Chapter 20-2
890 Words
Perrin climbed out of the limo with Melanie, Jo, Cassidy, and Maria. She moved Melanie to the center, so that their dresses would work correctly together. The flashes were blinding. Russell brushed by close in front of them, kissed Cassidy quickly, and whispered, “Don’t squint, and smile,” before moving off to a new angle and raising his own camera.
Only Melanie appeared at perfect ease. The others looked a little wild, but then they shared smiles among themselves and it was somehow alright. Arm in arm, like they were following a red-brick road, her friends moved forward with her.
E! network stopped them along the way. Totally overwhelmed by the big glass eye of the television camera, Perrin kept her mouth shut. Melanie, barely missing a beat, stepped in and answered their questions emphasizing repeatedly that the woman beside her had indeed designed both these dresses and all of the costumes for Ascension. Her acknowledgement that she was indeed still seeing the Italian tenor star of the opera was brushed aside so quickly that Perrin barely saw it go by.
E! had apparently already done backstage interviews with several of the stars. When asked where the amazing ideas had come from Perrin couldn’t answer, “While listening to Bill Cullen’s lovely voice.” Melanie cut her off gently when she tried to stumble out an answer and led them inside.
“Never answer such questions, Perrin,” Melanie advised her quietly as Perrin slowly regained her equilibrium. “Designs always come from your heart, somewhere mysterious and unfathomable. It makes your line of designs more unique and enhances the perceived value of your work. Coco never explained her work, nor should you.”
They drank overpriced champagne from tall, thin flutes and waited for the time to go in. Perrin began noticing that there were distinct categories of men and women approaching them.
Cassidy was soon at the center of a small circle of vintners and wine connoisseurs, apparently oblivious to her best friend’s beauty. Jo had board members of both Pike Place Market and the Opera, as well as one of her former law partners, clustered close about her. Her quiet power so enhanced by her dress that each word she softly spoke stilled the group for them all to listen.
Perrin with Maria close by her side, was swamped by women wearing her designs. They were no competition for the power of the five new dresses, but still the gathering created a spectacle that kept many heads turned in their direction. Melanie continued to run interference for her, because it was all far too big for Perrin.
It was a huge relief when an usher rapped three notes on a small brass xylophone announcing it was time to take their seats. It was the same three notes as the little wooden door harp on her bedroom door. It provided memories that made it easier to smile and remain calm.
The opera itself was a bit of a blur. She knew the story and the music so well that she could simply enjoy the emotional journey without having to pay attention to all of the little details.
Carlo sang beautifully of hope and love; his first costume, for he alone had needed several, attempted to deny the foreshadowing of his pending failure that the music so broadly suggested.
The Magister’s dark tones rose in threat until cut short with a magnificent low note produced by Geoffrey Palliser as the presence of the Overlord. He and the Empress were announced with overwhelming force and power. Perrin barely felt Melanie’s squeeze on her arm at the magnificence of the costumes under Richard’s lighting.
Carlo ceased being the singer and became the character. The Prince struggling against his fate despite its inevitably. Perrin could see the parallels of Bill as he struggled to hold his family together despite the tragic loss they had suffered.
When the Princess and the True Love both vied for the Prince’s favor, Perrin felt as if she were being torn in two. She wanted both to win; both to triumph and achieve that which they sought.
The True Love’s murder by the Magister’s least servant came as such a shock that Perrin barely masked a sobbing breath, many in the audience did not. The Empress’ intervention too late, the Overlord a moment behind. The Prince broken forever at her loss, crying out from his madness. The haunting tunes somehow captured Perrin’s running rhythm as she’d run away from the hospital. How had she ever done such a thing to Bill?
Before she could truly hate herself, a light, sweet soprano offered the faintest glimmer of hope. The Empress and Overlord-to-be, Tamara and Jaspar, rekindled by the very darkness that surrounded them, glowed forth brighter than beacons in the night.
The opera, so dark, so rife with doom, was rescued from the very brink with a gentle duet of the elder Empress and her protégé. The Overlord’s final benediction offering hope for all.
All but one. Ascension closed with a grim reminder of human fragility: the softly-weeping lullaby the Princess sang to lull the mad Prince who lay with his head upon her lap.
A shocked silence was all the stunned audience could offer. It stretched out long enough for her to glance at her friends. They all wept unaware, untended tears trickling down their faces. She checked her own cheeks with a hand, dry, though not through lack of—
Practically as one, the audience erupted to its feet.
- Writer
