~CHAPTER NINE~



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The sun had completely set when the two gentlemen arrived at Casino de Monte-Carlo. They eventually found a spot to park and made their way to the Salle Garnier. Meeting up with King Richie and Lady Turncoat at the lobby, the couples made their way to the balcony.

Mr. Mann and Lady Turncoat looked in awe at the beautiful theatre. The gilded crowning seemed to glow with a sheen more brilliant than gold itself. They peered up to the ceiling, taking a minute to prospect all of the beautiful renaissance paintings. The striking chandelier hung gloriously. Its glass ornaments glimmered and turned, blinding the pair with its radiance.

If that wasn’t impressive to Lady Turncoat and Mr. Mann, the ceiling rose surrounding it was adorned with lyres and floral motifs, ones that matched with what hung from the chandelier itself.

King Richie and Lady Moustache were already seated in their respective seats. They chatted about the last ballet they had gone to, and how they hoped it wouldn’t be ‘another flop this year’. Looking across the house, Lady Moustache saw his father, aunt and Mr. Capgras already seated in the far booth. He tempted himself with the idea of obnoxiously waving to Mr. Capgras, but thought better of it. Instead, he just stared. His father looked baneful, even from this distance.

The house lights dimmed and the curtains rustled. Everyone was seated and murmuring, excited to see the new show. Mr. Mann sat next to Lady Moustache and Lady Turncoat next to her date.

When the curtains were rising, Lady Moustache squirmed a bit in his seat. He suddenly had memories of the first ballet he went to. Memories that hit him like a wave, one after the other. He reminisced about being carried by a blonde woman, her honey coloured eyes were a blurry recollection, but they were soothing to his psyche.

The music soared and the hidden orchestra glided and leapt with the dancers, who commanded the attention of the audience. He watched the ballerinos on the stage spring around, doing impressive feats of physicality. They made it look terribly easy.

Mr. Mann watched the men gracefully dance around, their tights were tight and didn’t leave much to his imagination.

(ahem…) He pushed his glasses up.

He unconsciously leaned forward, observing the lean men gently express themselves. He looked over to Lady Moustache, who also seemed remarkably fascinated. He observed them and thought about the theatre program he was a part of just a month ago. Not a day goes by where he doesn’t wish he could go back. But he can’t. His mother is still sick, and it is his privilege to take care of his family.

After seemingly forever, or about ten minutes, King Richie already appeared to be asleep in his seat and Lady Turncoat was hunched over picking at her nails. The music played unchanging notes, playing the same melody over and over and over…

Mr. Mann looked at Lady Moustache, who sat the same, an unchanging upright posture. Mr. Mann couldn’t help but think he looked like an incredibly well trained dog, one with a horrifically cruel owner.

Lady Moustache peered back, he felt Mr. Mann’s eyes ablaze, outlining his profile. His eyes flickered back.

(so we do have the same idea)

(So we do have the same idea)



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Mr. Capgras hated the ballet, but went to appease his father. He sat bored, but with a good posture. Next to him, he felt his father’s silent rage. He tried not to look at his father as he peered to the booth across from them, the one that used to seat four people, but now only seated a man and a woman.

(Fucking dumbass) Mr. Capras didn’t show it, but on the inside he was incredibly frightened. He couldn’t believe that his dumbass little brother would skip in the middle of a performance. Their father was fuming, and Mr. Capgras didn’t usually fret for his brother. This time, he knew something terrible was going to happen as soon as they got home.



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Lady Moustache and Mr. Mann jogged giggling quietly as they snuck out of the building.

“I’ve never done anything like that before! That was… exhilarating!” Lady Moustache cheered, looking up at Mr. Mann as they pulled each other along.

“Neither have I!” Mr. Mann laughed, he loved seeing his friend this excited.

They smiled and shushed as they walked past the car. They stopped and chuckled when they realised, and figured they ought to come up with a plan. The pair decided they wanted to just walk, then they tried to think of all the places they could go. This didn’t narrow down their options any, since everything is within walking distance.

They started down the pavement, attempting to keep a good pace with each other. Mr. Mann had to slow down his stroll so that his favourite gentleman wouldn’t lag behind. At the curb, Lady Moustache nearly tripped, just barely being saved by Mr. Mann’s sturdy arm. He let him hang on for a bit while he found his feet again. They continued to walk, Mr. Mann gave Lady Moustache his arm for the rest of the way to wherever they were going.

Lady Moustache said that he didn’t have his cane, but he truthfully didn’t need the extra support at the moment. He just couldn’t help himself. Besides, Mr. Mann didn’t seem to mind either. They strolled and talked, enjoying the night as they walked with no purpose other than to go.

“If you could go anywhere in the world… where would you go?” Lady Moustache asked as he held onto Mr. Mann’s arm.

“Anywhere in the world?!” Mr. Mann laughed back.

“Ok, ok! Anywhere in the world… within walking distance…”

Mr. Mann looked at the sidewalk ahead as he thought about it. They stopped at the pedestrian walk, and he turned to face Lady Moustache as he hushed his thoughtful answer.

“I want to go where I can see the stars.” He revealed, his eyes gleamed as if he were already looking at constellations.

Lady Moustache studied his starry eyes. “I would love to see the stars,” He exclaimed. “I wish we could see them, but there’s too much light. It's too bright in Monaco.” He sighed.

Mr. Mann got a brilliant idea. “I know where we can go!” He started walking while Lady Moustache readily kept pace and arm. “I live in the countryside, we could walk to my house.” He grinned and they eagerly walked for about ten minutes before the bright city lights were slowly lost behind them. They walked for another twenty minutes, the stars slowly revealed themselves. With each new dot in the sky, the pair got even more delighted as they tried to guess what constellations they were a part of.

After walking on a road in the woods for a bit, they finally made it to a little cottage. Mr. Mann pointed to the cute little home, an endless garden of flowers and vegetables surrounded the lot. The foliage was thick and beautifully engulfed everything.

“This is my home.” He said. Mr. Mann smiled at Lady Moustache when he saw his delicate expression.

“This- is a home, Mr. Mann.”



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The commune of Beausoleil, Fr

August 15th, 1924

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The two men, still in their evening suits, found a nice hill to sit on. They sat on blankets and shared a bottle of cheap champagne that Mr. Mann was saving for a special occasion. They leaned back, and took in the beauty of the speckled sky, having gentle conversations about their family lives.

“For a long time, It’s been just my mother, my sister and I.” He looked at the sky as he spoke softly.

“So what happened to your father then? Is he still around?” Lady Moustache muttered, he looked at Mr. Mann.

Feeling his eyes, he looked back. They stared at each other for a moment, just observing the other’s face in the dim of the night. “My father died when I was nineteen. I was very close with him, we all were. He would take us to pray at a mosque with him… He taught my sister and I about our culture.” Mr. Mann gave a pained smile as he thought fondly of his childhood, of his father.

He glanced at Lady Moustache. “What about your parents?” He asked.

“My father is shit, and I never met my mother. She died when I was very young.” He turned away, he hated talking about his parents.

Leaning forward, Mr. Mann didn’t understand why he was being so disrespectful. “How could you say that about your father?” He replied bluntly. Being raised Muslim, Mr. Mann’s values have always been with his family. He could never disrespect his mother or sister, or anyone for that matter.

Surprised by his directness, he took a moment. Lady Moustache figured it was best to be completely honest. “My father is a terrible man, he… has done things that no human should ever do to another.” His voice wavered, as he looked at Mr. Mann’s sympathetic eyes.

He continued. “He has never acted like a father to Mr. Capgras or I… He however, has always seemed to favour my brother. Not to mention, all of his ‘alleged’ unethical business practices.” Lady Moustache put his hands up and gave a mocking air quote. He knew that all of it wasn’t alleged, but instead, rottenly true.

The men looked at each other while Mr. Mann poured each of them another glass. They looked at the sky a bit longer, seeing a couple of shooting stars fall into the horizon.

“Make a wish.” Mr. Mann whispered, getting close to Lady Moustache’s ear. They turned and smiled at each other.

“Do people actually do that?” Lady Moustache amused himself as he sat closer.

“I think so, I always have.” He leaned his head on his shoulder. His eyes floated back to Lady Moustache.

He was already staring back. “Do you mind if I ask about your mother and your sister? You said you had moved here to support them, do you get to see them often?”

Mr. Mann sat up again, Lady Moustache mirroring him. “My um… My mother is terribly sick. I started working in Monaco so that we can afford her treatment. Actually, just with the money from King Richie’s party, my sister Amilié and I were able to move her to the Monaco Hospital. She’s finally getting the care that she needs.”

Sitting closer and closer to each other the stars appeared brighter as the full moon rose higher in the sky. Dark clouds slowly crept in the distant skyline.

“Look!” Lady Moustache excitedly pointed to an unseen spot in the sky.

“Where?” Mr. Mann searched haplessly in the stars.

Lady Moustache leaned closer, resting his head close to Mr. Mann’s cheek. He directed his eyes with his first two fingers delicately, pointing to a star with a yellowish tinge to it.

“Right there just below the moon.” Mr. Mann looked where he was pointing, leaning closer to the arm that guides him.

“Oh! I see it… What is it?” He looked at the big, yellow ‘star’ and wondered why it caught his friend's attention.

“That, Mr. Mann~, is Venus. I’m actually surprised we can see it right now, usually it’s most visible at the end of July or the last week of August.” Lady Moustache slowly rested his head on Mr. Mann’s shoulder as he spoke.
Mr. Mann relaxed and settled his cheek on Lady Moustache’s forehead. “You seem to know a lot about the stars, I thought you said you’ve never been stargazing before?” Mr. Mann pondered.

“I read a lot of books, I don’t really get to do much besides that.” He looked up at him. “I’m really glad that I get to see them with you, Mr. Mann. This truly does mean a lot to me.”

He didn’t reply with words, but instead, he grinned. It was the most tender of smiles, a smile like no other Lady Moustache has ever seen before. He couldn’t help but glimmer back.

All the while, the dark clouds were quickly infecting the sky, bringing a growing grumbling with them. The thunder echoed around them, followed by the heavy droplets of a sprinkle. Within no time, the rain overcame them, causing Mr. Mann and Lady Moustache to pack up as quickly as humanly possible. They stumbled over one another as they picked up the blankets and the almost empty champagne. They raced to the house arm in arm, hoping that they wouldn’t be completely soaked by the time they got there.

Slamming the door, they leaned on a wall and on each other as they caught their breaths. They wheezed as they looked at each other. They were both completely soaked.



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© ST.Mortenson