It was Father's Day. At least for some it was Father's day. Not everybody celebrated such a day, but enough of them had brought it from their home worlds to Rhydin that Lirssa had been well aware of it from her earliest days. Maybe it was so deep rooted in her mind from the thousands of pitying looks that still kept ghostly vigil in her memory, wondering where her parents were or if Bubber was her father. That was one thing Bubber had never allowed. He had said he wanted her to be more than he was. Better than spit on the bottom of a man's boot.
Lirssa could not remember her birth father and more than her birth mother. They were masks of her childhood fancy without warm eyes or light laughter. Her family that took her in when she was very young had moved on when she remained behind. That father she remembered well and with some sad fondness, knowing that deep down even they had not really seen her as a daughter.
No one really did. Still, Lirssa had a strong memory of one father's day in particular. It was her first with the adoptive father and the first with someone else who was very special. As she worked together a card of a man in a top hat dancing with a little girl out of cuttings from the papers and some scraps around the brownstone house that was now both her residence and her cage, the moment replayed in her mind.
Lirssa slid to a stop at the bar where her adoptive father was working, brandishing a bunch of wildflowers and a small present. "Happy Dad's Day!" The inn was lively with ladies and lords, beggars and priests, and all manner of creature. Another arrived to join in the crowd, removing his top hat as he stepped inside.
Her adoptive father gave a kiss to Lirssa's cheek and while she placed the wildflowers in a cup of water, he opened the gift. It was a picture frame Lirssa had made with her own little hands. Her father smiled and she refreshed his cup of coffee. When she turned back to set it out for him, there was the man dressed to the nines, and a man Lirssa knew as Mister Lucien Mallorek. A blush went up her cheeks when she saw him. She thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The fact she had a glass of juice waiting for her was just not going to do, so she went to get herself a glass of wine instead, like the grownups did. But when she asked Lucien what he wanted, it was a glass of orange juice. Orange juice poured for him just as her father decided to loudly announce that she was too young for wine causing another blush to her cheeks. "You like juice, too?" She asked Lucien in surprise.
"Yes. My favorite," he replied, and Lirssa quickly changed out her wine for the juice again. Though she had said there was no charge for juice, he had paid just the same. These coins she accepted with a curtsey and delivered to the till.
Lucien had stood from his lean on the bar, and Lirssa worried that he was going away already. He assured her he was not going anywhere just yet, and just as she managed to be bold enough to ask him where he was going to go, he moved to talk with her father. She was certain catastrophe was imminent. As the two men talked, she began to fidget. The timely arrival of her adoptive mother drew her away, "Mom, Lucien is talking to dad, and I...don't know why."
The why was so Lucien might ask a favor of Lirssa's father, and on that day honoring fathers that he might have a dance with Lirssa. Lirssa had taken to a lean against the wall in order to observe, but when her father permitted Lucien, he walked towards her. She stood frozen against the wall. Noticing Lucien was one thing. Him noticing her was entirely different. He bowed formally, setting aside top hat and walking stick. She returned a curtsey. Then he held out his hand to her and asked, "May I have this dance?"
With a bright smile and a straight back, she accepted his hand. He returned his top hat to his head and lead her out to a space on the floor. His free hand set upon her shoulder. Lirssa's hands trembled only slightly, but from delight not fear, and she set her other hand on his arm, unable to reach his shoulder.
He hummed a waltz and began to whirl her about the floor. Days of tumbling and festival dances gave her an advantage in keeping up with him, that and she was walking on cloud nine...
It was a cloud that Lirssa managed to feel in some small measure as she left the card and a bunch of wildflowers at Mister Lucien Mallorek's in town residence, wishing him a happy father's day.
((the scene described is edited and adapted from a live play that happened on 6/18/2000))
Lirssa could not remember her birth father and more than her birth mother. They were masks of her childhood fancy without warm eyes or light laughter. Her family that took her in when she was very young had moved on when she remained behind. That father she remembered well and with some sad fondness, knowing that deep down even they had not really seen her as a daughter.
No one really did. Still, Lirssa had a strong memory of one father's day in particular. It was her first with the adoptive father and the first with someone else who was very special. As she worked together a card of a man in a top hat dancing with a little girl out of cuttings from the papers and some scraps around the brownstone house that was now both her residence and her cage, the moment replayed in her mind.
Lirssa slid to a stop at the bar where her adoptive father was working, brandishing a bunch of wildflowers and a small present. "Happy Dad's Day!" The inn was lively with ladies and lords, beggars and priests, and all manner of creature. Another arrived to join in the crowd, removing his top hat as he stepped inside.
Her adoptive father gave a kiss to Lirssa's cheek and while she placed the wildflowers in a cup of water, he opened the gift. It was a picture frame Lirssa had made with her own little hands. Her father smiled and she refreshed his cup of coffee. When she turned back to set it out for him, there was the man dressed to the nines, and a man Lirssa knew as Mister Lucien Mallorek. A blush went up her cheeks when she saw him. She thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The fact she had a glass of juice waiting for her was just not going to do, so she went to get herself a glass of wine instead, like the grownups did. But when she asked Lucien what he wanted, it was a glass of orange juice. Orange juice poured for him just as her father decided to loudly announce that she was too young for wine causing another blush to her cheeks. "You like juice, too?" She asked Lucien in surprise.
"Yes. My favorite," he replied, and Lirssa quickly changed out her wine for the juice again. Though she had said there was no charge for juice, he had paid just the same. These coins she accepted with a curtsey and delivered to the till.
Lucien had stood from his lean on the bar, and Lirssa worried that he was going away already. He assured her he was not going anywhere just yet, and just as she managed to be bold enough to ask him where he was going to go, he moved to talk with her father. She was certain catastrophe was imminent. As the two men talked, she began to fidget. The timely arrival of her adoptive mother drew her away, "Mom, Lucien is talking to dad, and I...don't know why."
The why was so Lucien might ask a favor of Lirssa's father, and on that day honoring fathers that he might have a dance with Lirssa. Lirssa had taken to a lean against the wall in order to observe, but when her father permitted Lucien, he walked towards her. She stood frozen against the wall. Noticing Lucien was one thing. Him noticing her was entirely different. He bowed formally, setting aside top hat and walking stick. She returned a curtsey. Then he held out his hand to her and asked, "May I have this dance?"
With a bright smile and a straight back, she accepted his hand. He returned his top hat to his head and lead her out to a space on the floor. His free hand set upon her shoulder. Lirssa's hands trembled only slightly, but from delight not fear, and she set her other hand on his arm, unable to reach his shoulder.
He hummed a waltz and began to whirl her about the floor. Days of tumbling and festival dances gave her an advantage in keeping up with him, that and she was walking on cloud nine...
It was a cloud that Lirssa managed to feel in some small measure as she left the card and a bunch of wildflowers at Mister Lucien Mallorek's in town residence, wishing him a happy father's day.
((the scene described is edited and adapted from a live play that happened on 6/18/2000))