Chapter Text
“I think you’re right. I think I should take that directing job,” Ruth finally admits, not just out loud but to herself.
They're sitting together, both in silence, lost in thought.
She has spent a lot of the time the past month debating with herself on this very issue, weighing her pros and cons, deciding where her future in Hollywood lies. Will she ever make it as a serious actress? Or is directing really where she should be?
Honestly, she still doesn’t really know. And she doubts she'll ever have a simple answer.
And no matter how hard it is, she knows she wants to be an actor. That’s her dream. That’s her goal.
But it’s just so draining constantly feeling like you’re getting absolutely nowhere. Auditioning for anything and everything and still not being the right fit.
And GLOW has been there for her through all those anxieties of not being good enough and flipped them all on its head. And here she is, with an actual job offer, with creative license to do whatever the hell she wants… It’d be a bad idea to turn away from that now, right? Right?
“Now? Now you listen to me? It’s about fuckin’ time, Ruth,” Sam pipes up beside her. They’re sitting on his couch together, his arm is draped lazily along the back. The TV is on in the background but neither of them are paying attention. “What’s taken you so long?”
“I just… I don’t want to be a director for the rest of my life, you know? I love acting. I feel amazing when I’m on stage or in front of the camera and that's what I want. But I don’t think this is something I can turn down, you know?”
“Well you’re pretty fuckin’ good at it, I’ll tell you that. You did a damn sight more directing than me and we all know it.”
“Sam… That’s not true,” her voice is soft. He starts wondering why she’s so insecure about everything because he knows how amazing she is. She has a raw, natural talent behind the camera. And she’s annoyingly persistent, so she can get anything done. She's just what they need, even if she can't see it herself.
Sure, it’s not acting, but it’s a job at least. No point being an actor if you can’t get a gig. Not that he'd ever say that to her face. He's not dumb.
“It is,” he says bluntly. It’s times like these, when Ruth is being relentlessly irritating and too stubborn to see his point of view, that he yearns for a cigarette or a drink or something. But he's doing better. He's making healthier lifestyle choices, he's not giving up on life just yet. Especially not when he has a great job, a great family and a great girlfriend.
“You’d be stupid if you let that opportunity pass you by. Seriously.”
“I know,” she says, but she sounds sad. It breaks his heart a little.
He pulls her closer, his arm wrapped around her and tugging her into his torso. She smells like her fresh soap, the scent tickling his nostrils as he leans into her. “Hey, listen. Hollywood’s not goin’ anywhere.”
She sniffles, nodding her head slightly. He hates seeing her like this.
“They’ve not seen the last of Ruth Wilder.”
“You’re right,” she wipes her face with her sleeve, a small smile gracing her features.
“I’m always right.”
So she leans up and kisses him, wiping that smug look right off his face.