RP: Walk Outs
Who: Callie & Lillian When: April 8th (backdated) Where: Restaurant What: Replacement Date Warnings: Fairly innocent
Callie had watched the man walk in and over to the red head. She had also watched him walk out, though he had not been there nearly long enough for the woman to have done anything that would warrant him leaving the date. She had watched from her corner booth, the woman was beautiful and unless she smelled like a sewer drain and you could tell from that close… Well, she still didn’t see why the man had left. The woman seated though seemed upset, and contrary to popular believe Callie did have a heart. She had only ordered herself a drink at this point and had been planning to dine alone, having someone to talk to was always so much better than dining alone.
She got up from her booth and headed over to the table where the other woman was at. She slipped into the seat across from her as if it was her own, her glass of wine being set down next to her. She had started drinking more wine the longer she was dating Ginny, it was one of Gin’s favorites.
“What an oaf.” Callie said with a roll of her eyes, before extending one hand to the woman across the table. “Calypso Zabini, do you mind if I join you for dinner? I was going to eat alone but then I noticed a beautiful red head that was doing the same. It seemed a no brainer, as they say, to join you for dinner.”
She wished she could have said that watching a date of hers depart before they'd even gotten to the appetizers was a first, but it really wasn't, Lillian letting her forehead rest in her palm. If she hadn't bothered ordering wine, she would have just tried to leave, but that was a good deal harder for her than it was for most, and the last thing she needed was to draw even more attention to her than she already had. First it had been a matter of the waiters rearranging the chairs to make room for her, then a matter of her being fussed over almost excessively by the waiter as though she was some kind of child, and finally the wonderful sight of yet another one leaving only for half the restaurant and the entire staff to whisper about her and stare on in pity.
So someone joining her at her table was just about the last thing she'd expected short of her date returning to apologize for being an asshole, Lillian's eyes widening as she straightened somewhat and wordlessly extended her hand to shake that of the other-- truly striking-- woman, her eyes undeniably wide. "Lillian Moon. It's... a pleasure and... I don't mind at all," she shook her head, smiling at how ridiculous the prospect seemed that she'd ever turn that generous of an offer down. "I was thinking about just leaving, but..." she offered a somewhat pitiful shrug at their surroundings, "I didn't really want to draw even more attention to myself."
Callie’s nose wrinkled up when Lillian said that she had been thinking about leaving. “Well, I’m glad that you didn’t decide to leave. The food is delicious and I am so incredibly happy to have company. It was lonely over in my booth.” She wondered if the other woman knew her name at all, if she did it likely meant that she knew her brother Blaise. That was a question she would circle back to later, it wasn’t the most important thing going on tonight.
“I was thinking we could order an appetizer to start us off?” Emerald eyes lifted from where she had been looking at the menu to smile at the woman across from her. “So tell me, what do you do with your free time? Favorite hobbies and that?” She set the menu down then, she would figure out her actual dinner later and let Lillian choose just what appetizer they would start off with.
Lillian laughed. "I have trouble believing that anyone would stand you up! Me, on the other hand..." She smiled, shrugging softly. "I'm used to it. Which is probably why I'm so grateful for the company!"
One thing was absolutely for certain-- whoever this lovely woman was, she was a peach. The willingness to just come to someone else's rescue like this was hardly something Lillian experienced often-- if ever. Most muggles couldn't even muster up the effort to hold the door open. Either way, in this particular instance, she was infinitely grateful, her smile widening at the woman's remark about appetizers. "Yes, that sounds brilliant. And maybe even a bottle of wine to split?" She'd been holding herself over with her own glass of red, but that was far more for consolatory purposes than anything else.
A part of her couldn't help the nervous laughter that escaped her. This had to have been the most questions she'd been asked by someone outside of work in several years. "Um... hm. Well, I really, really love to read. I do that and sometimes... sketch and paint in my free time, and... I am definitely forgetting something!" She laughed. "I'd probably cook more if I could... what about you?"
Calypso just gave a sly smile, shrugging her shoulders. She had never been stood up but it felt rude to tell that to someone who had just been stood up. Besides, it didn’t matter. She gave a soft chuckle, “Well, you clearly need to try a better class of men. I know a few of those, my brother has a few friends that are definitely a better class of man.” She wouldn’t try to set the other woman up though, at least not unless she wanted it at some point. Though she had a feeling that if she could invite Lillian to a party, one of the boys was bound to take an interest, she was gorgeous and knew that the men wouldn’t look twice at the wheelchair.
“I’d love a bottle to split, what were you having?” Calypso had only recently really gotten into drinking wine. It had been since Ginny had entered her life, the woman always seemed to have a bottle around the house. Calypso was starting to run into the same problem, she tended to keep her own favorites on hand at the house. “Have you ever done of those wine tastings? I only recently started getting into wine and they sound interesting. There’s a few vineyards that are in the area that I want to try.. Though I might have missed the boat, I did live in Italy for years. I should have done those things while there.” She gave a playful eye roll at her own stupidity for not doing it then, an easy laugh slipping from her.
Talking with the other woman was so easy, Calypso was enjoying the other woman’s company immensely. The nervous laugh made Callie give a soft giggle, hiding it by picking her drink up to take a sip. “Mmm, traveling honestly?” She said with a laugh, “I write a travel piece for my brother’s paper The Daily Prophet. It seemed a perfect fit and excuse to travel. I’ve been trying to stay home more recently, my girlfriend doesn’t exactly want me traveling all over all the time.” Especially when Ginny had games, at least Callie assumed. It was part of why she had been staying home more recently. “I am realizing just how boring I sound. I love to read though, it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I could spend hours in the garden just reading whatever, the library is one of my favorite places.”
She laughed. "I've just been starting to think that maybe men are the problem!" Sighing, she sat back, taking a sip of her lone glass of wine. "I almost... miss school, you know? It was so much easier to separate the wheat from the chaff back then!" At her mention of her brother, it occurred to her that she actually had no idea if Calypso had even gone to Hogwarts. "Did... you and your brother go to Hogwarts?" It was a reasonable assumption to make, right? She did live in London, after all... presumably. "I might just have to ask for an introduction!"
Glancing down at her glass, she blinked. "Oh, this? This is just a malbec... not exactly everyone's cup of tea-- what kind of wine do you prefer?" At her mention of wine tastings, Lillian grinned. Okay. So she probably didn't know all too much about wine. "My dad used to be a sommelier. But... that was a long time ago." She shrugged. There was hardly any need to go into that now. "Well, let me ask you this to start. Do you have a sweet tooth?"
Of course, that was when Callie mentioned that her brother wrote for the Prophet, Lillian's eyes widening. "Oh! Blaise Zabini, right?" God, she hoped she'd gotten that right. "If I didn't... totally screw that up, then he was in my year at Hogwarts. Hufflepuff."
Callie couldn’t help the smirk that graced her expression when Lillian said that she had thought men were the problem. “To be fair, men were the problem for me?” She gave a soft laugh, “Though, I’ve got a few females I can suggest too if you do decide you’re batting for the other team.” Her head bobbed then, “We did, though you look like you’d be closer in age to me…” She knew her own brother looked close to her own age and there was a substantial gap in their ages. “What year did you finish school?” She knew for certain people it all depended, that if she had been in school during the war there was a chance that she had a gap in her educational history.
“Oh, I don’t think I have a type I prefer? I’ve just been adventuring into this wine thing. I have just been picking ones that sounded fun, were expensive, or ones that Ginny liked.” While she had a few favorites at home, she rarely remembered the name unless she was looking at the bottle. “I think you may need to be my new best friend. You clearly know more about all of this win stuff.” Her head bobbed happily though when she was asked if she had a sweet tooth, “Most definitely. Blaise brings me back far too many sweets from Sweet Nothings.” Callie would blame Blaise when it was her own fault that she tended to pop into Sweet Nothings too often.
Then it all seemed to come together, Callie’s face lighting up. Alright so there was a bit of an age gap between herself and Lillian but she was still close enough in age that Callie didn’t feel so awkward sitting across from her. She wanted to ask if the other happened to know Ginny too but it wasn’t really important. “You’re actually really right,” Callie said with a soft laugh. “I’m used to everyone knowing him so I think I just assumed you’d know me by my last name?” She gave a slight shrug. “Slytherin, by the way.”
"I'm afraid I'm only a part-timer in either department," she laughed. "Splitting my time between two jobs, if you will. Men and women." And yet, men did still seem to be the problem most of the time. Not that she'd had too much luck on the other shore, either.
"Your brother really was one of the nicer sorts, although I'm afraid I don't know him all too well. We did have some N.E.W.T. level class together, though, and we always had Transfiguration with the Slytherins." And while he'd certainly been more than nice enough, that didn't say much. More often than not, Lillian had been rather invisible to the more notable students of their year, hanging around Susan and Hannah more than anyone else. Not that she minded that all too terribly much. She'd had her close circle of friends. That had been all she'd really needed. "Being sorted into Slytherin almost seems to have to do more with name than it does with personality. Like an entire family just ends up in the same house for generations! I can't even imagine the sort of pressure that would present if you didn't end up getting sorted into exactly that one..."
Laughing out loud at her mention of her new best friend title, Lillian grinned. "I think I can live with that! I'm more than happy to help educate you-- or to simply tell you which wines you'll like!" It wouldn't be all too hard, especially not with the confirmation of a sweet tooth. "Okay then... coffee or juice and ice cream or sherbert."
Calypso’s eyes grew wider, a laugh slipping from her. “I don’t know if that’s a blessing or a curse. Sure, it opens up your playing field for more advantages but you’re also having to deal with double the trouble. I don’t think I could handle that, I can barely handle the one girlfriend I have.” Which was… Well, strained. Calypso was always wanting more and Ginny never seemed to have more to give.
“I don’t know if my mother would have been upset if I hadn’t been sorted into Slytherin. I think she wouldn’t have minded? I think I was supposed to be there though, I always wanted to be just like Blaise when I was younger. Being in the same house as he was.. It just sounded perfect to a ten year old that wants to be just like her big brother.” Calypso gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. “I do know what you mean though, it does seem as if name has more to do with it. Though, I’ve met a lot of Slytherin’s that are most definitely not there because of family names or anything.” She had met a few that really did embody the positive traits of the Slytherin house, there just didn’t seem to a large commodity of them.
“Oh,” Calypso sounded a bit wondered by that, someone to tell her what wines she would like? That took all of the guess work out of everything! She grinned wider, nodding her head quickly. “I’d love that. It takes all the work out of it for me. I bought one the other day, just because of the name. It was something fantastic and fun, it tasted like feet though. It was absolutely disgusting.” Her nose wrinkled up at the memory, shaking her head quickly. Though then she realized she still had to pick. “Hmm, probably juice. Does gelato count as ice cream for the sake of this question?”
"Both," she nodded, a knowing smile on her face. "It's definitely both." Although her mention of her girlfriend certainly peaked Lillian's interest. "Oh? What's she like?" There were always those instances wherein people were far too humble when it came to their capabilities within relationships, after all, and it wasn't as though she had any reason to believe anything otherwise regarding Calypso.
"Mum was a Ravenclaw, but I don't think she minded that I was a Hufflepuff. I think she was just proud that I turned out to be a witch in the first place, honestly. Although I don't think the family thing is just Slytherin. I mean, consider the Weasleys, right?" Chewing on her lip for a moment, Lillian stopped to take a long sip from her glass. "I think it sounds nice, honestly. Have you two always been close?" She could hardly even imagine what that had to be like.
"Oh, right! Italian! I guess I should have started by asking if you preferred fruity or creamy, huh?" She laughed. "But since gelato is on the creamy side of things, I would suggest something like an oaky white wine, maybe. Like a Semillon or a Viognier."
Calypso gave a laugh, it seemed that this other woman might know her girlfriend. “I’m dating Ginny Weasley, funny enough. So I mean, that’s what she’s like?” Callie gave an easy shrug, she didn’t see the relationship lasting long, it was rocky as it was. Callie saw no reason though to bring that up at dinner, her new friend didn’t want to hear Callie whine about how she wanted more attention.
“You’re right though, it isn’t just Slytherin. I guess I forgot all about their family because I believe they were all out of school by then.” There was a nice age gap between Calypso and Ginny, though it had never bothered Callie. She was used to hanging out with Blaise and his friends, they were always older. Yes, she was definitely that annoying little twit sister that followed her brother everywhere, but she was at least used to being around people that were older.
Neither of the wines that Lilian had mentioned were waiting for Calypso at home, she would need to try them both. “You’ll just have to go to the store with me to pick them up sometime, it’ll be a girl’s day.” It was a bit forward and while Calypso realized this, she didn’t seem to care. Calypso did everything at her own pace, even if that pace seemed to break neck speed from time to time.
"Oh!" Lillian nodded, her eyes momentarily widening. "I don't rightly know her that well, but she seems nice enough!" All the Weasleys had, really. Sure, Ron had always been quite good at putting his foot in his mouth, but it was always harmless, just as the twins' jokes had been. The thought brought her pause, and Lillian swallowed back her frown, the all-too-common thought that it should have been her, too-- or better yet, her in his stead. Fred had had a family, after all, and she... she had a sister that resented her existence, not that her feelings on Olivia differed all too greatly.
But this was not the time to get maudlin, Lillian was quick to remind herself, promptly brightening as she swallowed down another sip before nodding. "Yes... they're like legacies, I think? I know that sort of thing exists at a lot of muggle universities-- and private schools, of course. You're basically admitted based solely on the basis of who your family is. It's very... oh, what's that called again-- oh, right-- nepotism. Technically not supposed to happen, but apparently it happens all the time. At least, that's what my dad used to tell me." Oh, geez. Not the time to get into that, either. Eager to change the subject, she was quick to add, "what about you? I know your brother is in news... what do you do? Any family expectations there?"
Grinning at her comment about accompanying her on a wine run, she nodded. "I'd love that! It's been forever since I've actually gotten to do anything like that." God, she had become a bit of a recluse, hadn't she? Now, if only changing that didn't seem quite so terrifying!
Calypso wouldn’t talk terrible about her own girlfriend, she just chuckled and smiled. She knew that Ginny had a public image that actually mattered, people that could fire her from the job she loved. Calypso might not be happy in her relationships but she wasn’t about to bad mouth Ginny to someone she barely knew, maybe once they were friends she might share secrets about their relationship, but Calypso didn’t want to start tonight. Besides, it’d just bring down the mood.
Another laugh slipped from Calypso, “I actually think that I might be one of those things, legacies? Though I don’t know if it counts?” She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, “I actually don’t work currently though.” She had wanted to admit that she worked for Blaise, she had been writing the travel pieces for a bit now. They were just as good as any travel magazine she had thumbed through. Filled with pictures, beautiful descriptions, and she had always been sure to give travelers a few options when heading out. Sure, her spots tended to focus mostly around tropical places, but she was branching out. She was making plans to go someplace a bit more inland, maybe even someplace colder. She was still figuring it all out. She was doing it all under a penname though, she liked to keep up the image that she wasn’t working and had all the time in the world for everything. It was an image her mother liked to keep, Calypso had adopted it throughout the years.
“I think the only thing my mother expects me to do is go through men like she does,” Calypso gave a bit of an eye roll, laughing it off. “She was barking up the wrong tree with that one, but she still tries. I think she hopes that I’ll marry a wizard one of these days.” She shook her head, ridiculous. Oya had such ridiculous ideas for Calypso, never one asking Callie if she wanted them for herself.
“Whenever you’re free, I’d love to go!” She had all the time in the world, or so she liked to appear. Her travels would put on hold anyway in just a few short weeks.
Her attention moved to the waiter as they came up for their order. She glanced back at the other woman and smiled, “I was thinking a bottle of wine to go with dinner, what are you thinking?”
"Yeah, I'd definitely put Zabini in the list of legacy families! I mean... it's like a household name, isn't it?" At her comment about her not working, however, Lillian stalled. "Really?" she finally offered, unable for a moment to hide her surprise. She certainly hadn't expected that.
Of course, then again, she supposed there were plenty of assumptions that came with being part of precisely such a legacy family. Money, status... on the one hand, she probably wouldn't have to work if there was a nice trust fund to live off of, or whatever the wizarding equivalent of that was... on the other... her brother owned the Prophet. Surely... "I guess I just always figured you'd want to work with your brother... but... that would probably be nepotism, huh?"
Laughing at her comment about the men, Lillian grinned. "So she wouldn't be okay with you going through women the same way, I'm assuming."
Catching sight of the waiter, she nodded at Callie's question with a smile. "I think that sounds fantastic." Between that, a good dinner, and the present company, she definitely considered her evening salvaged. Small miracles.