Not Exactly a Chance Meeting (Siobhan)

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

Erik, or "Danny" as he liked to be called, sent off an email to Siobhan Shaw's radio station. She was the radio host who had hooked him with her lovely voice, and now he had an obsessive need to meet her. He had tried calling on the air and sending email before, but she had short-circuited his earlier tries to meet her. And with quite a bit of style. He would try again.

Danny's idea was to use his business to try to meet her. He had many avocations, his main job being a consultant to an architectural firm, which paid him quite well. Another sideline was a small computer company, EDL Consulting, he ran that advertised Systems Analysis, Consulting and Web Building. Capable of doing any of this work himself, he often farmed out the work if he didn't care to do it himself. It brought in some money but it was mostly the computer work and intellectual challenge that it brought him that Danny liked. In this case, he hoped it would get him a date with Siobhan.

He sent an email to the marketing department of the radio station asking to buy some air time to advertise his company. He then suggested that he be interviewed on the air as a local businessman, and hopefully by Siobhan. He would even answer computer questions from callers if he had to.

As the email went in, he thought what a perfect thing this would be. She would probably take him much more seriously if she thought him a legitimate businessman. She only knew him as Danny from Manhattan, the name he used when he called her show. She didn't know his real name or what he looked like. So it was a perfectly splendid plan! Of course she would probably recognize his rather distinctive voice once they started talking, but by then they would be on the air and she couldn't stop the interview in the middle.

The email went in and Danny went back to what he had been doing before and he smiled. If his plan came off as he hoped, it would be bloody well worth it!

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

OOC: I wasn’t sure if you wanted them to go back and forth with e-mail or what, but I thought it would be good to get to the good stuff and have this set the night of the interview. I hope that’s ok! If not, ship me a PM and we can rework it!

BIC:

Once in a while, the Shaw name made life difficult. It was attached to a multi-billion dollar communications empire, after all. It wasn’t something that she could just close her eyes to, especially not when she was considered both the controlling shareholder and an employee of the company. So when she was specifically requested for things, she generally had to own up to them. That was how she’d ended up as the station’s main interviewer, after all. It was one thing to be interviewed by a random personality, and quite another to be interviewed by the Mrs. Shaw. Jamie had made the name worth something, and people still wanted to see what the name could get them.

So when she was slated to interview the head of EDL Consulting that evening, she was a bit resigned to it. It wasn’t that she didn’t support local businesses, she just wasn’t thrilled by them. It was always more exciting to have a famous actress or actor or – god forbid – a real live rock legend who might actually connect with the music she played come onto the show for a segment. So while she didn’t mind coming in early for an interview with a tech guy, she was mentally making a note to change the policy around the station about who interviewed whom...and whether she could con Mick Jager or David Bowie onto the show.

As it was, the interview was scheduled and she was going to go with it, and hopefully it would be fun, seeing as how there would be people calling in with their computer issues. Siobhan knew little about computers, so it would be all ones and zeroes to her, but she was sure she could learn something.
Sitting in her office, she took a sip from her coffee, glancing out at where there was still a bit of sunshine. It was still early in the evening, so stranger things had happened, but she hoped it wouldn’t take long to set. After all, it was a night show. It was only a minute later when she looked up at the knock on her door. Her producer for the night – Jay – was leaning through the doorway, ever present clipboard in hand.

“Mrs. S? The computer guy’s here for his interview.”

“Thank you, Jay,” she replied, standing up with her coffee.

It only took a minute to walk down the stairs to where her booth was. It was a room covered in rock memorabilia that she’d convinced Jamie to buy, saying that it gave the room ambiance. She would have normally had the interview in the standard interview booth, but she was feeling like having her things about her, especially if she was starting early to speak to this man. As it was, he was already seated and waiting. She could see the back of his head from her vantage, but not much more than that. So she straightened her posture and walked into the room with purpose.

“Mr. Lenoir,” she greeted, setting her cup down and holding her hand out to him in greeting. “I’m Siobhan Shaw. It’s a pleasure to have you here.”

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

The following day, Danny received an email from the radio station, accepting his request for an interview. He smiled. Success. The interview would be with Siobhan Shaw. He would meet her then! Considering it was a night show, the interview was set in the evening. Perfect.

For a radio interview, casual dress would be correct. He dressed in his customary style, dark brown slacks, beige shirt open at the collar and a light brown over-the-head sweater. He made sure that his prosthetics were perfect and that no edges could be seen. He put on his dark overcoat, picked up his portfolio of sales materials and took the lift down to the street level of his building. He nodded to the doorman and walked out in a cool New York early spring evening. The sun was low in the sky and twilight would be upon the city very soon.

Danny walked to the station, a bit of a distance, but he enjoyed his evening walks. In New York, generally no one gave you a second look, sometimes not even a first look. he sometimes wondered if he could walk about the streets with his face uncovered and see how many would even notice that he was different. However, he would never take that chance. He was too sensitive about his face and wanted no one even interested in checking into his background for any reason. He always carefully covered his tracks, from the time he had spent in the mental hospital in England to the illegal activities he engaged in here in the Big Apple.

He wondered if Siobhan would be eliciting calls from the listeners. It was fine if she did. He was quite sure there was nothing anyone could ask him that he could not answer. He entered the station and stopped at the reception area, giving his name and why he was here. He was directed to Siobhan's booth which he entered. He took off his overcoat and hung it over the back of another chair. He sat down and looked around at all the rock memorabelia on the walls. She had quite some interesting items if one was a rock afficianado. He would try to act as if he were interested in that, should it come up at alll, but sadly, that was one area where Danny was not well versed, simply because he had no interest in it really.

He looked up as Siobhan entered the room and greeted him. Danny took the portfolio off of his lap and placed it on the chair as he stood as she entered the room. Good heavens, she was even more beautiful than her photographs on the station's website. He smiled and took her proffered hand.

"Yes, Mrs Shaw, it is indeed a pleasure to be here. And call me Erik, please. At least on the air. I'm rather an informal chap. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. It will indeed help my business. Small business today, who knows what could happen tomorrow?" Oddly enough he was feeling vaguely flustered in her presence. He was usually quite self-assured. He hoped it didn't show.

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

He seemed to be a polite man, soft spoken and a bit familiar, but Siobhan frankly couldn’t place him. So she let him grasp her hand and smiled politely at him, hoping that it would be a good interview.

"Yes, Mrs Shaw, it is indeed a pleasure to be here. And call me Erik, please. At least on the air. I'm rather an informal chap. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. It will indeed help my business. Small business today, who knows what could happen tomorrow?"

“Alright, Erik,” she replied, thinking that would be alright, certainly much more personal than Mr. Lenoir. “Only if you agree to call me Siobhan.”

After all, fair was fair.

“As for the interview, I’m sure it will make for an interesting segment. JS Communications Incorporated is always supportive of small businesses. After all, this company started from very humble roots.”

Jamie had been an orphan with a silver tongue. He could get whatever he wanted easily. Add on that apparently he’d been a scrappy young man with Hector backing him and it had been quite the combination. He’d decided he wanted power and riches, and he wanted to do it by bringing people a service he could be paid for. Jamie loved Radio and TV, so it had been a good path for the man. He was caring and passionate about what he did, which meant that he’d put a lot of effort into seeing it grow. Just look at the empire she sat on the throne of now. She smirked a bit at the thought, thinking that a throne was better left to someone who would actually sit on it.

“Please, sit,” she gestured back at his seat with her free hand. “We have some time before the segment and I’d love to hear more about your business.”

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

"Siobhan it is, then," smiled Danny when she asked him to call her by her first name. "A beautiful Irish name. I like it." She asked him to sit and said that there was time before the interview would go live on the air. She asked him to tell her about his business.

"I've been in business now," he thought a moment, "it's coming up on ten years. My, the time goes fast. At least it has for me. EDL is something I started because I have always loved tinkering with computers. When I was a child, my first computer had the DOS operating system, can you believe that? Ages ago. I played with BASIC and wrote some interesting little games and programs. As computers grew up, so did I. I started out as a consulting business at first, systems analysis and so on. I have put wiring for LANs and WIFI and complete new systems for some small companies. A few middle sized ones too. And if there is too much work for one man alone, I have some trusted colleagues that I send out for some of the jobs. As private contractors. "

"Most of my work in the last couple of years is web building and maintenance. I write computer games as a sideline and I compose some of the music for them too. That's the business in a nut shell." He looked at his watch and laughed softly, and a bit nervously. "Well that took all of three minutes. Will you take calls? If not, there will be quite a bit of dead air...."

Danny was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea. He hoped she was a good interviewer, which he was sure she was, having heard several on the air. But he hoped he wouldn't lose his nerve on the radio. That would be bad. He would make a fool of himself and his business on the air and he would never have a chance to date Siobhan if she thought he was an idiot. Of course he was far from an idiot, having a genius IQ, but his social skills were somewhat lacking at times....

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

"Siobhan it is, then. A beautiful Irish name. I like it."

Siobhan smiled a bit. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard a line like that. However, Erik had said it sincerely and she was inclined to let it go with a small nod of acknowledgement. Her very Irish parents would be very proud to know that they had named her appropriately. She had been born in Canada, but sometimes people made caught on that she was from an Irish heritage. It was more obvious with her sister, seeing as how she never grew out of the accent and had red hair. It was funny how that worked out - half the siblings sounded like they were straight from the old country, then there were Eric, Aaron, and herself who all sounded so plain with their lack of accents. Still, it was kind of Erik to point out that at least her name still sounded like it was from the old country.

She jotted down some notes as he talked about his business, adding to what the intern had already prepared. She trusted the people who worked for her to do their jobs, but she found that it all worked out better when she was getting the words and ideas first hand, rather than reading what someone else thought was important.

“That’s fairly impressive. Most small businesses don’t last ten years in this city,” she replied, not really understanding a lot of what he was saying. LAN, BASIC, DOS...It made no sense in her mind.

However, she was sure she would understand it more after the interview. That was the purpose of having him on, after all – to learn more about his business and promote it.

"Well that took all of three minutes. Will you take calls? If not, there will be quite a bit of dead air...."

Siobhan chuckled a bit. “Believe me, I can turn three minutes into half an hour, easily. And yes, we’ll have some callers asking questions, I’m sure.”

Erik seemed like he was getting a bit nervous, and she could understand that. He was basically telling all his business to people he couldn’t see or hear. He would be answering questions and that was hard when one wasn’t used to it. She just had to keep in mind that this man was new to this and guide him through the best that she could.

“Just try and think of it as a conversation. You and I will be talking and every so often someone will interrupt that conversation with a question. Answer the question, then it’s you and me again,” she explained, offering him a kind smile. “Besides, I’m sure I’ll have enough questions about what all those terms were and about your video games. I happen to know a few people who love playing games.”

Zander, for example, could play until his thumbs fell off, and Delores was no slouch. They were the only two she knew, though.

“And if there’s anything you’d like to ask me before we start, I’m happy to answer your questions.”

After all, if one had never been on the air before, it was good to ask questions before they started talking live.

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

Danny watched Siobhan as she jotted down some notes as he spoke. He was slightly distracted by her and by his hope to date her. He wanted to do everything correctly, but at the moment he felt a bit stressed. His hands were sweating and his mouth was dry. That had sometimes happened when he had to give presentations at the architectural firm, Feinstein and Fitzgerald. As a consultant and free lance designer, it was part of his job to speak to small groups on occasion about his designs and make presentations for the firm. Sometimes he was fine, but sometimes he became shaky and almost lost his nerve. Nothing terrible had happened...yet. He hoped this would go well. After all, no one but Siobhan and her producer could see him. Or so he hoped.

Siobhan was very assuring though. She made him feel comfortable and as if he were the most important person in the world and her full attention was on what he said.

When she mentioned that not many small businesses last as long as ten years, he laughed nervously. "What company doesn't need some assistance with their computer networks or their WIFI tweaked or a lovely new interface on the web? If I continue to grow with the industry, I'll do all right."

It was reassuring when she said she could turn three minutes into half an hour. He smiled. She was so pretty and extremely engaging. He found himself staring at her a bit and he didn't hear some of her next statements. Then he quickly snapped out of it. He smiled and nodded. She had said something about callers and questions. Of course he shouldn't be nervous at all. The audience wasn't right in front of Danny, gawking at him. No they were at home, calling the radio station with legitimate questions.

One thing he hoped, is that she wouldn't recognize his voice right away. New York City was such a melting pot that there were people living, working and passing through with every sort of accent in the world. He assumed a British accent wouldn't be too uncommon. But the timbre and tone of his voice were rather unique although undoubtedly he sounded different in person that calling in on a phone. He knew he had been a little persistent when he had called in. This was more direct. She could see for herself that he was a nice chap. He wondered how long it would be before she would consent to a date.

A conversation, she said. That was good. He could keep him mind focused on only her, which he certainly didn't mind doing. She mentioned video games and that she knew some people who loved them. He smiled. "Perhaps they'll cal in if they've tried my games. I never really am able to assess how interesting or addicting my games are, considering I wrote them, I can walk right through them and win every time. So the challenge for me is writing them. "

And if there’s anything you’d like to ask me before we start, I’m happy to answer your questions, she said. There was of course, one burning question on his mind, but he could hardly mention it now. Perhaps after the interview. Yes, that would be a good time. "I'm sure I shall think of a few questions once we begin to talk." He smiled engagingly, trying to stop his hands from perspiring and hating feeling so awkward in front of this lovely woman...

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

Siobhan couldn’t help but smile when Erik laughed, reminding her about the fact that businesses all needed technical support these days. It was true. She couldn’t imagine trying to fix her equipment when it went all fuzzy on her. Seriously, she’d still be using a record player if she could get away with it. She’d had to learn to use the computer and the soundboard when she’d decided she wanted to work in the company as an on air personality. It had been difficult, but rewarding now.

“Oh, don’t I know that,” she chuckled. “I couldn’t imagine this place running without tech support. And you know what they say about radio – dead air is a death sentence, so we keep our technical people as happy as possible.”

If you weren’t playing something, then people tuned in to some other station that was. With that in mind, she could see how his business would thrive over ten years if he was constantly adapting, adjusting, and growing with the technological needs of a city like New York. And seeing as how Erik probably only covered a small fraction of them on his own...yes, this was why she didn’t think of technology very often. Just the thought of all those people having problems with technology was a headache waiting to happen. She was eternally grateful that there were people out there who thought of it for her.

She glanced up expectantly, waiting to hear if he had questions. After all, people who weren’t used to this sometimes did. Erik was looking a bit nervous, but that was natural. She could handle nerves. As long as he didn’t lock up and become silent she’d be fine.

"I'm sure I shall think of a few questions once we begin to talk."

“Of course,” she replied, thinking that would be fine. “And seeing as how we will be talking technology, if you have any questions we can probably cover them on the air.”

It was rare when that would work. Mostly she was talking with people in the entertainment industry, so they were more interested in talking about themselves, their fellow entertainers, even the city. But then most of them were familiar with the technology and didn’t need to ask, even more familiar with the process because they did interviews all the time.

“So, Erik – do you mind telling me a bit about yourself? Like, where you’re from, what you do in your spare time, interests – anything you find to be important.”

After all, it was almost impossible to have a conversation with someone when you had no idea who they were and what motivated them. If she was talking to the business, she’d have all she needed, but the business was an abstract thing that didn’t speak for itself. Erik as a person was just as important as his business.

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

She asked Erik about himself. How much should he say? Of course he should have thought of this before he even made the move to ask for an interview. He must be careful and only say the bare minimum. "Well, Siobhan, I was born in London, England. I expect you've noticed that I'm English by now." He laughed a bit nervously. That was slightly awkwardly said. "I've been in New York City for quite a few years now and I must say, I have fallen in love with the Big Apple." That sounded better.

"And, I've always been interested in mechanical things. Took apart everything. Mum had quite a time with me. " He paused and smiled nervously. "So. I love music too. And I play a Strad. And compose the music for my games. Not the most satisfying endeavour, but it pays the bills. And since there isn't that much work now in the computer business, well, that's why I'm here, of course, to get a bit of advert for the business. I work on designs too." It almost seemed as if talking that much about himself had worn him out. He stopped speaking and just looked at her, smiling. There was silence for a few seconds which seemed like a very long time.

Then he remembered what she had just said about dead air and thought, when they came on the air, he hoped he could think of enough to say. This may have been a bad idea. Danny wondered if he could think of an excuse to leave. But then he thought of his goal. A date. With Siobhan. Would she really go out with him? He had to impress her and this was the time. He was still aware of his hands sweating. He hoped they wouldn't start shaking.

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

She suspected that Erik was English, but she was terrible at pin pointing accents. She always confused them all spectacularly. Irish and Scottish she could tell apart, but that was about it. Her father had been insistent about that much. His Irish pride wouldn’t stand for her to be confused there, even if Canada was a huge mosaic and no one cared where anyone else was from. Some things just couldn’t change in Irish households. He continued on, talking about how he liked music and tinkering.

She smiled a bit, thinking that she could understand that. She was a huge fan of listening to music, and she was trying to learn how to play Jamie’s guitar under Osric’s careful tutelage. She wasn’t the fastest learner, but she did manage to try her best. She was getting somewhere with it and it was a joyful experience to make music. But she was nowhere on the level of playing and composing like Erik.

“That all sounds very interesting. I’m quite impressed that not only did you design the game, but the music as well. That’s quite a lot of work. You must think of each one as a child,” she offered, writing down a bit on her pad of paper. “My husband was like that with this station.”

He designed everything from the ground up, creating an empire. He even played the intro to her show. She’d never had the heart to change it after he’d passed.

“Do you mind if I ask about your creative process? I’d love to know what inspires you when you’re creating games and music.”

It was something she asked all of her creative guests. She had yet to have two of them give her the same answer and it was always something that got people talking. Even though it was just the two of them, she could tell that Erik was a bit nervous and when people got nervous the best thing she could do was keep them talking about something to get their minds off of it.

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

Danny smiled when she complimented him on designing games and composing the music as well. "I think it helps the mood of the game if the music is carefully chosen..." Of course that was rather obvious. "Each game as a child?" he repeated. "No, not really. My serious musical compositions are more like children. The games and their music, just bits of fluff. They give a few people a bit of mindless entertainment in a boring moment and make a bit of money for me. That's all they are. Nothing more."

Then she mentioned her husband, which put him aback for a moment. She was married? Well of course. They called her Mrs Shaw. How could he have overlooked that? But he wasn't really an avid listener of the station, and when he listened, he listened to her voice, the tone and timbre of it, not really what she was saying. He had to concentrate even now to not drift off a bit just listening to the voice... But now, talk of her husband...

"I see," said Danny, carefully. "He must be quite the fellow to have created this empire." It was going to be a difficult interview now that he had found out his piece of disturbing information.

Then Siobhan worked her magic again and asked Danny more questions about himself, making him feel more comfortable. This time the questions were about his creative process. "Creative process? Let me see...I often am asked to create a game around a given concept. This from the online game group to which I have sold my games. I start with that and visualize the characters, and the story behind the game. I create each character or whatever the parts of the games are. Most of my games are action games, where characters play against others. Some are other types of games, such as mystery or spy games, all sorts of things. Once the ideas are in place, I start the coding. As I am coding, I am hearing the music in my head which will go with certain parts of the game. I can't explain it better than that. That is the usual process."

"When I compose a serious piece of music, I have the same melodies in my head, all the different instruments playing, and I rush to write it down. Sometimes I have stayed up for two days writing as fast as possible, simply to put the music, and occasionally words, to the modern form of paper, the computer."

"I often use my piano or Strad to help me find just the exact melody and timing that I want. It usually plays out in my head, but the instruments add a physical sense to it."

Danny was quite completely off the subject of which he had come to speak to Siobhan. He was carried away by describing his creative process and he could almost hear music now, in his head. "I have a synthesizer which combines the various elements and so I can produce not only a complete score, but the actual sound of the instruments playing together so it can be heard aloud. When I sell my music, it contains both the completed score and the synthesized version. Of course the computerized version is nothing like a real orchestra playing, it doesn't have that human touch of people playing the instruments. But neither can it be flat, sharp or make any mistakes like human musicians can."

Danny wasn't shaking or sweating as much anymore. The talk of his music had calmed him down considerably. It probably didn't hurt to tell her about this creative process. Then he turned his attention back to Siobhan. She had a husband. A bloody husband. Damn. No chance for a date now.

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

"Each game as a child? No, not really. My serious musical compositions are more like children. The games and their music, just bits of fluff. They give a few people a bit of mindless entertainment in a boring moment and make a bit of money for me. That's all they are. Nothing more."

Well, Siobhan hadn’t been expecting an answer like that. With everything that he did, it was more likely that the games were an intensive labor of love. However, it was the music in this case. She had to admit that she thought a little more for him with that answer. Music was something she could relate to. After all, she did practically live in the radio station.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who would disagree with you, but I get what you mean,” she told him, hoping that she wasn’t giving him the wrong impression. She honestly did get it. Music was much more a window to the soul than some video game. Of course, she’d never designed a video game, so that was hard to say.

Just like Erik had never met Jamie.

"He must be quite the fellow to have created this empire."

She nodded a bit, spinning around the picture on her desk of Jamie and herself. It had been on the trip Jamie’d dragged her on down to Mexico. She’d been wearing a light sundress and a floppy sun hat, which is why she didn’t look like a lobster, despite her fair skin. Jamie, on the other hand, was dark in the picture, having spent hours sunning himself in preparation for the trip. He was a lovely shade of tan and they looked like a mismatched pair, but it had been a good trip.

“He really was,” she replied, a slight catch starting in her throat, so she cleared it a bit. “He was very ambitious.”

She shrugged a bit, setting the photo aside and putting it out of mind. She still wasn’t quite in a good place after his death and not thinking about him was how she got through the day, after all. She turned back to Erik and paid attention to his creative process, writing down notes about how he went about finding muses for games, and then for his own music. It was really impressive that he knew how to compose for all the different instruments in an orchestra to make the sound in his head come to life.

"I often use my piano or Strad to help me find just the exact melody and timing that I want. It usually plays out in my head, but the instruments add a physical sense to it."

She nodded, wondering what it would be like to have any musical talent. It sounded pretty passionate to him, something that he was connected to. It was rare to find that in people these days. They were all more concerned with making money. That was probably why he had all the coding and game designs going on – something to pay the bills so that he could do what he loved. Paying the bills she could understand. It was something that she had done often throughout her life. She had yet to be so passionate about something like that.

"...Of course the computerized version is nothing like a real orchestra playing, it doesn't have that human touch of people playing the instruments. But neither can it be flat, sharp or make any mistakes like human musicians can."

“That almost sounds boring,” she offered, planting her elbows on the desk and resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. “Some of the best music is full of mistakes, so no two renditions are exactly alike.”

That was one of the more human things about it that she enjoyed so much. People were always putting their own take on things, making it so that there was something interesting in the set. She adored listening to the first cuts of things, especially the tracks where there were mistakes, discussions, ideas passed around. For all of that to be missing was almost a letdown.

“Have you ever worked with a real orchestra?”

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

Siobhan seemed impressed with Danny's answer about his inspiration for writing the games and the music. He could see it in her face. He smiled. This was not as difficult as he had anticipated. He felt that his answers were good and Siobhan was doing everything to make him feel comfortable. He was feeling better. But there was one thing. Was he telling too much about himself? The interview had purported to be about his computer business. It had spilled over into other aspects of his life. This was not good. He didn't mind her knowing, but everyone else would know! On the radio, everyone could hear one speak! Danny's paranoia began to eat at him a bit and his hands started to become clammy again.

Sometimes when he was a little edgy, he found it hard to follow someone else's train of thought. He tried to concentrate. Yes, she was correct. There were many people who would not see computer games as bits of fluff. There were quite a few idiots out there that were addicted to the games. Well, that wasn't Danny's fault. He just wrote them. He didn't think about them afterward.

When Siobhan had mentioned her husband Jamie, Erik had become upset. He hoped it wasn't obvious. She showed him a photograph of her and "Jamie." She looked adorable in a sundress and floppy hat, Jamie next to her, looking tanned. Danny's hands shook just the slightest bit, seeing the husband. But then something odd happened. She spoke of Jamie in the past tense. Divorced, separated, deceased? He wondered which one it was. In an instant, Danny felt a bit of sympathy for her, and also a bit of elation that Jamie was no longer in the picture.

She spoke of her husband's ambition. But it was in a sad tone. Now Danny understood. He was gone, but it was sad. Most likely deceased. Danny reached across and touched her hand with just the tips of his fingers. He did feel sympathy for her. He didn't like it that she was sad, and all he could do was offer a small touch and his condolences. But...she wasn't married any more. That seemed to be a fact.

Then he brought his concentration back to her, and away from his own thoughts. How he daydreamed in the midst of talking with someone....it had gotten him in trouble more than once when he hadn't heard what someone was saying because he was lost in his own thoughts.

"You are correct that the mechanical music is just that...mechanical. But it has the perfection that live musicians strive for. The technical perfection that is. There is never quite a perfect rendition of any piece by a live orchestra. But, if I were to have my preferences, I would choose the live orchestra. It has the touch of a human behind each note. Perhaps nothing is better than that. But the mechanical orchestra helps me when I am composing to see how it all comes together."

Then she asked, Have you ever worked with a real orchestra? The thought of it was terrifying. Even though he knew he was the best musician he had ever heard, and that was really no false pride on his part, but the thought of playing in front of a large crowd of people....it brought him back to his childhood when he was asked to play the violin to entertain the ladies at his mother's high tea. A worse disaster was never seen in the Lenoir household...

He came back to Siobhan's question. How long had he left her waiting for an answer? "I...I ...it would be a terrible idea....a disaster, really." Then he supposed she wanted an explanation. "You see, I'm not ... confident before crowds..."

[SIOBHAN "NYX" SHAW]

Siobhan was a bit taken back when Erik’s fingers brushed her own hand. She certainly wasn’t used to that. Generally her guests kept their hands to themselves. It didn’t seem worth it to say anything about the brief touch. However, should he try that again, she was going to have to be firm with him. She was a professional and there were standards she had to keep, lines that didn’t get crossed. David Lee Roth continually needed that reminder, so she knew she could handle the situation if need be.

"You are correct that the mechanical music is just that...mechanical. But it has the perfection that live musicians strive for. The technical perfection, that is. There is never quite a perfect rendition of any piece by a live orchestra. But, if I were to have my preferences, I would choose the live orchestra. It has the touch of a human behind each note. Perhaps nothing is better than that. But the mechanical orchestra helps me when I am composing to see how it all comes together."

She supposed that was true. Technical perfection was something that all artists did strive for, but the human condition was what held everyone back on that point. When there weren’t computers involved, life was much more interesting, in her opinion. That was probably why she owned more live performances than actual professionally produced session CDs. It was also probably why she loved Pub music so much, but it was what it was. It most likely had a lot to do with the alcohol flowing, too.

“It’s great to hear more about the process you have,” she commented, finding it interesting. “Many professional rock musicians have to hear entire compositions together before they’re happy with the results.”

It probably was comparing apples and oranges, but it was her realm of experience and she was happy to have something to say. Sitting and being a passive observer wasn’t her thing.

However, sometimes her questions didn’t have the desired effects that she had been hoping for. She hadn’t thought that asking Erik about performing would put him back into his shy shell again.

"I...I ...it would be a terrible idea....a disaster, really. You see, I'm not ... confident before crowds..."

“I can understand that. Not everyone can be good at everything,” she offered, hoping she could get him back to where he had been a few minutes ago. “Being involved in music period is still impressive.”

And even if he never had success in front of an audience, he was known for it, which was more than some live acts could boast.

“So, Erik, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment?”

It was a fair question, after all. She had sat down to interview a small business owner who had made his name as a designer, rather than a musician. It was clear that was where Erik’s passion was, though, and it was always easier to get people talking about their passions rather than what they did for a living. However, if what they did involved their passions, then her job was infinitely easier in these types of situations.

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

Siobhan seemed put off for just a millisecond when Danny touched her hand with his finger tips. Apparently that hadn't been a good idea. He was disappointed. This was still not going the way he wished it to go. But she regained her composure almost immediately.

She said it was great to hear about his creative processes. He nodded, but was rather put off when she mentioned rock musicians ant their compositions. He didn't have much respect for rock musicians and it wasn't in his vocabulary to call their musical wanderings "compositions." But he didn't say anything. She rather knew how he felt about that subject and he didn't wish to irritate her by bringing it up again.

He was also rather ecstatic though, that his ruse had proved to be a good one. She had no idea that he was the persistent caller who constantly asked for classical music to be played on the rock station. He was surprised that she didn't recognize his voice, it was rather distinct, and coupled with his English accent, he thought it would be enough to ring a little bell in her memory. But apparently not. People did sound differently when on the radio or phone. So he just smiled that at least he had pulled off that little thing.

Then when she had asked about performing, he had seemed very unsure of himself. It had rather thrown him for a loop. But when she said, Not everyone can be good at everything, he looked at her and frowned. Had he really sounded as if he lacked so much confidence? He must alter her thoughts of himself in this regard. "I...I ...don't mean that I would not...be ...good at performing. I just mean..." Here he paused and took the glass of ice water that had been put there for him and took a couple of swallows. He recovered a bit of his composure. "I just...mean that I ... don't care to ... perform....that's all it is. I don't care to do it. I didn't mean that about no confidence. That's not it. I ...well... that's not it. I could do it if I put my mind to it..."

But her last question completely threw Danny off. So, Erik, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment? For some reason, he didn't know what to say. He was an architect, a designer, a computer expert, he owned a small business, he was a wonderful musician, composer, artist .... and yet his mind suddenly went blank. What single accomplishment was his greatest? He sat there for a few minutes. "It's hard to say," he said pensively. "But most likely, I would say my classical compositions. I've sold a few of them..."