Chapter 7 - Kilian
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Kilian
I didn’t like watching Dominic talk to Alex while we were strolling through Zurich with our group of six.
The two of them clearly knew each other from somewhere, but when I asked Dominic about it again right before we left the gallery, he just shrugged and made a vague, non-committal sound, as if he had no idea where he’d met Alex.
I was well aware that I was showing some rather absurd signs of jealousy, especially since Alex was with that rocker guy, but it drove me crazy not knowing what was happening between him and Dominic.
“You’ve made some progress,” Noé said as he walked beside me, with his guitar case and backpack slung over his shoulder.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he came along,” he said, nodding toward Dominic, who was trailing about ten feet behind us with Alex. Good grief! They were even talking so quietly that we couldn’t catch a single word.
“They must know each other from somewhere,” I remarked.
“Looks like it,” Noé agreed.
Asking Noé if it bothered him would be pointless. He just smiled and seemed to be enjoying my … oh, fuck … yeah, my jealousy.
“So, what about this place?” Jonah asked, stopping in front of the Piadina Bar.
“Great idea,” Noé said as he entered the bistro without waiting for anyone’s opinion.
Lucien chuckled and followed him inside. “The man must be starving.”
“I am too!” Jonah shouted, disappearing into the bistro as well.
I turned to look at Dominic and Alex, who had just caught up to us. Both of them had their phones out and were nodding.
What the fuck … Did they just exchange numbers?
“It’s really no problem,” Alex said, slipping his phone back into his jacket and stopping in front of the entrance. “Piadina? Delicious!”
Before Dominic could follow him inside, I grabbed him by the arm. He turned to me, widening his eyes in confusion.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Give me your number.”
“What?”
“You just exchanged numbers with him. If you’re giving them out that easily, you might as well give it to me too.”
Dominic made a face and muttered to himself. “Trust me, you’re reading this wrong. But if you really want my number …”
I was surprised that he turned the tables. I had expected him to refuse and make me beg.
Had he changed his strategy?
“This isn’t funny—acting so indifferent,” I said, not wanting to discuss the topic of getting his number any longer. I moved to the side and let him walk past me.
His laughter echoed as he entered the Piadina Bar.
The place wasn’t huge, but with so many people ordering from the outdoor takeout section in the alley, the tables in the back were often available.
The guys had already pushed three marble tables together and settled in.
Dominic took a seat on the wooden chair in the middle, across from Jonah, who was chatting with Alex, who sat to his right.
I sat at the last seat next to Dominic, directly across from Lucien.
“Do you know what you want?” Noé asked Alex as he hung his leather jacket over the back of his chair.
“A beer,” Alex replied. “And number three. Thanks!”
Noé went up to the counter to place the order for him and Alex.
“I’ve never been here before,” Dominic said, glancing around. “But I like it.”
“Yeah, the lighting could use a little upgrade,” I said casually. “But it’s nice here. I especially like the patterned tile floor.”
Dominic parted his lips in amusement. “The lighting?”
“Yeah! It’s the first thing I notice,” I remarked, shrugging. “What was the first thing you noticed?”
“Um …” The question threw him off, and he turned in his chair to see the entrance. “Maybe the bar. The dark wood. Or the old man over there by the entrance. He looks content.”
I tilted my head slightly to get a better view of the man. “I didn’t even notice him.”
“Really?”
“When we walked in, I was looking at you.”
Dominic rolled his eyes with a laugh and straightened his shoulders. “I thought you were analyzing the lighting design.”
“That’s automatic for me.”
It took a while before everyone was served. Dominic and I got our piadine last, and we were still eating when the others had already finished. I noticed Jonah and Alex were getting along pretty well, but Jonah and Noé barely exchanged a word.
“Did you guys know each other before?” I asked between bites.
“We met at my last exhibition,” Alex said, turning his beer glass between his hands. “I photographed his roommate.”
“My cousin,” Jonah added. “He was on duty at the hospital.”
“Yeah,” Alex replied briefly, clearing his throat and taking a sip. I noticed him exchanging a quick look with Dominic before looking away. “The two of them came to the exhibition, and then it turned out that Noé and Lu already knew each other.”
“Oh, yeah!” Lucien said. “From the warm-up concert in the rehearsal space.”
There was a brief silence. I was surprised that Jonah said out loud what everyone else was probably thinking.
“You two had something, right?”
“No,” Lucien said bluntly.
Everyone turned their attention to Noé, who crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Not really.”
“What does that mean?” Alex asked, clearly puzzled, while the rest of us laughed.
“Well, not really,” Noé repeated.
“So, you did have something?” Jonah asked, peering at Lucien for an answer.
“It was …” Lucien tugged on the strands of his blond hair. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“I’m sure there’s a way,” Jonah insisted.
“Well, he had my dick in his mouth, but I’m sure he thought it was yours,” Lucien said to Alex.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, laughing.
Dominic and Lucien couldn’t hold it in either, while Noé pursed his lips, trying to suppress his grin. Jonah and Alex just sat there with their mouths hanging open.
“And should I assume you imagined it was my mouth you were …” Jonah trailed off, throwing his hands up in the air. “Shit! How did I end up here?”
Our laughter filled the Piadina Bar, and people were starting to turn around to gawk at us. Lucien leaned in closer to Jonah and caressed his neck as he whispered something in his ear. Then he kissed him on the cheek and sat up straight again. Jonah appeared noticeably more at ease.
“And you?” Noé asked, turning to Dominic. “What do you do?”
“I’m an actor.”
I stared at Dominic, waiting for him to say more—we all did—but he just absentmindedly rubbed his arm.
“He’s our new Hamlet,” I said.
“Hamlet?” Noé raised an interested eyebrow.
“He’s good,” I said, lifting my beer glass. “Really good. He’s just playing humble.”
“Are you going to show us something?” Jonah asked, his eyes lighting up. “I don’t know anything about Hamlet.”
“Oh yes!” Lucien called out. “Show us something!”
Dominic looked visibly taken aback, but then he did something I never would’ve expected.
“Fine.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up from his chair. To give himself enough room, he pushed it back a bit. Then he cleared his throat, and for a moment, he seemed to gather himself.
I sat there with wide eyes, watching his transformation. His posture changed, neck stretching, shoulders straightening. He ran his hand through his hair and theatrically gazed up at the ceiling. He then spoke in a strong voice.
“O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all the visage wanned
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing—”
Dominic looked around with an air of defiance. When our eyes met, I was completely captivated by his presence and aura, and I struggled to keep up with his monologue.
“For Hecuba!” he called out energetically, pounding his fist against his chest.
He wasn’t just reciting. No, he was Hamlet, using everything he had to convince us. His expressiveness was immense. He even climbed onto the chair and involved the entire Piadina Bar. People had gathered by the open window and entrance, as the acoustics were good enough to hear him even outside.
“Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have?” Dominic continued. “He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.”
I sat there with my mouth open, amazed. The man was fearless, and it was obvious he was enjoying the performance. This was his element—just like the light was for me. Dominic immersed himself in the role to the point that all I could see was Hamlet in him.
“Who calls me villain,” Dominic cried, “breaks my pate across,
Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face,
Tweaks me by the nose, gives me the lie i’th’ throat
As deep as to the lungs?”
His voice grew louder. More dramatic. His gestures became filled with anger and challenge. With every word, more and more sadness seeped into his voice. When he turned back to face us, our eyes met again.
“With this slave’s offal,” Dominic continued.
“Bloody, bawdy villain,
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain.
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I: this is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell.”
Dominic paused for a moment, then bowed deeply as the room erupted into applause. The guys at our table were going wild, and I was at a loss for words as Dominic thanked his audience, laughing as he casually returned to his seat as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
“You rocked the place!” Noé said, patting him on the shoulder.
I couldn’t keep my hands off him either. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, pulling him toward me.
“Shit, you’re good,” I said, letting go before he had the chance to push me away.
Alex tucked his phone away and turned to Noé. “Maybe you can learn something from that.”