The Heiress

A Night with Robi

 

Tonight, it's me and Robi.  As usual, I have no idea what he has planned.  The limo's coming to pick me up in an hour.  I guess they'll drive me wherever he's told them to.  I had such a great time with George, I just don't know what Robi and I are going to do for a whole night.  But lately I find it's better not to mention their names in the same sentence, or even on the same day.  If I think about choosing, about losing either of them, I break down.  I wish things could just stay the way they are.  But I can't afford for my make up to run.  So here I go.  A night with Robi

 

Robi made reservations for us at the new Chinese Restaurant on Campus - Yung-So-Yum.
"Yowza"  Robi said when he saw me.
"Is that a good thing?"
"It depends."  Robi said.  "Either you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, or I'm seeing things."
Robi always knew how to leave me with nothing to say.
We went inside and sat down to eat.

 

Once we had our food, I decided it was time to break some ice.  "Can I ask you something?"
"As long as it's not about fractal geometry, yes." 

"Well, I was wondering, umm.  Why me?  Why did you audition for the show?  And why do you think you want to be part of my legacy?"
"Honestly?
"Please."

 

"I auditioned for the show so I wouldn't have to move back into the dorms.  Nesdin was transferring to the Art Institute, and he was my roommate.  If I couldn't afford the rent, I'd have to go back to the dorm, and I'm a little too old for that scene.  Then I saw a poster for The Heiress.  I kinda thought living in the bachelor mansion for a semester might be a better deal."

"Wait.  So you auditioned for this show because you didn't want to live in the dorm???"

"Mmm Hmmm"  Robi said slurping up a Lo Mein noodle.

"And you'd like to marry me.... why?  So you don't have to move back in with your parents?"

 

Robi froze, and a knot I did not expect formed in my throat.  He just stared across the table at me.

"And why am I still here?  Am I just something to stick your lips on?"

Now it was my turn to feel stunned.  And ashamed.  I really cared about Robi.  He was the most trustworthy guy I'd ever dated.  What was making me doubt him?  It hurt, what he said, and I was angry.  And while I thought up a response, I replayed the conversation in my head and realized I'd accused him of wanting to marry me so he didn't have to live with his parents.  Ok.  So that wasn't very nice.  Maybe I was wrong to say that.  He didn't deserve it.  But I was stuck.  I didn't know what to say.  I worked very hard with my chopsticks to sift through my fried rice for a piece of chicken.

"Stand up"  Robi said.

"Ok?"  Had I blown it that quickly?  Was this it?  Panic crept across my face like rush hour traffic.  I told myself to get up, but the gravity of stubbornness and fear wouldn't allow me to move.

 

"Come'on" Robi said.
"Where?"
"Out of here, to talk.  We need to talk.  There is obviously a serious problem."

And so I followed him.  I couldn't help but feel like I was walking to my execution as we made our way to the store next door.

 

We sat on the couch in silence for a full minute before Robi spoke.
"Calliopie.  I have made a huge mistake."
The blood drained from my face, my palms began to sweat and my heart refused to beat.

 

"I did audition for The Heiress so I wouldn't have to move back into the dorm.  But you didn't let me finish.  I didn't know you back then.  I mean I killed your bugs, but I didn't excpect you to  remember that or even who I was.  There were so many other guys, I didn't think I stood a chance, especially when George started telling us how you used to be his girlfriend.  I'm just Bug Boy, you know?  I figured I'd be gone in a couple of weeks.  I didn't know you, and you didn't know me.  Isn't that how it started?"

He was right.  That was how it started.  But I'd nearly forgotten.  But I didn't want to say anything if he was about to break up with me.

"For a long time I didn't even get to talk to you, and I heard a lot of stories from the other guys.  But I'm old enough to know that men can't believe what other men say about women.  That's when I started to research your family, on the web site.  As I learned who your family was, and what your legacy was about, I saw you differently.  You were more than just a Princess looking for Prince Charming.  You were part of something much bigger.  And part of me was scared for you."

You were?

"Yeah.  You have a huge life ahead of you.  And then, with some of the bachelors voted off, I got more chances to talk to you.  And the more we talked I became determined.... to make you The Heiress."

"But... ummm, I am..."

"Yes.  In name, you are The Heiress.  But do you feel like an Heiress?"

"I guess so... I don't know how an Heiress is supposed to feel, but yeah.  I'm The Heiress."

"See?  That's what I'm talking about.  An Heiress is a woman who realizes her destiny and seizes it.  An Heiress is pivotal in a legacy.  You stand on a foundation built by generations, and on your shoulders rests the future.  Do you have any idea how special that is?"

"Ummm, mostly that stuff scares me."

"It should.  Heck, it scares me too.  But when I realized all of this about you, I decided that what I wanted to do was make you feel like an Heiress.  Like the most special, important woman in the world.  If you don't feel that way, If I don't do that for you, I've made a mistake."

Wow.  Humble Pie a la Mode, coming up.  "Oh Robi.  No one, I mean no one has ever done the things for me that you have.  You never fail to sweep me off my feet.  I guess, I'm just not used to that, and it scares me.  I wasn't doubting you.  I'm sorry if it sounded that way."

 

"I'm sorry, if it seemed like I got angry.  It's just that, if I haven't done that, if you don't know how I feel about you, I've, I've failed you and myself.  And sorry about that kissing comment.  I guess it wasn't very nice either.   I just, I thought you knew how I felt."

Waves of relief washed over me and reality came back into focus.  This really was Robi.  Prince Charming Robi.  Elvis Robi.  Flaming Commode Robi. 

 

"Calliopie.  I want to do two things in my life.  I want to kill bugs, and I want to make you feel like an Heiress, every day.  I can't tell you why other than to tell you those are things that are just part of who I am."

And when he pulled me into his arms all was right in the world.

 

We sat together, very comfortable, in silence and security.
Until Robi jumped up from the couch in a burst of glee and pulled me outside.

 

"What?  What is it?"
"It's 10 o'clock.  It's time for part two."  Robi said.
"Part two?"
"Yes, across the street.  Hurry.  We can't miss it."

.

.

.

.

.

 

Ok.... the park?  What were we going to do here?  Robi seemed pleased by my confusion.

"Do you know why we're here?"  he asked.
"Should I?"
"Well.  There's two answers to that question.  The first is that we're here to make another one of your dreams come true."

 

"On our first date, the one where I got to take you to see Llama Mama film the music video, you told me that you've always wanted to lay outside all night and look at the stars and have someone show you all the constellations."

"We're going to do that?  Tonight?"
"Yep."
I was stunned, again.  In a good way.  It was like the pirate costumes and the bath tub.  I'm just not used to being taken so literally.  Although part of me wanted to turn this park bench into a new historical marker, looking at the stars all night was something I've dreamed of doing since I was a little girl.

 

"Do you see that?  Under the moon?  That's Ursa Major - The Big Dipper."
"Really?  Does it look like a gravy ladel?"
"Yeah, sort of.  It's actually supposed to be part of a Bear."
"A bear?"
"Yeah, according to greek mythology, the god Zeus saw a beautiful girl, a nymph named Kallisto and fell in love with her.  But there was a catch, she was a virgin, a follower of the virgin goddess Diana the huntress.  Zeus knew he had no chance with this girl as himself, so he took the form of Diana and seduced Kallisto."
"Kallisto thought Zeus was Dianna?"
"Yeah, I know.  Very talk showish huh?  Zeus was successful enough to get Kallisto pregnant."
"You think she would have noticed that part..."
"Yeah, I know.  When the real Dianna realized that Kallisto was pregnant she wasn't happy and sent Kallisto away.  To make matters worse, Zeus' wife found out about it."
"Wow.  I bet that was trouble."
"It was.  She turned Kallisto into a bear."
"A real bear?"
  Well, it's Greek Mythology, so yeah, as real as that gets...  Oh, and Kallisto had a son, the baby she was pregnant with.  His name was Arkas, and one day he runs into his mom, the bear, but he doesn't know it's his mom, he just thinks it's a bear and tries to kill her.  Zeus sees this happening and rescues them both by making them stars in the sky, neighboring constellations."
"That was a rescue?  To be turned into a star?"
"Back then it was.  Apparently it was an honor, and when Zeus' wife found out that he had made his lover and love child into stars she was really hot over that.  So she took off to talk to these other gods of the ocean, Thethys and Oceanos.  She told him what her husband had done and asked them to make sure that the bear, Kallisto, never reached the water, and you know what?  No matter what, that constellation is never over the ocean, so for real, the bear can never reach the water."
"Wow.  That's almost creepy.  Those Greeks didn't play around."
"No.  They sure didn't."

"Do you want to see another one?  Look over there.  See where it looks like two stick figures holding hands?"

 

"Yeah, yeah, I can see that!  What is it?"
"That's Gemini.  It's actually supposed to be twins.  Remember that god Zeus?  Well, he seduced this other lady too, Leda."
"Wow, Kallisto wasn't enough eh?  That Zeus guy really got around."
"That's for sure.  See, the problem was that Leda was the wife of the king of Sparta.  Of course to get to Leda, Zeus changed himself into a swan."
"Well, I imagine the guy developed quite a reputation."
"Yeah, he had to go in disguise alot.  But it was successful.  He got Leda pregnant, with twins."
"Oh... double trouble eh?  I can't believe she did it with a Swan though..."
"Yeah, the twins were Pollux and Castor, and those are the two brightest stars that make up the constellation named Gemini.  There was also a girl, so maybe it was triplets, I can't remember how it went, but the girl was Helena.  She had a face that launched a thousand ships and started the Trojan War."

 

"Wow.  It sounds like those Greeks were a lot of trouble.  Hey.  Aren't like half my family named after those people?"
"Well, some of them, yeah.  Your great great grandfather Capernicus had a sister named Gemini."
"Really?"
"Yeah, the web site says she and her sisters disappeared unexpectedly and your family never found them.  Her twin's name was Theodora.  That means gift."
"That's pretty.  So listen, with all these Greek god names in my family, and all this crazy Greek mythology, aren't you like, a little worried about us?"
"Huh.  Guess I never thought about it like that.  Ummm, no.  I'm not worried.
"Why not?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure that all the dangerous mythological Greeks now reside in outer-space.  Your family's roots go back pretty far in Legacy Land, so I'm pretty sure you're not related to the Greeks in the stars."
"Oh.  Well, you haven't met Uncle Gallileo then."

 

"So, how did you learn all this stuff?  About the stars?"
"Oh, the way most people do I suppose.  I had a telescope when I was a kid.  I always had to be learning something.  My first word was a question."
"Really?  What was it?"
"  'Bugs?'  "
"For real?"
"That's what my mom says.  Do you know why I first started looking at stars?  My mom used to say that I was the twinkle in her eye, and somehow I thought that meant that because stars in the sky twinkled, that those were eyes, really far away.  So the reason I started studying stars was because I wanted to see if I could see the eyes."
"So you thought it was like a million eyes up there watching us?  Isn't that kinda creepy?"
"Yeah, basically.  I didn't think it was creepy though.  I thought it was comforting.  I never could see any eyes though, just the twinkle part.  Imagine my bitter disappointment at the age of 12 when I realized stars were just balls of gas."

 

"Hey Robi?"
"Yeah?"
"This is pretty cool.  Thanks."
"You're welcome."

 

Robi and I talked.  We talked all night long.  I don't think I've ever talked to anyone all night long like that.  He showed me more more constellations.  He told me stories about his childhood, and asked me questions about myself I've never even thought of.  And just before the sun peaked over the horizon, I asked him "Robi, why do you want to know so much about me?"

He brushed my hair from my face, and with the answer already on his lips he said "I want to know everything there is to know about you Caliopie.  You're the most amazing woman I've ever met.  I'd all but given up on marriage until a few weeks ago.  Now I don't want to go through life without you."

At that point the sun rose completely over the horizon as if it had been eavesdropping on our conversation and then lifted it's head to have a look at the romantic fools who had spent all night on the ground at the park staring at the sky.

We laughed in disbelief as we brushed ourselves off.
"C'mon" said Robi, "Let's go on that little bridge."

 

Robi took my hands, and with a hint of sheepish embarassment, said...
"When I was little, there was this song my mom used to sing to me."

 

"If I had words to make a day for you
I'd give you a morning, golden and new.
I would make this day last for all time.
And give you a night, deep in moonshine..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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