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Roger Gimlin:
Roger stood just off stage as it was going to be his turn. He was wearing his black vest and white starched shirt.
When he was announced, he ran up onto the stage and beamed, "Welcome, Friends, to the Green Room! I am, indeed, Roger Gimlin, Magician Extraordinaire!" he shot cards seemingly out of his hands with a grin, as his Lost senses sought familiar faces and new alike.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
One familiar face at least was in attendance, with Jeremiah sitting at his usual table near the office door with a smile on his face and a cheer going up with the rest of the crowd at the introduction. He was dressed casually in jeans, boots and a black t-shirt with the cafe's logo on the right breast, blending in with the rest of the staff unless you knew who you were looking for.
Roger Gimlin:
"Remember as we go, that your muffins and drinks are the price paid, but the tips are what are appreciated to your staff..." his grin, his stage presence, his animal magnetism were all in full effect as he moved back and forth across the stage.
Producing a deck of card from seemingly no where, he asked for volunteers with a gleam in his eye.
WIth few to no hands raising yet, he gave a look to Jeremiah, "Oh Look! It's Jeremiah! WHy don't we welcome Jeremiah on stage and thank him for volunteering!"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah smirked as he was pointed out, giving the Courser a 'you cheeky bastard' look as he made his way up to the stage. "Complete coincidence folks, I promise." He added with a grin, earning a few chuckles from the audience himself.
Roger Gimlin:
"Please, please, shuffle the cards however you'd like..." and he walked Jeremiah through one of his favorite card tricks, giving it all the flair he could manage.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah followed the instructions given dutifully, playing the part of the unassuming audience member quite well indeed.
Roger Gimlin:
...Then with all of the flair he could muster, Roger took the cards back and with exceptional skill, switched the cards and threw the cards in the air. He then grabbed one in the middle of the air and said, "Is this your card?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah blinked as the cards went flying, grinning as his card was indeed plucked out of the air. "That it is...not bad."
Roger Gimlin:
"Thank you so much, I'll let you get back to work! We don't want the boss to get upset at you and everything," he yukked it up with the audience, doing things like getting watches out of day old muffins and other tricks set up for the fact that he was in the Green Room and among an evening after work group.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah chuckled at that little quip, hopping off the stage and watching the rest of the show from his table in the back. He clapped in all the right places and cheered with the rest of the audience, happy to do his part to keep the magic alive in some small way with the Sleepers around him. The war on Quiescence was eternal, after all...
Roger Gimlin:
The last trick was one of his most impressive, mainly because it was real. He brought out one of the traditionally magical trunks. After he was chained up, and straight jacketed and all the like, he crawled into the trunk and let the crowd set the chains, lock it, all of that....
Jay would likely feel some tingles of magic, while the timer counted down... when the timer hit zero, and they were instructed to open the chest in that imagined 'panic' moment from his road crew.... they found a spider monkey! It crawled up one of the nearest audience members and then squaked and squeeked cutely. Moving around the stage and various elements that his crew had set up earlier.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah sat up a bit straighter as that faint melody of magic flitted through the air, eyeing the chest curiously. Seeing the monkey emerge from within he chuckled, looking rather amused indeed as it scampered about. Not quite what he was expecting when Roger mentioned there was an animal involved in the show...
Roger Gimlin:
The monkey waved to the crowd and then dashed to the back stage area, finding anything resembling a dressing room or actual green room...
Eventually, Roger came back out and to Jeremiah with a wide-wide-wide grin, seeming like a millions bucks... or perhaps a lot like Polly feels around Jay after some clarity problems.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
There was indeed an actual green room behind the stage, allowing for Roger to transform in peace. The crowd was naturally all abuzz by the time he emerged, and Jeremiah gave the Courser a smile and a quick thumbs up.
Roger Gimlin:
"I know, I know, it's cheating," he admitted with a wide-eyed grin, "But what magic show isn't?" a laugh. He asked the counter staff for some green tea with honey and lemon, and meat. Lots of meat.
The Grimm looked over the mortal folx present and their astonishment, taking a deep breath in... before trying to catch something in mid air wiht his hand for some reason...
and then headed to sit by Jay, "All good?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Nothing wrong with cheating for the right reasons." He replied with a chuckle, watching the hand motion curiously before nudging out a chair for Roger to claim at his table. "Doing fine, yep. That was impressive."
Roger Gimlin:
He flowed into the chair with that inhuman grace, and started to sip at his tea as soon as it arrived. Roger's throat needed some help after the presentation.
"Thank you. And allieving some boredom, some sorrow, and replacing it with joy, or love of mystery, or astonishment? I figure that helps all of us."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Indeed." He nodded, lifting his own glass of iced coffee in a small salute. "That," he continued in a lower tone to keep the conversation at the table, "and it seemed that you needed that pretty badly. I take it performing is how you center yourself?"
Roger Gimlin:
He raised his tea in return and then blew out some air in a very simian manner, "Oh. Uh. You must know that about Polly, huh?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
He simply nodded in return, taking a sip of his coffee. "I've helped her through a few rough patches here and there."
Roger Gimlin:
"That's good. I noticed the rings. Fiancees? I'm sure being with a musician around here is quite a job. Getting people pushing in on your personal time with business cards and all of that."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Mmhmm. Just recently engaged." He replied with a smile, chuckling as Roger continued. "Admittedly that's part of why I set this place up the way I did, allowing local talent to be noticed and to help them flourish as performers."
Roger Gimlin:
"Well, with Mister Harkin the other day, seems like its working. I'll have to call him up sometime and see what he has to offer. Won't get rid of the crew that I've had, but maybe a sense of scale to it."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Yeah, I'm curious to talk with him on that side of things as well, see how he has things set up here." He smirked. "Haven't seen him in close to a decade, was a happy surprise to run into him here."
Roger Gimlin:
"Oh yeah? You guys said Los Angeles? I've worked there more than a few times."
Roger took more of his tea to drink, to soothe the throat and a bit more of the food.
"How'd you and Polly meet? And was it before or after her ... long work trip?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Mmhmm. Was there for a few years after college trying to 'make it big' and just made a mess of myself in the process." He chuckled, the wry smirk on his face shifting to a proper smile at the mention of his lady love. "After. We both happened to show up at the same park at the same time with guitars and we ended up playing together, and I made a good enough impression that she was up for meeting up again and things went from there."
Roger Gimlin:
"That is amazing. I am so happy for you all. Something so joyous and happy after the traumas endured..." he blew out air again.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Thank you. I found out that part of things later on, but I've made sure that I'm there for her when she needs it. She's honestly one of the best things that's happened to me."
Roger Gimlin:
A grin and he finished his meal, "So... why don't we see you on stage, versus giving a platform for others?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I do perform on occasion, if another act we have scheduled falls through for whatever reason. Overall, though, I get more out of helping others find themselves in their music and express that to the world than seeking the spotlight myself. The last time I did that I left a lot of wreckage in my wake, and I've spent my time since trying to make up for that."
Roger Gimlin:
He paused and drifted into memories for a moment, finishing his tea.
"I... I get that. The man I was becoming... the man I became... the man I am now? Very different each."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Mmhmm. I had a very forceful reckoning with the man I was at one point, which turned out to be very enlightening in the end. I've tried to build myself better since then, and I think I've done a fair job of it."
Roger Gimlin:
"I do these shows, and the charities, for that reason."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Seems to be working out well for you overall." He took a sip of his coffee, smiling a touch. "Why magic, out of curiosity?"
Roger Gimlin:
"Second best thing to being a con man," he said honestly, for him anyway.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Fair enough. Was always impressed by that sort of stuff but never tried it out myself."
Roger Gimlin:
"I could teach you things, if you'd like, at least good for champagne hours or house parties."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Might take you up on that." He nodded with a smile. "How long have you been performing?"
Roger Gimlin:
"For the hospitals? like two, three years, I think? Maybe two for the public shows. I... that different man used those other tricks, that I mentioned."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Gotcha." Another nod. "Been playing some kind of instrument for most of my life; kept me busy, which my parents appreciated, and it turned out I was good at it on top of enjoying it for what it was."
Roger Gimlin:
A nod, "I can do basic guitar and piano. High school stuff. More dancing or artsy stuff too.. had to learn how to do it to appreciate other things, ya know?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I get you, yeah. Part of why I keep an open mind when it comes to different styles of music, you never know what kind of talent you might trip over even if it's not necessarily your thing."
Roger Gimlin:
A nod and a look across to his road crew finishing the dismantle, "sorry it takes so long to set up and tear down."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"No worries." He waved off the apology with a smile. "Every set takes a different amount of time depending on the needs, so you're good."
Roger Gimlin:
"I think I'm going to help finish tear down. Thanks for the impromptu show, and the meal and company. I hope to see you around soon. Maybe at a wafflehouse."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Maybe." He lifted his coffee in a salute. "Will see you around."
Roger Gimlin:
He smiled, brought his dishes to the counter, and then helped tear down.
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