Stag Night at the Theatre

Posted on Fri 1st Feb, 2019 @ 10:04pm by Carlo Rienzi
Edited on on Tue 5th Feb, 2019 @ 4:59pm

1,025 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Pub 10-42, Deck 595; Kirk Theater, Deck 636
Timeline: Day 1, 1645

It was a rare event when Reon was off for the evening shift at Orchids & Jazz, but today, was that rare time. On top of that, one of the regular clients was a producer and had a play at the Kirk Theater. He'd passed Reon two tickets earlier in the day, and there wasn't a particular girl in his life at the moment. After a shower and change of clothes, he decided he might as well see if Carlo wanted to go, though he could very well already have a date.

Standing in front of the turbolift on Deck 600, where he lived and worked, Reon Velasquez would have set many a female heart aflutter. Since his wife's death, he'd not had the heart for anything except an occasional light flirtation, and he didn't know if he ever would. Nevertheless, many women would have found his smile appealing, he certainly knew how to dress, either in Earth standard or in the more casual formal tunic and trouser style he'd chosen this evening. He was dressed in a soft gray with black piping around the edges of the tunic and a band collar of black, as well. He stood casually, his left hand in the trousers pocket and his right holding the tickets.

The lift opened, and quickly swept him five floors down toward Pub 10-42. Only then did it occur to him that he might have contacted Carlo with a heads-up. It wasn't a date, of course, since he wouldn't be Carlo's choice, nor vice versa, but he should still have called first. With a shrug, he entered the pub. If he wound up going to the play alone, it would be his own fault. It would be what it would be.

Laurecia Jones, the Pub's new hostess, gave O&J's gorgeous doorman a wide smile. The gold beads at the ends of her waist-length, black dreadlocks chimed faintly as she walked toward him. "Hello, Mr. Velasquez! Been a while since we saw you in here. Where can I seat you, sir?"

"Well, that depends. Is Carlo around? I have a plan, but if it doesn't work out, I'll sit right over there," he pointed with his right hand, "and drown my sorrows in your best Italian dinner. You doing okay, Ma'am?"

"Oh, I'm fine, honey; thanks for asking! Just waiting to see if the Saints make it to the Superbowl this year. You're in luck; Carlo's off tonight. You might be able to find him in his quarters. He said all he planned to do today was grocery shopping and loafing. Give him a call--and then come back here for a nice Italian dinner later on." She gave Reon a cheeky grin. "Don't give Carlo too good a time, though--He's rooting for the Pats."

"Oh, say it isn't so!" Reon winked at her. "The Saints are going all the way, count on it. Thanks. Maybe I'll see you in a while." He turned and walked back out of the restaurant. For a few moments, he strolled along, hands in pockets, thinking of nothing. He should have called, that was obvious now. But now what? Should he disrupt Carlo's plans for his day off?

He stopped and looked in the window of a jewelry store. Wedding rings were displayed prominently, and his mind wandered back to the day he and Maria Elena had picked out their own bands, simple white gold, with a fine cross-cut pattern. At the time, such things were out of style, but both of them were traditionalists. Seeing the bands in the window now, he supposed the pendulum had swung back, though the ones displayed were flashier than anything Maria Elena would have wanted. With the tiniest of sighs, he turned away and resumed his walk, thinking how much she would have loved seeing the musical this evening.

Finally, he approached a privacy booth near the turbo lifts and, stepping in, spoke to the computer. "Contact Carlo Rienzi."

In Carlo's quarters, his ringtone of "A Fifth of Beethoven" came on in all its disco glory from days long past. Carlo danced to it for a moment and then answered, "Carlo here."

"Hey," Reon said, feeling awkward. "Heard you took the day off. Are you planning anything in particular?"

Carlo laughed. "I was going to swing by Orchids and Jazz a little later to hang out with you. But since you're calling, what's up? You sound like a man with more of a plan than I have."

"I have the evening off. After lunch, one of the regular customers handed me two tickets for a play, an expensive one at that. I'm still trying to figure out why, but I have them and thought you might like to go. It's a musical; interested?"

"A musical? Sure! Which one?" Carlo asked.

Reon dug the tickets out of his pocket and looked at the name. "Uh, something called Phantom of the Opera? You ever hear of that one? The guy who handed them to me said it's a 'happy-sad, upper-downer, musical delight'. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I did listen to a couple of songs from the database Daneel has, and it sounded okay."

Carlo's eyes widened. "Whoa! He gave you Phantom of the Opera tickets?! That is only the most-performed Broadway musical of all time! And you want to take me? Do I have time to change clothes?"

"So it's a big deal? I guess I have given away that I have no cultural background. I'm not quite sure what Broadway is, but yes, I thought you might like to go, and you have plenty of time. It starts at -" he broke off to search the ticket, "at 1930, so I believe you can make yourself beautiful in time." Reon enjoyed teasing Carlo, and hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. "If you hurry, we might even have time for a quick dinner down near the Theater District. Maybe ... Harry's Top Hat and Tails?"

"Hm. White tie. You are so tempting me!" Carlo said as he went into his bedroom to change.

 

RSS Feed