Page 87 of Character Flaws
And then I poke him in the chest, emphasizing each of my next statements. “But what do I get in return? Is it thanks? Or gratitude? No…it’s weeds from your garden thrown into my yard. And those rose bushes. Good God.Chester, you know you’re overwatering those roses, right?”
“Must you always be such a know-it-all, Silvia? You’re always in my business.”
“Well I wouldn’t be in your business if your rose bushes weren’t on my property line.”
“Maybe you should worry about your own bush,” he says in that naughty undertone of innuendo and just as if on cue, the audience erupts in laughter.
“What would you like me to do, your majesty? Pull them all out and replant them elsewhere?”
This dialogue is leading up to the big kiss. My favorite part of the play. The one that I no longer have to act because I want to feel his lips on mine again, the crushing weight of them.
“No – I like having the roses there. But I think you should replant yourself somewhere else. Like Siberia.”
More laughter.
This is my cue to turn toward the audience and allow Theo to grab my arm and yank me back so he can kiss me.
I turn slightly, hoping the frustrated agony I’m supposed to be feeling is written across my features, and Theo grips my wrist to draw me back to him.
“I don’t want to move to Siberia. I don’t want to go anywhere without you, Joey.”
I blink and then my eyes go wide.
Does he realize he just said my name and not Silvia’s? Yikes, that’s a mistake.
But then he mouths to me, “It’s okay. I know.”
Theo palms my cheeks and my body feels like it’s floating and he’s anchoring me down to earth. The warmth of his hands seeps into my face, down my throat and sinks into my belly.
“I’m so glad my life imploded on me the way it did, otherwise I never would have ended up meeting you. I’ve been so many things in my life up to now, but what I’ve just realized is that I’ve never truly been in love. Not until you, Joey.”
I gulp. Shit, he said it again. This isn’t the line he wrote in the script!
I’m freaking out, panicking because I don’t know what to do or say. My eyes shift to the audience and then back to him, but he holds my head firmly in his hands.
His eyes tell me he’s not concerned about the audience. It’s just me and him right now. Theo and Joey. And no one else.
“I love you, Josephine Hughes. And I never want to go anywhere else unless you’re by my side. Hollywood, New York, South Bend. I don’t care. You’re the star on my boulevard. You’re my Silvia to my Chester. And I want you to be mine.”
Before I can say or do anything else, he kisses me. He leans in, as scripted, gripping the back of my head with one hand, the other resting at my neck, which is pulsing from the blood jolting through my veins.
I step closer, tilting my head in an effort to be as accessible as possible. He slants his mouth over mine, and kisses me slow and deep. I open my mouth to let his tongue slide in and it tangles with mine.
I savor the feel of his mouth. The taste that lingers. The scent of his breath.
Everything is for me. Not the audience who is sitting there right now probably confused by what’s happening.
And then I’m hit with the realization of what this means. What his unscripted confession means to me. To us.
I gradually pull away, his hands still locked behind my neck. Peering up into his hazel eyes that await my response, they hold me in his gaze.
“You said you love me,” I mutter and then gesture to the audience. “In front of everyone who came to see your play.”
He chuckles and turns to face the theater audience who are a mixture of confused, slightly baffled and curious as to what’s going on. Some have no clue that this isn’t part of the play.
“Yeah. Even your mother, who I’ll admit was really difficult to convince to get here. Hi Mrs. Hughes.”
Theo smiles and waves jovially toward where my mother sits, her hands folded in her lap. She nods her head and the place lights up with laughter.
When he returns to face me, he kisses me again.
“You woke me up, Joey. Made me realize that I wasn’t living the life the way I wanted to live. I wasn’t being true to myself. You pushed me and gave me the support I’d never had before. You gave me the confidence to be Chester.”
I shake my head and smile. “Theo, you are Chester. He’s not just a character. He’s inside of you” – I tap his chest – “and I love every single part. But I think we should discuss that later. I think these people might want us to finish the play.”
Theo tugs me in close, wrapping his strong, loving arms around me and hugs me tight. When he lets me go, he turns to the seated audience who is all a’twitter right now and slides his hands in his pockets.
“Sorry about that folks. We’re going to take a short, unscheduled intermission and then we’ll finish with Act Four. And as for this,” he points behind him where we were just making spectacles of ourselves. “I can guarantee you that the Saturday crowd won’t be treated to that same behind the scenes performance. Thanks for being here to witness me making a fool of myself.”
He winks and then grabs my hand and pulls me off stage as the lights go up and the curtain goes down.
