Un-betaed

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Confrontation a JOVAN Story    REVISED

Chapter 8      The Opera

The Barber of Seville. The Barber of Seville (in Italian: Il barbiere di Siviglia) is a comic opera (opera buffa) in two acts by the composer Gioachino Rossini. The libretto (words) are based on a comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais called The Barber of Seville.  A young woman, Rosina, is ward to an older man, Bartolo, who wants to marry her for her money.  A rich young man, Count Almaviva sees her and falls in love with her.  He disguises himself as a poor man, Lindoro, and pursues her with the help of the barber, Figaro.  Bartolo convinces the Rosina that the Lindoro is not trustworthy so she should marry him, Bartolo.  Bartolo arranges for a ceremony that evening.  The barber and the young man meet the young woman in her room and convince her of the of young man’s love for her.  They marry.  The older man arrives too late and is enraged.  The young man tells the old man that he can keep the girl’s money because he will take care of her.  The old man is now satisfied that he has the money.

Well months have passed since Dr. Jamison told me that I should no longer write to John and I have held fast to that decision. Concentrating on myself has its rewards.  Working out at the gym, playing tennis, golfing, attending performances of ballet and modern dance have reinvigorated me.  Sessions with Dr. Jamison have helped me to regain my balance.  I feel renewed.  My sessions are no longer once a week but now once a month. I just needed a bit of direction and the sessions helped in that.  I feel better about myself and with continued prayer I will get even better.

Although I have not written to John I have seen him on occasion out and about.  The last time that I saw him I had just finished lunch with a client at the Palace and he entered looking for his brother Michael who was dining with Marcie.  He nodded and said hello and started to walk by me but I stopped him to inquire how he was.  He said that he was improving and that it was good to see me.  I invited him to sit with me but he said that he was only in for a minute and needed to talk with his brother.  I said all right and he left.  I must admit that I was a little disappointed but I didn’t know why.  I have kept my distance from him and I guess that I was a little excited to see him and wanted to at least spend some time with him.  Well that is a change for me.  I’ve moved from wanting to knock him out to wanting to spend time with him.  

I discussed this with Dr. Jamison and he simply said that it was a natural progression.  I am finding my balance and am now more secure in my feelings and not harboring anger for feeling any particular way and so my genuine love for John is beginning to reemerge.  Wow that was a surprise.  I didn’t think that I had any love left in me for John but I guess it was deep down under all of that hurt and pain and anger and disgust.  If I am really truthful to myself I also felt anger and hurt and pain about my father too.  I did everything to please him and get a little, ‘I love you’ from him too.  Can’t tell you how great if feels to let go of all of that and now I can see clearly that the problem wasn’t me it was each of them.  At least John is trying to get better.  My father didn’t live long enough to do the same.  

But Dr. Jamison did suggest that I take everything slowly.  As an objective observer of John and me he can see that we both have feelings for each other and can’t seem to decide how we want to progress with those feelings.  Just let them go and they will lead you where you need to be he suggested.  It’s when we force them in a particular direction is when we have problems.  That brought to mind a line from a Different World episode when Whitley is in therapy and her therapist tells her to let go of her feelings, ‘relax, relate, and release’. So I guess I will ‘relax, relate, and release’.  As a celebration of my enlightenment I will take in an opera this Friday night. Glad that tickets are still available at this late date.  This is one of my favorites.  I will get dressy for this. I feel good.

--------------------------------------------    

Friday arrives and my day is not as busy as I anticipated and for that I am glad.  Tonight I am doing something that I have never done before and I have no idea how this will turn out or if I will even enjoy it but from the title of the event how can I go wrong.  With my suit all cleaned and shirt starched and my tie matching, shoes shined, I am ready to face this new adventure.  The curtain time is at 7:30 p.m. and I don’t want to arrive late.  Do they have assigned seats at these things? Yes the ticket shows a section and seat number so I guess that answers that question.  I hope that I don’t fall asleep during the presentation because I tend to do that when I am bored.  I’m too nervous to eat so I’m glad that I had a big lunch.  Now I will see how much I learned from my Saturday lessons. Well here goes nothing.

Wow, I’ve never been in this building before now.  It is quite impressive.  People are starting to go in to the main area so I’d better go to my seat now.  Pretty good seat where I can see all of the action.  It took a long time for me to decide which presentation to choose as my first foray into this genre but the title caught my eye and I figured that I couldn’t go wrong with this one.  The others had such strange names that you would need an interpreter simply to pronounce them.  The start time is quickly approaching so here goes nothing.  The seat next to me is vacant, guess the person who bought the ticket decided not to attend.  

---------------------------------------------   

How did the time get by me like that?  Whew!  I made it without a minute to spare.  Let me find my seat before they close the doors.  Yes, section 1, seat 29, good location to see everything.  Oh, here it is. Looks like I’m the only one late for this in this row but good that I don’t have to step over too many people just this one guy in the end seat.  

“Excuse me sir, that is my seat next to you.”

“All right no problem, I will get up to let you in.”

I wait for the man to get up and I make it to my seat.

“John?”

“Evangeline?”

“What are you doing here John.  You don’t like opera.”

“Well I have changed my mind.  This is my first opera and I figured I couldn’t go wrong with ‘The Barber of Seville’.  It’s just a guy getting a haircut right?  Just kidding.  I’ve been taking opera appreciation classes at the community center and thought that I would finally attend an opera.  Fancy meeting you here.  Oh they are dimming the lights we need to be quiet now.  I’ll talk with you later.”

When I say that I am stunned, believe me I am stunned. John McBain at an opera and telling me to be quiet as the opera starts.  I don’t believe my eyes but I do stop talking and the show begins.  From time to time I peek over to look at John to see his expressions during the performance and he is really engrossed in it.  At the funny parts he laughs and at the sad parts he stares and at intermission we both go out to the lobby together.  Grabbing a drink of water, liquor will not do for me now. I want a clear head I pull John over to a corner.

“John I can’t believe that you are here.  What made you decide to come to an opera and to take classes to learn about opera?”

“Evangeline I am not the same man that you knew before.  I decided that I needed to make changes in my life and broaden my perspective on things and this is one of them.  You always talked about how much you enjoyed going to the opera so I decided that I wanted to see what excited you so much and now I see. I am enjoying it.”

“Well, well, well will wonders never cease?  I think that I like this ‘new’ John McBain.”

“I’m glad that you do.  It looks like it’s time to return.  I want to see what happens with Almaviva and Rosina.  Ahh, a love story, I could use one of those.”

Before I can respond he takes my hand and leads me back to our seats.  The opera resumes and we view it to the end.   We walk together to the lobby and then I stop to ask John how he liked the opera.

“Well it was more than a haircut for sure.  I liked it.  I’m glad that it was my first one and I didn’t fall asleep.  Maybe I will try another one some time in the future.  I’ll walk you to your car if that’s all right with you.”

“Thank you John.  Would you like to stop for a coffee or a bite to eat?”

“Sure, do you want to go to the diner?”

“No, I know of a little eatery not far from here where I usually go after attending a performance here.  You’ll like it.”

He follows me in his car to the eatery and we meet up in front. We walk in together and are shown to a table.  We make just in time before the crowd.  It is a regular eating place for the opera crowd.   We place our orders and talk while we wait for our food.  Our food arrives and we dig in and continue to talk.

“Well how are you Evangeline?  I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I’m doing much better John, thank you for asking.  You seem well.  How is your therapy progressing?”

“Very well as a matter of fact.  As I said earlier I’m taking classes to add some dimensions to my character. I don’t want to be just about the job anymore.  There is more to living than working.  I took ballet and opera appreciation classes and am still taking cooking classes at the community center.  You should let me cook for you one evening and see for yourself how I have improved.  Maybe we can try some of those recipes that you talked about a few years ago.”

“That’s good to hear John.  I too am doing more things.  I’m playing tennis and golfing again and add my time in the gym to that I’m getting buffed at the same time.  That is the term isn’t it, buffed?  Well I’m getting lean and fit.  Add to that I joined a running group too.  It is a group of people who run together.  We started out at the track at first but now we have progressed to running in the park.  It is a great stress reliever.  You should join us.  It will help you when you are chasing perps.”

“Well Ms. Williamson I may just take you up on that offer.  I still work out in the gym too but I can always use a change up sometimes.  When does your running group meet?”

“You can join us in the morning at 7 a.m. at the entrance to the park.  We only do about three miles now.  You can run at your own pace.  We always have one of the more experienced runners to run with the newbies to keep them encouraged.  I will run with you if you want.”

“Well it looks like my Saturday morning is booked and yes I would like for you to run with me. Well it’s getting late we’d better get home and get some rest.  Come on let’s go.”