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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Feb 27, 2011 7:22:47 GMT -5
Claudius was a man who had gone on many dates before however this was his first 'blind date'. In all honesty he was quite looking forward to it; if nothing else it would be a bit of good fun.
There was an ulterior motive in this dating game though, and there usually were ulterior motives where Claudius was concerned. There had been rumours circulating in the business world for some time now about the reasons why Hamlet Sr.'s widow was so ready to accept the changes Claudius had made to her late husbands company, and these rumours didn't exactly help the image of himself Claudius wanted the world at large to see.
The blind date was therefore, one could say, an attempt to quell the rumours.
Chandler had been through the whole dinner-and-a-movie rigmarole far too often, so instead he'd chosen to take his date to the theatre. Noel Coward's 'Private Lives' was having a brief run at one of the Broadway theatres Claudius frequented; it was easy for him to secure the best seats in the house.
He was standing outside the theatre, looking more casual than he did at work yet still immaculately and smartly dressed. He'd sent directions to the theatre and one of the two tickets he'd purchased to his date ahead of time...now all that was needed was for her to show up.
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Post by joannejefferson on Feb 27, 2011 23:31:24 GMT -5
Blind dates were not Joanne's cup of tea. Usually. In the past, most of them had ended horribly wrong, and that was probably due to the fact they had been set up by her less than well meaning parents attempts to yet again deny her sexuality. Past history aside though, Joanne was rather looking forward to this date. She could satisfy her parents with details if they asked, and maybe gain a casual hanging buddy that wouldn't annoy her in some way.
Dating was a game, and like all games, it was never played without the possibility of gaining something. So, while Joanne understood that this was supposed to be simple, casual fun, she was aware that some parts of this were simply for show. Really, what else could it be? She's homosexual and anyone who knows her knows it. Of course, that was just the thing, wasn't it? This guy didn't know her.
So, she was happy to arrive at the predesignated time to the theatre. Claudius, he'd said his name was, was supposed to be waiting outside. When she walked up to the theatre, she saw a man standing alone, looking about as though waiting on someone. Intuition told her that this man was the person she was looking for and she headed his direction, admiring his mostly casual yet still impeccable dress. Good, I won't feel overdressed.
Smiling, she finally stood beside him, twirling the ticket in her hands. Private Lives certainly sounded like an interesting show, and the idea itself was wonderfully different than going on the typical dinner and a movie. This, at least, would be more or less intellectually stimulating.
"Hi. I'm Joanne. It's nice to finally meet you." She said in a relaxed tone.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Feb 28, 2011 11:47:00 GMT -5
As Claudius continued to wait he noticed a well dressed young woman heading in his direction, ticket in hand. He could feel her eyes on him and, sure enough, she moved to stand beside him. He turned to face her, his signature winning smile on his face.
"Hi. I'm Joanne. It's nice to finally meet you."
"A pleasure, Joanne. I hope you're well." Claudius said, with a polite incline of the head. He would have shaken her hand but that felt too businesslike for this current set of events.
"I hope you don't mind going to see this play," he said, adopting a relaxed tone as Joanne did. "I thought we could have gone to see that revival of Twelve Angry Men but I didn't realize it started next week."
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Post by joannejefferson on Feb 28, 2011 19:05:06 GMT -5
"I'm well, and yourself?" Joanne smiled in response to Claudius' greeting. It was nice to see that he wasn't going to bore her with a lot of pleasantries. Relaxed and simple was exactly what she needed and it seemed so far that's exactly what she was going to get. At least, she assumed so, if Claudius wonderful smile was any indication.
"I'm looking forward to seeing this play actually." She chuckled slightly as she thought of the few times she'd seen Twelve Angry Men. "It will be nice to enjoy a new show. Have you heard of the writer before?" Casual conversation was so rare for Joanne that she often forgot how easy and simple it could be.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Mar 1, 2011 11:36:21 GMT -5
"I'm well, and yourself?"
"Very well, thank you," Claudius replied, smile still in place. They had only just exchanged pleasentaries but he already liked Joanne for her relaxed demanour and tone. To be quite honest, it was as though he hadn't realized that a relaxed and casual outing was just what he needed.
"I'm looking forward to seeing this play actually."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"It will be nice to enjoy a new show. Have you heard of the writer before?"
"I've seen a number of Coward's plays before," Claudius replied. "The Rat Trap most recently. Though I've heard Private Lives is one of his best works."
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Post by joannejefferson on Mar 2, 2011 10:44:45 GMT -5
Joanne decided she liked this guy with his shining smile and his easy tone. It wasn't often that she felt comfortable enough to just relax around people, and it rarely (if ever) happened with people she'd just met. Yet, there was something about Claudius that made her stay relaxed. She didn't know what it was, but she was definitely going to let herself enjoy it. After all, the guy had already gotten himself points with the show.
She listened as he spoke about the playwright, alternating between looking up at him and out at the other theatre patrons hanging about. He seemed to be rather knowledgeable about this Noel Coward, which was excellent. Joanne loved the theatre. She was just too much of a workaholic to go as often as she'd like.
"You must come to the theatre fairly often. You know this particular playwright so well." She said in response.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Mar 2, 2011 15:25:14 GMT -5
"You must come to the theatre fairly often. You know this particular playwright so well."
Claudius chuckled a little at this; he did enjoy the theatre but didn't come as often as he liked, mostly due to work and other obligations. Noel Coward was one of his favourite playwrights, however, and he was glad of a chance to see one of his plays again - they were rarely performed these days, he found.
"In truth I don't manage to come as often as I'd like," he replied.
He would have said more but he'd noticed Joanne's glances at the other theatregoers as they milled about. A brief glance at his watch told him it was about time to head inside, for the show would begin fairly soon. He was pleased, he realized, not just to be there, but to be there with Joanne. There was something about her, something he couldn't put his finger on other than her refreshingly casual manner, that he liked.
"I think we should start heading in," he informed Joanne before offering her his arm in a jokingly chivalrous gesture. "Shall we?"
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Post by joannejefferson on Mar 3, 2011 11:39:55 GMT -5
Joanne couldn't help but smile when Claudius mentioned being unable to visit the theatre as often as he liked. She knew the feeling all too well, and his obvious appreciation for being busy enough to miss out on the more fun things in life definitely made him an even more likable person than he already.
"I can understand that. I miss out on a lot of fun because I'm so busy with work." She answered.
A soft laugh escaped her as he offered his arm in a jokingly chivalrous manner. Grinning, she accepted it in the appropriate manner. "We shall." Her anticipation of seeing this play was mounting, as well as what would happen after it was over. Claudius was proving to be a really enjoyable guy, and she was incredibly interested in what he would have to say once they had seen the show. It was quite possibly going to be very cool conversation.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Mar 3, 2011 16:45:16 GMT -5
"I can understand that. I miss out on a lot of fun because I'm so busy with work."
Claudius smiled as Joanne said this (although the fact he and Joanne couldn't come to the theatre as often as they liked was not pleasing). Clearly they were more similar than he thought.
As Joanne took his proffered arm and made a reply, he escorted her into the building and showed the usher their tickets. The man looked impressed (this was Claudius Chandler he was dealing with, after all) and led the pair to their places without further ado.
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