Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect in Every Way (prac_perfect) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-06-26 15:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, mary poppins, william laurence |
Who: Laurence & Mary
What: Run-in at the theatre
When: Before this
Where: La Miranda Theatre
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Laurence had come early to the theatre. While he’d been to several back in England, it was his first time coming to the theatre in America and he was not entirely sure what to expect as far as traffic and crowds went, and so, despite the fact that it wasn’t ordinarily his custom to come more than ten minutes early to anything, he was nearly twenty minutes early for the theatre.
He ordered himself a glass of wine from the concession, and made his way to his seat. “Excuse me,” he said gently to the woman who was seated next to the seat on his ticket; he needed to squeeze past her in order to make it to his own seat.
If there was one way Mary could escape from the headache of this city, it was with the theater. She had always felt like she was the type of person who was born in the wrong century, but she did the best she could. Things were just so loud. Between traffic and social media, Mary sometimes didn’t know which way was up!
But the theater...the theater was different. It was refined and sophisticated. Anyone that tried to be otherwise was promptly removed and Mary could actually relax and have a pleasant evening.
She had been looking at her programme when the gentleman had spoken to her. She glanced up, realizing that he wanted to pass by her. Why hadn’t he gone the other way to get to his seat? Instead of vocalizing those concerns, she stood, reaching for her bag so he could pass to his seat....which ended up being the one right next to hers. She could always hope she would have space around her for the performance, but with such a popular show like this, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was a sold out show.
She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow at his glass of wine, but again, didn’t voice her concerns. “Have you seen this show before?” They had a few minutes before the show would start so conversation seemed to be the best way to kill the time.
“I’m afraid I haven’t,” Laurence said. If he was being entirely honest, he knew very little about the show. He enjoyed watching theatre performances, but he had never seen this one, and as he had no great love of reading, he had never read it either. It would be a surprise from start to finish. “Although I am acquainted with the woman who is playing Katherine.” If ‘talked briefly on the network’ could be considered acquainted. He realized that he was stretching the definition of the word. “And yourself?”
“Yes, it’s quite an enjoyable show. I haven’t had the chance to see this particular cast, so I’m quite looking forward to the show.” Mary prided herself in the various casts she would see for the same performance. She rather enjoyed watching the understudies perform, despite some rocky performances she had a chance encounter to view. Still, it was the opportunity. She hoped they were able to pick themselves up again.
“Do you come very often to the theater Mr…?”
“Oh, that is good to hear,” he said. “I’m afraid I’m quite in the dark about this particular production.” But, well, that was sometimes the best theatre experience to have. After all, he had no expectations to be lived up to.
“Captain Laurence,” Laurence responded; he hadn’t been a Mister in quite some time. “William Laurence. I’m afraid I do not have the chance to come to the theatre as often as I would like; work often keeps me away. And yourself, Miss…?”
Mary inclined her head in greeting, impressed by his title. “A pleasure Captain Laurence,” she said, holding a hand out in greeting. “Miss Poppins, but you may call me Mary.” She didn’t even go by Miss Poppins to the children she nannied. “I hope you enjoy this production at the very least. Do you prefer musicals or plays?”
“If I’m to call you Mary, then I really must insist you call me William, or Will,” Laurence said, resisting the urge to comment her names unfortunate resemblance to Mary Poppins. No doubt she had heard the comparison her whole life, and it was simply bad taste to comment on something she no doubt had no control over, though he did wonder at her parents and what they had been thinking. He wondered very much indeed.
“I quite enjoy both, but I must say I have always had a soft spot for musicals. The scores, and the talents of the actors as they sing and dance is unmatched, in my opinion. Although my heart will always belong to the opera.” Unfortunately, operatic performances were nowhere near as common as theatrical ones.
Mary nodded her head, accepting the terms he had set. “William,” she conceded, choosing to ignore that usual look of surprise whenever she introduced herself. It must have been a great laugh to her parents, but she didn’t mind. It was more entertaining to watch how people reacted when she introduced herself. It seemed William was taking the more polite route and not commenting on it. Mary couldn’t help but smile to herself.
“Yes, I find the talent for musicals typically outshines that of a play. What do they call it, a triple threat?” While Mary was familiar with the theater, there were certain terms that still seemed to slip through her mind. She was pleasantly surprised when he mentioned the opera. “You enjoy the opera?” Her eyes practically sparkled at the idea. “Have you been recently?”
Laurence chuckled. “If they don't, they certainly should. It is an apt enough descriptor.” The way her eyes lit up stirred something within him, and suddenly all he wanted to do was brag of all the operas he had been to. He managed to resist the urge. “It has been a pitifully long time since I last had the opportunity to see an opera. I've not gone since long before I moved to America. And yourself? It seems as though you're a fan.”
Mary found herself blushing at his chuckle, but smiled along with him. A simple observation seemed to be more delightful than she had meant it to be and she suddenly wondered if he had found her to be that way from the beginning. The reason for that wonder would be discarded to the back of her mind.
“Quite the same for myself,” she said, thinking back to London. “The things people believe is opera around here!” She shook her head as if it was the most scandalous thing in the world. “I’m afraid I haven’t been able to find a good opera house around here that have legitimate tours. And it’s been a full year!” She hadn’t meant to give away, what she would consider, private information about herself, but she found it was quite effortless to feel at ease with William. “I do enjoy the opera. Not much at once mind you, but on certain days, when you want to just float on the music…” She glanced at her new companion, realizing how silly it might sound. She straightened herself a bit, ducking her head as she felt the blush burn brighter on her face. “Yes, well, it’s a very relaxing feeling, isn’t it?”
“I’m sure that there must be a hidden gem somewhere here. There’s quite a lot of culture in the Orange County, if you know where to look.” Which should be obvious, given where they were. He smiled again, charmed completely by her turn of phrase. “If I find one, perhaps you would like to accompany me sometime? I’m afraid I haven’t yet found many who are as delighted by the opera as you seem to be.” T’Challa and Spencer would no doubt accompany him if he invited either one of them, but it was hard to say if they’d enjoy it quite as much as he himself would.
While Mary had been there for some time, she still felt as if she were a new person discovering their new city of residence. She had been fortunate enough to discover this theater on a whim and had made it her escape from reality whenever she needed it. “Do you frequent other theaters around town?” she asked, happy to hear of any other suggestions he might have. It was always good to have a few good places to discover and check out.
His invitation to join him to an opera (if one could be found) was both wildly thrilling and a bit daunting at the same time. Mary didn’t socialize too often with people and her latest trek online had been a notable excuse to try and branch out more in her communications. She found she had the type of personality that didn’t really fit with this current time or culture, but William seemed to be an exception to all that. She couldn’t help but smile, nodding her head in agreement. “I would be delighted to go with you,” she said, deciding she wouldn’t mind more time with him. If she had truly thought of it, this first evening could have counted for their first theater experience together.
“I’m afraid this is the first production I’ve been able to attend,” Laurence said. “I’m not sure if I would have made it to this one had it not been for Miss Blakeney posting it to one of the local forums in the city.”
He smiled, pleased that she had agreed to go with him. “Great,” he said, and was about to ask her if she’d like to set up a plan just then, but just as he started to, the lights began to dim. He felt a pang that he would not be able to continue the conversation, a part of him regretting that the show was starting at all. “Perhaps,” he said, lowering his voice, “we can exchange phone numbers at intermission?”
Mary opened her mouth to inquire what forum he was speaking of when the lights cut their conversation short. She found her interest divided in continuing the conversation with Laurence and turning her attention to the performance they were about to see. She was pleased that he asked to exchange numbers at intermission, a kind reminder that they would have an opportunity to continue their conversation then. “Yes, I would quite enjoy that,” she whispered back, settling back into her seat, her eyes reluctantly moving towards the stage as the curtain came up.