Chapter 5

Karol and I got to the theatre a little early, to look over Act 2 — Scene 1, affectionately being called the Confrontation Scene. We were glancing over it when Phyllis showed up and came over to us to say hello. We talked a little about what we had worked on at the house. Phyllis was anxious to show George how we 'improved' Act 1 — Scene 1, but I told her how much George was being supportive of what Karol and I had been doing. That calmed her down a little. A honk told us that George had arrived.

He strolled up to us and said, "I can't wait to see what you three have up your sleeves for tonight. Phyllis — Michael told me you went over and worked on Act 1 — Scene 1, and you'd also watched them do scenes 2 and 3 as well. What did you think?"

Phyllis replied, "I told them both, how marvelous they are with what they're doing. It's the best stuff I've ever seen Michael do, and I've been watching him grow as an actor at this theatre for almost fifteen years. Scenes 2 and 3 shocked me, but in a good way ... Karol and Michael seem to make a dynamic duo onstage, don't they, George?"

"Absolutely, Phyllis! I agree that Michael is fantastic, but you certainly have to give some props to the beautiful and electrifying Karol as well. Did they tell you their news?"

Phyllis retorted, "What? Is Karol pregnant, already?" That made everyone laugh and it broke the significant tension that was building.

George sat us down and explained, "OK, Here is what I want to do tonight. First, we'll see what you've done with Act 1 — Scene 1, and then go through the rest of Act 1, in order. We'll finish with a first staging of Act 2 — Scene 1. It could make for a later than usual night, but due to some personal issues, we won't have a rehearsal again until next Wednesday. That OK with everyone?"

"Great! Thanks guys. Lets go with Act 1 — Scene 1."

We proceeded to show George what we'd done with Act 1 — Scene 1, using the coarser language we'd practiced with. The first time Molly said 'Fucking, ' George didn't flinch at all. George laughed at the 'load of mush' line, as I thought he might. George listened to the 'shit for brains' line and also never raised an eyebrow. We finished with George laughing out loud at the 'sausage-dick' line.

Giving us notes, he said, "To use the word of the night, that was 'fucking fabulous, ' you two. Who knew that Mr. Bumble and the Widow Corney would ever talk to each other like that? Also, Phyllis, that touch on the cheek you gave Robert, at first bothered me, but thinking about it I realized it was a foreshadow of her finally ... letting him go. Whoever's idea that was, it worked!"

She just looked at me, and we went on.

George told us to get ready for Act 1 — Scene 2. As a reminder, in this scene, the daughter Jessica has heard the argument between Robert and Molly and is torn between her love for the EACH of them.

Karol starts the scene in a sort of controlled chaos, and starts to taunt me with her voluptuousness, grabbing my hand and putting it on her breast. At the previous point when I went in for a kiss, this time she initiated it, and then tore my hand off her breast and pushed my lips off hers, and then we finished the scene with the exact same kind of kiss, but this time we didn't stop until...

"BLACKOUT"

"Once again, Karol and Michael, I find myself watching you, just rapt, waiting for an explosion of love or lust, whichever one of those you two are feeling. I just realized we'll have to put an 'R' rating on this play, to keep the kids away."

"We can tone it down," I said. "Phyllis, Karol and I can bring it down!"

"I don't want you to! No - no - no, I want every bit of emotion you three have — I want you guys exhausted at the end of the night — the audience too!"

He added, "Take five, then, we'll do Act 1 — Scene 3."

I checked with Karol, and she had on a real pretty lacey bra that only just covered her nipples. She had a backup shirt in her purse. Another reason to love her, she was prepared for the worst — or was it the best?

We started the scene still kissing from before, but Karol was slowly pushing me away, because I was about to use my hands. We dramatically got to the point where I tore her shirt apart and started kissing the fleshy part of her breast, while moving my hand down her stomach and outwardly cupping her pubic area. I heard both George and Phyllis utter 'Oh-My-God' just as Karol pushed my mouth off her breast and slapped my hand from her groin.

We moved on to the end of the scene where I completely changed the ending, by picking up Karol and kissing her as I carried her off–stage, and she said, "Ooohh, Daddy — I love you so much!"

"BLACKOUT"

George responded, "I like that, Michael ... taking her off stage lets the audience decide for themselves, what might have happened between them. We're not doing 'Last Tango in Paris, ' here!"

"I could go get some butter," said Phyllis, with a rather snarky smile on her face.

"No!" said George, "We're crossing enough boundaries here already. Let's not get anal, OK?"

That made everybody laugh. Karol went into her purse and changed her blouse and came back out on stage, saying, in her younger voice, "I'm ready for the bedroom scene, Daddy!" That actually got me hard!

ACT 1 — SCENE 4 "Ready?"

Michael, as ROBERT "J-bird. I hope you don't regret what just happened. It wasn't you I took to my bed, it was your mother, I see your mother in you and, I — I just couldn't help myself. Can you ever forgive me, Jessica?"

Karol, as JESSICA "Daddy, I wouldn't have let you, if I didn't really want you to! Was it momma really who you were fucking Daddy? It sure felt like you were aching the whole time. Are you OK, Daddy?"

ROBERT "Your mother got me so, so damn mad, thinking I was having an affair, when all I'd been doing was lusting for you — lusting for my own beautiful and luscious daughter. How can I love her ever again, now that I've had you?"

JESSICA "Don't you love her at all, anymore? I don't mean physical love; I mean the 'fall in love' love. I think you may still love her a bit. You called me Molly during our second fuck!"

ROBERT "I was remembering, when I did love her, Jess. I was never having an affair with anyone, except maybe in my heart. I can't stop loving you ... just like that; it would hurt too much. I needed someone to love and I realized that that someone was you!"

JESSICA "Oh, Daddy. I love you too, but what about mommy? You can't just leave her? You're not going to just leave her, are you?"

ROBERT "I can't even look at that ugly bitch anymore, Jessica. Not when I have you to look at ... to lust for ... and to love."

JESSICA "Why Daddy — why did you stop loving mommy?"

ROBERT "Your mother is in love with being in love. Her love for me left her a long time ago. I still loved her, but she was clearly not in love with me anymore. Now, my love is clear to me. It's all about you J-bird. We need to leave here, leave this life behind us. We need to go somewhere where people don't know who we are! Where people don't know us a father and his daughter. Where I can love you ... every moment of every day, like I do right now!"

I went over to her and started kissing her. She was slowly responding, then she grabbed me and put her arms around me and said, "I love you so much, Dad ... Robert!"

We leaned in to kiss each other, waiting to see how long George was going to let us keep going. He hadn't called blackout yet, so I picked her up, and said, "I love you too, Jessica, my beautiful daughter!" and walked off with her laying her head on my chest.

"BLACKOUT — END of ACT 1"

We came back out to see Phyllis crying and applauding and George was smiling so big, it was contagious. After about a minute, George said, "Right now, I wish I had a daughter like you Karol. Wait a minute ... that didn't sound right, did it? You are the perfect blend of cuteness, chastity and smuttiness ... I mean your character is!"

"And you, young man, are a director's dream! Later this season, I'm producing and directing ON GOLDEN POND! Until this past week, I would have never thought of you for that role, but now I see you have many layers of complexity, just what Norman Thayer needs. And you two would be just as wonderful as the wife and the daughter. I hope you might consider that. OK, take a break, and we'll stage the Confrontation."

"OK, everybody, pay attention!

ACT 2 — SCENE 1 — THE CONFRONTATION SCENE"

Phyllis, as MOLLY "Robert, can I take it that the blood on our bed sheets, is what's left of your daughter's virginity?"

Michael, as ROBERT "Yeah, so what? That was the first sex I had in six months that I didn't have to beg for. Actually, come to thing of it, she was begging me..."

MOLLY "What ... a man-whore. I can't get you to even look at me anymore and you take your own daughter to our bed. I'm calling the police."

ROBERT "Are you such an unsatisfied woman, that you have to call the police on your husband, to get off?"

Karol, as JESSICA "Molly, Robert ... why are you yelling so loud? What's going on out here?"

MOLLY "Did your father abuse you last night? Did he have sex with you?"

JESSICA "Yes. We had really wonderful sex ... but it wasn't abuse. I wanted it — He wanted me. It was consensual."

MOLLY "You're only seventeen, Jessica! You aren't old enough to consent. At least not in this state! Stupid bitch!"

ROBERT "Don't talk that way to my daughter?"

MOLLY "Oh ... now she's 'your' daughter. She's not 'our' daughter anymore? Well, she'll be only 'my' daughter after I call the police on you ... you piece of shit!"

JESSICA (Moving to in-between us, which was something Karol just added)

"He's not a piece of shit Mother, you are. You promised to love, honor and obey when you two got married, but I don't see any love, you certainly don't honor him and I've never, ever seen you be obedient to him ... ever! All I've ever heard from you is a bunch of crap about how he's changed over the years. Well ... You've changed too. You've changed so much that I don't recognize you any more. The mother and father that I remember growing up ... are gone. Gone because there is no more love. Gone because there is no more hope. Gone because ... he wants and loves me now, instead of you!"

MOLLY "How dare you speak to your own mother like that? I've got a right to put you over my knee right now and spank some common sense into you."

ROBERT "Don't do it, Molly! I may not love you any more, but I will not stand by and let you abuse your own daughter."

MOLLY "I'll talk to this stupid ... strumpet anyway I want to. I'm still her mother and she's not of age yet. You'll go to jail for incest and she'll come live with me!"

ROBERT "Boy oh boy, you sure are living in your own world, aren't you? You call her any more names like that, and they'll be taking me away for beating you ... or worse. You're the one who drinks all the time and you smell like a fucking still."

"Jessica honey, did you have a man over last night?"

JESSICA "What, oh-oh yeah. A-A man broke in and took me by force last night, Daddy. It was ... awful. It hurt me so bad. I didn't recognize who it was at all, it was so dark when it all happened."

ROBERT "Did he wear a rubber, a condom, or did he take you bare?"

JESSICA "He wore, wore one of those plastic thingies on his dick, Daddy."

ROBERT "So, you didn't get a good look at him, and he wore a rubber."

MOLLY (dawning on her) "You ... sonofabitch! So, you think that that will stop me from calling the police?"

ROBERT "Call them to report Jessica being raped, I don't care ... go ahead, they'll see that you're drunk and will probably take you away as being an unfit mother."

JESSICA "I've got bruises on my arms from where mo-mommy hit me last week, Daddy! Will that cause any trouble?"

MOLLY "I see that this has turned into a witch hunt! I'll pack my things and leave this shithole right now. You two deserve each other. After I dry out, I'm going to be calling the police and report you as a child molester ... then your slut of a daughter will be put in child services until she turns eighteen years old."

ROBERT "You said you were going to leave, so leave. Don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out ... you stupid bitch bitch!"

"BLACKOUT"

George responded by saying, "Very nice all of you, when we get back together, next Wednesday night at our usual time, I'll get to see this scene, probably with some slapping and kissing and groping — with any luck! Goodnight, see you all on Wednesday!"

"Hey, Phyllis," I said. "How about coming over on Tuesday night, bring a suit, or not, and we can 'roughen up' this scene. I actually see Molly slapping both Robert and Jessica at some point during it. Give that some thought and see you on Tuesday, maybe at 4ish?"

"Sure," Phyllis responded. "A slap in the face finally, for grabbing my boob, Michael. I have to say this again, to both of you. I'm so proud of you Michael, for taking a chance on loving Karol. I know how much Louise meant to you, but I see a different kind of love between you and Karol."

This got Karol to walk up to Phyllis and give her a great big hug. I was so full of emotion. What a moment to watch ... my fiancée hugging the woman who could've been my wife back when.

George boomed, "GO HOME. I've got to lock and alarm this place. Goodnight again to you all!"

Karol and I got home from the rehearsal 'rode hard and put away wet' as the old saying goes, so it was directly to the hot tub we went. I stripped inside the house, grabbed a towel and went right in. Karol came out in a robe, and had a towel with her.

"What's with the robe, K?"

"I thought I'd try something a little different tonight, Daddy!"

"Different is OK, what's under the robe, Jessica?"

"This," she said, as she dropped the robe off of her shoulder.

Boing! It's the only word that comes to mind. She had on the teeniest, tiniest, fluorescent orange bikini. Amazingly, it made her look sexier than if she'd been naked. She pulled out of her robe pocket the phone, which has become a prescient object during our evenings together.