The Recital

The recital was more than twenty minutes in by the time Jean made it there. He quietly entered the auditorium once an usher allowed him in and searched for the nearest seat. Luckily he found one on the end of a row, but it was next to a large woman who was fanning herself with a program. He smiled kindly before sitting down and leaning on the opposite end of the chair. It was an uncomfortable position, but one he was forced to endure for the woman had completely occupied her chair and some of his. His eyes searched the program in his hands for Natalie’s parts. It looked as if he had missed most of them already. Wonderful. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed his absence, but he wasn’t holding his breath. She was a very observant person.

An hour later, the recital finally ended. Jean slowly rose out of his seat, the left side of his body sore and numb. He started heading toward the exit when somebody grabbed his arm. He turned to see his mother.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Jean asked, perplexed.

His mother was a petite woman, only 5’4”, but the annoyed look on her face made Jean’s nearly six foot figure suddenly feel like three.

Her lips pursed and she pulled him to the side, out of the path of the large crowd of people leaving. “Well, it’s nice to see you, too. I saved a seat for you, but I assume you came in late?”

“Well, I, I—” Jean stammered, clearing his throat. He had to stop stammering, because his mother hated it so much. “Something came up at the last minute. I would’ve looked for you had I known you were here.”

“You should be more careful,” she said, her brows narrowing. “You know how Natalie hates when you’re late.” She gave him one last stern look before turning toward the door. “I believe we should go into the hall and wait for her.”
Jean followed his mother through the doors and into the crowded hall. His mother didn’t say another word to him until Natalie showed up. Whenever she was quiet, she was upset about something at home. He wasn’t going to press her any further, because it would only lead to him getting into more trouble than he was already in.

A few minutes passed before the performers started to come out. Natalie, being one of the leads, was one of the first to head into the crowd. It took awhile for her to get through the crowd, smiling brightly as everyone stopped her to give her praise and congratulations. Some even gave her flowers.

Once she came up to them, the beautiful smile that was once on her face disappeared. “You were late,” Natalie said, frowning.

Jean bit his lip. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Save it. I want to enjoy this moment, and I’m afraid you’ll ruin it for me.”

Jean clenched his jaw, his cheeks reddening slightly. He could feel himself shrinking another inch.

Natalie turned to his mother, smiling again. “Anne, I’m so glad you made it.” She leaned in and gave Anne a tender hug.

“Oh, it was my pleasure,” Anne beamed. “You were magnificent. Truly a marvel. A talent like no other, don’t you think, Jean?” Both women turned their scrutinizing gazes on him.

Jean straightened his posture, suddenly tense. He managed to smile, despite feeling like he had been slapped several times, and said, “Truly like no other.”

Natalie pursed her lips, still visibly upset. She turned and smiled at Anne, then turned back to him. Unexpectedly, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. Jean held back a grimace.

Soon his mother left them, carrying on about how she had to “put her tired bones to rest,” which gave Natalie the opportunity to finally speak her mind. But before she could, Jean spoke up.

“Look, Natalie, I’m sorry I was late,” Jean said, offering his best apologetic expression. “It wasn’t intentional, believe me. I lost track of time studying and –”

Natalie interrupted, “Lost track of time studying? Since when does that happen? You hate studying.” They started to walk down the hall, hand-in-hand, towards the doors.

“Well, yes,” Jean agreed. “But my partner was very helpful.”

“Your partner?” Natalie cocked a brow.

“Um, yes, she’s from my Forensic Science class.”

“She?” Natalie snapped, stopping mid-step. “Your partner is a girl?”

Jean could tell where this was leading. Natalie tended to be very jealous, and if he didn’t settle this quickly enough, he’d be in for some more quarrelling.

“It’s nothing to worry about, really,” Jean began, his voice soft and calm. “Her study partner bailed on her and she needed someone to help her. I just happened to be there at the same time. It’s not like we have to study together again.” Jean watched her carefully to see if she was satisfied with his response. She didn’t say anything at first, but started walking again. The displeased expression on her face dissolved into something between calm and tired.

“I guess that’s fine,” she said wearily. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m exhausted.”

Jean couldn’t agree more. Fighting with her always drained the little energy he had left. They exited the building and headed to the parking lot. Jean spotted Natalie’s blue Saturn parked two rows down from his and led her over to it. Once there, she lifted her head and stared at him for a moment. A sad smile formed on her lips and she leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. He kissed her back. All seemed to be forgiven. For now, at least.

Jean helped her into the car. “I’ll see you later,” he said, shutting her door. She waved, backed up, and drove off. After a few moments of standing there replaying the day’s events in his mind, he finally walked to his car and left.