(A Kiss 1, 2 & 3- pls listen to the song before, while or after reading it)
"You sure you wanna do this?" Susie asked for the last time, the two now standing in front of his door. "Drunk?" She conformed. Midge answered by banging on the door.
After a few painful seconds the door opened, and there he was, in an undershirt and blue and green plaid pyjama bottoms. “Did it mean anything to you? Any of it?” Midge gazed into his eyes, “Miami? At the Wolford? The raid?” She paused, “The blue room?”
The world grew still for a second, frozen in time, she saw her own reflection in his eyes.
He looked down to the side, “Midge, I’m sorry.” He whispered.
“Look me in the eye and say that all of it meant nothing, and I’ll never speak to you ever again.” Her hand balled into a fist by her side, her nails digging into her palm, it was her only solace. To express the pain she felt without showing him.
“It’ll be like nothing ever happened between us, we were never friends, never anything more." She clarified, “Like we," Her breath hitched, "we never met in that cop cruiser.”
His face shifted from apologetic to expressionless, his eyes held still, she saw his chest raise then fall. Please don’t, please don't break my heart, she silently begged.
"Midge, I'm-" His voice downed in shame.
“Susie," She called, her voice almost a whisper, "Dinah gave us the wrong address.”
“Miriam.” Susie's hand reached for her tight fist, holding onto her pinky.
“Or we came to the wrong address.” Midge eyes began to fog up. “Because the Lenny I know," She paused, "my Lenny would never, he would never…”
He barked out a mirthless laugh, "Your Lenny? Midge, do tell me. What would your Lenny do? Huh? HUH?" He hid his sadness and guilt behind his anger as he continued, "The one you put on a fucking pedestal, elaborate for me. WHAT WOULD HE NEVER DO?"
"HE WOULD NEVER HURT ME SO CARELESSLY!"
"The one who handed me my ass on the biggest night of his entire career when I was fucking up my own, 'cause it would break his fucking heart if I blew it." She began to list.
"The one who let me, a comic who was insignificant to open for him, when I was blackballed, his only request was that I changed my name."
"The one who told me that I, no matter all my fuck ups was more important to him than God!"
"SO WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
"Midge, it's not that fucking simple." He tried to explain.
"Fine. Then, let's make it simple. A simple yes or no question." She calmly replied, "Did it mean anything to you?"
“Midge- I- it meant- everything meant- it all meant-” It was like all the words he wanted to say were constantly sucked into a blackhole, never to be known or found, just stretched or morphed, as he scrambled to find another one. And another one. And another one.
"Was it all to just…” She couldn't say it, “Was it really nothing more than just…” She couldn't finish the question. There were no words, or too many words to describe what they had, what they did in that very blue room.
But finally settling with, “Midge, I’m sorry.”
Was that all he had to say? A measly, "I'm sorry." Something her 3 year old daughter would say after being caught eating a cookie before dinner. Something her 6 year old son would say after getting grass stains on his trousers from playing with his friends.
“Ok.” She breathed, she held Susie’s hand and pulls on it slightly before turning to walk away, but her friend stayed put.
Susie's face darkened as she muttered under her breath, the corridor was quiet enough for her insult to be heard. “You cruel fucking bastard.”
“Susie, let’s go.” Midge called, but her voice held no confidence, it was weak. It angered her friend even more.
“No!" Susie shouted, scolding Midge, “Fuck you! You wrinkled piece of shit! You made her fall in love with you! Then you go and say that she should forget about you?!”
“I-” Lenny tried to speak, but Susie cut him off.
“Of all the shit I know you can get off of in that junkie apartment of yours, you chose to get off on this shit? You’re gonna tell her that all of that, everything you’ve ever done, everything, was to fucking bed her?!”
Midge looked at the floor as though ashamed, ashamed for being so naive, so gullible, so embarrassed that she didn't see it.
‘Don't pick a weak man.’ She heard her father voice echo in her head.
Lenny pinch the bridge of his nose, “Susie, let me explain-”
“No! You've had your fucking chance. You cruel vindictive asshole!” Susie stepped closer towards him, a finger pointed at him accusingly, the other still in Midge's hand.
“If you think for a fucking second that I’m going to let you get away with this, you are so fucking wrong.”
“Susie.” Midge called.
“Midge, I'm not done.” Susie looked up at Midge, meeting her watery eyes, before moving back to his.
“I’m gonna punch you in the dick so hard that it’ll spilt into a fucking vagina! I don’t know how it’ll work and I don’t care, but I will make it fucking happen!-”
“Susie!” Midge finally shouted, “We’re leaving.” She stated quietly.
"ok." Susie sheepishly obeyed, Midge tugged her hand, gripping it tighter as they turn to walk away.
“Midge, I-” He call from behind.
She stopped and turned her head, meeting his eyes, her chest felt tight, her fingers grew cold, her heart cracking and breaking on every beat.
First look at Wes Anderson’s ‘THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME’.
Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, & Richard Ayoade.
