Frailty, Thy Name Is Woman
Once I was over the hurdle of opening night, life seemed a million times better. Okay, I won’t lie. It was mostly getting back together with Zac that had caused that sea change. For once in my life, theatre seemed to completely take a backseat to everything else going on. That wasn’t entirely true either, but it certainly did feel that if things with Zac were okay, I could handle whatever troubles the theatre held.
Friday’s performance went by without a hitch, possibly even better than opening night. Saturday would be stressful, though. I had known for several days that Kelsey was throwing a Halloween party and that everyone in the theatre was expected to go. Somehow, the party had gotten so much hype that he was expecting tons of people outside of the theatre to show up, too. Basically, it was going to be the blowout of the semester and not going wasn’t an option. Zac and I had only just begun to discuss costume ideas when things had fallen apart. After that, I hadn’t had any desire at all to go to the party. But now that we were back together, Zac had insisted.
If I had it my way, I would have stayed in bed as late as possible that Saturday, then taken my sweet time showering and getting dressed for dinner. Under any other circumstances, I’m sure Zac would have chosen to do the same, especially since he had once again spent the night with me. On those mornings (more accurately, afternoons), neither of us was in any hurry to leave the bed. But that particular Saturday, we had a few errands to run to be sure we were ready for the party.
When I finally returned from my shower, Zac was already sitting on my bed again, a baseball cap slung over his still wet hair. I only blushed a little as he watched me take off my robe and slip into my sloppy weekend clothes – jeans and a very old t-shirt from high school.
“Where’s Justine?” I asked as I ran the towel through my hair. It didn’t really matter what I did to it right then, since it was going into curlers practically as soon as I walked through the theatre door. “Wasn’t she still asleep?”
“Oh, she stumbled out of bed mumbling something about coffee and charcoal a few minutes ago,” Zac replied. “I think she’s working on an art project? I probably should start on mine soon.”
I laughed. I had learned early on how much of a procrastinator Zac was when it came to his art class projects, but I knew it was out of the desire to make sure they were perfect. It was kind of cute, actually, to see how he obviously fretted over the drawings even before he had begun them. And in the end, they were always perfect.
Since it was the weekend, I hurried through my regular makeup routine and was ready to leave the dorm in just a few minutes. We walked out of the building hand in hand and only spent a few minutes arguing over which of us would drive. Ultimately, I won, since we had to go to Aunt Patty’s house first and Zac didn’t know how to get there. I had only lived with her, if you could call it that, for a few weeks before starting this semester, but I had visited enough times through my life to feel like I had some sort of homing beacon drawing me back there no matter where in Richmond I was.
After a fairly lengthy drive, since she lived on the outskirts of town, I pulled us into the driveway and took a deep breath. I didn’t know why I was nervous, though. I hadn’t been back to visit her since our very, very short fall break, and one afternoon when I dropped in to pick up some warmer clothes. When I called to tell her about this visit, I hadn’t mentioned Zac. I knew she would like him, but I was afraid it would be awkward for all of us if I made a big deal out of bringing my boyfriend over.
Pushing my fears aside, I slapped on a well rehearsed smile and opened my car door. “Well, we’re here.”
Zac rushed around to my side of the car, slipping his hand into mine before I could realize what he was doing. He returned my smile with a more sincere, shy one, and we walked up the steps together. I knocked on the door first, but I had my key ready to open the door just in case Aunt Patty wasn’t near and didn’t hear my knock.
She did, though, and so did the dogs. Within seconds, loud barking burst out and I giggled at the way Zac visibly flinched. I was more of a cat person, but I had adjusted quickly to Aunt Patty and Uncle Mo’s dogs, Charlie and Bridget. They could be a handful, but they were the friendliest dogs ever. The look on Zac’s face told me that he wasn’t convinced yet, though. I opened my mouth to reassure him, but was cut off by the sound of the door being unlocked.
“Victoria! I thought that was you,” Aunt Patty said, opening the door just a few inches. “Hold on, let me get the dogs under control and you can come in.”
Zac shot me a frightened look as Aunt Patty closed the door again and the sound of scraping paws and plaintive barks could be heard. I laughed. “Don’t worry. They’re sweethearts, but they’re big and they really really like new people.”
He didn’t look reassured, but he didn’t say a word. When the door swung open again, Aunt Patty had two heavy duty leashes securely in hand, and was standing firmly in front of the two overgrown puppies. Charlie managed to break loose just enough to sniff at Zac curiously, and I could see Zac’s fear melting away quickly.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend with you,” Aunt Patty said, leaning on the word friend, making it obvious that she could see he was more than just that.
Zac raised up from where he had bent down to pet Charlie’s head, and reached his hand out to her. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m Zac.”
“I see,” she replied, smirking a little. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Zac. You’re a student at VCU, too?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, and I had to smirk too at how polite he was being. “I’m a freshman, too. Toria and me have a couple classes together, and…”
He glanced at me for reassurance, or to hand over the reins. I wasn’t quite sure which, but I decided to go with the latter. I took his hand again, then looked back at my aunt. “We’ve been dating for a while.”
Aunt Patty gave the two of us a huge smile, then. I could see she already liked Zac, thanks to the manners he had apparently found somewhere on the drive over. She tugged the dogs toward the basement, pushing them behind the gate and locking it. “Now, why don’t I get you something to eat or drink while Toria looks for her costume? I’m sure she knows better than I do where it is.”
“That would be great; thank you,” Zac replied, giving my hand a slight squeeze before following Aunt Patty to the kitchen.
I couldn’t help smiling as I watched the two of them walk off together. My family was the quintessential Southern family, so I knew Zac was already making a good impression, despite his Northern accent. And I knew that Aunt Patty would have him completely stuffed full of her home cooking before I had even come close to finding the costume. Dreading that search, I scurried up the stairs toward the attic bedroom where I had spent most of the summer.
It felt like my belongings were scattered all across the state. I still officially lived with my dad, but mom had wanted me to stay with her in those few weeks right after the divorce before I started college. I’m not sure what that accomplished, other than giving me quite a workout moving lots of my things into my cousin’s old bedroom. Mom had insisted that most of my scripts, trophies and other sentimental things like that be moved here, and so I knew my Dorothy costume from high school had to be in one of the boxes stacked up in the closet.
As I dug through the boxes, I thought about Zac downstairs with Aunt Patty. I knew he was in good hands, but I also knew that she and Uncle Mo, if he was around, would no doubt be grilling him about our relationship. I hoped that didn’t put him in too much of an awkward position. Somehow, I had a feeling he could handle it better than I could.
I knew there had been a little hesitance in my voice when I had told her that Zac was my boyfriend. I hoped he hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t because I was ashamed of him, though. I was the youngest of all my cousins, the baby of the family, and it seemed every time the family got together, far too much attention was paid to my love life – or lack thereof. I had been so devoted to the theatre in high school that I didn’t have much time to figure out relationships. The few I had found myself in fizzled out quickly, mostly due to my disinterest. Only one had had much lasting power, going strong for almost a year, and even it had died a quick death when he left for college.
I would have to try to explain all of that to Zac later, I decided. Maybe he would understand, finally, why I was such a horrible girlfriend. I was trying, though. I hoped he could see that, despite my awkwardness.
To my surprise, the box of costumes was located fairly near the top of all the stacks of boxes. The costumes were a mixture of homemade dresses for various plays and Halloween costumes dating back to elementary school. Since I couldn’t actually sing, the Dorothy costume was the latter. I had worn it for a little skit in a talent show that, thankfully, didn’t require singing and then recycled it for my Halloween costume during my junior year. After checked the bag to make sure that all the pieces – gingham jumper, crinoline, white shirt, lacy socks and ruby slippers – were all in place, I cleaned up my mess and hurried back downstairs.
As I made my way down the last few steps and rounded the corner into the kitchen, I heard Zac’s trademark giggle. It made me a little nervous – I had no doubt Aunt Patty was telling him some horribly embarrassing story from my childhood – but I was glad they were getting along.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, seeing the two of them huddled together at the table. As I slid onto the bench next to Zac, I could see that they were looking at a photo album. “Oh dear…”
“Oh, nothing,” Zac replied, faking an innocent look that I didn’t buy at all.
“Just showing this boy what he’s gotten himself into,” Aunt Patty replied.
I glanced at the photos, and saw that she had chosen a set of me dressed as a little director. I was barely five years old and had just begun participating in a childrens theatre program. Obviously, I enjoyed it – and obviously, my need for control had started early in life. I felt myself blushing slightly. “I think he already knows.”
“I do,” Zac replied. “And I wouldn’t have her any other way.”
That only served to deepen my blush, and I don’t think it went away fully until I had finally peeled Zac away from the photo album, said goodbye to Aunt Patty, and walked out the door. I was so incredibly glad that Zac had made himself at home so easily with my family – although, he seemed to make himself at home absolutely anywhere he went – but it was definitely a bit embarrassing. I was even more glad, though, that I was the only one of us embarrassed by it.
Once we finally left Aunt Patty’s, we hurried out to the nearest mall, which I knew had a huge Halloween store. I could only hope that, on such short notice, we would still be able to find the perfect costume for Zac. Sure enough, they had it – the costume might have just been a generic lion, but combined with my Dorothy outfit, it would be absolutely perfect.
After our mall trip, which took far less time than I was expecting, I drove us to my favorite restaurant in Richmond, Friendly’s. When Zac said he had never eaten at one before, I knew that was exactly where we had to go. I had spent a lot of time at the one not too far from my aunt’s house over that summer; it had always been my favorite thing about visiting her.
We settled into a booth by the window and placed our orders. I had to laugh at the way Zac’s eyes lit up when the waitress placed his bacon cheeseburger in front of him. I was just as excited about my tuna melt, though. We ate in silence for a while, both of us enjoying such a greasy indulgence that was, if possibly, even less healthy than the cafeteria food we ate every day.
Finally, I sat my sandwich down and decided to break the silence. “You know, we don’t have to go to this party…”
“We already bought my costume,” Zac pointed out, popping a waffle fry into his mouth. “Besides, I want to go. If we’re together, maybe we’ll actually have fun at this one.”
“Maybe…” I replied, not totally convinced. I stared down at my food, twirling a fry in the ketchup but not taking a bite of it.
Zac snaked his hand under the table and squeezed my knee, causing me to jump a little. He giggled. “Sorry. But, umm, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Okay?”
“No, I want to go,” I replied, shaking my head. “I really do. If you’re there, if we’re together, then that’s all that matters. It’ll be fun.”
My voice sounded more confident than I felt, though. But I was beginning to believe that Zac and I were good together. If we could handle my stupidity, then surely we could handle one little party.