AND YOU PLAY.

not everyone can say they’ve been to the big apple, but athena ryu, a fourty-six year-old cisfemale has lived in park slope, brooklyn for twenty-seven years. This is the city of dreams and she knows it, because they came to nyc to be a pianist. living in the city means they meet all kinds of people, but everyone always seems to think they look like sandra oh. they even got away with free cab fare once because of it! sadie, 21, est, she/her, none.

hi everyone! sadie here coming at ya with my introverted pianist, athena. 

Diana closed her eyes, rolling the words “Moon River” in her head over and over again trying to commit then to memory. The woman possessed a melodic voice; raspy and gently all at once. “Like the Breakfast at Tiffany’s song?” She asked looking up at the sky. “Two drifters, off to see the world. There’s such a lot of world to see…” Diana sang, mostly to herself, opening her eyes to face the night sky, muddied by nearby lights and blank as the asphalt below. The only lights she could see was the flashing of planes above, masquerading as stars. Diana looked at the pianist. She seemed concerned, but truly, Diana was concerned for her. The music felt like such a lonely piece; that’d been why she related to it at all in the first place. “I don’t want to sit,” she commanded, “I don’t want to go back in there. With the piss scent, burning lights and the people. I want whatever Moon River is. I want…” She blinked. 

“I don’t know…” Diana continued. She looked at her hands finally, watching blood dribble down her fingertips. She couldn’t feel it. “Thank you,” she smiled at the napkins offered to her. She was too inebriated to be thinking like a doctor and so she dabbed them lamely on her fingers, watching blood soak through their cheap paper. “Are you lonely?” She asked suddenly, looking up at her mystery woman. “That music…it sounded like you were. It sounded so sad I…I couldn’t help but to cry for you. But is it true? Whatever you were saying with the piano there? Do you feel like that?” 

ATHENA’S FACE COULDN’T HELP BUT turn up in a small smile as the woman began to speak the lyrics aloud to her. it was comforting, to know that she had played something of familiarity with the other. even when she was young, she had wanted to play music that touched others, touched their hearts. it seemed that she had been successful. moon river had been a favorite of eloise’s, so she played it to keep her spirit in the room. it wasn’t information that she divulged to others. maybe she’d tell rico a bit later down the line, but it was their song. that was something she knew would never change, but it felt even more special: keeping it a secret. 

as the woman continued to speak, athena’s face seemed to soften even further. i want whatever moon river is. the statement certainly made her ponder. what was moon river? certainly a place far better than the streets of new york, far better than the bar that they were standing in with their cheap liquor and the combining smells of cigarettes and desperation. “hey.. you’re okay.” she flashed the other a gentle smile. not that whatever the woman was going through was okay, but the statement came more so out of a place of reminder that she was safe with her. 

“i..” she paused for a moment, certainly initially taken aback by the question. yeah. i am. she wanted to say immediately. “it doesn’t come from a place of happiness, lets put it that way.” she sighed, running her fingers along the hem of the jacket she had so lazily thrown over her shoulders thinking she would be leaving and heading back to her home. where she would be alone. she couldn’t believe what she found herself saying next. 

unlike most people that retire from broadway, claire likes to keep in contact with most of her colleagues because she knows that they’ll be useful whenever she needs them for a show. ever since she was young, she has been told it’s always good to keep in contact with people as you may never know when you’ll need them for something. 

she’d be lying if she had said she hadn’t missed the woman though, she’s always thought of her as a really cool older sister, so you can imagine her excitement when she agreed to meet up for coffee. although her dad wasn’t all to ecstatic about his second oldest taking her lunch break early.. 

“athena, hi!” claire beamed, a small grin appearing on the younger woman’s features. “i’ve been good, working hard and a little exhausted, but still good.” she admitted with a chuckle. “what about you? how have you been?”

ATHENA CERTAINLY HAD A LOT on her plate. not only did she balance her stuff on broadway, her own gigs and playing for the ballet, but she had also begun giving lessons. regardless, she always had time for claire. she respected her decision to join her father’s buisness. there had been a twinge there, thinking that she would lose her amazing working relationship with her, she was glad that the two of them had worked to spend time together. 

she was always more than happy to be a listening ear for most, but she didn’t always put herself out there as a consistant resource for most people. here, again, was where claire differed. she actually wanted to continue working with her despite having an endless amount of obligations. 

maggie: wonderful, i'll put you down for friday then.

maggie: ah, we all know those pesky little realizations.

maggie: then this is a great first step! and let me be the first one to say i'm proud of you for taking that step. it's not easy.

athena: thank you.

athena: i'm proud of myself too

athena: i've got a long way to go but.. rip the bandaid off as they say.

        greer  really  wasn’t  feeling  well  enough  to  practice  today. and  yet,  here  she  was  ―   never  giving  up  on  it.  everyone knew  she  was  a  perfectionist  that  didn’t  stop  working  until every  move  was  perfect  and  that  she  sometimes  would  stay  at the  studio  till  the  late  evening.  but  today,  she  didn’t even  have  the  strength  to  go  through  the  basics  even.  and especially  not  after  having  a  dispute  with  kal  before  practice,  which  only  had  drained  even  more  energy.  all  she wanted  to  do  was  to  simply  lay  in  bed.

        greer,  hey.  the  familiar  voice  managed  to  snap  greer  out of  her  thoughts,  and  she  turned  around  to  athena,  trying her  hardest  to  flash  the  older  woman  a  little  smile.  greer felt  bad  for  keeping  her  hanging  today,  for  not  performing at  her  best  and  taking  up  her  time.  ❝   sorry.  " she  mumbled  weakly,  stepping  closer  towards  the  piano  again, just  wanting  to  continuing  practicing.

        but  athena  seemed  to  have  other  plans,  and  a  sigh  rolled from  her  tongue  once  she  mentioned  what  she  had  tried  so desperately  to  avoid.  she  didn’t  want  anyone  else  to  see  how  tense it  currently  was  between  kal  and  her,  but  fooling  athena was  nearly  impossible.  she  knew  greer  and  kal  just  simply too  well.  she  awkwardly  looked  down  at  the  ground, scratching  the  back  of  her  neck.  ❝   i  mean,  you  have seen  him…  ❞   kal  had  private  practice  before  her,  so she  was  sure  that  athena  would  have  noticed  the  cuts  and bruises  on  his  face.  ❝  i  guess  i’m  kind  of  responsible  for  that  and  i  just…  ❞   another  sigh.  ❝   did  he say  anything  to  you  ?  ❞   greer  felt  immensely  worse with  every  second  that  passed,  knowing  damn  well  if  she talked  to  athena,  she  wouldn’t  be  able  to  dance  at  all today  anymore

IN ALL HONESTY, ATHENA HAD been worried about greer long before the events of the party. their work ethic tended to mirror each other: constantly just moving onto the next thing and putting everything they had into their obligations. today, especially, there was no denying the fact that the ballerina was clearly drained. she should be resting athena couldn’t help but think to herself as close as the deadline was. you performed how you practiced and greer clearly wasn’t entirely there. 

“you don’t need to apologize.. i’m just worried.” she chewed on her bottom lip as she finished, clearly nervous to bring up the incident. she wanted the studio to be a safe space for the dancers that she worked with and the younger woman was clearly uncomfortable. if she was going to continue to be productive, they needed to put her feelings out in the open. keep her focused on the performance. “you’re usually a bit more.. here. not that having something on your mind is something bad.” she paused. “remember, sweetheart.. your feelings matter too.”

“yeah. i know all about that.” max confirmed, a small smirk on his face as he tilted his head. and while he knew they were talking about entirely different situations – it didn’t mean any less. “bars are overrated, honestly. i mean – unless someone really talented is playing music there, you know. for the most part – they’re overrated.” he offered a smile before holding out his hand for her to take. “come on, i’ll get you outta here without too much fuss. i know this nice italian place down the road if you’re up for that. it’s usually not busy.” italian. ‘of course, max’ he thought to himself. if there was one thing he had stored in the deep depths of his brain, it was every italian place on the east coast. 

“OH YEAH?” ATHENA MUSED WITH a sense of playfulness in her smirk, something that had not been seen in a very long time. not only that, but she radiated a certain confidence, no matter how small the amount was. the flush did return, however, at the inference that she was talented. while she was confident in her playing ability, hearing it from max felt.. better for some reason. “aw shucks. maybe if i get a regular spot.. i’ll be seeing you a lot more often?” once again, some sort of attempt at flirting. she’d get there eventually. then, there was his hand that felt strangely right to take. there wasn’t any hesitation as she did so. “italian sounds.. perfect. let me just throw on my coat and then i’ll be ready.” the hand that wasn’t interlocked with his held a long leather jacket. she broke the hold for a moment to drape it over her shoulders, holding her own hand out again.

“Thena, I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about it."  He insists perhaps a little too much, as if being hurt by one’s absence would somehow hurt his ego. It could, really. It was an ever fragile thing with him.  "Someone died anyway, so it’s not like I wanted you there to live through it. How was the show? Good crowd?” Easy was as any to change the subject. Surprisingly enough, there were times even he didn’t like being in the spotlight.   

Rico’s mind was elsewhere, wandering off and fluctuating between that place and the present. The subject of the ridiculous, petty fight that had taken place at his party was not one he was awfully interested in, despite knowing part of the responsible parties.  “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know the first thing about those people’s lives."  It was a lie, he did know more than he cared to, but it was more that he didn’t care.  "You can ask your friend about it later, I’m sure he will be able to give you a more detailed account. I wasn’t even around.” 

His breathing grows slightly heavier at her retelling of the situation. Any lightheartedness temporarily gone from his disposition, brown eyes taking on a darker shade as he stares at her intently. Something stirred in him, but he could not name it. It had been stirring for a few days. Could be guilt, could be mere anger, could be both and then something else altogether. What he knew is, it threw him off balance slightly, and he did not like it. “Pretty much. Yeah." He pours the wine in silence, being far too generous with the doses he distributes. 

"Busy.” He replies simply, bringing the glass to his lips and taking a large sip from it.  “Have been doing interviews for this left and right, then have to get back on the script for the movie, and then I’m –"  Also investigating this on my own and have barely slept a wink because of it.  "Just busy. What about you? How are things?”

ATHENA HAD WANTED TO BE there, not only to give herself a break but because she knew so many people who she cared would be there. kal, rico, greer, claire.. the list certainly extended. perhaps this was another reason why she felt the strain in her chest, aching knowing that they had to experience the fear that such an event wound cause. as much as she wanted to continue pushing the subject, to try and figure out what happened, she could tell that he wanted to change the subject. “the show was good.. a lot of material in a short amount of time and we played well. audience was pretty lethargic though.”

she was going to say dead, until she realized the fucked-up irony of such a statement. 

“yeah.. of course. i’ll see him tomorrow anyway for rehearsal. i’m playing for the ballet rehearsals again.” she nodded, her face contorting into a subtle look of concern. rico didn’t need her pity; the last thing she wanted was to make him feel small. after everything, however, if he needed the sounding board: she would be more than willing to be just that. 

he couldn’t hide the guilt in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried. of course she understood why he felt that way; someone died at a party he hosted. any normal person might feel responsible, but that didn’t mean they had to. if there was anything athena had learned about her years in the city: this city is too damn large for anyone to completely know the real you. “rico.” she continued, raising an eyebrow as she noticed the amount of wine falling into his glass. “you’re not telling me something. what’s going on?”

then came the questions about her current life outside of all this. things were certainly happening, life was continuing on. lately, the pianist had come to several necessary revelations that were certainly already beginning to do her some amount of good. her eyes lit up at the mention of the film. “ah yes, the movie! that’s all moving forward okay?”