actual moment, all she wanted to do was to look down at the ground beneath her feet, and be completely invisible.
The tickets her father had been given were not only ones that were for great game seats, but they were also an invitation to the party that was held afterward, in a nearby nightspot, a few blocks away. Lenna wasn't the type of girl who would be on the lookout for something like that-- the only parties she attended being very formal ones-- but, she also realized if she went home straight after the game, her father would be curious as to what happened. As she walked back to her car, she contemplated just killing an hour or two in there, having brought a book to read along with her in case she hadn't found the game very entertaining.
But, as she was turning the key in the lock, she overheard a voice, and recognized the face of a boy only a little bit older than her, someone she had met before at one of those more formal parties. Not anyone she was very interested in, but there was a polite air between them. The two briefly talked, before he told her where he was headed.
"You're going to the after party too, right?"
"Ah...No, I'm actually feeling a bit tired."
"Tired? It's only nine o'clock. You should come by, Sandy's going to be there too."
Sandy... Lenna didn't place the name to a face. Times like this just made her realize she had really sort of missed out on the whole social side of her life, when she'd been so focused on things like her schooling, and preparing herself for life as her father's daughter.
He went on, "We were sort of curious about how you've been doing..." He trailed off, but Lenna bridged the gap. So, it's already out, she thought. Well, of course, nothing ever stayed secret for very long among the upper class. Lenna really didn't want to talk about it at all, but she also realized that an essential stranger was asking her about her well being. She didn't want to be rude.
"Maybe for a few minutes," she amended, to her previous decision of not wanting to go at all.
She arrived alone at the address to the club she'd been given, the place solely reserved for the party following up today's game. She intended to locate who she had come to say hello to as quickly as possible, and then to leave, but now that she had actually arrived, that didn't seem like it would be so simple. It was a ... much different atmosphere than what she was accustomed to, although it was still obviously an expensive place, the kind which would of always had a strict list of requirements for guests.
She stood sort of awkwardly near the front, seeing if she could spot the boy she'd talked to from there, when a few people entering bumped into her. She stumbled forward a step, and hearing an apology from somewhere behind her, she quickly dismissed the need for one. Well, maybe it would be better not to stand where people were entering. She wandered a little further inside with that, glancing around quietly.