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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 12:56:39 GMT -5
Plot: Esme and Jerome go on a double date with Carmelita (now an adult) and Nero at the Veritable French Diner. Will things go well, or will it be disasterous when Esme and Jerome meet the much older man their adopted daughter has chosen for her fiancee? Cast:
Jenny: Esme Squalor and Vice Principal Nero
EmmaSqualor667: Jerome Squalor and Carmelita Spats *************************************************************************************** Esme and Jerome Squalor entered the Veritable French Diner and scanned the tables for the first sign of a man whose hairstyle was four greasy braids sitting with a much younger woman with fiery red hair and azure eyes. Jerome turned to Esme and asked, "Do you see them?"
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Post by Jenny on Aug 6, 2007 13:50:29 GMT -5
Moments of silence followed while the two scanned the room. 'I'm not sure,' the reply came eventually, unsurely. Jerome laughed.
'They aren't here yet, then,' he chuckled. 'It's not as if you could easily miss them, is it?'
Esmé smiled, razor sharp. She'd been dying for an excuse to bring up the ageing Vice Principal she was so critical of, and finally her husband had offered her one.
'No, it isn't.' she said, as they found their way to a table with the help of one of the waiters. 'The pretty girl and the monster are noticed most everywhere they go.'
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 14:06:32 GMT -5
[is giggling like a maniac. You keep them IC perfectly! I looove it!]
"Now, Esme," Jerome said, being careful not to start an argument, for he hated arguing, "just because he's a little bit older than Carmelita doesn't mean they aren't compatible."
A 'little bit' older? Scratch that... Nero was exactly twenty-two years and three months older than Carmelita. Jerome leaned back and waited for his wife to say something contridictary.
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Post by Jenny on Aug 6, 2007 14:43:37 GMT -5
Esmé coughed on the water the waiter had left for them both. Her laughter was welling, but she wouldn't give him the idea this was in any way a funny situation.
'Compatible?' she repeated incredulously. 'Are you serious? I'm sure Carmelita could be equally as compatible with someone nearer her own age.'
Jerome was as unwilling to argue as always, but he couldn't help the comment his lips let escape before he himself had properly permitted it.
'It's not as if you're completely right to be lecturing her, though, is it? After all, you fell for someone older than yourself.'
Her demeanor turned icy in an instant. 'I'll thank you to keep your voice down,' she smiled, through what he was sure was irritation. 'And also, the differene was certainly not equal to twenty two years.'
'And three months.' Jerome supplied unhelpfully. She threw him a glare and settled back to her water just in time to feel a light tap on her shoulder.
She turned around to see Carmelita and the odd looking Vice Principal. She attempted a smile at them both.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 14:56:03 GMT -5
"Hello, Esme," Carmelita said, smiling at her and Jerome. "Hello, Jerome. I'm sorry we're a little late, but Nero here had to oversee a detention at Prufrock Prep."
Jerome could see that was apparent, judging by the large bag of candy that the vice principal attempted to conceal in the pocket of his rumpled brown jacket. Noticing how hard his wife was trying not to say something she would regret, Jerome gave both Nero and Carmelita a welcoming smile and said, "That's alright. Come, sit down with us."
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Post by Jenny on Aug 6, 2007 15:07:53 GMT -5
Before Carmelita could seat herself next to Jerome, Esmé grabbed her by her sleeve and pulled her down into the chair beside her. She was NOT going to sit beside Nero for the whole evening. Looking at his lack of hair from a side angle was just disturbing, especially when in pigtails. She simply couldn't see what Carmelita saw in him.
Of course, she had always been shallow and all about appearance, obsessing about her own for so many years, and that of others. Carmelita had grown up with an over excited woan insisting on braiding her hair all the time. It was a wonder she was so normal.
'How are you two?' asked Jerome pleasantly.
'Quite fine, thank you.' Nero replied, seated beside Jerome and opposite Esmé. He couldn't say he was comfortable, particularly.
Nobody apart from Carmelita really got on with Nero. Esmé thought he was nice enough-- and amusing, certainly, in his choice of punishment to students--but hideously ugly and too old. Jerome thought him...odd, at best, but tolerated him better than his wife.
More than once, Esmé had subtely tried to convince her adoptive daughter that Nero was not exactly the best choice of fianceé. The age difference between the two was not as large as it would have been if they had been related (and, of course, Esmé handled ageing poorly and tried frequently to pretend she was two, three, four years younger than she actually was), and often they felt like friends more than mother and daughter. She had never suceeded.
(You're doing great!)
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 15:39:00 GMT -5
EmmaSqualor667: Jerome sensed the tension hovering about the table like a storm cloud ready to pour down on all four of them the moment someone said something insulting, particularly Esmé, whose normally soft blue eyes stared daggers at Nero. Jerome wondered why his wife didn’t just accept the situation for what it was instead of making things more difficult by ways such as arguing.
Carmelita seemed to also sense the disapproval Esmé was feeling towards Nero, for Carmelita gave Jerome a look that seemed to say “please help me figure out a way to get these two to like each other, or to at least get Esmé to like Nero”. Jerome felt bad for Carmelita.
Realizing that the awkward silence was only going to increase, Jerome decided to make things easier by asking Nero, “So, Carmelita tells us you play the violin.”
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Post by Jenny on Aug 6, 2007 15:55:26 GMT -5
Carmelita made a great gesture with her hands, begging Jerome not to start on that topic. Unfortunately, it was too late.
'Ah yes,' Nero said wisely. 'You know, I'm one of the greatest violinists in all of the world.'
'I'm sure,' Esmé muttered scathingly.
'I don't believe either of you have ever heard me play yet, have you?' Nero puffed up with his pride. Carmelita quickly put a stop to it as the waiter arrived.
'Neitehr do they want to, at the dinner table,' she said sternly, before turning to the waiter. '1O minutes?' she asked. He nodded and went away.
Carmelita shot Jerome a 'try again?' look, but he just shrugged. What could he do? Carmelita decided the only way to make Esmé agreeable was to talk about her for a while, so did just that.
'Esmé,' she said sweetly. 'How are you doing at home now? Have you a job?'
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 16:27:15 GMT -5
Esmé smiled at the question. “As a matter of fact,” she replied, “I just returned to my position as the city’s sixth most important financial advisor this week. I was surprised at just how quickly I managed to get back into the swing of things.” She shot Nero a look that seemed to say “See if you can top that, old man”.
“I was so proud of Esmé,” Jerome said, his eyes sparkling with adoration as he reached across the table and seized her hands. “She’s been through so much, and when she came and told me she was ready to return to work I just knew she was making the right decision.”
“That’s smashing,” Carmelita said, using one of Esmé’s favorite catch phrases that Carmelita had picked up during their escapades with Olaf. Then she turned to Nero. “Don’t you think so, Nero?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, being sure not to add “I suppose it is.” After all, he needed to work on impressing his future mother and father in-law.
[Sorry it took me forever to respond. I had to go to the store.]
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Post by Jenny on Aug 6, 2007 16:40:57 GMT -5
[That's alright. I've got to sleep now.]
'Isn't it also strange that you are going to be my son-in-law when you are in fact older than I am?' Esmé asked. Carmelita elbowed her viciously, after trying to be so nice.
'Nero is very successful,' Carmelita said angrily. 'Aren't you Nero?'
'Well,' Nero started to say modestly, but another murmur from Esmé quietened him.
'I would guess you earn quite a lot of candy annually, yes.'
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 6, 2007 16:53:59 GMT -5
[Okay, have a good night's sleep. Uh-oh... bad move, Esme. ^^]
Once more, Carmelita looked to Jerome for help, her eyes literally pleading with him to put a stop to the fight between Esmé and Nero that was sure to break out any second if something wasn’t done to stop it.
“Esmé,” Jerome said with a chuckle, then to Nero, “She’s kidding, Nero. It’s all in good fun, really.”
Nero did not look amused. "Your wife has quite a sense of humor," he replied, though he did not mean it one bit.
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Post by Jenny on Aug 7, 2007 2:26:03 GMT -5
Esmé quietened down a little after that, what with Carmelita and Nero glaring at her and Jerome looking as adoring as always.
The waiter arrived shortly after to take their orders, which finally stopped the awkward silence. Esmé had assumed they would split the bill at the end of the meal, and for Nero's sake Carmelita hoped he had brought enough.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 7, 2007 8:29:09 GMT -5
[Sorry it took me a little while to respond… I noticed you made your post after I’d gone to bed. : )]
“So,” Nero said, struggling to be as nice as possible for the sake of his pretty young fiancée, “what does the city’s sixth most important financial advisor do, exactly?”
Carmelita felt as though she would burst into tears if Esmé said one more rude thing to Nero. Carmelita crossed her fingers in the hopes that Esmé wouldn’t. Jerome looked like he was anticipating something. Something bad, Carmelita couldn’t help thinking.
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Post by Jenny on Aug 7, 2007 13:45:16 GMT -5
[Sorry it took ME so long! I've been out all day.]
'I assume you do KNOW what financial advice refers to?' Esmé asked quietly across the table. 'Advising people? Financially? Is this making any connections? Or do you need me to--'
Carmelita threw her hands down dramatically. 'Oh, stop it! Esmé!' she cried. 'Stop being so awful!'
'I'm not being awful,' Esmé said calmly. 'I'm just enquiring as to whether Nero, with his one-bedroom apartment, is actually aware of what financial advice is.'
The food arrived all too soon, and the four quietened. Carmelita sighed and kicked Jerome under the table lightly, trying to make him do something with her adoptive mothers behaviour.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 7, 2007 14:11:01 GMT -5
[It's fine! I know you have a life. ^^ Heh, I'm typing this in Microsoft Word from now on just to get that little dash on the "e" in "Esmé".]
Jerome smiled apologetically in Nero and Carmelita’s direction. “Esmé is kidding,” Jerome said again even though he knew full well she wasn’t being anything of the kind. “Aren’t you, dear?”
“I most certainly am NOT,” Esmé replied stubbornly. “Honestly, Carmelita, just look at the way your fiancée dresses! It’s obvious he’s never set one foot in the In Boutique—”
Carmelita threw her hands over her face in despair and humiliation.
“Esmé,” Jerome said slowly, carefully, “was that really necessary?”
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