[As the dishwasher thrums in the background, they continue their waltz around the elephant in the room. Amelia has defaulted to her usual cool facade, the one she wears as a professor and colleague during their work hours. Her emotions have betrayed her enough for tonight, she believes. The way they behaved around each other as the evening went on almost feels like it was all water under the bridge, when the reality was far from it.
Some good old fashioned peer-review ought to distract her from overthinking their relationship.
Before accepting Gale's notes for his presentation, she preps herself for the night by showering, drying her hair, and dressing in a black, ankle-length night gown, covering herself with a lightweight, red-wine cardigan. There are other things she prepares as she settles in the living room with the notes. Some piping hot lemon-balm tea, and a platter of wrapped snacks, consisting of fruit gummies, cheese crackers, and chewy cookies. After some back and forth in her mind, she makes another platter with snacks for the guest.
The sound of heavy rain has become comfortable to the point where Amelia pulls the drapes of the wide windows aside so that she could glance up every now and enjoy the view. It helps her focus too; Gale's work is very thorough as expected, but with her red felt pen, she has plenty to note. Not so much the content (he's the expert in this field, not her), but there are underlines and arrows pointing to phrases that could be reworded and rearranged or additions to a passage that could make his concluding remarks stronger. Overall, the review process didn't take as long as expected. And there were no interruptions which she was grateful for.
When she's finally done, Amelia has the notes neatly stacked at the coffee table with her pen closed on top. She's staring out the window and letting the sound of rain lull her into a serene state until Gale walks in and she lifts her head to turn her attention towards him, brushing her hair behind one ear.]
Terrible, no.
[She rotates her body so she can reach down to pat the notes.]
Thorough brevity may be an oxymoron, but I've noted where it can be done. As for inaccessible... Well, I think I at least learned something even though it isn't my field of research.
[There's a beat and then she adds simple, but sincere praise.]
You did well. I knew it wasn't going to take the whole night, but I honestly had no input that would upturn your entire presentation.
no subject
Some good old fashioned peer-review ought to distract her from overthinking their relationship.
Before accepting Gale's notes for his presentation, she preps herself for the night by showering, drying her hair, and dressing in a black, ankle-length night gown, covering herself with a lightweight, red-wine cardigan. There are other things she prepares as she settles in the living room with the notes. Some piping hot lemon-balm tea, and a platter of wrapped snacks, consisting of fruit gummies, cheese crackers, and chewy cookies. After some back and forth in her mind, she makes another platter with snacks for the guest.
The sound of heavy rain has become comfortable to the point where Amelia pulls the drapes of the wide windows aside so that she could glance up every now and enjoy the view. It helps her focus too; Gale's work is very thorough as expected, but with her red felt pen, she has plenty to note. Not so much the content (he's the expert in this field, not her), but there are underlines and arrows pointing to phrases that could be reworded and rearranged or additions to a passage that could make his concluding remarks stronger. Overall, the review process didn't take as long as expected. And there were no interruptions which she was grateful for.
When she's finally done, Amelia has the notes neatly stacked at the coffee table with her pen closed on top. She's staring out the window and letting the sound of rain lull her into a serene state until Gale walks in and she lifts her head to turn her attention towards him, brushing her hair behind one ear.]
Terrible, no.
[She rotates her body so she can reach down to pat the notes.]
Thorough brevity may be an oxymoron, but I've noted where it can be done. As for inaccessible... Well, I think I at least learned something even though it isn't my field of research.
[There's a beat and then she adds simple, but sincere praise.]
You did well. I knew it wasn't going to take the whole night, but I honestly had no input that would upturn your entire presentation.