the dinner
The dinner is in fact at 8, which makes Morrible, with a quick glance at her watch, further snippish. She dismisses Elphaba with a rather pointed look at the door, then whisks off to find Glinda and no doubt lecture her on her poor planning. Elphaba decides, with only 40 minutes left, that she’ll just wait downstairs, outfit nice enough and drive long enough to discourage her from running home in between. She finds a small armchair in the hotel lobby, tucked in the corner, a deep velvet green that matches the interior decor rather nicely. She fidgets, rather bored after a few minutes, but passes the time by watching the curious people that flutter around her and worrying about how tonight will go.
It’s not Glinda who will pose a problem, really. The actress has no doubt had her fair share of awkward social events, and Elphaba figures she can hold her own at a small dinner party. Really, she’s a lot more worried about her friends, whose rather in-depth knowledge of Elphaba’s embarrassing moments might drive the actress off before they even reach dessert. Realistically, she figures that won’t happen, but the small knot in her stomach does not budge, and in fact only worsens as the small hand on her watch ticks closer to 8.
At precisely 7:45, the elevator door dings open, and Glinda steps into the lobby. Elphaba might be a tad dramatic, but she swears the air seems to shift. Glinda kept the beige skirt, but now she pairs it with wine red stockings and a burgundy cable knit sweater. Simply put, she looks stunning.
Glinda’s eyes search the room, slightly tense, but a soft smile graces her face when they land on Elphaba. The latter stands up quickly, brushing imaginary dust off her pants, and walks to meet Glinda at the door.
“Well hello again. I was half wondering if Morrible had lied about the time to make me miss it, but I must say I’m rather glad you’re still here.” Glinda smiles with a twinkle in her eye, and then gestures to the door. “Shall we?”
Elphaba, words suddenly unable to form in her mind, can only nod and hold the door open, gesturing for a giggling Glinda to step out first. The air outside is cool, and Glinda stands a little closer than strictly necessary as the two wait for a cab. She shivers slightly, and Elphaba curses herself internally for not bringing a jacket to chivalrously offer. She instead shifts a little closer, their shoulders now touching, and sticks her hands awkwardly in the pockets of her pants. Glinda, arms crossed across her chest, smiles at her from the corner of her eye.
Soon, Elphaba manages to wave down a taxi, and she again holds the door open for Glinda, who seems to find this amusing. She mockingly bows her head in thanks before ducking into the car, and Elphaba follows her with a smile. After rattling off her sister’s address to the driver, she sits back into the seat and looks over at Glinda, somewhat surprised to find her already watching her. The actress’s intense gaze makes her squirm, and she breaks eye contact before talking to fill the silence.
“I should warn you, my sister and our friends can be rather.. intense. They’re perfectly normal people of course, just very spirited I suppose. I’m sure you’ll get along just fine though, they’re very social creatures.”
“I see. Much like yourself, then,” Glinda replies sagely, eliciting a snort from her companion.
“Sure. Anyways, Nessa and Fiyero are fans of your acting, but I promise they’ll behave. I’m really more worried about them embarrassing me than bothering you.”
At this Glinda smiles mischievously, and leans in closer.
“Why, Miss Thropp, now I’m curious. I think it will be my mission of the night to make them do just that.” Elphaba groans, but laughs, and the two slip into fairly easy conversation for the rest of the ride.
. . . . . . .
Nessarose lives in an apartment not unlike Elphaba’s, tucked into a row of identical buildings. The signature green of the city is a little less strict in her neighborhood, and hers is one of paler green brick and white trim. Glinda and Elphaba walk up the couple of steps to her door, and Elphaba grimaces before knocking.
“Here we go, then.”
There is a faint sound of bustling behind the door, and then the door swings open to reveal an agitated Fiyero, blue apron tied around his front, who barely spares them a glance before rushing back inside.
“Hi Elphie! Just a moment, I’ve got something burning in the oven.”
Elphie? Glinda mouths, amused, and Elphaba can only run a hand down her face, blushing, before ushering her in and closing the door behind them. The pair walk in, the hallway leading to the open living room and kitchen.
Elphaba rushes forward towards a young woman, a bright yellow party hat propped on her brown curly hair. The woman wheels her wheelchair forward and beams at her older sister, who hugs her tightly.
“Nessa! Happy birthday! Oz, I can’t believe my baby sister is already so old.” She teasingly knocks her hat a little askew, which Nessa immediately rights before mockingly pouting at her.
“Now, Elphie, it’s my birthday, you really are required to be nice to me. Oh, you brought company, how rude of me, let me go say hello.”
She nudges Elphaba to the side, and sticks her hand out to shake.
“Hi, I’m Nessa, nice to meet you, Oz you really are the spitting image of Glin-” Her words trail off as she realizes, face falling slack. Glinda laughs somewhat awkwardly, but shakes her hand and nods.
“Happy birthday, Nessa. Thanks for having me, I’m sorry to be crashing your dinner on such short notice.”
The younger girl stares stunned for a moment longer before snapping out of it, waving a hand dismissively.
“Oh, don’t apologize. Oz knows it’s about time Elphie brings a girl home, we were really starting to get worried. I really love your films, I must say, Saturn Returns was just brilliant, I’m sure you get that a lot but I had to get the fangirling out of my system. Ok, I’m done now, I’ll be very normal for the rest of dinner.” She nods solemnly, and Glinda lets out a small laugh of amusement.
“Well thank you, that’s very kind of you.” She seems to be searching for something else to say, but is saved by Fiyero’s reentrance, apron coming undone and hair flying every which way. He sweeps the hair out of his face and goes to hug Elphaba, beaming.
“Elphie! Sorry I couldn’t properly greet you, I’m afraid our main course is in rather rough shape right now. I must admit I was counting on Boq’s expertise to help me out, but the damned fool seems to be running late.”
“Fi, Boq can cook, not perform miracles. Who even let you in the kitchen?” Elphaba laughs, and he smiles back sheepishly, shrugging.
“Anyhow, Fi, this is Glinda.” She gestures to Glinda, who has been standing to the side, quietly observing the interaction. It strikes Elphaba that Glinda hasn’t really seen her relaxed, considering the actress is really rather a cause of stress for her as of late, and for the first time it is Elphaba who is in her depth while Glinda is unsure.
She beckons the blonde forward, who goes to shake Fiyero’s hand.
“Ah, nice to meet you Glinda-” His face drops rather comically, realization hitting him not unlike it hit Nessa, and he finishes weakly “-Upland. Glinda Upland. Right.” She smiles, finding him charming, and nods sheepishly, as though a big secret has just been revealed.
“Very nice to meet you both. Elphaba was telling me all about you in the car ride here, you do seem like a very fun bunch.”
Fiyero, having recovered quickly from being momentarily starstruck, nods knowingly.
“Elphie has likely told you all the worst parts of us, I assure you we are really delightful people. People who cannot cook, unfortunately, but delightful nonetheless.” This makes the whole group smile, and as though on clockwork, someone knocks on the door.
The three friends share knowing looks, and Elphaba clarifies at Glinda’s confused look, “Boq. Always.. fashionably late.”
Fiyero runs to open the door, and soon he re-enters with a slightly disheveled man, who seems a bit out of breath. He wears a suit, a little lopsided, and his hair is the bright mop of orange curls upon his head.
“Elphie, Fi, Nessa. Happy birthday, Ness!” He nods at them in greeting, pausing to quickly hug Nessa, barely noticing the fourth guest as he beelines for the wine bottle on the table.
“Sorry I’m late, I hope you won’t mind if I get a head start on opening this. Dreadful day at the office, really.” His friends watch him with amusement, and nod knowingly.
Nessa and Fiyero drift to the kitchen, likely to try and salvage the main course, and Elphaba clears her throat. “Boq, I actually brought a guest tonight. Boq, meet Glinda, Glinda, Boq.” She gestures between the two, about to elaborate, but then a shrill “ELPHIE!” resounds from the kitchen, and she jumps slightly before shooting an apologetic look towards Glinda.
“Duty calls, I’m afraid. I’ll be right back.”
Boq ambles over, wine glass in one hand, and reaches to shake Glinda’s with his free one.
“Pleasure to meet you, Glinda. So, what do you do?” He props himself on the backrest of the couch, and takes a sip of wine.
Glinda blinks, but recovers quickly. “Oh, well, I’m an actress. And you?”
“Oh, stock market, hence the suit. Not really overlapping fields, are those? Though I did do some amateur work back in school, a bit of Macbeth, I think.” Glinda nods quietly, eyebrow slightly furrowed.
“I mean, acting really is a hard industry, I’ve heard? Really make or break, friends from school took Macbeth a little too seriously and tried their hand in the real world, salary is a real joke, isn’t it? Really a couple thousand a year I’d imagine, nothing lavish. Hardly a comfortable lifestyle, I’d imagine.” He waves one hand, aloof as he says this, while the furrow in Glinda’s face only deepens, polite smile plastered thin.
“Anyhow, what sort of acting do you do?”
“Films, mostly.”
“Oh, wonderful! Kudos to you, how’s the pay in that? Say, your last film, what’d you get payed?” He smiles politely, sipping his wine, clearly expecting to have his point proven.
“Fourteen million dollars. Give or take.”
His face drains slightly of color, and he nods, trying to save face.
“Right, right. Well that’s not, not bad at all, I guess. Good on you.”
She smiles back, more amused than annoyed, and Boq is saved further embarrassment as the two are beckoned to the table. They sit opposite each other across the round table, with Fiyero between them and Nessa next to Boq.
Elphaba walks in, carrying what looks to be a roast chicken, somewhat darker than they tend to be but still seemingly edible. She sets it in the middle of the table carefully, then takes her seat between Nessa and Glinda. Thankfully, Fiyero is more adept at making side dishes, and the meal turns out to be a fairly good one.
“Chicken’s a bit chewy, but not bad at all Fi,” Elphaba comments with a smirk.
The man rolls his eyes and gestures dismissively with his fork. “Oh hush, you, just be grateful there even is a chicken. I was worried for its safety back there.” The group laughs at this, and internally Elphaba is happy to remark that Glinda seems at ease among her friends.
The actress had quickly integrated herself into the group, chatting with Nessa about hair and gossiping about her co-stars with Fiyero. Boq, at first, hesitates to talk with her again after his previous blunder, but it quickly becomes water under the bridge when Glinda mentions her recent foray into gardening, his favorite casual pastime. By the end of the night, all 5 are completely at home, nearly in tears at a joke Fiyero cracks or vividly animated during a debate Elphaba sparks. The brunette feels a strange warmth in her chest at the sight of Glinda so perfectly blended with her closest friends, and a small voice she pointedly ignores thinks that she could get used to it.
. . . . . . .
Just past 2 hours later, the food has all been eaten, and they are now onto the final course, a plate of brownies Nessa made that is being passed around the table. Everyone’s spirits are high, the flush in their faces not only from the steadily emptying bottle of wine.
Fiyero sits up, raising a finger, and remarks, “You know Glinda, I believe your presence tonight has confirmed my long standing theory; we might be the most boring bunch of underachievers there is.”
“Oh come on now, Fi,” Elphaba waves a hand, but the smile on her face is one of amusement.
“No, no, I don’t mean it to be a bad thing. In fact, I’d argue it’s something to be proud of. How about this,” and raising the platter of brownies, now with only one left, “I propose a little game. This brownie shall be a prize, to the saddest act here.” He smiles wryly, and raises his eyebrows in challenge.
“Ah, well then Boq’s got it in the bag,” Elphaba says, and the table dissolves into laughter.
“Yeah, yeah, you might be right. I mean, I work in a job I don’t like, Oz I’m not even sure I understand it, and each day I go in and someone new’s been promoted while I’ve been stuck at the same level for Oz knows how long. Haven’t had a girlfriend since school, also, and I don’t think someone’s liked me since then either.” He shrugs, offhand, and reaches for the brownie.
“Tsk, tsk, come on now Boq, let everyone make a case for it first. And besides, stock market doesn’t exactly pay too bad, now does it. Meanwhile, Nessa here works at that dreadful bakery with a boring job and bad pay.” The girl in question feigns offense, drawing a smile from everyone.
“It’s true, the place is really rather drab. And to make matters worse I’ve been stuck in this chair, day and night, my entire life. It doesn’t bother me too much, not anymore, but I do admit it would be rather nice to just be able to walk off to wherever I’d like. Instead I’m stuck with a house full of ramps and really a lifetime of literal and metaphorical uphills.”
The mood is somber now, and Elphaba goes to place a comforting hand on Nessa’s shoulder. The birthday girl smiles sadly but shrugs.
“But it’s alright, there’s many things to be grateful for, I suppose that’s just life. Still, I’d say that’s worth a brownie, no?”
Fiyero watches her with that understanding look he gets, one of kindness without pity, that Elphaba always feels comforted by, and it seems it has the same effect on Nessa. Still, he shakes his head slightly, smile now turning more playful, and tilts his head thoughtfully.
“Well, I don’t know. Look at Elphie, for instance. Stuck in that dusty bookshop, can’t wear the color red without looking like a Christmas tree, and certain to never hear from Glinda again when she hears that Elphaba’s childhood nickname was–”
“Stop it! Fi! You wouldn’t!” Elphaba interrupts with a look of mixed horror and amusement, and when Glinda leans forward, excited, she blushes a deep shade of green.
“No, no Fiyero, you must continue.” Glinda looks positively gleeful, an impish look in her eye as she leans into Elphaba’s space, slamming one hand down on the table dramatically while grabbing Elphaba’s arm with the other. The latter does her best not to blush further at the feel of the actress’s hand curled around her bicep.
Fiyero, with a shit eating grin, leans forward and whispers conspiratorally, “Fabala.”
Elphaba groans, slumping back in her chair, but grins at Glinda’s shocked laugh.
“Wow, great, thanks very much Fi, really. Oz. Well, at least I get the last brownie, right?” Elphaba leans forward, but Glinda slaps her hand lightly, pouting.
“Well, what about me?” The rest of the table looks at her with varying faces of quizzicality and skepticism.
“You? Well, I suppose you could give it a shot, but you’ll have to make a good case. This is a very good brownie after all,” Elphaba replies earnestly, settling back into her seat.
Glinda blinks, and then hesitates before starting. “Well, for starters I’ve been on a diet since the age of 19, so that basically means I’ve been hungry for nearly a decade.” This last part draws a small laugh from the group, and a smile from Glinda, before she continues.
“Uh, I had a series of boyfriends in my youth, thinking it was the ‘right move’ to make, only to realize that I wasn’t really interested in boys at all. Which they, and my managers, did not take very well. I’ve never been allowed to be public about that part of me, take roles opposite women, and because of my status I can’t exactly walk into the nearest gay bar and experiment. I’ve been allowed to have girlfriends sure, but I would’ve liked to speak out a little more on something so important to me.” She watches the candle in the centerpiece burn for a moment, before continuing. Elphaba watches her intently.
“Um, and well every time something bad happens in my life it’s splashed across the newspaper as some fluff piece to keep people entertained. Not to mention that one day, rather soon at the rate time’s passing, the world will decide I’m no longer pretty enough, fresh enough, to grace their screens, and I’ll just be another random person on the street who kind of looks like someone who used to be famous.” She ends this somewhat sadly, a wistful look on her face, and the table is silent.
“No, nice try beautiful, but come on now. Pathetic effort to snatch the brownie!” And the tension is instantly dissolved, Glinda falling back into her seat with a laugh while the others smile at Fiyero’s antics. Elphaba still reaches under the table to hesitantly grab Glinda’s hand, and the blonde squeezes it and sends her a grateful look.
Nessa snatches the brownie from the plate sitting in front of Fiyero, drawing a small cry of indignation from the latter, and smiles victoriously.
“I really do think I win, and even if I didn’t, I think it’s only fair it go to the birthday girl.” At this, the others nod in defeat, and conversation picks back up as the night progresses.