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Date Posted: 17:12:13 05/03/02 Fri
Author: Repost Fairy
Author Host/IP: 64.193.19.25
Subject: Chapter 21 - Part 3 (end of chapter 21)
In reply to: KGilbert 's message, "Dreams in the Dark - Chapter 20 and forthcoming" on 17:00:21 05/03/02 Fri

The costumer moved on with this plan, then--looked around, motioning at last to Julie's chair. It wasn't really her place, but this woman needed her aid. "May I?"

Huh. It took Nikita a moment to even understand why the woman was asking. She nodded at last, wondering again if she could ever get used to the strange deference she seemed to get around here; it just didn't fit into her general self-perception. "Of course." She had no idea why she would ever have turned her down.

There was more to the actress's agreement than simple politeness, though; she looked into the woman's maternal gaze, wondering what she would discover from her. She had a feeling that, whatever it was, it wouldn't be anything she would have expected. She waited.

This wasn't as easy as she had thought it might be; Angie sat, looking down at the floor for a moment--building herself up. There were many things she wanted to say, but the path to conveying them wasn't quite clear; she chose the one which felt right--as tangential as it seemed. "When I was young, about your age," she looked up at the woman, smiling, "I was in love." Her heart pounded, as she thought about it, her look growing distant again--going on before the other woman could question where she was heading. "He was a beautiful man, a few years older than me." Her look fell further, her heart diving with it. "But he was married." She shrugged, trying to move off the sadness. "And there was nothing we could do."

Oh, it was hard to go back. It took her a moment to be able to pull herself out of the past, but she looked up to the actress at last, trying to smile. "Since then, I haven't found anyone to love me," she nodded, moving on from that sad thought, "but I know what it is, know it when I see it." And it was that thought alone which kept her warm on many a cold night.

This last fact didn't sadden her, was actually rather reassuring; she smiled, her thoughts running deeper. It was actually this which was the reason why she wasn't willing to marry Rene--should he ever ask her to. Despite the fact that her kind superior needed someone to look after him, not to mention keep him safe from Mister Wolfe, she wasn't willing to enter into such an agreement. She needed love and partnership of a kind the two of them could never have together--and both of them understood that. The smile saddened slightly. Not speaking of it was a silent agreement they had reached many years ago.

She sighed, her heart beating more heavily, as her mind turned on this possibility--drawn further from her real purpose. She supposed she would only go through with such an arrangement if he were in real danger; the beating grew even heavier, the memories returning--a renewed anger rising with them. If only it weren't for that terrible columnist Mr. Leon, the designer would never have been in this situation to begin with; the thought rankled. Might God find a special punishment for the unpleasant man for that fact alone.

This, of course, wasn't a happy thought; she blinked a second later, before going back to her real point--dragging herself away from these other concerns. Her gaze was gentle once more. "When Michael looks at you, I see love again." Her look grew distant, thinking into it. "Maybe even more than when he looked at Simone." She felt the woman's slight shock, as she smiled back to her--pulling herself back; she shrugged. "Some things are just meant to be."

Good God--this was more than a little hard to take in. The younger woman blinked, trying to process it, as her visitor rose. She stopped her, though, needing more--her mind turning back to something she had noticed before; she bit her lip slightly, as she pointed it out--hoping not to offend. "Um, Angie." She smiled at her, looking for permission to use her first name. Everyone else here did, of course, but she always felt odd being addressed as "Miss Ward," when everyone else was just "Seymour" or "Belinda." She really didn't think that she deserved any better treatment than anyone else.

This, however, wasn't exactly on topic; she shook the thought from her head, moving on at the woman's smile of consent--but her look grew reluctant, not wanting to hurt so kind a person, one who was acting so nice toward her, with no apparent hope of gain. "I've noticed that, when you look at Michael, . . ." Lord. She didn't know how to go on from there.

Ah. Angie laughed, amused by herself. If there was a person alive who hadn't noticed that--at least, anyone who noticed her existence to begin with--she would be amazed; her eyes shone. "You mean how I blush like a bride facing her honeymoon, whenever he looks at me?" She watched Nikita bite her lower lip, looking a bit like this herself, and chuckled softly. "I would be lying if I told you I didn't think about him." Often. She sighed, her mind running back--her eyes unfocusing a bit again. "He reminds me of the man I could never have." The sigh went a little deeper, the sorrow rising once more. If only that had worked out. She looked up a moment later, having pulled herself out of it--remembering why she was here. "But he was never meant for me."

Oh. Nikita bit her lip a little more firmly, trying to take this in. It was hard to accept that yet another person was being so randomly nice to her--went against all her previous life experience. The thoughts spun. Just how had she become so fortunate all of a sudden?

There was no clear answer for this question, though; her mind turned slightly, wanting to take the opportunity to ask about her fears--even if she suspected this woman's prejudices; she was staring at the floor. "Everyone talks about all the women he's been with." There was a deeper sigh, her look falling further--almost speaking to herself. "What if I'm just another of those?"

This, more than any other thought, made her companion laugh; she wasn't certain she had heard anything more ridiculous in her life. She tried to explain the truth, as the actress looked back to her--obviously confused. "Men are men. They need a woman, from time to time, and--if there's no one they're in love with--they'll take who's available." Well, most of them, anyway. Then there were the ones who wanted another man, such as Rene--but she tried to keep from getting too complex; she shrugged, philosophical. "Even the good ones do that."

She was only speaking the truth of what she had always seen--but she went on, seeing the woman's look. "Some of the women around here act like men, will take what they can get." She shrugged, having seen too much not to accept. "It works well together, in the short run." She shook her head, though, her eyes boring in, as she made her real point. "But, for some men--a few--if they find the one woman they love, the one they need," she smiled, gaze very certain, "they never think about any other woman again."

Oh. The actress's eyes widened, trying to take her hints in--focusing straight past the costumer's surface messages; the underlying one was too immense. It might not be the first time she had heard this--in one form or another--but she still found it so difficult to accept. Her lips moved for a moment, before she could get out any sound. "Are you saying . . .?" There was a small, stammering noise, as she broke off. She just couldn't get out the rest.

Ah. She was getting through. There was another, small chuckle, as Angie leaned over--her look maternal, as she patted the younger woman on the cheek. "You are Michael's choice, mm?"

She stood back up, smiling--watching the look of shock on the actress's face--amused. Although part of her thought she should, she felt no jealousy. This woman was kind--as well as lovely and talented--would do the man well; he so needed to be pulled out of himself at last. The smile deepened. Now, she would just have to wait to finally see them together.

It took her a second to go; she had enjoyed this immensely--found she liked being a matchmaker. She took one more look at the woman, still laughing a little at her shock, before she turned away, ready to return to her life. Her enjoyable break here was done.

She went back to the normal world, then, looking to the supposed reason for this visit. While she made a small noise at the crumpled dress, and the half-destroyed basque, as well, she picked them up from the chair without comment. The actress had more than enough to take in without admonishments to watch her treatment of her clothes; she kept back her next laugh. After all, if Michael could just keep from kissing her senseless in the middle of the lot, they wouldn't have the problem again. A half-frown formed a moment later, though, as her mind turned--thinking into the flash of fire which shone in the man's eyes whenever the actress was around. Ah well. Maybe she would just mention it the next time.

Good God. Nikita was left there in shock, as the costumer left--the woman giving her one small smile before she was gone; the actress just shook her head. It wasn't the first time she had heard this theory about Michael's affection, of course, but it was the first time it was really beginning to sink in. After that kiss, indeed, she would have believed almost anything. She blinked, overwhelmed. Wow.

This was an amazing new thought, couldn't be accepted easily; a small groan rose from her, as her mind turned. While she half-prayed that there might be some real feelings for her within her co-star--some which might even be romantically inclined--she knew she would have to wait before she could even try to ask him about everyone else's interpretations of his actions; her night, unfortunately, wasn't set up to quell her curiosity. She groaned once more. Might God have mercy on her now.

Her heart pounded, as her situation sunk in further. She would just have to get through a date with a man she knew nothing about before she could confront her co-star about this--would have to try for some sort of patience; she swallowed heavily, thinking into everyone else's beliefs--the fears rising. All she could do was wait. She could only hope that he would agree.

[End of Part 21]

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Replies:

  • Chapter 22 - Part 1 -- Repost Fairy, 17:13:33 05/03/02 Fri
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