[ooc: just a heads up that I have a busy work week this week so I'm going to have to drop our tfln thread.]
He clinks his glass against hers and takes a sip, his eyes shifting upwards to the person Midge is pointing out.
"Why?" He asks, clearly curious as to why she is apologizing so soon about the short woman who is currently grabbing herself a beer. "Is she going to challenge me to a duel or something?"
"Course I don't talk like the Queen, she's a posh bird. Like Midge." He says with a little smile because once again, Americans just can't tell the difference between regional accents.
"And I promise to only distract her when she's not on stage."
Susie looks at Midge. “Oh, I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“I’m not that posh,” Midge replies. “A ‘posh bird’ is—“
“Yeah, yeah, I know what it is,” Susie cuts in. She does not know what it is. The British have weird slang. Her eyes give Alfred another wary once over. “Well, the quality of her performances hasn’t slipped yet, so I guess I’m fine with you.”
"Gee thanks." He quips back, tipping a wink to Midge to show her he doesn't mind Susie's brash attitude and then grows slightly more serious.
"But seriously, Midge isn't the first performer I've known. I understand it takes a lot of work to be successful so I'm not going to do anything to hinder that."
Alfred is very good at hiding his reactions. Susie probably didn’t even notice that anything was amiss, but Midge felt it in the way that Alfred’s arm tightened ever so slightly around her waist and a slight dip in his smile. Micro reactions that she’s come to notice in the time that they’ve been together. Midge knows there’s someone from the past, someone Alfred doesn’t like to talk about.
Susie just stares blankly at Alfred for a moment before turning back to Midge.
“I booked you at Mr. Lu’s in Chinatown next week.”
“Is that a Chinese restaurant?” Midge asks.
“No. It’s a club. The manager promised me you’d have the 9:00 slot. If he bumps you, I get to punch him in the face.”
“You were your charming self,” Midge replies. A moment later, something clicks for her. “You were trying to throw her off by asking her about dating, weren’t you?”
Midge hums in her throat and smooths the lapel on his jacket. She supposes that now’s not the time to talk about it either. It’s a sensitive subject with him, but Midge hopes he’ll open up to her about it one day.
She sips her martini. “The art of deflection. Guess the military taught you something, eh?”
ooc: figured now would be a fun time to add in Midge's ex
"More than something." He says, his tone somber and serious.
"It taught me everything, good and bad."
"Did it teach you how to seduce recent divorcees?" A voice says from behind them and Alfred turns to see a good looking bloke, giving him the death glare.
Midge takes a deep breath when she hears the sound of Joel’s voice, then turns to him.
“I really didn’t expect you to come to a divorce party,” she says.
“Why not?” He replies. “I’m part of the divorce too.”
The irony is that Alfred did seduce her, at least a little bit. He showed up at her apartment one night and talked the panties right off of her. It was entirely consensual though. Her eyes furtively flick to the couch where she and Alfred had…
Midge clears her throat. “Alfred, this is Joel, my ex-husband. Joel, this is Alfred.”
Of course this is the ex-husband, no one else would be so immediately on the defensive and Alfred gives him a nod but does not extend a hand towards the other man. Not after he's made a jab at Midge already.
"All right, mate." He says in greeting, his tone neutral even though he already doesn't like the way Joel is looking him up and down.
"I'm also the father of our children, Ethan and Esther." He says and looks at Midge, "Has he met them yet?
“No,” Midge replies calmly. “I wanted you two to meet first.” Even if Joel is being hostile, Midge is going to match that with calmness, at least for now. Joel knows every single one of her buttons to push.
She’s noticed that the two men didn’t shake hands. Not off to a good start. Midge doesn’t get the hostility. Joel cheated on her. Did he think she’d never move on with someone else?
There’s an awkward silence as Joel looks around at the other guests, friends of theirs, or former friends maybe. Maybe everyone here has taken Midge’s side.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll leave. Feels weird, considering that I used to live here.”
“Joel…” Midge says.
“I’ll call you tomorrow about the kids.” He’s not going to stay here and fight a losing battle against his ex-wife, her new boyfriend and a group of their old friends. Joel puts his beer down on the table and leaves the apartment.
Midge sighs deeply and puts her face in her hands.
Alfred watches the way Midge crumples, hiding her face in her hands and he makes a snap decision and goes out after Joel who is standing on the curb trying to flag down a cab. When he sees Alfred coming he scowls and tries to turn away but Alfred puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Joel, listen..."
"Get your hand off me."
"I'm not trying to replace you."
Joel stops, his body tensing as if he is about to try and punch Alfred but when he looks at the other man he finds that Alfred's face is sincere and calm and after a moment he relaxes slightly.
"I know you two have a past, I'm not trying to erase that. And I would never come between you and your kids, that's not the type of man I am." He explains softly but then lifts his brows at Joel, "But I'm also not the type of bloke to stand around and have someone be rude to me or the woman I care about."
Joel inhales sharply but then huffs out a small laugh.
"Yeah, all right. I kind of started it."
"And I continued it." Alfred admits and then extends a hand out, "Let's start over. I'm Alfred Pennyworth."
Joel eyes the hand for a second and then clasps it firmly, giving it a shake.
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He clinks his glass against hers and takes a sip, his eyes shifting upwards to the person Midge is pointing out.
"Why?" He asks, clearly curious as to why she is apologizing so soon about the short woman who is currently grabbing herself a beer. "Is she going to challenge me to a duel or something?"
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Beer in hand, Susie makes a beeline for Midge and Alfred. Before Midge can even say anything, Susie is sizing Alfred up.
“So, this is the British guy?” She asks. “Well, he’s not weird-looking.”
“Why would he be weird-looking?” Midge asks somewhat defensively.
“All British people are weird looking,” Susie says.
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“Susie!,” Midge says, incensed. “He’s not a horse. What the hell are you doing.”
“Making sure he’s worth whatever distraction he’s going to be for you.”
Midge rolls her eyes and looks at Alfred. This is what she had been apologizing for.
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"And I promise to only distract her when she's not on stage."
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“I’m not that posh,” Midge replies. “A ‘posh bird’ is—“
“Yeah, yeah, I know what it is,” Susie cuts in. She does not know what it is. The British have weird slang. Her eyes give Alfred another wary once over. “Well, the quality of her performances hasn’t slipped yet, so I guess I’m fine with you.”
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"But seriously, Midge isn't the first performer I've known. I understand it takes a lot of work to be successful so I'm not going to do anything to hinder that."
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“He’s not dating me because he thinks he’s going to cash in if I hit it big, if that’s what you’re implying,” Midge retorts.
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He says and then shifts gears to make sure he doesn't have to talk about Esme anymore.
"What about you Susie? Do you date often?"
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Susie just stares blankly at Alfred for a moment before turning back to Midge.
“I booked you at Mr. Lu’s in Chinatown next week.”
“Is that a Chinese restaurant?” Midge asks.
“No. It’s a club. The manager promised me you’d have the 9:00 slot. If he bumps you, I get to punch him in the face.”
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"Are all managers here in America so protective of their clients or is Susie just one of the better ones?"
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They chat for a few more minutes, then Susie wanders off. She probably won’t stay for too much longer.
“She’s not one for small talk,” Midge tells Alfred, “but she really believes in me.”
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"She's tough but I can tell she loves you. That's important."
Leaning in he kisses her cheek, "Plus she didn't punch me so I think it went well."
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So sneaky, Alfred.
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She sips her martini. “The art of deflection. Guess the military taught you something, eh?”
ooc: figured now would be a fun time to add in Midge's ex
"It taught me everything, good and bad."
"Did it teach you how to seduce recent divorcees?" A voice says from behind them and Alfred turns to see a good looking bloke, giving him the death glare.
welp
“I really didn’t expect you to come to a divorce party,” she says.
“Why not?” He replies. “I’m part of the divorce too.”
The irony is that Alfred did seduce her, at least a little bit. He showed up at her apartment one night and talked the panties right off of her. It was entirely consensual though. Her eyes furtively flick to the couch where she and Alfred had…
Midge clears her throat. “Alfred, this is Joel, my ex-husband. Joel, this is Alfred.”
Please behave like civilized men.
😈 tee hee
"All right, mate." He says in greeting, his tone neutral even though he already doesn't like the way Joel is looking him up and down.
"I'm also the father of our children, Ethan and Esther." He says and looks at Midge, "Has he met them yet?
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She’s noticed that the two men didn’t shake hands. Not off to a good start. Midge doesn’t get the hostility. Joel cheated on her. Did he think she’d never move on with someone else?
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"I kind of figured I'd meet them later on, you know, when things were solid." Alfred says, glancing at Midge and giving her a little smile.
"No point in confusing them when they've already had to deal with a divorce and nasty rumours about their father banging his much younger secretary."
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“Listen, pal,” Joel says, his anger rising, “do not talk about my kids. You have no idea what my kids have—"
“Stop!” Midge cries. “Stop it! Both of you be mature about this, please.”
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Joel's face screws up in a look of surprise and he glances around the room where some of the other guests are eagerly watching their interaction.
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“Fine,” he says. “I’ll leave. Feels weird, considering that I used to live here.”
“Joel…” Midge says.
“I’ll call you tomorrow about the kids.” He’s not going to stay here and fight a losing battle against his ex-wife, her new boyfriend and a group of their old friends. Joel puts his beer down on the table and leaves the apartment.
Midge sighs deeply and puts her face in her hands.
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"Joel, listen..."
"Get your hand off me."
"I'm not trying to replace you."
Joel stops, his body tensing as if he is about to try and punch Alfred but when he looks at the other man he finds that Alfred's face is sincere and calm and after a moment he relaxes slightly.
"I know you two have a past, I'm not trying to erase that. And I would never come between you and your kids, that's not the type of man I am." He explains softly but then lifts his brows at Joel, "But I'm also not the type of bloke to stand around and have someone be rude to me or the woman I care about."
Joel inhales sharply but then huffs out a small laugh.
"Yeah, all right. I kind of started it."
"And I continued it." Alfred admits and then extends a hand out, "Let's start over. I'm Alfred Pennyworth."
Joel eyes the hand for a second and then clasps it firmly, giving it a shake.
"Nice to meet you Alfred."
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