by T J Vertigo
"They're so hot." Faith said quietly, but her mother heard her anyway.
"Children, your mother is here."
"Yes, ma." Faith said, still gripping Reece's arms.
"Besides, I never found all that bulk to be attractive."
"I can tell. Look at Daddy." Faith joked. "He's like a sausage squeezed into polyester."
"Faith Beula Ashford! That's your father. He does not look like a sausage.!"
Reece's body was spasming with silent laughter. Faith dug her nails into Reece's flesh. "You remember what happened the last time you made fun of my name?"
Reece winced and tried to control herself. "Yes, I do. Beula is such a lovely name." She shnorfled and laughed, backing away from her wife.
"Theresa, I hardly find it funny. As I recall, you were named after a nun."
Now Faith laughed. "If she could see you now!"
Reece, properly put in her place, stopped laughing just as the phone rang.
"Faith'll get it."
Quinn Ashford had to look all over the house until he found the mess that Marsha called a phone book. Papers shoved inside willy-nilly, nothing under the right letter. Finally finding Faith's number, under T, for Theresa, he began to dial. Feeling apprehensive, he almost hung up. Marsha made him nervous.
"Hello?"
"Faith, honey?"
"Oh, hi, daddy." Faith cut her eyes at the two women in the kitchen, both standing shoulder to shoulder, watching her intently.
"I got the strangest phone call. Is everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah, why do you ask?" The actress outright glared at her mother and her wife, who turned to the sink, looking busy. You could practically see their ears flapping.
"Your mother mentioned something about trouble?"
"Trouble? There's no trouble, where would she get that idea?" Faith walked into the kitchen and pinched her mother.
"OW! Faith! Is that how you treat your mother?"
"What just happened? Why is she yelling?" Quinn asked, alarmed.
"Nothing, daddy. Really."
"Faith are you lying to your father? There's something going on, and if I have to come there I will."
"No! Dad, don't come here." Faith eyed her mother who scowled, rubbing her pinch. Reece shook her head and tsk'd. "Well, actually, there is something I need to tell you. Are you sitting down?"
Quinn was worried. "Faith honey, what is it?"
"You see, Dad, I was offered a big part in a movie. The starring role, in fact."
"That's wonderful! What kind of movie is it? Is it a sob story, because you know I can't stomach those movies."
"No daddy," Faith swallowed hard and looked to Reece.
Reece nodded, "You have to tell him before he finds out on his own."
Faith continued, her mouth suddenly dry. "You see, it's a cop movie, and I play one of the cops, and, uhm, it's got some love scenes in it."
"Love scenes? It sounds like a women's movie. Your mother should love that."
"Actually, mom isn't all that keen with it." Faith sat down and picked at a placemat. Her mother poked her in the arm. "Those love scenes, are kind of? explicit." Faith waited with her eyes closed. There was no response. "Daddy?"
Quinn cleared his throat. "Well, you're not in them right?"
Faith cringed. "Uh, I am."
Watching her in distress, Reece suddenly began to feel terrible for Faith and stood behind her chair, rubbing her shoulders.
"Oh, I see." Mr. Ashford said quietly.
"Daddy, please, you can start yelling now if you want." Faith felt a soft kiss on her head and closed her eyes again, picturing her father's disapproving face. "Dad?"
"Faith, I don't really know what you expect me to say."
The actress grimaced, and Reece squeezed her shoulder. "You can say you hate it."
"I can say that."
Quinn's voice was controlled and Faith knew all about that tone. "Okay, you're not going to say anything. You're just going to keep quiet and make my life miserable by ignoring me, and everything."
"I will not ignore you. I just need time to think. "
There was silence and it made Faith very upset. "Okay. So? do you want to talk to me when you're ready?"
"Just tell me this, is this ? explicit sex ? with another woman?"
Faith eyed Reece nervously, "Yes, it is with another woman."
"I see. And Reece thinks this is fine?"
"No, she doesn't. Nobody does." The actress became angry. "Everyone hates this but me. I may as well not do this movie if everyone hates it."
"That's your choice. I have to go, Faith."
Faith stared at the table, angry and frustrated. "That went well."
Reece knelt down in front of her wife. "You wanna hit me?"
Faith grinned slightly, "No, baby. I may cry though."
Mrs. Ashford sighed. "You don't have to do the movie, Faith, no one is twisting your arm."
Faith growled and stormed out of the kitchen.
"Mrs. A, the more we tell her not to, the more she will. She's a stubborn as they come."
Marsha sighed heavily. "You know, Theresa, if she's only doing it because we tell her not to, maybe we should encourage her."
Reece pursed her lips in thought. "I dunno. I don't think that will work either. Look, let her do this for whatever reason she needs to."
"But sex, Theresa! I don't know how I can take this!"
"Faith rewrote the scenes, I haven't even seen what she wrote. I have to trust her judgment. She knows this is killing us, she has a reason to want to do it."
"You're more supportive than her own parents."
Reece nodded. "I guess I have to be. I don't like it any more than you do, and as sick as it makes me feel, there's also this other feeling inside, and it tells me I have to let it happen."
Mrs. Ashford's eyes welled up and she sniffed back the tears. "What would she do without you?"
Reece bowed her head in embarrassment.
"No, really. Her father and I can never accept this decision, and you of all people can."
The club owner sighed. "Don't ask me how."
Faith came back into the kitchen. "Ignore me, I'm just here to get a drink."
"Honey," Mrs. Ashford stood up and opened her arms. "I'm so sorry."
Faith walked into her mother's embrace. "Thank you." She breathed in relief.
Marsha held her daughter at arms length. "I'm so proud of you and I haven't been showing it at all. I've been acting like such a fool."
"You have no idea what this means to me mom."
"I may not be in love with the idea, but honey, this is your movie. I trust you have a good reason to do it. I support you."
Reece smiled as the two women held each other. Now to deal with her father.
PART 14
DINNER WAS QUIET as everyone had things on their mind. Mrs. A insisted she do dishes and sent the girls out to walk Smudge. It had been quite some time since the two women took a walk together. Every time they went out in public, paparazzi drove them crazy.
Faith attempted to take the leash, but Reece wasn't having it. The actress smiled and watched Reece snap on the leash and scoop the tiny dog up.
"He can walk down the stairs, baby."
Reece bounded down the few steps. "They're too high for his legs."
Faith snickered. "You'd think you gave birth to him."
Reece scowled.
Faith reached up and caressed her wife's cheek. "I think it's utterly adorable."
Reece scowled harder and Faith laughed.
They walked slowly, stopping every so often for Smudge to sniff and lift his leg. Faith smiled to herself, thinking how nice it was to be out without being bothered. She felt completely at ease with Reece by her side, and wished her tall lover would stop looking over her shoulder every second. "This is nice, for a change."
"They're there, Faith. I know they are."
"Just relax, hold my hand." The actress took the larger hand and squeezed it
.
Reece looked down at their hands. "This will be on the cover of the Star tomorrow."
"Fuck ‘em. We never have this kind of time together any more. Just enjoy it."
The club owner glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder. Finding it safe, she sighed. "It is nice to hold your hand and not worry about stalkers."
"Think about how nice it would be if you kissed me in public."
Reece raised both eyebrows. "Are you nuts? I know they're there."
Faith growled in frustration. "Reece you never cared. In the beginning, you couldn't keep your hands or lips off of me. Who the hell cares about a stupid tabloid any way?'
Reece knew Faith was right. She glanced all around before stealing a very quick kiss.
Faith looked amused. "Are you kidding me?
"What? I kissed you."
Faith pushed Reece against a parked car, grabbed her lover's face with both hands and really kissed her. At first Reece resisted, even tried to push Faith off, but as soon as Faith's tongue entered her mouth, she was lost.
Faith groaned, pressing her body against Reece's. Instinctively, two large hands grasped Faith's ass cheeks and pulled her even closer. Faith wrapped her arms around the taller woman's neck. Reece had to admit, it was a long time since she made out with her wife in public and it was exciting. They never used to hide their affection, in fact, made every effort to show it wherever they were. Suddenly, Reece had an image of herself fucking Faith on her bike and she growled, intensifying the kiss. Lost in their own world momentarily, everything else was gone. No people walking by, no cars blowing their horns, no flashes blinding them.
Flashes? Reece thought hazily. Flashes!
Faith jumped back, and Reece lurched forward. In a fit of rage, Reece lunged for the man, ripping his camera from his hands and grabbing him by the shirt.
"Reece! Stop!
"One fucking night alone! That's all I want asshole, one fucking night!"
Smudge's leash pulled taut as he tried to run away from the mayhem.
"You're crazy!" The photographer yelled.
Reece realized the leash was around her wrist and let the man's shirt go, walking up to him, chest to chest. "Now look! You made me scare my dog!"
"Reece!" Faith grabbed Reece by the arm and tried to pull her back. A barrage of flashes erupted around them.
The tall furious woman twisted her head around to find the photographers.
"Gimme my camera you freak!"
Reece raged, and looked at the camera. The man grabbed for it, she held it high over her head. "Beg for it, fucker."
The paparazzi went wild. "Reece! That's enough! Give him the damned camera!"
Reece looked at Faith and saw fear. "Fucking hell!" she threw the camera at the trembling man and growled. "Get the fuck away from us!" she turned around and pointed at the other photographers. "Fuck off!" Reece was trying her hardest not to strangle everybody. She was trembling with the effort.
Faith saw the shiver and acted. She took hold of her dangerously angry wife by the arm and yanked her hard. "Let's go. NOW!"
Reece growled one last time and allowed Faith to drag her away.
"What the hell was that all about? Reece! You don't want to be front page? Well you just made front page!"
"Fuck them! All I want is to be able to walk in the street with you!"
Faith ignored the outburst, and continued to drag her reluctant lover home. She was pissed also, but Reece was downright shaking. It wasn't normal. It was natural for Reece to be annoyed, angry even, but she was livid tonight.
"Stupid photographers. I hate this! I really hate this Faith!"
Faith grabbed Reece by both arms and turned her so they were facing each other. "Oh, and you think I like this? It comes with the territory. I'm an actress. A lesbian actress with a big scary wife! A lesbian actress with a big scary wife who owns a tit club! We're freaks Reece and people love to pay to watch freaks! Deal with it!"
Reece watched open mouthed as her wife stormed off down the block. Shaking her head she scooped up Smudge and took off after her. "Wait, Faith... don't run off alone!"
"Leave me alone Reece, please."
Reece followed Faith until she was safely inside the house. "What the fuck just happened to my Faith?" she asked the dog. "All I wanted was one night alone. I just wanted to hold her hand and walk like a normal couple. Left alone."
Faith slammed the door behind her, startling her mother.
"Honey?"
"Mom, please. Don't."
Mrs. Ashford followed Faith anyway. "What just happened? Where's Theresa?"
"I don't really care." Faith tried to close the bedroom door, but her mother barged through.
"You are going to tell me what happened." The older woman insisted.
"Mom! I really don't..."
"Is it the movie?"
Faith blew out a frustrated groaning sound. "Yes. Everything is about the movie. Everything."
"Well, then don't you think you may want to rethink this whole idea? There are plenty of movies to do. You don't have to do this one."
Faith bit her tongue so not to swear at her mother.
They both heard Reece come in. Faith turned her back, and Mrs. Ashford went downstairs.
"Theresa, what happened?"
"Photographers. Stupid photographers."
"I'm sure if you just stood still and posed for them, they'd have no bad things to say, they'd stop following you. You wouldn't be chased so much."
"We did that. We tried that. It didn't work. All I wanted was peace and quiet to kiss my wife!"
"Theresa dear, everything has changed now."
"No kidding. I think I just made everything so much worse too. I went apeshit on the guy, more freaking photographers jumped out of the woodwork and got pictures of me flipping out."
"Oh no!"
"Yeah." Reece said remorsefully. "Big bad dyke beats up photographer."
Mrs. Ashford rubbed Reece's arm. "I'm sorry this happened tonight. I know it's been so stressful lately. Why don't you girls go away somewhere?"
"I'd love that, but Faith has a movie meeting tomorrow."
"Oh."
Reece sat in thought for a while. A slew of emotions crossed her features. "I gotta get ready for work."
Faith didn't move when Reece entered the room. "It's behind the door."
Reece looked behind the door and found her tux hanging. "Thanks."
It was tense. Reece hated it. She was already tense and didn't appreciate her wife creating more. She quickly dressed and left for work.
Sarge wasn't surprised to see her boss storm past her. It was a normal occurrence these days. She shook her head in sadness, wishing she could help the tall angry woman with her problems, but she couldn't. However, she could count on Cori to always be there to help. Then again, sometimes the blue haired dancer made more trouble than there already was. Sarge thought, how much worse could it get? It was worth a shot. She waited impatiently for Cori to arrive.
Reece slammed the heavy door to her office and sunk down in her big leather chair. Throwing her feet on the desk hard she cursed out loud. Why was all this happening? Finally finding the love of her life, finally letting love in, and it was all of a sudden so complicated. Everything was so right, it was getting so comfortable. Then this. The television show wasn't so bad, Faith only had to kiss a guy. Reece thought how upset she became over that and chuckled dryly. Shit, that was nothing compared to this. I'd rather have her kiss a million guys than to touch Alicia Alvarez.
The tall club owner buzzed the intercom to the front bar hoping the bartender would see the flashing light. She waited, and waited, then slammed her feet on the floor. The last thing she wanted tonight was to pretend to be pleasant to the customers. Making her way through the crowd with a big scowl on her face, she blew behind the bar, growling at the poor busy bartender and reaching into her private stash. It was a no alcohol club, but Reece always had a stash for herself.
Faith grumped
around the house, avoiding her mother well enough until the older woman went to bed. She thought about her father and how he was going to take this whole thing. He'd be upset, he already was and she expected that. It's not like she was seeking approval from him, or her mother for that matter. If that was the case, she'd be married to some stockbroker living on Long Island with two kids by now. But it still hurt her to have her father disappointed. She knew he was. She could hear him now, he didn't raise her to be having sex on a screen for everyone to see. Her mother was just as upset, but bless her, she was trying to accept the decision. Reece. Now that hurt her the most. Surely Reece is capable of understanding this is just play acting, she's not a moron. She's just playing the part of one. Faith was sure Reece knew in her heart Faith wasn't doing this just to hurt her. Reece just has a different way of coping. Faith grimaced. Reece was completely enraged earlier, and seemed to swallow the anger dry. It was bubbling inside of her. It wouldn't take much of anything to set her off and lord help that poor person. Faith knew it wouldn't be her but she would feel the wrath for some time until Reece let it out. She shook her head and sighed. Tomorrow morning she sits with the presumed cast to have some sort of a meeting. She'd probably have to come face to face with Alicia. A lot of mixed emotions surfaced. This is going to be something.
Sarge met Cori halfway down the stairs to the club and dragged her off to the side.
"Whassup?" Cori wondered.
"What's going on with Reece?"
"Oh please. It's a long drawn out project. Why? Is she here already?"
"Yeah, and she's in one hell of a mood."
Cori frowned. "Shit. They must have had another fight."
"Faith?"
"Yeah, and Faith's mom is there so they really can't have it out. It's this movie. I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Cor, I knew you'd at least try."
Cori laughed. "Yeah, I must be a bit suicidal, but hell, I love that pain in the ass."
The dancer knocked on the closed office door, not expecting a response. She didn't expect the door to be unlocked either but amazingly it was. Reece was sitting at her desk, shoulders slumped, her hands wrapped around a bottle of Jack Daniels. Cori knew Reece was aware of her. "Hey," she said quietly, "door was open."
Reece gave her a tight lipped half smile. "I was expecting you."