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Dorothy had always secretly been a romantic, it often came to her when she was alone on the lanai, pen in hand. If she could only pretend for long enough that she was loving and being loved by someone, just maybe she could show that part of herself. Ever since Stanley had been with her, she had always had to repress that facet of her personality. All that he had cared about was her body, and even then he left her for someone who wasn’t much older than her own children. All she wanted was an opportunity, just a chance to finally be herself.
One Thursday night, Blanche had gotten dumped for the third time that week and she was devastated. She made sure to tell the girls everything about how Rick had left her for some woman in her 50s, and that she couldn’t believe how he’d go for someone so much older than her. Lately, Blanche had taken to staying in her room and not coming out for anything other than cheesecake and the occasional coffee. It made Dorothy worry for her, but it also awakened a little part of herself. A part that she’s been denying for the last 5 years. There was that little flutter with the thought that now that she wasn’t seeing these men, maybe she’d notice her. And that’s when it came to her. Maybe there was a way she could cheer Blanche up.
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Blanche hurried into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. “Girls! Look at this letter!” She dropped down to her seat dramatically. Dorothy quietly smirked to herself. Some girlish part of her mind screamed, It worked!
“Oh Blanche! It’s a secret admirer letter!” Rose exclaimed as she read the letter, raising her eyebrows so high it almost looked comical.
“I know that Rose, that’s why I’m so excited! I have to write him back!” She quickly grabbed the letter back. Blanche’s eyes were sparkling.
“Tell him that you’ve already seen every guy on the block and see if he’s still interested.” Sophia retorted, which earned an extensive glare from Blanche.
“Blanche, do you even have any idea who that’s from?” Dorothy asked, trying to sound as genuine as possible while putting her hand on Blanche’s arm. Her touch feather light, but powerful enough to send a nervous shock through her body.
“I’m not sure, but I do recognise the handwriting from somewhere. Oh, it’s probably one of the guys from the Rusty Anchor who wrote his number on my thigh.” Blanche drawled with a smirk. “Anyways, I’m going to write a letter back to him and make my way down there!” She exclaimed while rushing out of her seat.
“Wait Blanche, how do you know who to give the letter to?” Rose asked earnestly.
“Well if he knows enough to put it in the mailbox he’ll probably notice it on the front porch!” Blanche stated as she nearly flew out of the room, but not before receiving doubtful glances from Rose and Sophia.
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Over the next few weeks, Blanche had been receiving and sending letters to and from her secret admirer and she was ecstatic. Of course, Dorothy knew this couldn’t go on forever and she found herself in the never ending battle of stopping her secret letters of confession to Blanche. But she found it increasingly harder to stop as she finally got to say how she felt for her best friend of 5 years. The freedom of telling the person that you’ve been in love with for so long without consequence was too strong to resist. There was also the guaranteed gushing of Blanche the day after receiving the letter. The way she'd talk about these letters like they were her favorite thing in the world! It was as if Blanche herself was gushing over Dorothy, and that made her heart skip a beat. However after six weeks of this internal battle, she finally planned to stop writing her love letters. But life had other plans.
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Blanche strolled into Dorothy’s bedroom, searching for the pearl earrings she had borrowed the night before. She looked all over her room. She looked over every dresser, every pillow, and every blanket, but to no avail. As she made her way out, she spotted Dorothy’s journal on her dresser. I can’t just read her diary, that’s inappropriate! But all she does is read anyways, what could be so bad in there that she wouldn’t want anyone to see? It is Dorothy after all. She hesitantly sat down on the bed and cracked it open, flipping through pages here and there. Suddenly, a cold shiver ran through her spine. The handwriting… She carefully put the journal back and nearly ran back to her room. She fell onto her bed, head in hands. Suddenly her head swam with 5 thoughts at once. Why would Dorothy be her secret admirer? Was she just pitying her for her lack of dates? But why would Dorothy go out of her way like that? Was this her way of getting back at her for all those jokes of her being alone? The fifth thought however, scared her the most. Did Dorothy really feel that way for her? It all felt so genuine, the confessions, the poems, the care put into every letter. But it was also very unlike Dorothy. She was so buttoned up, stern, and sarcastic. There was no way that was actually how she felt, right?
She heard a knock. “Come in!”
“Oh, there you are Blanche. Here’s your pearl earrings I borrowed as promised,” Dorothy said. She gave Blanche a small smile as she held out her hand.
“Oh, hi Dorothy! Uhm, thank you!” Blanche exclaimed nervously. She really hoped Dorothy wouldn’t question her as she was nearly shaking out of her skin. But as usual, Dorothy read her like a book.
“Is there something wrong honey? You’re shaking.” Dorothy sat on the bed next to Blanche, putting her hand on top of hers. Blanche flinched. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Yes! Everything is just fine! I just uh, forgot I had a date today, that’s all!” Her voice sounded too cheery. She knew that Dorothy knew that she was lying, but prayed to God that she wouldn’t question further.
“Okay honey, but if you need anything I’ll be in my room,” Dorothy cooed, her eyes concerned but empathetic. She slowly sat up out of her bed and gently shut the door behind her.
Blanche sighed deeply. That was too close. She had no idea what to do about this situation. This all made no sense! Dorothy having feelings for her? Blanche Devereux did not date women, let alone Dorothy. She wouldn’t even allow herself to explore the idea, there was no way that a woman of her gifts was to be a lesbian! She had dated men her entire life and had no problem whatsoever! The feelings she had for Dorothy, whatever they were, weren’t romantic. They couldn’t be. She wouldn’t allow them to be.
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This was it, her Moonlight Madness party had finally been kicked off! This was the time to find the man of her dreams! She smoothed out her dress and took a deep breath.
“Blanche has entered the room!” Blanche exclaimed. She proudly sauntered to the middle of the living room, making sure to accentuate her curves. Dorothy could feel the air drain out of her lungs, unable to take her eyes off of Blanche. Maybe it was something in the air that night, but she had to restrain herself from kissing her right then and there. She was so beautiful that she almost sparkled.
Blanche could feel Dorothy’s eyes on her and it made her heart skip a beat. She liked the attention from it, and she almost craved the longing stares. It made her mind swirl with fantasi-What was that? “Welcome to the Moonlight Madness party!” She announced, throwing her arms into the air and kicking up one of her legs. Hopelessly trying to contain the thoughts of the woman next to her.
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Dorothy couldn’t stand it anymore. These men were all over her! Usually she liked any attention she could get from men, but this was just too much! She was practically beating them off with a stick! They would ask her what her name was, two questions about herself, and then where her bedroom was. It was compelling, but it felt wrong when her heart belonged to someone else. She finally made the decision to walk out to the lanai planning to sit down on her usual chair, but found Blanche there instead.
“Blanche? What are you doing out here?” Dorothy asked, sitting down next to Blanche on her chair.
“Oh nothing, these men are all over you anyways. I figured I’d sit out here.” She looked to the sky.
“I’m sorry Blanche, if it makes you feel any better, I’m not interested in any of them. They’re all yours.” Dorothy’s eyes dropped to the floor.
Blanche looked to the sky, avoiding eye contact with dorothy. She took a breath but stopped herself. She glanced at Dorothy and took another shaky breath. “Dorothy, I know that you wrote those letters to me two months ago. Did you mean what you said?”
“Those secret admirer notes?” Dorothy asked. Blanche nodded. “What if I did?” She looked into Blanche’s eyes for the first time that night. There was a long pause. Suddenly, she noticed their heads slowly come closer and closer together. It was so dream-like that she didn’t fully process it until her lips were on her’s. She felt Blanche’s arms wrap around hers and it felt so natural. Their touch was gentle and brief. Something so new but so familiar. She had always carried the belief that her feelings for the woman in front of her were evil. That it was unnatural and something to never be shared. But as their kiss deepened, she realized how at home she felt. The faint smell of home and cheesecake removed all doubt. She was sure of it. Blanche was the love of her life. They pulled away from one another, each coming back with a deeper understanding about the love they share for each other, neither of them choosing to worry about the consequences in the moment. And just as fast as that moment came, it was yanked from existence.
“Dorothy! Is there anything that you know about a betrayal of a loved one?” Sophia yelled from across the lanai. “Hey, what were you two just doing?” She raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“Oh Sophia, don’t be ridiculous,” Blanche said, trying her best to sound collected after their revelation.
“No ma, I don’t know anything like that. Honestly I don’t see the big deal with this curse!” Dorothy threw out her arms.
“Of course you don’t Dorothy! You never believe in your curse, but trust me if I don’t find something quick you’ll find out!” Sopihia exclaimed as she walked back to the living room.
“Blanche, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you,” Dorothy started.
“No, Dorothy It’s my fault I’m sorry. Although, wait a minute. Why should we be sorry? We’re just friends expressing how we feel! I mean we’ve been friends for years! There’s no meaning behind it other than friendship, right?” Blanche’s eyes nervously darted around as she wildly threw around her hands.
Dorothy took her hands in hers and looked into her eyes. “Blanche, you and I both know that this wasn’t a ‘friendship’ kiss. Either we admit this right here and right now, or we might just have to live with this for the rest of our lives.” There was an even longer pause.
“Dorothy.. I can’t.” Blanche’s eyes filled with tears. She got up and ran to the kitchen where she found Rose sitting by herself.
“Oh, hi Blanche, what are you so upset over?” Rose’s eyes furrowed in concern.
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Blanche said a tad too loudly. “Why are you sitting here all alone?”
“Miles had to leave early. He said that he had urgent business to attend and he left right after that. Honestly I wish he could trust me a little bit more. He’s always leaving like this!” Rose expressed.
“Oh I’m sorry honey, that’s awful, just awful!” Blanche placed a hand on her arm.
“Rose! Do you know any knowledge of a betrayal of a loved one?” Sohia said as she burst into the room.
“No I don’t, sorry Sophia.” Rose said.
“Jeez, you guys act like you’ve never betrayed someone before! Come on, I need some material here!” She threw up her hands as she went right back out to the living room.
“Well, I’d better close down this party. This was an absolute disaster! No man even glanced at me tonight!” Blanche declared. She stepped out to the living room and quickly announced to everyone that it’s getting late and that they need to be leaving now. After many groans from guests complaining about the early ending, they eventually filed out the door. The girls all spent about an hour cleaning up, Sophia telling them all about the betrayal she got to uncover. She told a wild story about two men who secretly had feelings for each other, but one had left the other for a woman! Blanche and Dorothy didn’t dare exchange a glance. They then all got into their nightgowns and said their goodnights. But right before Dorothy went into her room, Blanche stopped her.
“Dorothy, about the kiss-”
“What kiss? There was no kiss!”
“Dorothy please!”
“Oh you mean the friendship kiss? That wouldn’t have happened in the first place if you hadn’t started up with me?”
“I did no such thing!”
“Oh please! You knew about the letters and didn’t tell me. Not to mention you wearing your most attractive dress and fancy hairdo! Oh and I suppose it was a mere accident that you happen to have the softest lips known to man!” Dorothy viciously uttered, getting into Blanche’s face.
“Dorothy, I- what?”
“Oh Blanche, I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry. I kissed you and I knew it was wrong and I did it anyway.”
“Dorothy please don’t freak out when I say this, and I know I’ll regret it tomorrow, but I think that I’m in love with you. I know that this seems like it’s coming out of nowhere, and that’s mostly because I haven’t thought any of this through! But what I do know is that you kissed me, and I kissed you. And it felt like love.” She shook her head as she held Dorothy’s hand, tears streaming down her face. “Dorothy, please be with me. I promise this isn’t the liquor talking this time.” She said with a light chuckle, looking into Dorothy’s eyes with her own pleading ones.
“Blanche, I-I don’t know what to say! Yes!” Dorothy exclaimed, hugging Blanche tightly. After a few seconds, they pulled away slightly, but still in each other’s arms.
“This was some Moonlight Madness party huh.” Blanche remarked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“My personal favorite.”
“Dorothy?”
“Yes?”
“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
“Always.”