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“So! Mary Macdonald.” The interviewer adjusts his mic a bit before settling down. Mary shifts in her seat, laughing a bit at the way the man says her name. “Song Writer and Musician, a wonder of our time! I've seen some magazines call you the eighth wonder of the world!”
“Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.” Mary says, rolling her eyes. “But yes, I do play music.” The man laughs.
“Right! So, to start off…When did you start writing music?” Mary hums, tapping her foot a bit.
“Probably around year 9? I wrote mostly for myself at first, songs about my life just for me to play and hear.” Mary sighs a bit, recounting her younger years. She was quite shy as a teenager. “As I got older I started writing for other people and for other reasons, all of that.”
“I see, is there anyone in particular you write about?” Mary hums.
“Yes, my wife.” Mary answers.
“You're married?” He asks, surprised. Mary laughs.
“Yes, and a lesbian. I know! Shocking!” She shakes her head a bit.
“Your wife, can you tell us more about her?” He says, adjusting his tie a little.
“Oh she’s wonderful. Her name is Lily, and she’s beautiful!” Mary laughs again, scratching the side of her head.
“How long have you been married?” The man asks.
“Two years now,” Mary says.
“How did you two meet?” Mary isn't really surprised that the mention of a significant other is sparking the interest of the interviewer more than her music, she should be disappointed, but she really can't pass up an opportunity to talk about Lily.
“It really is the funniest story-”
— 3 Years Ago —
Mary sits down in the back of the cab, tugging her handbag a bit. She’s pissed, honestly. Another gig where the men at the bar just start cat calling her and being a fucking nuisance. Can’t she have one hour of peace?
She sighs and opens her phone to tell the cab driver her address when she hears a yelp, she looks over and something hits her in the forehead and shoves her back.
“AH SHIT!” Mary screams out.
“AH! SORRY SORRY!” She looks up and sees a heeled shoe right near her face. “Hold on- fuck…” The owner of the foot shifts a bunch, pulling herself through the car window and sitting down with a resounding groan.
“What the fuck was that for?!” Mary shouts. The girl, a redhead in a flowy pink dress and red heels, laughs a little awkwardly.
“I'm sorry…I really needed to get out of there, and quickly.” She says, scratching her head.
“I- Get out of where?” Mary asks, she leans towards her car door further. The girl takes off her heels.
“A wedding.” She says. Mary looks at her and then meets eye contact with the cab driver. “My sister- she’s such a bitch sometimes! I had to go to her shitty wedding and the entire time she just kept shoving all of her success in my face! And my Mum just agreed with her because of fucking course she did-” Mary blinks at the girl as she starts to cry. “I fucking hate weddings and I hate families and I'm really drunk right now and you're so pretty!”
Mary gapes at her for a while. A long while.
“Hello? Are you ladies going to pay me to go somewhere or what?” The cab driver asks. The girls sniffles and opens her purse taking out some money.
“I'll pay for her too,” She says. The man nods slowly and turns back. She tells the man an address.
“That- okay,” Mary says. “Who are you?”
“Oh my name's Lily,” She sniffles again and offers Mary her hand, which Mary takes awkwardly.
“I'm Mary.” Lily laughs and smiles. There's mascara going down her face from the tears.
“God- all of this shit with my sister and her ugly rude husband.” Lily grunts. “He's so mean! And misogynistic as well! She doesn't have fucking eyes.” Lily groans and puts her hands through her hair.
“Sounds like you've had an eventful night.” Mary says, eyeing the other girl as she nods.
“Mhm.” Lily pouts a little.
“If it helps, I get it to an extent. My mother is a very judgmental woman. She always gets pissed at me for things and doing what I want in my life. So I understand, really.” Mary assures her. Lily looks over at her and smiles a bit.
“You're a lovely gal, Mary.” Mary smiles.
“Thank you,”
“Welp, weddings are shit, that's the end of that. But, tell me about you, pretty girl.” She turns to Mary, who goes red without meaning to.
“Oh- uh…I'm a musician.” Mary says. Lily hums and slumps back in her seat. “I've been playing gigs and stuff for a few years, just got back from one. Which was pretty shitty, if I’m honest. Bars in this part of town usually are anyway.” Mary says, sighing.
“Oh they so are!” Lily expresses. “Me and my friend Remus once went to one and someone started an actual bar fight! Wild!” Mary laughs.
“That's pretty much how it is.” She shrugs. “I also have a job as a waiter at a restaurant but that's not as fun.” Lily smiles and Mary adores it. This is weird, this is so weird. There’s a drunk girl in the back of this cab who just kicked me in the face yet she's so pretty.
“I work at a preschool, with my friend Remus.” Lily wipes at her face a bit.
“Really? Awh I love kids.” Mary says, Lily smiles.
“Me too!” She says, sighing.
“I’d love to have kids but the fear of having to give birth is there and prominent.” Mary says, gesturing with her hand. Lily snorts.
“It's scary as hell, I will say.” Lily says. “But it's so worth it.”
“You have a kid?” Mary asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Mhm! A little boy, his name is Harry.” She fiddles with the end of her dress. “He’s at home with his father.”
“Ah- you're married then?” Mary asks, hesitantly. Because of course the pretty girl is taken.
“Oh no! We split up after we had Harry, but me and him are such close friends that we just live together in a flat.” Lily tells her. “Makes it easier with the baby too.” She yawns and stretches her arms.
“Oh, that makes sense.” Mary says, folding her legs. Lily hums, nodding.
“Harry’s only around a year old now,” Lily says. “He's so adorable, you have to meet him, Mary!” Mary blinks.
“Really? We're practically strangers…” Mary says, she furrows her eyebrows.
“Strangers? Last time I checked your name is Mary, you're a musician who plays gigs at shitty bars, you love kids, and your mother is a bit of an asshole.” Lily recounts. “You don't sound like a stranger to me.” Lily winks and Mary giggles a little.
“You're quite the person, Lily.” Mary tells her. Lily grins.
“I get that a lot,” She shrugs. “God I hate heels, my poor feet.” Lily holds one of her feet and groans. “This is why I shouldn't run in them, honestly.”
“Or kick people in the face.” Mary adds. Lily snorts.
“That too!” She sighs.
“Why did you run anyway?” Lily laughs awkwardly.
“So uh- you see, I wasn't having a good night.” Lily tells her. “And I ended up spilling a drink on the groom, falling into a table, and then pulling out a chunk of my sister's hair. So I ran, and now here we are.” She laughs again. “Jazz hands.” She makes the gesture. Mary pauses before laughing hysterically. “HEY!”
“IM SORRY- HOLY SHIT-” Mary brushes some of her curls out of her face. “That- wow. Wow.”
“Yeah, I'm aware how embarrassing that is.” Lily slumps back a little.
“We're here,” The cab driver says. He's stopped at a flat building.
“You know, how about I help you inside.” Mary offers. Lily goes a bit red and nods. “Okay, come on.” Mary opens her door and rounds around the cab to open Lily’s door. “M’lady.”
“How polite.” Lily says as Mary offers her hand to the other woman. Lily takes it and grabs her shoes and purse. They walk inside while talking, Lily ignoring the fact she's barefoot as they climb the stairs.
“But I don't get it necessarily? Like…how do you get a baby to not chew on your hair? Even James isn't safe, Harry still somehow gets to him.” Lily scoffs, shaking her head.
“Babies are menaces.” Mary says as Lily gets out her key from her bag.
“Oh they really are.
“Lils- what-” He says.
“Hi James, weddings are shit, this is Mary,” Lily gestures behind her and James moves aside looking confused and Mary follows her in. “I’m never going to a wedding again!” She says loudly, falling onto the couch in the flat dramatically. The place is homey and cute honestly. Mary folds her arms and nods at James awkwardly.
“Excuse me you’re supposed to be at mine!” James says, frowning.
“I know! I know! Where is Reg?” Lily asks.
“I was sleeping,” A shorter man wearing a jumper and shorts walks in, he has black hair and he’s pale and looks tired as well.
“Oh! Hi Regulus. Mary this is James’ fiance,” Lily says, addressing her.
“Lily did you invite a stranger into your home?” Regulus asks, folding his arms. Mary stares at her feet awkwardly.
“Did not! Mary isn’t a stranger I kicked her in the face and we talked in the cab here!” Lily tells him.
“You what?” James says, his voice going up an octave. Lily huffs.
“It’s fine, I got over it.” Mary says, shrugging.
“Good fucking god-” Regulus pinches his nose bridge.
“Where’s my son?” Lily asks, pouting a little.
“Lils I think you’re drunk, how about I get you some water..” James says, walking out of the room. Lily scoffs.
“Mary come here and sit with me.” Lily pats the spot next to her on the couch and Mary goes to sit next to her.
James brings her the cup of water and she drinks it. Regulus says he’s going back to sleep and mentions something about an idiot brother needing a ride somewhere the next day. James stays and sits in the armchair near them. Mary and him speak a bit back and forth, and Lily falls asleep, her head falling into Mary’s lap.
It’s sweet, and Mary leaves the next morning after a nice breakfast and with Lily’s number in her phone. There’s a promise for her to meet Harry when it’s a more decent time and he isn’t asleep, and a promise for a date with the pretty redhead that kicked her in the face in the back of a cab, and Mary is content, and some other feeling she can’t identify,
She writes a song about this feeling.
— Present Day —
“Like a Kick In My Face, Your Love…that’s a song based on Lily then?” The interviewer asks. Mary nods.
“Yup, a literal kick in the face. Funny right?” The interviewer laughs and he taps the table a bit.
“Is a lot of your music based on her then?”
“Oh definitely. She is my inspiration for a lot of things, mostly with music. But I doubt I’d be where I am today if not for her.” Mary says.
“That’s sweet,” The man tells her.
“It is, and it’s true! Like I said, we’ve been married for a few years. You could say she got over her hatred for weddings.” The interviewer laughs. “But really, I love her more than anything. And I love Harry more than anything too. I am his stepmum. Lily is probably listening to this so, I love you!”