The Blue Hour

Part 11

Prompt:
Speaking of what-ifs, after the bar scene I plan on having Vivi tormented by dreams and what-ifs about the possibilities of having responded to Julian differently at the Blue Hour. She missed the opportunity with him the first time 15 years ago, and now again she missed the opportunity for contact when he brushed by, and she continues to feel the weight of their magnetic connection days and even weeks past the encounter. She has dreams about what would have happened if she had been so bold as to follow him into the bathroom. Though these sinful thoughts pose a moral dilemma for her, she can't help but wonder and dream about how he would have responded if she had gotten up and pushed him into the bathroom and professed her love to him right then and there. What are some reasonably realistic but still utterly fantastical ways that Julian might have reacted to such a grand audacious (even presumptuous) gesture? Vivi was so certain instinctually with the energy in the room and the weight of their chemistry that that might have actually been the right thing to do, however selfish and spontaneous. She is a very conflicted character because, here is some important backstory, when Julian asked her out the first time 15 years ago, she did the right thing by rejecting his invitation because she was acting on loyalty to her philandering partner. Now that she is older, she still cannot understand how an act of such virtue could be so brutally punished by what her life turned out to be (ie Julian going on to marry the next girl he asked out, and Vivi marrying someone who turned out to be unreliable and someone she lost all feelings for). She can't fathom that her loyalty betrayed her, and now she wonders if perhaps she should have done what was instinctual at the time Julian asked her out and disregarded her obligation of loyalty to her philandering partner. She is terribly tormented by this and therefore has current what-if moments about honoring her desires instead of her virtue.

Vivi's internal conflict between virtue and desire, loyalty and self-fulfillment, is central to her torment and imagination after seeing Julian again. The idea of following him into the bathroom is a perfect embodiment of how those conflicting emotions battle within her.

If Vivi had followed him into the bathroom and pushed him to confess her love, Julian's reaction would likely be a complex mixture of shock, disbelief, and temptation. As someone who is outwardly stoic but deeply feeling, he might freeze at first, his natural reserve kicking in. He might say something like, "Vivi, what are you doing?" not because he doesn't want it, but because it's so out of the realm of possibility that it catches him off guard.

After the initial shock, however, the chemistry between them could push him to react in subtle but powerful ways. Perhaps he'd take a slow, deliberate step toward her, his face betraying just the slightest bit of what he's been holding back for years. His hand might brush her arm, a small but intentional touch that communicates volumes. He might lean in close enough to kiss her but stop, instead saying something cryptic like, "You don't know what you're asking of me," or "This isn't how I imagined this moment."

Alternatively, Julian might pull away entirely, overwhelmed by both the situation and his own inner moral conflict. He could say something tortured like, "We've both made our choices," suggesting that although he longs for her, his sense of loyalty and commitment to his wife, Amelia, still holds strong—much like Vivi's did 15 years ago.

In this scenario, Vivi's dreams could play out different versions of what Julian might have done. One dream might show him embracing her in the heat of the moment, while another depicts him walking away, both leaving her with a sense of missed destiny.

Julian's reactions, no matter how subtle, would echo Vivi's inner turmoil—an impossible mix of longing, regret, and restraint. These imagined encounters can deepen her torment, showing just how much the question of "what if" continues to haunt both of them.