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31_days2010-09-25 04:56 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2010-09-25 04:56 pm
[Sept. 25] [Original] It Pays Dividends
Title: It Pays Dividends
Day/Theme: Sept. 25, 2010 "a gentleman can have it all"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Our narrator and his brother
Rating: PG
My older brother fancied himself something of a gentleman. Other people always told us since we came to live in the city that we seemed like a pair of dandies. I was embarrassed, but that didn't cause me to change my ways or anything like that. I liked my manner of speech and dress, but I didn't want to dwell excessively on it. I had never chosen to act this way on purpose. It was just how I turned out, shaped by the influences of the people around me. My parents were well-mannered, my family made clothes so they knew the fashions, my brother...well, he was my brother.
"That pair of country dandies," the landlady called us. My brother liked to hear that kind of thing. He took it as a compliment. He kept to his usual ways, just as I kept to mine. He wore the label "dandy" like a corsage. Of course, his word for himself remained "gentleman." He always kept his suit pristine. He took off his hat and coat indoors. He held doors open and he pulled out chairs for ladies. Beside him, I always felt awkward and sloppy-looking.
This approach paid off for him in some fashion, I assume, but to me it always appeared that he behaved this way merely for the sake of his own ego and enjoyment. I think he would've played the gentleman even without the outside perks. He was always a man who cared most about his own assessments of things. In retrospect, I realize he rarely asked my opinion about anything.
I remember the women who came to see him. Of course, I don't remember most of them specifically. He didn't like me to meet his dates or even his girlfriends- assuming that's what they were in the first place. He worked a strange combination of jobs, so customers and work acquaintances would come to the apartment as well. He didn't really like to let them talk to me either. I couldn't tell if he was just being protective or if he had something to hide. Honestly, I still haven't figured that one out entirely.
Anyway, a lot more women came to our apartment than men. Some of them were plain and some were gorgeous, some looked poor and others probably had wealth and connections that would've put our family to shame. So something about my brother clearly brought him a lot of attention.
Then there was the general good regard of our neighbors and acquaintances in the city. We got discounts at the corner market because the owner liked us. My brother got us into the local hot spot on busy nights because the owner liked him. Nothing like a gentleman for making friends, I always thought.
I was asked once if it was real. The person who inquired thought it was an act. I could only tell them what I thought. That it was real and sincere, of course. How could things work out so well for a fake gentleman, after all?
Day/Theme: Sept. 25, 2010 "a gentleman can have it all"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Our narrator and his brother
Rating: PG
My older brother fancied himself something of a gentleman. Other people always told us since we came to live in the city that we seemed like a pair of dandies. I was embarrassed, but that didn't cause me to change my ways or anything like that. I liked my manner of speech and dress, but I didn't want to dwell excessively on it. I had never chosen to act this way on purpose. It was just how I turned out, shaped by the influences of the people around me. My parents were well-mannered, my family made clothes so they knew the fashions, my brother...well, he was my brother.
"That pair of country dandies," the landlady called us. My brother liked to hear that kind of thing. He took it as a compliment. He kept to his usual ways, just as I kept to mine. He wore the label "dandy" like a corsage. Of course, his word for himself remained "gentleman." He always kept his suit pristine. He took off his hat and coat indoors. He held doors open and he pulled out chairs for ladies. Beside him, I always felt awkward and sloppy-looking.
This approach paid off for him in some fashion, I assume, but to me it always appeared that he behaved this way merely for the sake of his own ego and enjoyment. I think he would've played the gentleman even without the outside perks. He was always a man who cared most about his own assessments of things. In retrospect, I realize he rarely asked my opinion about anything.
I remember the women who came to see him. Of course, I don't remember most of them specifically. He didn't like me to meet his dates or even his girlfriends- assuming that's what they were in the first place. He worked a strange combination of jobs, so customers and work acquaintances would come to the apartment as well. He didn't really like to let them talk to me either. I couldn't tell if he was just being protective or if he had something to hide. Honestly, I still haven't figured that one out entirely.
Anyway, a lot more women came to our apartment than men. Some of them were plain and some were gorgeous, some looked poor and others probably had wealth and connections that would've put our family to shame. So something about my brother clearly brought him a lot of attention.
Then there was the general good regard of our neighbors and acquaintances in the city. We got discounts at the corner market because the owner liked us. My brother got us into the local hot spot on busy nights because the owner liked him. Nothing like a gentleman for making friends, I always thought.
I was asked once if it was real. The person who inquired thought it was an act. I could only tell them what I thought. That it was real and sincere, of course. How could things work out so well for a fake gentleman, after all?