Snippet ahoy!
Oh, hey, remember when I was writing A Gentle Bossa Nova? I have a hard time remembering, too. I've written a lot of it - chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. As you can see, I'm having a problem finishing chapter 2, "Concerning Ron and Ginny". (Chapter 6 - "Concerning Ginny and Bill" - and I are not even on speaking terms.) So I thought I'd post a bit of chapter 3, "Regarding Bill and Fleur" for my your enjoyment.
The pub they met at - the Saudade - was not in Diagon Alley. It wasn’t in Wizarding London at all. It was a Muggle pub - Portuguese or Brazilian from what she could tell - and Fleur was hesitant to go in by herself. So she waited beneath the bright sign, listening to the sounds of the autos and buses rushing by and the rhythmic music coming from within the building.
Fleur was beginning to believe that Bill would never arrive. She sighed deeply in relief when she finally caught sight of him and his two friends strolling on the opposite side of the road.
They had all chatted freely while eating esfirra - which she found disgusting - and drinking capeta batida and beer. Fleur found Bill’s friends a bit tiresome and wished more and more as the minutes passed that they would leave so that she and Bill could talk privately.
The pub had some kind of box that played different songs when someone would insert coins in it and press a few buttons. Armand and Caroline excused themselves to pick out a song. They didn’t immediately return, but danced with each other amid the other couples who had jumped up when the song started.
‘Good friends we have, oh, good friends we’ve lost.’
Fleur had never heard the song before but she didn’t care as long as she finally had Bill to herself. But to her mortification, she found herself unable to form coherent sentences in English. She twisted her napkin in frustration, nodding in agreement to the things Bill was saying, willing herself not to cry.
Bill took a long sip from his beer bottle. In desperation, Fleur listened intently to the song, hoping that she could ask him a question about it.
‘My fear is my only courage.’
She did not think those were the correct lyrics, but they strengthened her. She didn’t want to be scared of Bill like she was scared of her dorm mates. And without really realising it, she asked, ‘Would you care to dance with me?’
His face brightened immediately. ‘Yes, but first let me pick out a song.’ He hurried away to the brightly lit box and returned for her hand when the next song began to play.
She didn’t recognise the new song either and didn’t want to join everyone else on the dance floor, but Bill said, ‘This song is about the most beautiful girl in the world, and I want to dance to it with you,’ and she couldn’t help herself.
‘Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes
Each one she passes
Goes “ah-ah-ah”’
______________________________________________________
Notes: The song in which Fleur mistakes the lyrics is "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley. The song Bill and Fleur dance to is "The Girl from Ipanema", sung by many artists.
The pub they met at - the Saudade - was not in Diagon Alley. It wasn’t in Wizarding London at all. It was a Muggle pub - Portuguese or Brazilian from what she could tell - and Fleur was hesitant to go in by herself. So she waited beneath the bright sign, listening to the sounds of the autos and buses rushing by and the rhythmic music coming from within the building.
Fleur was beginning to believe that Bill would never arrive. She sighed deeply in relief when she finally caught sight of him and his two friends strolling on the opposite side of the road.
They had all chatted freely while eating esfirra - which she found disgusting - and drinking capeta batida and beer. Fleur found Bill’s friends a bit tiresome and wished more and more as the minutes passed that they would leave so that she and Bill could talk privately.
The pub had some kind of box that played different songs when someone would insert coins in it and press a few buttons. Armand and Caroline excused themselves to pick out a song. They didn’t immediately return, but danced with each other amid the other couples who had jumped up when the song started.
‘Good friends we have, oh, good friends we’ve lost.’
Fleur had never heard the song before but she didn’t care as long as she finally had Bill to herself. But to her mortification, she found herself unable to form coherent sentences in English. She twisted her napkin in frustration, nodding in agreement to the things Bill was saying, willing herself not to cry.
Bill took a long sip from his beer bottle. In desperation, Fleur listened intently to the song, hoping that she could ask him a question about it.
‘My fear is my only courage.’
She did not think those were the correct lyrics, but they strengthened her. She didn’t want to be scared of Bill like she was scared of her dorm mates. And without really realising it, she asked, ‘Would you care to dance with me?’
His face brightened immediately. ‘Yes, but first let me pick out a song.’ He hurried away to the brightly lit box and returned for her hand when the next song began to play.
She didn’t recognise the new song either and didn’t want to join everyone else on the dance floor, but Bill said, ‘This song is about the most beautiful girl in the world, and I want to dance to it with you,’ and she couldn’t help herself.
‘Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes
Each one she passes
Goes “ah-ah-ah”’
______________________________________________________
Notes: The song in which Fleur mistakes the lyrics is "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley. The song Bill and Fleur dance to is "The Girl from Ipanema", sung by many artists.