Work Text:
The red curtain of the theatre is a magical piece of work. Signifying the opening and closing of a story between the two pieces of fabric, the curtain frames the actors as they perform for the waiting audience. And here, once again, the familiar sides of the curtain part. Fareeha cracked open the window and sat down.
“These new curtains you bought are a bit vivid, don’t you think?
“Mhm.” Angela sat at the other side of the table, half-lidded and half-dressed, her lab coat hanging loosely from her shoulders as she sat slumped in her chair, looking like she was about to faceplant into her bowl of oatmeal. “Thas nice.”
“Babe, your glasses aren’t even on right. It’s 6 in the evening, geez!” Fareeha gave Angela a look of disapproval as she fixed Angela’s glasses. “Come home from work to find you like this, what time do you think it is, exactly?!”
Angela took a few moments before blinking slowly, absentmindedly looking about the kitchen in a daze before turning to Fareeha. “.....9:30. G’morning.”
“It’s 6!” Fareeha’s voice rose as she hit the table with a loud fist. She took a moment to compose herself, feeling her blood pressure rising. She cleared her throat. “No. It’s 6 in the evening, Angela.”
“Oh.” Angela’s eyes slowly traveled to her oatmeal where her hand was haphazardly holding her spoon, barely registering a single word. “....What’ll they think of next?”
“....Angela.” Fareeha’s fist closed with enough force to snap many, many pencils. “How many days has it been since you slept.” Angela looked up with oatmeal dribbling from her chin, staring at nothing for a few seconds before holding up four fingers.
“Four days?!”
“...” Angela blinked before setting down her spoon, holding up one more finger in front of the first four.
“.....fourteen days.” Fareeha watched with the horror only a responsible full time worker could watch with as Angela slowly nodded, then nodded more, and finally slowly drifted downwards into her bowl of oatmeal with a wet “ sluck” .
“Alright! Now what I was going to talk to you about!” Fareeha slapped her hands on the table, sitting in front of a very wet, very alert Angela. Something about a freezing cold bathtub does that to people. “First off, do you have your coffee?”
“Y-yes, swe-...Ma’am.” Angela’s teeth chattered as she cupped her mug of coffee, her other hand grasped tightly to the towel around her.
“Okay, I want that gone before I’m finished talking. Anyway.” Power-mom fished around in the cargo pockets of her beige slacks before tossing a pair of slips in front of Angela. “I got some free movie tickets from work. They’re for that new musical. Romance. Musical romance. Figured it would be fun to go watch it tonight, since they expire soon.” Angela nodded, her cup pressed to her lips. “So once you’ve finished this pot, and maybe another, I think it would be cute to go together.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet of you!” Angela gave a heart-melting genuine smile as she set her mug down, Fareeha blushing a bit behind the ears. “You’re such a gooshy teddy bear, I swear.”
“S-shut up! Drink your coffee!” Fareeha crossed her arms as she stiffly turned around, not willing to let her wife see her face light up like a christmas tree.
The local movie theater was about what one would expect, sporting 70’s architecture with a reasonable amount of litter for a theater. Kids ran about the lobby’s arcade unsupervised, more than likely eating discarded popcorn from behind the claw machines. Family friendly fun amiright.
“Snacks?” Fareeha hooked her thumb over her shoulder at the unnecessarily bright concession counter, a wondrous place where butter seemed more precious than refined oil. Angela jumped at the chance, leaving Fareeha to go buy some $7.50 boxes of milk duds. Fareeha couldn’t help but grin, her distraction a success. With Angela preoccupied, she was free to divulge in the basest of worldly pleasures. She thumbed the quarters in her pocket as she turned around, making a steady beeline for the arcade. Her eyes dilated as she focused in on her cruel mistress. The Star Wars: Episode 1 pinball machine.
“God yes.” Fareeha flexed a little as she placed her hands on the flipper buttons, getting a feel for it before sliding a few quarters in the slot. The familiar sound of technology-garbled dialogue sounded from the machine, pressuring Fareeha to get down to business. She pulled back the launcher. The silver ball blitzed faster than 1939 Germany as she let go, crashing into a series of bumpers and switches before falling down to the flippers. Fareeha bit her tongue as she leaned over the glass screen. The top score inched closer and closer, Fareeha could feel it. Every position on the scoreboard held her name except the top. The letters “ZEN” seemed to mock her, constantly testing her potential as the pinball king. Suddenly the ball seemed to fall perfectly dead center, right between the flippers. Impossible to stop. Unless you’re good enough. I’m good enough. Fareeha cursed under her breath, telling herself she still had two balls left. Just like most males. Quality humor.
“Oh, that looks fun!” Fareeha nearly jumped a foot in the air at Angela’s voice, sending her next ball careening right into the gutter. Angela was leaning over her shoulder, watching intently, popcorn in hand.
“B-babe! You already got your snack?! That was...That was fast!” Fareeha spun around, her face flushed as she was caught in the act. In a moment of weakness.
“What are you so flustered over? C’mon, let’s get to the movie.” Angela looped her arm with Fareeha’s, pulling her towards the ticket taker. Fareeha turned for one last look at the pinball machine, mouthing a breathless “I’ll miss you” as it disappeared from her sight.
“Ma Man!” Fareeha slapped her coupons on the ticket takers table, striking a confident pose as she pretended to be important. The ticket taker, a rather short man with a beard half his height, looked at the slips before looking blankly at Fareeha.
“Please go exchange these for tickets at the register.” The man handed back the coupons. Fareeha blinked, still holding her pose.
“Huh?”
“Exchange them for movie tickets. The directions are on them there.” Fareeha died of embarrassment on the inside as the man jabbed a thick finger at the small print of the coupons.
“O-oh…” Fareeha nodded awkwardly, slinking away to the register with her tail between her legs.
“Happens all the time.” The short man gave an encouraging chuckle, but it didn’t make Fareeha feel any better as she walked away. Angela continued to stand there, letting the silence settle for half a minute before striking up a conversation.
“Does it really happen all the time?”
“Almost never, actually.”
“I’m here!” Fareeha doubled over as she finally made it, panting lightly as she gave the clerk the tickets. “I’m here.” She coughed as she straightened up, catching her breath as the friendly man handed back the stubs.
“Shall we?” Angela gave an cool smile as she looped her arm with Fareeha’s, doing her best to restore some of her self esteem.
“Yes, let’s.”
The movie theater was already halfway done with the previews as the pair walked through the door, the last few notes of the Friends theme song fading out.
“We missed the previews?! Man..” Angela cursed under her breath, somehow stuffing her mouth with popcorn at the same time. Fareeha found a decent seat in the middle section, also known as the best section. “This theater sure is empty….”
“It’s been like a week since the movie premiered. It’s not like it’s a Marvel movie or something.” said Fareeha, wishing she was watching a Marvel movie as she sat down. A warning about cell phones popped up briefly, followed by an ad for the concession stand.
“Oh, that looks good.” Angela pointed at an animated pack of Skittles.
“Babe, you have popcorn.”
Angela huffed as she slumped in her seat, throwing a handful in her mouth. The typical company logo montage started as the movie began, the crowd falling silent to watch.
The movie was about a man with a nice goatee, trying to follow his dreams and become a pop star. Along his career he runs into a newbie producer, flirtatious with words that melt the heart. Eventually the two fall in love, going on a series of long vacations and artisan bakeries. When his career takes off, the producer can’t keep up and the protagonist is forced to choose between his career and the love of his life.
“Oh, god...” Fareeha was trying not to cry during an emotional scene, the pair having gotten into a fight that ended with the producer storming from the apartment. You could feel the agony. She glanced over at Angela, wanting to see if Angela was as deeply affected as she was. “....Are you wearing 3D glasses?”
Angela didn’t answer, munching on her popcorn as the cardboard red-and-blue glasses sat on her face. They looked like something from the 90’s, completely different from the stiff plastic glasses they gave you nowadays. Fareeha pursed her lips as she tried to process the situation. Angela caught her partner’s gaze from the corner of her eye, wondering if something was wrong. “Need something, sweetheart?”
“.......No. No I do not.” Fareeha returned her focus back to the movie, half of her actually interested with the movie and the other half not wanting to give Angela the satisfaction of going along with her antics.
The movie began to wrap up near the end. Our goatee-clad protagonist had chosen to find a new producer and continue with his career, leaving his love behind as he boarded a jet to hollywood. Even after the nearly violent breakup, the love had decided to show up at the gate. Tension was thick in the air. Fareeha stifled a gasp as she watched the main character walk past his ex-partner, refusing to meet his gaze as he left to follow his dreams. The title flashed, signaling the movie had ended before the credits rolled. Fareeha sagged in her seat, feeling like her trachea had been ripped from her gullet.
“Suppose there’s an after-credit sequence?” Angela was polishing off the last of her popcorn; Fareeha was surprised it had actually lasted this long. Still, she nodded lightly, the two of them sitting, waiting, while the rest of the audience filed out of the theater. The actor’s names rolled by. The the SFX studios. Then the other artists, writers, and producers. The music. The directors. A few more company logos for good measure. Fareeha and Angela held their breath. The lights turned on as the screen flickered off.
“......I guess not.” Fareeha felt a bit like a fool as she stood up, knowing well she had just wasted a good four minutes of her life.
“Guess not.” Angela felt about the same, the two not sure what to say as they, too, left the now-empty theater. The short bearded man from early was standing outside the door, sweeping discarded mike and ike into a dustpan. He looked up as they left. Everyone leaving the movies always looked like such a dazed idiot, he thought. Half the reason he worked there in the first place.
The drive home was silent, getting out of the car was silent, and walking up to the bedroom was just as if not more silent. Because everything is a spectrum. Fareeha and Angela sat on their bed, half dressed in the contemplative haze that only the movie theater can provide.
“Hey babe?”
“Yes sweetheart?” Angela was still wearing the glasses. Fareeha wasn’t sure if she had forgotten about them or what.
“Did you ever consider leaving me for your companies?” It was a quiet question, the kind you ask when you’re not sure if you want to hear the answer. Fareeha gripped the sides of the bed as she stared at the carpet. She had never been the breadwinner of the household, but she had never been the housewife either. What use did she have? Fareeha flinched slightly as Angela came up from behind, pressing against her back as she wrapped her arms around the worried Fareeha.
“I would rather go penniless than leave you, Fareeha.” Fareeha trembled as she placed a hand on Angela’s.
“Hey babe?”
“Yes sweetheart?”
“Why are you wearing those glasses?”
“You wouldn’t believe the headache these have given me waiting for you to ask that.”